The Taylor Swift and Messi Moment Shows Tokyo Is Back
Global superstars used to skip the Japanese capital, but not anymore. And they’re not the only ones giving it a second look.
Tokyo's back.
Photographer: Suzanne Cordeir/AFP/Getty Images
There was a brief moment around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday where, as Taylor Swift played for 55,000 screaming fans in the first performance of her four-night stint at Tokyo Dome, Lionel Messi took to the pitch just two kilometers away at the Japan National Stadium.
It no doubt caused some envy in Hong Kong, which Swift skipped and Messi, infamously, sat out. The two global superstars appearing at the same time is a coincidence, but nonetheless symbolic of a shift in power in the region — one that has seen Tokyo go from overlooked outlier to arguably Asia’s most attractive destination.