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Tokyo
is the capital of Japan.
At over 12 million people in the official metropolitan area
alone, Tokyo
is the core of the most populated urban area in the world,
Greater Tokyo
(which has a population of 35 million people). This huge,
wealthy and fascinating metropolis brings high-tech visions
of the future side by side with glimpses of old Japan, and
has something for everyone.
Districts
Map of Tokyo,
Yamanote line in Green, Chuo line in OrangeHuge and varied
in its geography, with over 2,000 square kilometers to explore,
Tokyo
prefecture (Tokyo-to)
spans not just the city, but rugged mountains to the west
and subtropical islands to the south. This article concentrates
on the 23 central wards near the bay, while the western
cities and the islands are covered in a separate article.
The geography
of central Tokyo
is defined by the JR Yamanote Line. The center of Tokyo
— the former area reserved for the Shogun and his
samurai — lies within the loop, while the Edo-era
downtown (shitamachi) is to the north and east. Sprawling
around in all directions and blending seamlessly into Yokohama,
Kawasaki and Chiba are Tokyo's
suburbs.
Central
Tokyo
Chiyoda, the seat of Japanese
power that includes the Imperial Palace, the electronics
mecca of Akihabara , the business center of Akasaka and
the neighbouring nightclub district of Roppongi Chuo district,
including the famed department stores of the Ginza and the
fish markets of Tsukiji Meguro, a residential area with
a few nice parks and museums Minato, the port district (at
least in name) which includes the artificial island of Odaiba,
the skyscrapers of Shiodome Shibuya, the fashionable shopping
district which also encompasses the teenybopper haven of
Harajuku (also home to the Meiji Shrine) and the nightlife
of Ebisu Shinjuku, home to luxury hotels, giant camera stores,
futuristic skyscrapers, hundreds of shops and restaurants,
and Kabukicho, Tokyo's
wildest nightlife and red-light district Shinagawa, a major
train hub and business center
Old Tokyo
(Shitamachi) Toshima including Ikebukuro, another giant
train hub
Sumida by the river of the same name, including Ryogoku,
home of the Edo-Tokyo
Museum and Tokyo's
main sumo arena (Ryogoku Kokugikan).
Taito and Bunkyo, the heart of Old Tokyo
featuring the temples of Asakusa and many museums of Ueno
Koto, between the two rivers Sumida and Arakawa, located
on just the south of Sumida. It is famous for the former
woodland in Kiba, and Kameido Tenjin the shrine worshiping
Michizane Sugawara known as a father of study in Kameido.
Katsushika, in the Northeast of Tokyo,
more downbeat and traditional The South part of Adachi.
Over 400 years old, the city of Tokyo
grew from the modest fishing village of Edo. The former
seat of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Imperial family moved
to the city after the Meiji Restoration in 1868. The metropolitan
center of the country, Tokyo
is the destination for business, education, modern culture,
and government. (That's not to say that rivals such as Osaka
won't dispute those claims.)
Culture
Tokyo
is vast: it's best thought of not as a single city, but
a constellation of cities that have grown together. Tokyo's
districts vary wildly by character, from the electronic
blare of Akihabara to the Imperial gardens and shrines of
Chiyoda, from the hyperactive youth culture mecca of Shibuya
to the pottery shops and temple markets of Asakusa. If you
don't like what you see, hop on the train and head to the
next one, and you will find something entirely different.
The sheer size
and frenetic pace of Tokyo
can intimidate the first-time visitor. Much of the city
is a jungle of concrete and wires, with a mass of neon and
blaring loudspeakers. At rush hour, crowds jostle in packed
trains and masses of humanity sweep through enormous and
bewilderingly complex stations. Don't get too hung up on
ticking tourist sights off your list: for most visitors,
the biggest part of the Tokyo
experience is just wandering around at random and absorbing
the vibe, poking your head into shops selling weird and
wonderful things, sampling restaurants where you can't recognize
a single thing on the menu (or on your plate), and finding
unexpected oases of calm in the tranquil grounds of a neighbourhood
Shinto shrine. It's all perfectly safe, and the locals will
go to sometimes extraordinary lengths to help you if you
just ask.
Language
It's easier than ever for English speakers to navigate their
way around Tokyo
without speaking any Japanese.
Signs at subway and train stations include the station names
in romaji (Romanized characters). It can be helpful to know
some tips for ordering in restaurants, shopping in stores,
and asking for directions. Learning the katakana script
is not difficult and most words written with it can be understood
by English speakers so it can be useful even for people
with no Japanese
vocabulary. If you plan on asking for directions to Tokyo
destinations, it especially helps to carry the name of the
destination written in Japanese
characters.
Expenses
The cost of living in Tokyo
is not as astronomical as it once was. Deflation and market
pressures have helped to make costs in Tokyo
comparable to most other large cities. Visitors from San
Francisco, New
York, London,
Paris
or even Vancouver will not be at all surprised. Travelers
should budget a similar amount of money for their stay in
Tokyo
as they would for any other great city in Europe
or North America. |