Tokyo Travel Guide

General

Tokyo, symbol of the Japanese success story, is a sprawling megalopolis on the Pacific coast of Honshu, the largest island of the Japanese archipelago. In 1590, the city was founded as Edo, the capital of the shoguns, the succession of hereditary absolute rulers of Japan and commander of the Japanese army. Edo boasted its own vibrant culture, the celebrated ‘floating world’ of pleasure quarters, theatres and cherry blossoms, immortalised in the Japanese woodblock prints of the time. Following the fall of the shoguns in 1867 (and the restoration of the power of the Emperor), the city was renamed Tokyo, the Eastern Capital, heralding its rebirth as a dynamic modern city and the showpiece of a rapidly modernising country. Despite the catastrophic 1923 earthquake and near obliteration during World War II, Tokyo was able to rise from the ashes to host the 1964 Olympics, and went on to preside over the Japanese economic miracle.

That this bewildering amalgamation of districts and neighbourhoods is able to function as a coherent whole is largely due to the extraordinarily efficient network of rail and underground lines that crisscross and encircle the city. These are Tokyo’s arteries, transporting legions of businesspeople, office workers and students from the suburbs and depositing them in vast stations. Two million people a day pass through Shinjuku Station alone. The towering business districts swarm with soberly dressed corporate warriors and the demure young secretaries known as ‘office flowers’. The architectural anarchy and sheer crush of humanity assaults the senses. Amid the frenzy of consumerism, brash electronics outlets are crammed next to refined upscale boutiques and hordes of giggling schoolgirls swoon over pop idols and the latest fashions in glitzy emporiums.

Downtown, old neighbourhoods cluster around antiquated shopping arcades and the clatter of the temple bell echoes across the rooftops. Here, the rhythms of the seasons are still observed. Tokyoites flock to ring in the New Year at the venerable Shinto shrines and springtime brings a flurry of flower-viewing parties and picnics under the cherry blossoms. Rowdy, traditional festivals punctuate the humid summers and the spirit of the old Edo also survives in the neon-bathed entertainment districts: modern-day ‘floating worlds’ of karaoke and cinemas, shot bars and bathhouses. Traditional kabuki theatre thrives alongside opera, ballet and symphonic performances, and Tokyoites are passionate about both sumo and baseball. Another obsession, food, is well catered for in this city of 60,000 restaurants and the world’s largest fish market. From bowls of steaming ramen noodles to delicate slices of sashimi, chefs compete to offer the freshest produce, and presentation is elevated to an art form.

The focus of Japan’s highly centralised government, business and financial institutions, Tokyo has been hard hit by the recession, bank collapses and scandals of the 1990s. Many certainties of the past have been swept away, however, despite widespread trepidation about the transitions ahead, the city and its people remain prosperous and forward-looking.

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