Tokyo

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Tokyo Travel Guide

Travel Author

Stig Albeck

City Map

City Introduction

Tokyo is one of the world’s largest metropolises, and certainly one of the most fascinating with the mix of centuries-old Japanese traditions and modern Japan’s success, architecture and common use of technology that you will easily notice as a tourist.

There are approximately 30 million people living in the Tokyo-Yokohama area, and the vibrant street life is 24/7 in several places. Shopping and restaurants offering the tasty Japanese cuisine are of course great ways to enjoy Tokyo, as is walking the streets getting impressions.

Tokyo is a mix of a very modern city where everything can be bought and everything seems feasible. There are shopping malls everywhere, yet there is never a long way to Japan’s beautiful temples and traditions. For example, in the middle of the city’s high-rise buildings there is a large oasis, which is the grounds of the Japanese imperial palace, and from here the country has been ruled from generations.

Tokyo also has several green areas, which are particularly seeworthy when the Japanese cherry blossoms. That, the tasty and exciting Japanese food and meeting at once the historic and the modern will make a visit to the imperial capital unforgettable. Do consider some day trips as well to Mount Fuji, the buddha of Kamakura or the old city of Nikko.

Top Attractions

Asakusa Kannon Temple, Tokyo

Sensō-ji Temple
金龍山浅草寺

Sensō-ji is a temple also called Asakusa Kannon Temple, and it is probably Tōkyō’s most famous temple. Buddhist and dedicated to the goddess of mercy Kannon, the temple is Tōkyō’s oldest and most impressive temple complex. According to legend, a figure of Kannon was found in the Sumida River in the year 628, and the head of the village at the time turned his house into a temple for the figure, until the first actual temple was founded in 645.

At the main entrance to the temple to the south, you can see the Thunder Gate/Kaminari-mon (雷門), which is the outer gate building. If you continue north from here, you come through Nakamise-dōri (仲見世通助) street with many small stalls to the Treasury Gate/Hōzō-mon (宝蔵門), the largest and most impressive of the temple gates. Hōzō-mon was built in 942, but it burned in 1631 and again during bombardments in 1945. The current gate is a reconstruction from 1964.

The Thunder Gate gets its name because there is a statue of the thunder god Raijin (雷神) on the outside of the gate. On the same side as Raijin stands the wind god Fūjin (風神), and on the inner side of the gate you can see figures of two Buddhist gods, Tenryū and Kinryū. In the entrance hangs a large lantern, on which the name of the gate is written in black letters.

The Treasury Gate got its name because this is where the temple’s treasures are kept. It used to be called the Niō gate/Niōmon (仁王門) after the two large figures that can be seen in the gate; Niō (仁王). The figures are protectors of the Buddha, and traditionally Guhyapāda stands on the right with his mouth open, while Nārāyaṇa on the left has his mouth closed. Guhyapāda pronounces the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, अ, which sounds like an a. Nārāyaṇa pronounces the last letter, ह, which is pronounced ɦūṃ. This symbolizes birth and death or the beginning and end of everything.

Behind Hōzō-mon you can see the five-story pagoda Gojūnotō haiden daitōku (五重の塔拝殿 台東区), and here you also come to the temple’s main hall, Hondō (本堂), which is the hall dedicated to Kannon, who in his time was the reason for the founding of Sensō -yeah. On the temple grounds there are also several other buildings and a garden that is distinctly Japanese in style.

 

Tōkyō Skytree
東京スカイツリー

Tōkyō Skytree is a transmission and observation tower in the Sumida district of Tōkyō. The tower was completed in 2012 and it opened as the tallest building in Japan. Its 634 meters in height also made it the tallest tower in the world and the third tallest structure in the world after Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur and Burj Khalifa in Dubai at the time of its opening.

The tower is the primary television and radio broadcasting site for the Kantō region and can be seen from a long distance in the Japanese capital. The architecture was conceived as a fusion of neofuturism and traditional Japanese style features. There is of course also an excellent view of the city area and of Mount Fuji to the west in clear weather. There are two observatory decks in Tōkyō Skytree. One is at an altitude of 350 meters and the other at an altitude of 450 meters.

 

Tokyo National Museum
東京 国立 博物館

Tōkyō National Museum is a large museum with impressive collections. The museum was founded in 1872, and it collects and exhibits art and archaeological finds from not least Japan and other East Asian countries. The National Museum is located in Ueno Park on a site where the Buddhist temple Kan’ei-ji (寛永寺) stood from 1625 until its destruction in the Battle of Ueno on July 4, 1868.

The museum’s impressive collections are exhibited in several buildings in the museum complex in Ueno Park. The main building Honkan (本館) houses the museum’s main Japanese gallery with art and effects from the last several thousand years, while Asian art can be seen in the building Tōyōkan (東洋館), located southeast of Honkan. The collections in Tōyōkan come from China, Korea and India, among others, and you can also see finds from some other places such as Egypt here.

The Hyōkeikan (表慶館) building opposite the Tōyōkan stands as a fine example of the European-inspired architecture of the late Meiji period. Hyōkeikan was built on the occasion of Crown Prince Taishō’s wedding, and today the building is used for special events and special exhibitions. Behind the Honkan and the Hyōkeikan is the Heiseikan (教斯館) building, where you can see special exhibitions and the museum’s Japanese archaeological finds. The last of the five main buildings is Hōryūji takaramono-kan (法隆寺宝物館), where you can see the treasures of Nara Temple Hōryū-ji.

 

Imperial Palace
皇居

The Imperial Palace in Tōkyō is the primary residence of the Emperor of Japan. The palace is located in a large park-like area in the Chiyoda district of Tōkyō, and it consists of several different parts that together make up the palace complex. The Emperor’s residence is called Fukiage Palace/Fukiage gosho (吹上御所), while the main palace Kyūden (宮殿) is where ceremonies and receptions take place. In addition to these palaces, there are also quite a few other buildings in the area.

The history of the palace goes back to Edo Castle/Edo-jō (江戸城) which was built by Ōta Dōkan in 1457. Later, Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogunate with Edo Castle as the political center of Japan. It ushered in the so-called Edo period, which lasted from 1603 to 1868, and during which the castle in Edo was the residence of the country’s shōgun and the headquarters of the Japanese military government. The last shōgun stepped down in 1868 with the Meiji Restoration, and with that Edo Castle became the residence of the emperor.

Before the Meiji Restoration, Edo Castle was located on a larger area than today’s Imperial Palace. At that time, there were outer moats, which today have been looped, and the castle’s area spread to, among other things, the current Tōkyō Station. When the emperor moved here from Kyoto, Edo Castle was not up to date as a residence. In 1873 the palace burned down, and in 1888 the country’s new Imperial Palace was built on the same site where the shōgun had lived since 1603. Today, fortress walls and moats from the Edo period are still preserved, while nothing remains of the castle itself.

Constructed mainly of wood, the 1888 palace was built with traditional Japanese architecture on the exterior, while the interior was a style inspired by both European architecture and contemporary Japanese style. The Meiji Palace was destroyed by Allied incendiary bombs targeted at the palace on May 25, 1945. The destroyed palace therefore had to be rebuilt once more, and a new main building called the Kyūden (宮殿) was built together with a new residence in the years 1964-1968 in a design drawn by Junzō Yoshimura. After construction, the eastern part around the palace grounds was renamed the Eastern Garden/Higashi-Gyoen (東御苑), which was opened as a public park at the same time.

The current residence palace is a new building from 1993, which was designed by the Japanese architect Shōzō Uchii. There is no access to the residence or the palace area itself. You can walk around the complex and see the moats and fortifications, and you can also take a nice walk in the Eastern Garden of the Imperial Palace. However, it is possible on special tours to get to the square in front of the Chōwaden (長和殿), which is the ceremonial reception building located at the outermost part of the otherwise closed palace grounds.

 

Imperial Palace East Gardens
皇居東御苑

The Imperial Palace East Gardens include the areas of Honmaru (本丸), which was the innermost area of ​​the defunct Edo Castle, and Ninomaru (二の丸), which was immediately outside this area. In the central area, you can see the Tōkagakudō Concert Hall (桃華楽堂), which was built in 1964-1966 on the occasion of Empress Kōjun’s 60th birthday. The hall was built in an octagonal shape with mosaics on the outer walls, and it is located just east of the preserved foundation of Edo Castle’s core tower, which you can walk to the top of. From here there is a nice view of the area.

East of Honmaru and the foundation of the old core tower is the park-like Ninomaru Garden/Ninomaru teien (二の丸庭園), which was symbolically planted with trees from all the prefectures of Japan when the garden was laid out. The trees were planted following donations from these regions, thereby representing the entire country. This part of the garden was originally laid out in 1636 by the well-known garden architect Kobori Enshu, but the garden today is a new installation from 1968.

 

Edo Tōkyō Museum
江戸東京博物館

Edo Tōkyō Museum is an urban history museum that opened in 1993 with the aim of preserving and communicating the cultural heritage of Edo-era Tōkyō, which was the period of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan from 1603 to 1868. At the museum, city models of Edo and Tōkyō can be seen between 1590 and 1964, and here is also a life-size replica of Nihonbashi, which was the bridge that led into Edo. There are also scale models of cities and buildings across the Edo period as well as the subsequent Meiji and Showa periods.

The museum building was designed by Kiyonori Kikutake. The exterior design was based on a traditional takayuka-shiki-style rice warehouse, and at 62 meters in height, it is equivalent to the height of the defunct Edo Castle. Kikutake’s intention with the design was to crystallize Japanese culture in a built form. There are eight floors in the large and characteristic building, in which, in addition to the permanent exhibitions, changing collections are also shown.

Other Attractions

Ueno Park, Tokyo

Ueno Park
上 野 公園

Ueno Park is one of Tokyo’s most popular parks. The park is located on the site of the former temple Kan’ei-ji (寛永寺), which was closely associated with the Tokugawa shoguns. They built the temple on a hill inspired by the Hieizan Temple Mount in northeastern Kyoto as a symbolic protection of the castle in Edo. The direction northeast is considered unlucky in traditional geomancy, which is the art of divination using the signs of the earth.

The temple complex was largely destroyed during the Battle of Ueno in the Boshin War in 1868, and the government decided in 1873 to build a park on the site, which was then opened in 1876. In 1882, the National Museum and Zoo were opened in the park, and there Since then, other museums, monuments and more have also been built and laid out in the old temple area.

In the park are several buildings that have survived from the Edo period. First of all, there is the five-story pagoda that was part Kan’ei-ji temple, and the Shinto shrine Ueno Tōshōgū (上野東出宮), built in 1627 by the daimyō Tōdō Takatora and subsequently expanded by Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1651.

One can also see Benzaiten Temple/Benten-dō (弁天堂) in Shinobazu Pond/Shinobazu no Ike (不忍池) and Gojō-Tenjinja (五條天神社) with its Inari fox statues in an artificial grotto. There is also a small hillside here called Kiyomizu Kannon-dō, which was modeled after the famous temple Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto. You can also see a restored bell tower on the site, whose bell struck the time in the Edo period.

At the park’s southern entrance stands a statue of Saigō Takamori, who was one of Japan’s most influential samurai in history. Saigō Takamori lived at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and the beginning of the Meiji period, and he was called ‘the last true samurai’. He was given command of 50,000 samurai during the Imperial Army in the Boshin War of 1868-1869, and he became an advisor and general in the Meiji period Imperial Empire. The statue of Saigō Takamori with his dog commemorates the samurai who is buried in his hometown of Kagoshima.

There are also natural attractions in Ueno Park, the biggest of which is the Sakura-dori (さくら通り) path, where the Japanese cherry trees bloom in an unforgettable sight during the spring season. Sakura-dori starts at the southern end of Ueno Park, and through a large part of the park, the sakura trees almost close the sky in a colossal bloom. There are also many other beautiful trees and greenery around the park.

 

Ueno Tōshō-gū Shrine
上野東照宮

Ueno Tōshō-gū is one of Japan’s Shinto shrines with the name tōshō-gū, which indicates that the shrine is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Tokugawa Ieyasu founded the Tokugawa shōgunate, which spanned the period 1603-1868, and he became a Shinto god, a so-called kami, with the name Tōshō Daigongen (東出大権現).

Ueno Tōshō-gū was founded in 1627 by the daimyō Tōdō Takatora and expanded by Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1651. The shrine still stands much as it did then, making Ueno Tōshō-gū a beautiful example of Shinto architecture from the early Edo period. The shrine was a place where Tokugawa Ieyasu was remembered and worshipped, and later the site was also dedicated to Tokugawa Yoshimune and Tokugawa Yoshinobu, who were also shoguns of the Tokugawa shogunate.

As befits Shinto shrines, there is a torii at the entrance to Ueno Tōshō-gū. This marks the entrance to the sanctuary itself. From here you go through the first gate and along a path with stone lanterns on both sides. The innermost part of the shrine is in an enclosure where the gate Karamon (唐門) forms the entrance. Ueno Tōshō-gū’s karamon from 1651 is a gate in typical Japanese architecture characterized by the use of karahafu (唐破風), which is a type of curved gable. The gate is decorated with, among other things, a rising and a descending dragon. They are an image of the tale of two dragons going to the Shinobazu Pond/Shinobazu no Ike (不忍池) in Ueno Park to drink water every night.

After passing through Karamon, one comes to Ueno Tōshō-gū’s main hall, the Honden (本殿), which was built in the gongen-zukuri style, where the typical structure of a Shinto shrine is gathered under one roof. The buildings in the conjoined and relatively compact complex are the Haraiden (祓殿), where purification ceremonies take place, the prayer hall Haiden (拝殿), the sacrificial hall Heiden (幣殿) and the main hall Honden (本殿).

 

Shibuya Crossing
渋谷スクランブル交差点

Shibuya Crossing is the name of perhaps Japan’s best-known pedestrian crossings. The intersection is in front of Shibuya Station at the exit of Hachikō Square (ハチ公前広堂). The intersection was built in 1973, and since then it has been called ‘the world’s busiest street intersection’, and it has laid asphalt for many scenes in films.

The street crossing at Hachikō is one of the experiences that Tōkyō is known for. It is an intersection where there are both normal pedestrian crossings from street corner to street corner, but in addition there is also a transition across the entire intersection. It is estimated that up to 3,000 people pass through the intersection each time there is a green light. And when there is a green light, it applies to pedestrians in all directions.

You can see the throngs of pedestrians on all sides of the intersection, and there are also some cafes in the buildings around the intersection, from where you can see the whole thing from above. You can also notice the statue of the dog Hachikō (ハチ公) standing in the area closest to Shibuya Station. Hachikō was an akita that was owned by Hidesaburō Ueno, and Hachikō waited every day at Shibuya Station for Hidesaburō Ueno to come home from work. Ueno died on May 21, 1925, and until his death on March 8, 1935, Hachikō continued to come to the station every day to wait for Hidesaburō Ueno. Hachikō was buried next to his owner and the statue was erected as a symbol of Hachikō’s loyalty.

 

Fukugawa Edo Museum
深川江戸資料館

The Fukagawa Edo Museum is an interesting and manageable local history museum in the Kōtō district of Tōkyō. The museum opened in 1981 with a 1:1 replica of a typical Tōkyō district from the first half of the 19th century as a focal point. During a visit, you can therefore learn about the Japan of that time in a very vivid way.

The place is Fukagawa on the banks of the Sumida River. The city was a world of mixed professions such as fishermen, greengrocers and oil wholesalers, but also the kimpi manufacturers, who mainly made and sold fertilizer from hoshika (干鰯), which is leftovers from dried fish.

The museum is structured like Fukagawa, where you can walk through the reconstructed alleys where different environments from the city were recreated. Here you can see, among other things, the functions of the city, a narrow row of houses with the tiny dwellings of the poor and a canal where a chokibune (猪牙舟) is moored.

 

Ginza, Tokyo

Ginza
銀座

Ginza is a district in Tokyo, and it is one of Tokyo’s and Japan’s most prestigious business districts, where life among the modern buildings takes place almost around the clock. For most visitors, a trip to Ginza will therefore be the epitome of Japanese metropolitan intensity, and in the midst of the hustle and bustle you can try the city’s well-known pedestrian crossings, which also direct traffic across from corner to corner. Such an intersection can be seen on the main street at the Ginza subway station, where three lines run.

The area where Ginza is now located was a swampy place until the 16th century, when land filling and construction began. In 1612, which was the beginning of the Edo period, a mint for the Japanese silver coins of the time was set up here, and hence the name Ginza arose. The neighborhood burned in 1872, and then the Meiji government decided that Ginza should be rebuilt as a model for the new modern times.

In the heart of Ginza, you can see one of the district’s well-known buildings, Kabushiki-gaisha Wakō (株式会社和光), which is simply called Ginza Wako in everyday speech. The Wako department store was founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori as a watch and jewelry store, then called K. Hattori, which later became known as Seiko. From 1894-1921, K. Hattori was located here in a building with a characteristic bell tower, and when the current Wako building was completed in 1932, it was also erected with a tower clock as a reminder of the old building. Ginza Wako was built in a mix of art deco and neoclassicism, and is one of the few buildings in Ginza that date from the pre-World War II era, when Wako Ginza dominated the neighborhood with its height.

 

Shinjuku
新宿区

Shinjuku is one of Tokyo’s well-known districts, and since the end of the Second World War it has developed into the second center of the metropolis after the traditional city core around Ginza and Marunouchi. However, this was not always the case, and it was not until the 17th century that a development took place in this area. This happened when the outer moats around Edo Castle were built, whereby some temples moved to this area, which developed to lie along the main road west of Edo at the time.

At the end of the 17th century, the city of Naitō-Shinjuku had grown up along the main road and a few centuries later Shinjuku became part of the growing metropolitan area. The current Shinjuku, known among other things for housing many of Tokyo’s modern skyscrapers, began to take shape in the 1920s after the great Kantō earthquake in 1923. The Shinjuku area is seismically stable, and that was the reason why they built higher right here, and it has continued ever since.

In Shinjuku you can experience modern Japan among the many tall buildings. There are also lots of department stores and shops as well as the large entertainment area of ​​Kabukicho, where restaurants, bars and pachinko arcades are located side by side. There are also some wonderful parks in the district, so there is almost something for everyone if you go for a walk in Shinjuku.

 

Tokyo City Hall
東京都庁舎

Tokyo City Hall is one of the most famous high-rises in the Tokyo area. It stands among many other skyscrapers in Nishi-Shinjuku and has a height of 243 meters. The City Hall was designed by the famous architect Kenzo Tange and built 1988-1990 as Tokyo’s tallest skyscraper. It was built to replace the city’s now former town hall, which was located in the Yūrakuchō district and which was built in 1957.

Tokyo City Hall is very distinctive with its twin towers, reminiscent of a modern version of a Gothic cathedral. This part is the best-known part of the large town hall complex, which also consists of other buildings. From the twin towers there is an excellent view of Shinjuku, Tokyo and, among other things, Mount Fuji to the west. The view can be enjoyed from the two observation decks, located at a height of 202 metres.

 

Shinjuku Imperial Garden
新宿御苑

Shinjuku Gyo-en is a large park and garden located in the Shinjuku area of ​​Tokyo. The large green area originally belonged to the Naitō family’s residence in the Edo period. The head of the Naitō family was the daimyō of the region, and he was given the land by the Japanese shōgun. He then laid out his large garden in 1772.

After the Meiji Restoration, the daimyō’s old garden was taken over by the imperial administration, which initially used the area for experimental agriculture before becoming a botanical garden and imperial garden. The garden was completed in 1906, but after destruction during the Second World War, the beautiful park had to be reconstructed.

Shinjuku Imperial Garden was opened to the public in 1949, and since then the garden has been a popular place for recreation in beautiful surroundings. In the east part of the complex you can visit a formal French garden and an English landscape garden, while to the west you can take a walk in a traditional Japanese garden with a tea house. The garden is particularly visited during the cherry blossom season, as there are around 1,500 of these trees in the area.

 

Tokyo Tower
東京タワー

Tokyo Tower is a transmission and observation tower built in the Shiba-Koen district of Tokyo in 1958. It was Japan’s tallest building at 332.9 meters in height and was inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The tower was built in the years after the state television, NHK, began broadcasting in 1953. Private companies followed suit, creating a great need to be able to transmit live images. The solution was the Tokyo Tower, which had to be able to secure transmissions over the entire Tokyo area.

It was initially planned that the new transmission tower would be built as the world’s tallest building, which would be a symbol of Japan’s development. For various reasons, the current height was chosen, which was sufficient to ensure television broadcasts throughout the Kantō region. Despite the lack of a world record in height, Tokyo Tower nevertheless became a modern landmark for the Japanese capital.

You can of course go up to Tokyo Tower, which was also intended as a lookout tower. Under the tower is a center with, among other things, shops, a record museum and a wax museum. From here you can climb the tower and enjoy the view from one of the two observation decks here. The main deck is at a height of 150 metres, and you can also get to the top at a height of 250 metres, from where there is a panoramic view.

 

Ryōgoku Arena
両国国技館

Ryōgoku is a district in Tōkyō known as the center of Japanese sumo wrestling. If you come to JR Ryōgoku Station, you enter directly into the center of the world of sumo wrestling. Immediately north of the station is the modern sumo arena from 1985, the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, where three of the annual six major Japanese sumo tournaments take place. The others take place in Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka, respectively.

It is also in the Ryōgoku district that the training places for the sumo wrestlers are located, and therefore you may be lucky to see some of the famous wrestlers or future sumo stars here. In the national sumo arena, you can also visit the Sumō Museum/Sumō hakubutsukan (相撲博物館), which was founded in 1954. At the museum, you can see many exciting sumo effects and learn about the history and importance of wrestling.

In the area around the sumo stadium, you can also try the sumo wrestlers’ meal, chankonabe (ちゃんこ鍋), which is a type of hotpot with vegetables, meat and seafood, which is a famous meal for sumo wrestlers. After training, sumo wrestlers eat chankonabe, which is nutritionally balanced, making it an ideal meal to support sumo wrestlers nutritionally. Chankonabe can also be made in large portions, and sumo wrestlers have to both make their bodies stronger and bigger, and they have to eat a lot and train hard.

It is something that you can experience for yourself in several places where the sumo stables are located. There are some of them who have opened their training by training behind glass windows, and thereby you can get an interesting insight into the world of sumo wrestlers. An example of a sumo wrestling venue is Arashio-beya Sonum Stable, where you can check online in advance whether there are training sessions on the day in question.

 

Odaiba
お台場

Odaiba is a district of Tokyo and at the same time an artificial island that was created in 1853 to strengthen the defense of Edo. The name Odaiba also comes from a Japanese word for fort, and it was Egawa Hidetatsu who spearheaded the construction of several smaller forts for the Tokugawa shogunate. You can still see one of these forts from 1853, as Fort No. 3/Dai-san daiba (第三台場) was opened as a publicly accessible park in 1928. The fort is located in the harbor inlet named Daiba Park/Daiba kōen (台場公園).

The modern island of Odaiba began to take shape when Tokyo’s new port opened in 1941, and major development began in the 1990s. Here it was decided to lay out Odaiba as a new district that was to be a showcase for a futuristic city life with new homes, business districts and recreational areas.

There are many interesting things to see in Odaiba, and you get to the district via one of the landmarks, the Rainbow Bridge/Reinbō Buridji (レインボーデッショ), which was built in 1987-1993. The bridge was designed to match the Tokyo skyline as seen from Odaiba, and it is a beautiful sight both during the day and when the bridge is illuminated in the evening. You can see the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Skyline from Odaiba Marine Park/Odaiba kaihin kōen (お台場海浜公園), which is a popular spot.

There is a nice beach along the Odaiba Marine Park, and here you can also see a smaller copy of the Statue of Liberty. From the park you can walk along the water through green areas, and to the south there are several interesting museums you can visit. Here are the National Museum of Science and Innovation/Nihonkaga kumiraikan (日本科学未来館) and the Museum of Maritime Science/Fune no kagakukan (船の科学館), whose museum building was constructed as a large ship.

 

Toyosu Market
豊洲市場

Toyosu Shijō is the name of Tokyo’s famous wholesale market, which is known for, among other things, the large tuna auctions that take place almost every morning in the modern market buildings. The market is divided into three large buildings, two of which are the framework for fish markets, while the third is a fruit and vegetable market. The market is easily accessible as you can go there directly from Shijō-mae Station (市場前駅).

Toyosu Shijō opens early in the morning, when the famous tuna auctions start, while the more tourists are still sleeping in the hotels. If you want to see the auctions or other parts of the fish trade at the market, there is free admission, going indoors from Shijō-mae Station to glass-covered areas for the public who want to experience the atmosphere. There are also several restaurants where you can eat sushi and other fish dishes.

Toyosu Market is located on one of the artificial islands in Tokyo Bay off the Japanese capital. The market opened in 2018 as a replacement for the more centrally located Tsukiji Market/Tsukiji shijō (築地市場). You can still visit Tsukiji shijō, but there are no longer auctions and wholesale trade in the area, but instead countless fishmongers and fish restaurants.

 

Hama-rikyū Garden
浜離宮恩賜庭園

Hama-rikyū onshi teien is the name of a beautifully situated garden that was opened as a city park in 1946. The history of the garden dates back to 1654, when the younger brother of shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu, Tokugawa Tsunashige, was given permission to reclaim some land in Edo Bay. Tokugawa Tsunashige was a daimyō in a region west of Edo, and he built a residence on the new land, where he also planted a garden. The house and garden were inherited by the son Tokugawa Ienobu, who became shōgun.

After Tokugawa Ienobu, the place was used by the subsequent shoguns as a secondary residence, where they, among other things, engaged in falconry. The residence palace was called Hama-rikyū (浜離宮), and it was destroyed by fire in 1724, after which it has never been rebuilt. In 1867, a building was built instead, where foreign diplomats could stay when they visited Japan.

Today you can enjoy some lovely walks in the garden, which is located by moats that are filled by the water from Tokyo Bay. There are several small lakes with beautiful garden landscapes all around, and on an island in the largest lake there is a teahouse with a wonderful view over the water. Here you can sit and enjoy the surroundings and think about the years when Japan’s shoguns used the place.

 

Meiji Shrine
明治神宮

Meiji Jingū is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken. The imperial couple were not buried here, but the appropriation is due to their status as so-called kami or Shinto gods. Emperor Meiji ruled from 1867 to 1912, and after his death the court decided to commemorate the emperor’s role in the Meiji Restoration.

It was decided to build the Meiji Shrine in a large iris garden that Meiji and Shōken had visited. Construction started in 1915 with Itō Chūta as architect, and the style was nagare-zukuri, which is a traditional Shinto shrine architecture characterized by, among other things, asymmetrical gables. The project was completed with help and donations from all over Japan. The materials also came from all provinces in the country, which at the time also included Korea and Taiwan.

The shrine was destroyed during the World War II aerial bombing of Tokyo, and it was rebuilt in 1958. The shrine is surrounded by a 70-hectare forest, and the place is cozy and worth seeing. There is an outer and an inner complex in the shrine where, as usual, you pass through torii on your way to the main buildings. The torii are white, which was the original color of torii. White symbolizes purity for man, and through purity, evil spirits are repelled.

In the area, you can notice many details such as the many donated barrels of sake and the small wooden boards called ema, on which you write your wishes. You can also visit a museum where you can see personal belongings of the Meiji Imperial couple and learn about their history. Of course, you also get to the sanctuary’s main buildings, which are also interesting to see.

 

Tokyo Station
東京駅

Tokyo Station is a station in the Chiyoda district of Tokyo and serves as the city’s main railway station. It is here, among other things, that the Shinkansen trains have their terminus in the Japanese capital, and countless other subway lines and other railways also serve Tokyo Station.

To the east, the modern part of Tokyo Station faces Ginza and other parts of the area’s bustling business district, while the station’s old and noteworthy building faces the west, thereby facing the Marunouchi district. This part was opened in 1914 and designed by Kingo Tatsuno, who is considered one of the founders of modern Japanese architecture. His railway station building represents the Western architectural style that was used in many places during the Meiji and Taisho periods, which lasted from 1868 to 1926.

The beautiful station building remained almost intact after the great earthquake that hit the region in 1923, but American incendiary bombs during World War II struck and destroyed parts of the station, which were later reconstructed in a slightly modified form. Today you can enjoy the exterior of the old building, which stands in contrast to the other buildings in the neighbourhood, which are all modern constructions. You can also see the beautifully decorated domes, which are the most beautiful of the station’s interiors.

 

St Mary’s Cathedral
東京カテドラル聖マリア大聖堂

Saint Mary’s Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Tokyo. The church was originally built as a wooden church in 1899, but this original church was destroyed during American aerial bombing during World War II. The destroyed church building was not rebuilt and the current cathedral was built instead.

It was Japanese architect Kenzō Tange who designed the cathedral, which was inaugurated in 1964. The design forms a cross, with the upward-striking arches symbolizing light on the cross. The cathedral is clad in stainless steel, and the rustic interior stands in fine contrast to this and provides a beautiful experience. Incidentally, Kenzō Tange was buried from the cathedral in 2005.

 

National Parliament Building
国会議事堂

The National Government Building in Tokyo is the seat of both houses of the Japanese Parliament, which consists of the House of Representatives as the lower house and the Constituent Assembly as the upper house. Meetings in the lower house take place in the southern wing of the parliament building, while members of the upper house meet in the northern wing of the fine building complex.

The need for a parliament building arose with the changed Japanese government in the latter half of the 19th century. German architects were invited to Tokyo in the 1880s, and they drew proposals for a parliament and other government buildings. Hermann Ende and Wilhelm Böckmann’s parliament was not built, but one can still see their design with the main building of the Japanese Ministry of Justice from 1895.

Temporary buildings were erected before an architectural competition was called in 1918. Watanabe Fukuzo’s submitted bid was chosen and the large and current Parliament Building was constructed 1920-1936. The central part of the building is made up of a pyramidal tower with a height of 65 metres, and it was then the country’s tallest building.

 

National Theater of Japan
国立劇場

The National Theater of Japan is located in a large and distinctive building designed by the architect Hiroyuki Iwamoto and opened in 1966. In theater buildings there are several halls and there are many different setups here.

In the theater’s large hall, you can enjoy classical kabuki theater and buyō, which is the name of the traditional Japanese dance performance. In the small hall, you can see and hear various musical performances, and here you can also experience Japanese puppet theater called bunraku, which originally came from the Osaka region.

 

New National Theater
新国立劇場

The New National Theater in Tokyo is Japan’s leading stage for large productions such as operas and ballets, but there are also other types of performances such as drama and modern dance. In this way, the theater complements Japan’s National Theater in an excellent way.

The theater building was completed at the beginning of 1997 according to architect Takahiko Yanagisawa’s drawings. The theater opened as part of the complex that also includes the Tokyo Opera City Tower/Tōkyō Opera Shiti Tawā (東京さゕラシティタイダー), which, at 234 meters in height, is one of the tallest buildings in Shinjuku.

 

Yasukuni Shrine
靖国神社

Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine established by Emperor Meiji in 1869 as a memorial to those who fell in the Boshin War fought in 1868-1869. The Boshin War was a civil war between the Tokugawa shogunate and those who wanted the emperor to regain real power in the country, which happened with the Meiji Restoration after the end of the Boshin War.

Since its establishment, Yasukuni Shrine has also been dedicated to those who fell in the wars between Japan and China in 1894-1895 and 1937-1945 and in other conflicts. In total, nearly 2,500,000 fallen Japanese are commemorated with the shrine, which was built as a large and beautiful facility. From the east, you pass through the shrine’s impressive torii on the way to the prayer hall, where you can see the national and imperial seals of Japan.

In connection with Yasukuni Shrine, you can visit the Yūshūkan (遊就館) museum, which exhibits themes and effects related to Japan’s wars. You can see, for example, Japanese Sumurai weapons, artillery shells and aircraft such as the Mitsubishi A6M, which, among other things, took part in the Second World War as one of the land planes used by kamikaze pilots.

Day Trips

Yokohama, Japan

Yokohama
横 浜

Yokohama is a city that has almost grown together with Tokyo, and is Japan’s second largest city. Yokohama was a small fishing town until the mid-1800s, when the city was opened to foreign trade as one of the first when the isolationist foreign policy, Sakoku (鎖国), was abolished in 1853. After that, Yokohama grew rapidly, and the city gained among second Japan’s first Chinatown, first railway station, power station and gas lamps in the streets for signs of the hasty development.

In the 1900s, large parts of Yokohama were destroyed in two rounds. The first time was in connection with the great earthquake that struck the Kantō area on September 1, 1923. It is estimated that over 30,000 of the city’s population of 434,000 died in the earthquake, and there were nearly 48,000 injured. During World War II, a good 40% of Yokohama was bombed to ruins by American bombings, and the city had to be rebuilt for the second time in a short time.

Read more about Yokohama

 

Kamakura Buddha, Japan

Kamakura
鎌倉

Kamakura is a historically interesting city located south of the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area. Kamakura was the de facto capital of Japan during the Minamoto dynasty, which ruled from 1192-1333, a time also known as the Kamakura period. The Kamakura shōgunate had its seat in the city, which thereby grew as the center of the country’s feudal military government. Kyoto was the imperial city and formally the capital of Japan, but under the shogunate Kamakura became the largest city in the country for a time.

Kamakura’s shōguns laid out the city as a traditional Japanese imperial city, with a central street called Suzaku Ōji (朱雀大路) leading from south to north, with the palace as the center of a capital city. This type of town plan was established in Kamakura with the 1,800-meter long Wakamiya Ōji (若宮大路) street leading in a straight line north to Tsurugaoka Hachimangū (鶴岡八幡宮), the city’s main Shinto shrine. Tsurugaoka Hachimangū thereby resembles the position of a palace, and the shrine is also one of Kamakura’s attractions.

Read more about Kamakura

 

Kawagoe
川越市

Kawagoe is a city located northwest of Tokyo at a distance that makes it easy to visit on a trip by train from the Japanese capital. It is a city particularly known for its preserved Meiji-era buildings, which has earned Kawagoe the nickname Little Edo/Koedo (小江戸) after Edo-era Tokyo.

The most famous attraction that embodies the essence of Kawagoe is Kurazukuri Street/Kurazukuri no machinami (蔵造りの町並み). In about 400 meters, house after house is located, which dates from the Meiji era 1868 to 1912. The approximately 200 preserved Meiji houses are located in Ichiban Gai and side streets, and they form a pocket of time that gives an impression of the Japanese city life of that time. In one of the side streets you can see the clock tower Toki no Kane (時の鐘), which was originally built in the 17th century, but which has burned down several times. The current tower dates from 1894.

One can also see the Buddhist temple Kita-in (喜多院) in Kawagoe. The temple is believed to have been founded by the monk Ennin in 830 at the behest of Emperor Junna. The temple later became known for the priest Tenkai’s connections to the shoguns of the Tokugawa shogunate. When Kita-in burned in 1638, Tokugawa Iemitsu transferred a building from Edo Castle here, and since Edo Castle later perished, Kita-in Temple is today the only place where a building from the shogun’s historic castle in Edo. One can also see a fine pagoda and a Shinto shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu in the temple area.

 

Nikko, Japan

Nikko
日光

Nikko is a city located north of Tokyo and is easily accessible by train from the Japanese capital. The city’s history began when Shōdō Shōnin (勝道上人) established Rinnō-ji Temple in 766, followed by Chūzen-ji Temple in 784. Around these temples, the village of Nikkō developed, and later Nikkō became home to the Nikkō Tōshō-gū shrine (日光東的宮), which was completed in 1617. The shrine It became known as the burial place of shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu, who founded the Tokugawa shogunate.

During the Meiji period, Nikkō developed as a mountain resort and became especially popular with foreign visitors to Japan. The Japanese National Railways began serving Nikkō in 1890 and the city is still well visited with Nikkō Tōshō-gū, Futarasan Shrine/Futarasan jinja (二荒山神社) and Rinnō-ji (輪王寺) making up Nikkō’s shrines and temples, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Read more about Nikko

 

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, Japan

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park
富士箱根伊豆国立公園

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park is an area of ​​1,227 square kilometers, located between the big cities of Tokyo and Nagoya. There is great variety in the nature and attractions of the national park, which spans such diverse areas as Mount Fuji/Fujisan (富士山), Fuji’s Five Lakes/Fuji-goko (富士五湖), the city of Hakone/Hakone-machi (箱根町) , Izu Peninsula/Izu-hantō (伊豆半島) and Izu Islands/Izu-shotō (伊豆諸島).

The national park’s areas and different climate and growth zones mean that in the park you can hike in mountains, sail on lakes, visit hot springs, experience beautiful coastlines and much more. Fuji-Hakone-Izu was established as a national park in 1936, making it one of Japan’s first four national parks. The park got its current name in 1950 when the Izu Islands became part of the park area.

Read more about Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park

Shopping

Caretta Shiodome

1-8-2 Higashi Shinbashi Minato-ku
caretta.jp

 

LaLaport

Toyosu, Tokyo Bay
lalaport.net

 

Mitsukoshi

1-4-1 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku
mitsukoshi.co.jp

 

Odaiba Malls

Venus Fort, Tokyo Teleport
venusfort.co.jp

 

Roppongi Hills

Roppongi
roppongihills.com

 

Sunshine City

3-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku
sunshinecity.co.jp

 

Takashimaya

2-4-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
takashimaya.co.jp/tokyo

 

Takashimaya

5-42-2 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku
takashimaya.co.jp/tokyo

 

Shopping areas

Ginza, Shinjuku, Ikebukero, Shibuya

With Kids

Amusement Park

Asakusa Hanayashiki
2-28-1 Asakusa, Taito-ku
hanayashiki.net

 

Spa/water park

La Qua and Tokyo Dome City Attractions
1-3 Koraku, Bunkyo-ku
laqua.jp

 

Science

National Museum of Science and Innovation of the Future
2-41 Oume, Koto-ku
miraikan.jst.go.jp

 

Theme Park

Sanrio Puroland
1-3 Ochiai Tama-city
puroland.co.jp

 

Activities

Sunshine City
3-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku
sunshinecity.co.jp

 

Amusement Park

Tokyo Disney Resort
Maihama
tokyodisneyresort.co.jp

 

Activities

Tokyo Dome City
1-3-61 Korakuen, Bunkyo-ku
tokyo-dome.co.jp

 

Viewing Tower

Tokyo Tower
4-2-8 Shiba Koen, Minati-ku
tokyotower.co.jp

 

Amusement Park

Yomiuri Land
4015-1 Yanokuchi Inagi-city
yomiuruland.co.jp

City History

Until the 16th century, Tokyo was a small fishing village named Edo. The country’s capital was Kyoto to the west, but in reality Japan was ruled by local warlords who tried to fight each other.

The year 1603 became a landmark for Tokyo’s history and significance. It was this year that warlord Ieyasu Tokugawa gained control of Edo and wanted to make it Japan’s most powerful city. Tokugawa quickly gained wide powers when the emperor made him the military leader titled Shogun.

Tokugawa commanded the country’s warlords to stay a large part of Tokyo, and their families were to stay firm in the city. It consolidated for the first time a national power in one place, and at the same time brought about a rapid development of the city. Edo became not only Japan, but the world’s largest city with more than 1 million inhabitants.

In 1638, Ieyasu Tokugawa’s grandson, who was also a shogun, almost completely closed Japan to the outside world. Thus, virtually no merchant ships arrived in the country during the more than 200 years of isolation.

In 1657, a large fire ravaged Edo, and many of the densely populated neighborhoods, which consisted mainly of wooden houses, were destroyed. In all, about half of the city burned.

The development of Edo came about because areas in the city were dominated by different layers – a structure that is still seen today when, for example, buying books or electronics, which you find concentrated in certain neighborhoods. 

In 1853, an American navy arrived in Japan. It was led by Commander Matthew Perry and anchored in the Gulf of Tokyo. It was supposed to break Edos and Japan’s isolation, and it succeeded. Trade ports were opened, and with the influx of foreigners, Japanese society had an outside influence that, for good reason, had not looked like for centuries.

The feudal rule of the Tokugawa Shoguns was broken with the changes of society, and power was conferred on Emperor Meiji, who moved his residence from Kyoto to Edo, named Tokyo, meaning “the eastern capital.” The old feudal castle now became an imperial residence, which it still remains in today’s Japan.

In the decades before and around 1900, Japan underwent strong industrialization and militarization. The country won local wars against China and Russia, and Taiwan, Korea and Micronesia were conquered by Japan and subject to the government of Tokyo. During the same period, industrial development led to a very large influx from all over Japan to the metropolitan Tokyo, which had more than 2 million inhabitants in the early 1920s.

September 1, 1923, a major earthquake hit Tokyo and the Kanto region. Half of the city was devastated by the earthquake and more than 1 million people were made homeless. The city was facing a tremendous reconstruction work that began immediately after the quake. Ancient Tokyo preserved its narrow streets and the old city plan, while the outer areas were built with more modern urban planning. The city boundaries were expanded so that completely new areas could be expanded as there was still some relocation to the capital.

A change to the city’s shopping structure was implemented. Instead of the former personally operated specialty stores, Western-inspired department stores were now being built – among other things. as it continues to be seen at the major railway nodes.

After the great build-up after the earthquake in 1923, Tokyo was in ruins again in 1945. It was with American bombing in the final phase of World War II, and once again within a few years the city was almost to be rebuilt. 

After 1945 the city was quickly rebuilt, in the center now also after modern planning. Continued industrialization took place and the Japanese economy flourished and was among the most successful in the world for many decades to come. Tokyo’s population grew with the city’s success as both an industrial and administrative center.

Tokyo’s metro was greatly expanded and the famous Shinkansen express train lines from Tokyo to all parts of Japan were built, starting with the line to Osaka. At the same time, highways were built through Tokyo and to and from the city’s many suburbs.  

For the outside world and in Japan, the organization of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics became a picture of the Japanese financial success. Japan was once again established as one of the world’s leading economies – a position that has been maintained ever since.

Geolocation

In short

Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan[/caption]

Overview of Tokyo

Tokyo is one of the world’s largest metropolises, and certainly one of the most fascinating with the mix of centuries-old Japanese traditions and modern Japan’s success, architecture and common use of technology that you will easily notice as a tourist.

There are approximately 30 million people living in the Tokyo-Yokohama area, and the vibrant street life is 24/7 in several places. Shopping and restaurants offering the tasty Japanese cuisine are of course great ways to enjoy Tokyo, as is walking the streets getting impressions.

About the Whitehorse travel guide

Contents: Tours in the city + tours in the surrounding area
Published: Released soon
Author: Stig Albeck
Publisher: Vamados.com
Language: English

About the travel guide

The Whitehorse travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the Canadian city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.

Whitehorse is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.

Read more about Whitehorse and Canada

Canada Travel Guide: https://vamados.com/canada
City tourism: https://visitwhite-horse.ca
Main Page: https://www.vamados.com/

Buy the travel guide

Click the “Add to Cart” button to purchase the travel guide. After that you will come to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. Upon payment of the travel guide, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the travel guide immediately or use the download link in the email later.

Use the travel guide

When you buy the travel guide to Whitehorse you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.

Travel Expert

Stig Albeck

Gallery

Gallery

Other Attractions

Ueno Park, Tokyo

Ueno Park
上 野 公園

Ueno Park is one of Tokyo’s most popular parks. The park is located on the site of the former temple Kan’ei-ji (寛永寺), which was closely associated with the Tokugawa shoguns. They built the temple on a hill inspired by the Hieizan Temple Mount in northeastern Kyoto as a symbolic protection of the castle in Edo. The direction northeast is considered unlucky in traditional geomancy, which is the art of divination using the signs of the earth.

The temple complex was largely destroyed during the Battle of Ueno in the Boshin War in 1868, and the government decided in 1873 to build a park on the site, which was then opened in 1876. In 1882, the National Museum and Zoo were opened in the park, and there Since then, other museums, monuments and more have also been built and laid out in the old temple area.

In the park are several buildings that have survived from the Edo period. First of all, there is the five-story pagoda that was part Kan’ei-ji temple, and the Shinto shrine Ueno Tōshōgū (上野東出宮), built in 1627 by the daimyō Tōdō Takatora and subsequently expanded by Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1651.

One can also see Benzaiten Temple/Benten-dō (弁天堂) in Shinobazu Pond/Shinobazu no Ike (不忍池) and Gojō-Tenjinja (五條天神社) with its Inari fox statues in an artificial grotto. There is also a small hillside here called Kiyomizu Kannon-dō, which was modeled after the famous temple Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto. You can also see a restored bell tower on the site, whose bell struck the time in the Edo period.

At the park’s southern entrance stands a statue of Saigō Takamori, who was one of Japan’s most influential samurai in history. Saigō Takamori lived at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and the beginning of the Meiji period, and he was called ‘the last true samurai’. He was given command of 50,000 samurai during the Imperial Army in the Boshin War of 1868-1869, and he became an advisor and general in the Meiji period Imperial Empire. The statue of Saigō Takamori with his dog commemorates the samurai who is buried in his hometown of Kagoshima.

There are also natural attractions in Ueno Park, the biggest of which is the Sakura-dori (さくら通り) path, where the Japanese cherry trees bloom in an unforgettable sight during the spring season. Sakura-dori starts at the southern end of Ueno Park, and through a large part of the park, the sakura trees almost close the sky in a colossal bloom. There are also many other beautiful trees and greenery around the park.

 

Ueno Tōshō-gū Shrine
上野東照宮

Ueno Tōshō-gū is one of Japan’s Shinto shrines with the name tōshō-gū, which indicates that the shrine is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Tokugawa Ieyasu founded the Tokugawa shōgunate, which spanned the period 1603-1868, and he became a Shinto god, a so-called kami, with the name Tōshō Daigongen (東出大権現).

Ueno Tōshō-gū was founded in 1627 by the daimyō Tōdō Takatora and expanded by Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1651. The shrine still stands much as it did then, making Ueno Tōshō-gū a beautiful example of Shinto architecture from the early Edo period. The shrine was a place where Tokugawa Ieyasu was remembered and worshipped, and later the site was also dedicated to Tokugawa Yoshimune and Tokugawa Yoshinobu, who were also shoguns of the Tokugawa shogunate.

As befits Shinto shrines, there is a torii at the entrance to Ueno Tōshō-gū. This marks the entrance to the sanctuary itself. From here you go through the first gate and along a path with stone lanterns on both sides. The innermost part of the shrine is in an enclosure where the gate Karamon (唐門) forms the entrance. Ueno Tōshō-gū’s karamon from 1651 is a gate in typical Japanese architecture characterized by the use of karahafu (唐破風), which is a type of curved gable. The gate is decorated with, among other things, a rising and a descending dragon. They are an image of the tale of two dragons going to the Shinobazu Pond/Shinobazu no Ike (不忍池) in Ueno Park to drink water every night.

After passing through Karamon, one comes to Ueno Tōshō-gū’s main hall, the Honden (本殿), which was built in the gongen-zukuri style, where the typical structure of a Shinto shrine is gathered under one roof. The buildings in the conjoined and relatively compact complex are the Haraiden (祓殿), where purification ceremonies take place, the prayer hall Haiden (拝殿), the sacrificial hall Heiden (幣殿) and the main hall Honden (本殿).

 

Shibuya Crossing
渋谷スクランブル交差点

Shibuya Crossing is the name of perhaps Japan’s best-known pedestrian crossings. The intersection is in front of Shibuya Station at the exit of Hachikō Square (ハチ公前広堂). The intersection was built in 1973, and since then it has been called ‘the world’s busiest street intersection’, and it has laid asphalt for many scenes in films.

The street crossing at Hachikō is one of the experiences that Tōkyō is known for. It is an intersection where there are both normal pedestrian crossings from street corner to street corner, but in addition there is also a transition across the entire intersection. It is estimated that up to 3,000 people pass through the intersection each time there is a green light. And when there is a green light, it applies to pedestrians in all directions.

You can see the throngs of pedestrians on all sides of the intersection, and there are also some cafes in the buildings around the intersection, from where you can see the whole thing from above. You can also notice the statue of the dog Hachikō (ハチ公) standing in the area closest to Shibuya Station. Hachikō was an akita that was owned by Hidesaburō Ueno, and Hachikō waited every day at Shibuya Station for Hidesaburō Ueno to come home from work. Ueno died on May 21, 1925, and until his death on March 8, 1935, Hachikō continued to come to the station every day to wait for Hidesaburō Ueno. Hachikō was buried next to his owner and the statue was erected as a symbol of Hachikō’s loyalty.

 

Fukugawa Edo Museum
深川江戸資料館

The Fukagawa Edo Museum is an interesting and manageable local history museum in the Kōtō district of Tōkyō. The museum opened in 1981 with a 1:1 replica of a typical Tōkyō district from the first half of the 19th century as a focal point. During a visit, you can therefore learn about the Japan of that time in a very vivid way.

The place is Fukagawa on the banks of the Sumida River. The city was a world of mixed professions such as fishermen, greengrocers and oil wholesalers, but also the kimpi manufacturers, who mainly made and sold fertilizer from hoshika (干鰯), which is leftovers from dried fish.

The museum is structured like Fukagawa, where you can walk through the reconstructed alleys where different environments from the city were recreated. Here you can see, among other things, the functions of the city, a narrow row of houses with the tiny dwellings of the poor and a canal where a chokibune (猪牙舟) is moored.

 

Ginza, Tokyo

Ginza
銀座

Ginza is a district in Tokyo, and it is one of Tokyo’s and Japan’s most prestigious business districts, where life among the modern buildings takes place almost around the clock. For most visitors, a trip to Ginza will therefore be the epitome of Japanese metropolitan intensity, and in the midst of the hustle and bustle you can try the city’s well-known pedestrian crossings, which also direct traffic across from corner to corner. Such an intersection can be seen on the main street at the Ginza subway station, where three lines run.

The area where Ginza is now located was a swampy place until the 16th century, when land filling and construction began. In 1612, which was the beginning of the Edo period, a mint for the Japanese silver coins of the time was set up here, and hence the name Ginza arose. The neighborhood burned in 1872, and then the Meiji government decided that Ginza should be rebuilt as a model for the new modern times.

In the heart of Ginza, you can see one of the district’s well-known buildings, Kabushiki-gaisha Wakō (株式会社和光), which is simply called Ginza Wako in everyday speech. The Wako department store was founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori as a watch and jewelry store, then called K. Hattori, which later became known as Seiko. From 1894-1921, K. Hattori was located here in a building with a characteristic bell tower, and when the current Wako building was completed in 1932, it was also erected with a tower clock as a reminder of the old building. Ginza Wako was built in a mix of art deco and neoclassicism, and is one of the few buildings in Ginza that date from the pre-World War II era, when Wako Ginza dominated the neighborhood with its height.

 

Shinjuku
新宿区

Shinjuku is one of Tokyo’s well-known districts, and since the end of the Second World War it has developed into the second center of the metropolis after the traditional city core around Ginza and Marunouchi. However, this was not always the case, and it was not until the 17th century that a development took place in this area. This happened when the outer moats around Edo Castle were built, whereby some temples moved to this area, which developed to lie along the main road west of Edo at the time.

At the end of the 17th century, the city of Naitō-Shinjuku had grown up along the main road and a few centuries later Shinjuku became part of the growing metropolitan area. The current Shinjuku, known among other things for housing many of Tokyo’s modern skyscrapers, began to take shape in the 1920s after the great Kantō earthquake in 1923. The Shinjuku area is seismically stable, and that was the reason why they built higher right here, and it has continued ever since.

In Shinjuku you can experience modern Japan among the many tall buildings. There are also lots of department stores and shops as well as the large entertainment area of ​​Kabukicho, where restaurants, bars and pachinko arcades are located side by side. There are also some wonderful parks in the district, so there is almost something for everyone if you go for a walk in Shinjuku.

 

Tokyo City Hall
東京都庁舎

Tokyo City Hall is one of the most famous high-rises in the Tokyo area. It stands among many other skyscrapers in Nishi-Shinjuku and has a height of 243 meters. The City Hall was designed by the famous architect Kenzo Tange and built 1988-1990 as Tokyo’s tallest skyscraper. It was built to replace the city’s now former town hall, which was located in the Yūrakuchō district and which was built in 1957.

Tokyo City Hall is very distinctive with its twin towers, reminiscent of a modern version of a Gothic cathedral. This part is the best-known part of the large town hall complex, which also consists of other buildings. From the twin towers there is an excellent view of Shinjuku, Tokyo and, among other things, Mount Fuji to the west. The view can be enjoyed from the two observation decks, located at a height of 202 metres.

 

Shinjuku Imperial Garden
新宿御苑

Shinjuku Gyo-en is a large park and garden located in the Shinjuku area of ​​Tokyo. The large green area originally belonged to the Naitō family’s residence in the Edo period. The head of the Naitō family was the daimyō of the region, and he was given the land by the Japanese shōgun. He then laid out his large garden in 1772.

After the Meiji Restoration, the daimyō’s old garden was taken over by the imperial administration, which initially used the area for experimental agriculture before becoming a botanical garden and imperial garden. The garden was completed in 1906, but after destruction during the Second World War, the beautiful park had to be reconstructed.

Shinjuku Imperial Garden was opened to the public in 1949, and since then the garden has been a popular place for recreation in beautiful surroundings. In the east part of the complex you can visit a formal French garden and an English landscape garden, while to the west you can take a walk in a traditional Japanese garden with a tea house. The garden is particularly visited during the cherry blossom season, as there are around 1,500 of these trees in the area.

 

Tokyo Tower
東京タワー

Tokyo Tower is a transmission and observation tower built in the Shiba-Koen district of Tokyo in 1958. It was Japan’s tallest building at 332.9 meters in height and was inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The tower was built in the years after the state television, NHK, began broadcasting in 1953. Private companies followed suit, creating a great need to be able to transmit live images. The solution was the Tokyo Tower, which had to be able to secure transmissions over the entire Tokyo area.

It was initially planned that the new transmission tower would be built as the world’s tallest building, which would be a symbol of Japan’s development. For various reasons, the current height was chosen, which was sufficient to ensure television broadcasts throughout the Kantō region. Despite the lack of a world record in height, Tokyo Tower nevertheless became a modern landmark for the Japanese capital.

You can of course go up to Tokyo Tower, which was also intended as a lookout tower. Under the tower is a center with, among other things, shops, a record museum and a wax museum. From here you can climb the tower and enjoy the view from one of the two observation decks here. The main deck is at a height of 150 metres, and you can also get to the top at a height of 250 metres, from where there is a panoramic view.

 

Ryōgoku Arena
両国国技館

Ryōgoku is a district in Tōkyō known as the center of Japanese sumo wrestling. If you come to JR Ryōgoku Station, you enter directly into the center of the world of sumo wrestling. Immediately north of the station is the modern sumo arena from 1985, the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, where three of the annual six major Japanese sumo tournaments take place. The others take place in Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka, respectively.

It is also in the Ryōgoku district that the training places for the sumo wrestlers are located, and therefore you may be lucky to see some of the famous wrestlers or future sumo stars here. In the national sumo arena, you can also visit the Sumō Museum/Sumō hakubutsukan (相撲博物館), which was founded in 1954. At the museum, you can see many exciting sumo effects and learn about the history and importance of wrestling.

In the area around the sumo stadium, you can also try the sumo wrestlers’ meal, chankonabe (ちゃんこ鍋), which is a type of hotpot with vegetables, meat and seafood, which is a famous meal for sumo wrestlers. After training, sumo wrestlers eat chankonabe, which is nutritionally balanced, making it an ideal meal to support sumo wrestlers nutritionally. Chankonabe can also be made in large portions, and sumo wrestlers have to both make their bodies stronger and bigger, and they have to eat a lot and train hard.

It is something that you can experience for yourself in several places where the sumo stables are located. There are some of them who have opened their training by training behind glass windows, and thereby you can get an interesting insight into the world of sumo wrestlers. An example of a sumo wrestling venue is Arashio-beya Sonum Stable, where you can check online in advance whether there are training sessions on the day in question.

 

Odaiba
お台場

Odaiba is a district of Tokyo and at the same time an artificial island that was created in 1853 to strengthen the defense of Edo. The name Odaiba also comes from a Japanese word for fort, and it was Egawa Hidetatsu who spearheaded the construction of several smaller forts for the Tokugawa shogunate. You can still see one of these forts from 1853, as Fort No. 3/Dai-san daiba (第三台場) was opened as a publicly accessible park in 1928. The fort is located in the harbor inlet named Daiba Park/Daiba kōen (台場公園).

The modern island of Odaiba began to take shape when Tokyo’s new port opened in 1941, and major development began in the 1990s. Here it was decided to lay out Odaiba as a new district that was to be a showcase for a futuristic city life with new homes, business districts and recreational areas.

There are many interesting things to see in Odaiba, and you get to the district via one of the landmarks, the Rainbow Bridge/Reinbō Buridji (レインボーデッショ), which was built in 1987-1993. The bridge was designed to match the Tokyo skyline as seen from Odaiba, and it is a beautiful sight both during the day and when the bridge is illuminated in the evening. You can see the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Skyline from Odaiba Marine Park/Odaiba kaihin kōen (お台場海浜公園), which is a popular spot.

There is a nice beach along the Odaiba Marine Park, and here you can also see a smaller copy of the Statue of Liberty. From the park you can walk along the water through green areas, and to the south there are several interesting museums you can visit. Here are the National Museum of Science and Innovation/Nihonkaga kumiraikan (日本科学未来館) and the Museum of Maritime Science/Fune no kagakukan (船の科学館), whose museum building was constructed as a large ship.

 

Toyosu Market
豊洲市場

Toyosu Shijō is the name of Tokyo’s famous wholesale market, which is known for, among other things, the large tuna auctions that take place almost every morning in the modern market buildings. The market is divided into three large buildings, two of which are the framework for fish markets, while the third is a fruit and vegetable market. The market is easily accessible as you can go there directly from Shijō-mae Station (市場前駅).

Toyosu Shijō opens early in the morning, when the famous tuna auctions start, while the more tourists are still sleeping in the hotels. If you want to see the auctions or other parts of the fish trade at the market, there is free admission, going indoors from Shijō-mae Station to glass-covered areas for the public who want to experience the atmosphere. There are also several restaurants where you can eat sushi and other fish dishes.

Toyosu Market is located on one of the artificial islands in Tokyo Bay off the Japanese capital. The market opened in 2018 as a replacement for the more centrally located Tsukiji Market/Tsukiji shijō (築地市場). You can still visit Tsukiji shijō, but there are no longer auctions and wholesale trade in the area, but instead countless fishmongers and fish restaurants.

 

Hama-rikyū Garden
浜離宮恩賜庭園

Hama-rikyū onshi teien is the name of a beautifully situated garden that was opened as a city park in 1946. The history of the garden dates back to 1654, when the younger brother of shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu, Tokugawa Tsunashige, was given permission to reclaim some land in Edo Bay. Tokugawa Tsunashige was a daimyō in a region west of Edo, and he built a residence on the new land, where he also planted a garden. The house and garden were inherited by the son Tokugawa Ienobu, who became shōgun.

After Tokugawa Ienobu, the place was used by the subsequent shoguns as a secondary residence, where they, among other things, engaged in falconry. The residence palace was called Hama-rikyū (浜離宮), and it was destroyed by fire in 1724, after which it has never been rebuilt. In 1867, a building was built instead, where foreign diplomats could stay when they visited Japan.

Today you can enjoy some lovely walks in the garden, which is located by moats that are filled by the water from Tokyo Bay. There are several small lakes with beautiful garden landscapes all around, and on an island in the largest lake there is a teahouse with a wonderful view over the water. Here you can sit and enjoy the surroundings and think about the years when Japan’s shoguns used the place.

 

Meiji Shrine
明治神宮

Meiji Jingū is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken. The imperial couple were not buried here, but the appropriation is due to their status as so-called kami or Shinto gods. Emperor Meiji ruled from 1867 to 1912, and after his death the court decided to commemorate the emperor’s role in the Meiji Restoration.

It was decided to build the Meiji Shrine in a large iris garden that Meiji and Shōken had visited. Construction started in 1915 with Itō Chūta as architect, and the style was nagare-zukuri, which is a traditional Shinto shrine architecture characterized by, among other things, asymmetrical gables. The project was completed with help and donations from all over Japan. The materials also came from all provinces in the country, which at the time also included Korea and Taiwan.

The shrine was destroyed during the World War II aerial bombing of Tokyo, and it was rebuilt in 1958. The shrine is surrounded by a 70-hectare forest, and the place is cozy and worth seeing. There is an outer and an inner complex in the shrine where, as usual, you pass through torii on your way to the main buildings. The torii are white, which was the original color of torii. White symbolizes purity for man, and through purity, evil spirits are repelled.

In the area, you can notice many details such as the many donated barrels of sake and the small wooden boards called ema, on which you write your wishes. You can also visit a museum where you can see personal belongings of the Meiji Imperial couple and learn about their history. Of course, you also get to the sanctuary’s main buildings, which are also interesting to see.

 

Tokyo Station
東京駅

Tokyo Station is a station in the Chiyoda district of Tokyo and serves as the city’s main railway station. It is here, among other things, that the Shinkansen trains have their terminus in the Japanese capital, and countless other subway lines and other railways also serve Tokyo Station.

To the east, the modern part of Tokyo Station faces Ginza and other parts of the area’s bustling business district, while the station’s old and noteworthy building faces the west, thereby facing the Marunouchi district. This part was opened in 1914 and designed by Kingo Tatsuno, who is considered one of the founders of modern Japanese architecture. His railway station building represents the Western architectural style that was used in many places during the Meiji and Taisho periods, which lasted from 1868 to 1926.

The beautiful station building remained almost intact after the great earthquake that hit the region in 1923, but American incendiary bombs during World War II struck and destroyed parts of the station, which were later reconstructed in a slightly modified form. Today you can enjoy the exterior of the old building, which stands in contrast to the other buildings in the neighbourhood, which are all modern constructions. You can also see the beautifully decorated domes, which are the most beautiful of the station’s interiors.

 

St Mary’s Cathedral
東京カテドラル聖マリア大聖堂

Saint Mary’s Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Tokyo. The church was originally built as a wooden church in 1899, but this original church was destroyed during American aerial bombing during World War II. The destroyed church building was not rebuilt and the current cathedral was built instead.

It was Japanese architect Kenzō Tange who designed the cathedral, which was inaugurated in 1964. The design forms a cross, with the upward-striking arches symbolizing light on the cross. The cathedral is clad in stainless steel, and the rustic interior stands in fine contrast to this and provides a beautiful experience. Incidentally, Kenzō Tange was buried from the cathedral in 2005.

 

National Parliament Building
国会議事堂

The National Government Building in Tokyo is the seat of both houses of the Japanese Parliament, which consists of the House of Representatives as the lower house and the Constituent Assembly as the upper house. Meetings in the lower house take place in the southern wing of the parliament building, while members of the upper house meet in the northern wing of the fine building complex.

The need for a parliament building arose with the changed Japanese government in the latter half of the 19th century. German architects were invited to Tokyo in the 1880s, and they drew proposals for a parliament and other government buildings. Hermann Ende and Wilhelm Böckmann’s parliament was not built, but one can still see their design with the main building of the Japanese Ministry of Justice from 1895.

Temporary buildings were erected before an architectural competition was called in 1918. Watanabe Fukuzo’s submitted bid was chosen and the large and current Parliament Building was constructed 1920-1936. The central part of the building is made up of a pyramidal tower with a height of 65 metres, and it was then the country’s tallest building.

 

National Theater of Japan
国立劇場

The National Theater of Japan is located in a large and distinctive building designed by the architect Hiroyuki Iwamoto and opened in 1966. In theater buildings there are several halls and there are many different setups here.

In the theater’s large hall, you can enjoy classical kabuki theater and buyō, which is the name of the traditional Japanese dance performance. In the small hall, you can see and hear various musical performances, and here you can also experience Japanese puppet theater called bunraku, which originally came from the Osaka region.

 

New National Theater
新国立劇場

The New National Theater in Tokyo is Japan’s leading stage for large productions such as operas and ballets, but there are also other types of performances such as drama and modern dance. In this way, the theater complements Japan’s National Theater in an excellent way.

The theater building was completed at the beginning of 1997 according to architect Takahiko Yanagisawa’s drawings. The theater opened as part of the complex that also includes the Tokyo Opera City Tower/Tōkyō Opera Shiti Tawā (東京さゕラシティタイダー), which, at 234 meters in height, is one of the tallest buildings in Shinjuku.

 

Yasukuni Shrine
靖国神社

Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine established by Emperor Meiji in 1869 as a memorial to those who fell in the Boshin War fought in 1868-1869. The Boshin War was a civil war between the Tokugawa shogunate and those who wanted the emperor to regain real power in the country, which happened with the Meiji Restoration after the end of the Boshin War.

Since its establishment, Yasukuni Shrine has also been dedicated to those who fell in the wars between Japan and China in 1894-1895 and 1937-1945 and in other conflicts. In total, nearly 2,500,000 fallen Japanese are commemorated with the shrine, which was built as a large and beautiful facility. From the east, you pass through the shrine’s impressive torii on the way to the prayer hall, where you can see the national and imperial seals of Japan.

In connection with Yasukuni Shrine, you can visit the Yūshūkan (遊就館) museum, which exhibits themes and effects related to Japan’s wars. You can see, for example, Japanese Sumurai weapons, artillery shells and aircraft such as the Mitsubishi A6M, which, among other things, took part in the Second World War as one of the land planes used by kamikaze pilots.

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