Tokyo

Tokyo (taken from Tokyo tower)

Tokyo became capital of Japan in 1868 at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, being renamed Tokyo from Edo.

The previous capital of Japan being Kyoto.

Tokyo is a fairly new city and history has not been kind to her. In September 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake hit Tokyo and the fires caused by the earthquake burned the city center to the ground. Then bombing by the Americans during World War 2 flattened and burnt the city to the ground again.

Having dragged itself back from the brink of oblivion twice in one century, Tokyo is now one of the busiest metropolises in the east having the highest population of any city in Japan at around 12 million. This is truly huge city. To get some scale of the size of Tokyo you should go up Tokyo tower. It’s a large radio mast with an observation lounge half way up and another three quarters of the way up. From the top observation lounge you can see Tokyo in its entirity. See picture, left. On a clear day you can see Mt Fuji and I have the pictures to prove it! What you will see from the tower is city in every direction as far as you can see. Tokyo is a big city.

No visit to Tokyo would be complete without a visit to Akihabara (Electric City). If you want or like looking at consumer electrical goods and don’t care if they have Japanese instruction manuals, this is the place for you. When you arrive here and leave the train station all you will see is electrical shops for 4 blocks in all directions. Here you can buy anything from a blank CD to an air conditioning unit, but best to leave the air conditioning units though, as you might get a few funny looks at customs on the way home.

If you’re a foreign visitor then check out the Duty free shops such as Laox, as you’ll get the tax knocked off (5%), making for even cheaper deals. You will have to take your passport with you for this.

My advice is to go on a Saturday or Sunday, Its very, very, very busy but some shops will have special offers on for the weekend and there are also lots of street venders pedaling their wares as well.

If you want amusement parks then Disney Land Japan is close to Tokyo, but be warned its very expensive and there is always long queues.

Links
» Tokyo Disney Resort
» NTT Japan Window
» Japan Links Tokyo web links
» Osaka Tourist Guide
» Hirsohima Home Page
» Kyoto City web
» Welcome to Mt.FUJI Internet Server
» Akita City Homa Page

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