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After more than 250 years of isolation, Tokyo began transforming itself into a modern metropolis. Remarkably, it has succeeded in achieving this despite two major disasters that each practically levelled the city – the Kantō Earthquake and ensuing fires of 1923, and the devastating US air raids of 1944 and 1945.

After the giddy heights of Japan’s Bubble Economy of the 1980s burst in the ’90s, Tokyo spent much of the interim recovering from the resulting recession. These days, the economy is feeling the pinch again. Apart from economics, Tokyo’s cultural exports continue to strongly influence the global scene, with its fashion, music, design, manga and anime, and quirky, uniquely Japanese technology.

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TOKYO IN…

One Day

Show up at dawn to Tsukiji Fish Market for a look at the day’s catch. Follow this with green tea and a stroll around Hama-Rikyū-Teien. Then window-shop along Chūō-dōri in Ginza, browsing techie toys at the Sony Building or Leica Ginza Salon.

Stop for a weekday lunch in the Tokyo International Forum plaza, wander through Imperial Palace East Garden to Kitanomaru-kōen and possibly to Yasukuni-jinja. Then top it off with a decadent supper at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon and a night in Roppongi.

Three Days

Do the one-day itinerary and then sleep in! Shop high fashion and pop culture along Omote-sandō and Harajuku back streets, winding up at an all-you-can-eat dessert cafe in Shibuya, or the Blue Note Tokyo for top-notch jazz.

On the third day take it easy, poking around the tiny bars, cafes and boutiques of Daikanyama, Kichijōji or Shimo-Kitazawa.

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ORIENTATION

Tokyo is a vast conurbation spreading out across the Kantō Plain from Tokyo Bay (Tokyo-wan). The central metropolitan area is made up of 23 ku (wards), while outlying areas are divided into 27 separate shi (cities), a gun (county) and four island-districts. Nearly everything of interest to visitors lies on or near the JR Yamanote line, the rail loop that circles central Tokyo. Areas not on the Yamanote line – like Roppongi, Tsukiji and Asakusa – are nonetheless within easy reach, as the central city is crisscrossed by Tokyo’s excellent subway system.

In Edo times, Yamanote referred to ‘Uptown’: the estates and residences of feudal barons, military aristocracy and other Edo elite, in the hilly regions of the city. Shitamachi or ‘Downtown’ was home to the working classes, merchants and artisans. Even today this distinction persists. The areas west of the Imperial Palace (Kōkyo) are more modernised, housing the commercial and business centres of modern Tokyo; the areas east of the palace retain more of the character of old Edo.

A trip around the JR Yamanote line makes a good introduction to the city. You might start at Tokyo station. Near the station are the Marunouchi and Ōtemachi office districts and the high-class shopping district of Ginza. Continuing north from Tokyo station brings you to Akihabara, the discount electronics centre of Tokyo. Further along is Ueno, home to many of the city’s museums. After rounding the top of the loop you descend into Ikebukuro, a shopping and entertainment district. A few stops further on is Shinjuku, a massive shopping, entertainment and business district considered by many the heart of modern Tokyo. From there, trains continue to the youth-oriented, fashionable shopping areas of Harajuku, Shibuya and Ebisu. A swing through Shinagawa at the bottom of the loop then brings you back to Tokyo station.

The information in this chapter is presented in an anticlockwise direction around the JR Yamanote line.

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BOOKS ON TOKYO

If you’re planning to stay a while or become a resident of Tokyo, pick up Lonely Planet’s Tokyo, a comprehensive guide to the city.

Manga and anime fans should check out The Akiba by Makoto Nakajima (Japan Publications Trading, 2008). It’s a guidebook to Akihabara, actually illustrated manga-style with a cute storyline, detailing