| Brief Guide to the Top Ten Things to do in Tokyo |
| 1. The Imperial Palace |
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At the very heart of Tokyo - a mega-metropolis of 12 million inhabitants - is a large expanse of greenery, which is the setting for the Kokyo, the Imperial Palace. Surrounded by a moat, it was built on the site of the castle of the Tokugawa shoguns, the feudal lords who ruled the old city of Edo for more than 250 years from 1603. In 1868 the shogunate was overthrown in the Meiji Restoration of imperial rule, and Edo was renamed To-kyo ('Eastern Capital'), taking the role previously held by Kyoto. The Meiji palace was destroyed in the Second World War, but rebuilt in traditional style. It is usually closed to the public, but various famous landmarks can be seen. They include the Nijubashi 'double bridge', and the Otemon Gate that leads to the Kokyo Higashi Gyoen (Imperial Palace East Garden), which includes a traditional Japanese garden. Close by, to the north of the garden, is the National Museum of Modern Art (exhibiting cutting-edge 20th and 21st-century Japanese art), and its separate Crafts Gallery (exquisite textiles, ceramics, glass, lacquerware, metalwork, from 1868 on). The palace is in the Chiyoda ward (municipal district), which also contains the Marunouchi business quarter and the Akihabara shopping area, dubbed the 'Electric Town' for its thousands of shops selling electronic wizardry, especially in its main street Chuo-Dori.
www.momat.go.jp/english (National Museum of Modern Art) |
| 2. Ginza |
| Consumer culture is a dominant theme in modern Tokyo life, and there is no better place to participate than Ginza, the city's premier district for shopping and entertainment. It is part of the Chuo ('centre') ward, close to the Imperial Palace. Here you will find the famous department stores such as Wako, Mitsukoshi, Matsuzakaya and Matsuya. Ginza is also a good place to hunt down, test and marvel at the latest in Japanese hi-tech gizmos, notably at the Sony Building, which has eight storeys of hands-on displays. There are small museums and galleries all over Tokyo: Ginza has scores of them. Among them is the Riccar Museum (on the seventh floor of the Riccar Building), which has a fine collection of Ukiyo-e woodblock prints by the great 18th and 19th-century Japanese printmakers such as Hokusai, Hiroshige and Utamaro. Ginza also has dozens of tearooms, cafés and restaurants of all descriptions. Also part of the Chuo ward is the famous and huge Tsukiji fish market, where lively auctions take place early each day (except Sundays). |
| 3. Meiji Shrine |
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The most famous of all the Shinto shrines of Tokyo is the Meiji Jingu in the Shibuya ward, dedicated to Emperor Meiji (ruled 1867-1912) and built in 1920. A winding gravel paths leads through a huge torii entrance gate and woods to a stunning complex of wooden buildings beneath dramatically curving roofs. The shrine is the focus of huge celebrations during festivals, notably the 'Coming of Age' festival (second Monday in January, for men and women who are reaching the age of 20) and the 'Three-Five-Seven' festival, for children reaching those ages (15 November), and some two million people come here on New Year's Eve.
www.meijijingu.or.jp/english |
| 4. Ueno Park |
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Established in 1868, in the Taito ward, this was Tokyo's first public park and it remains one of its most beautiful. It is also home to a cluster of some of its best museums and galleries. This includes the Tokyo National Museum, containing Japan's greatest art collection (paintings, woodblock prints, swords and armour and many other artefacts). The collection is spread over four buildings: Honkan (the main building, devoted to Japanese art); Heiseikan (Japanese archaeology); Toyokan (Far Eastern collection); and the Gallery of Horyuji Treasures for a precious temple collection, housed in a remarkable building (1999) designed by Yoshio Taniguchi, who also designed the celebrated new MoMA in New York. The park also contains the National Museum of Western Art, where work by many of the great names is displayed in a building by Le Corbusier; the National Science Museum (main building currently under renovation); a zoo; and several old shrines and temples, including the 17th-century Ueno Toshogu, a temple to the Shogun Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. There is also has a large boating lake, beside which stands the delightful Shitamachi Museum, displaying the reconstructed houses and shops of ordinary folk in early 20th-century Tokyo. The park is especially beautiful in spring when the cherry blossom attracts thousands of people indulging in the tradition of hanami (cherry blossom viewing).
www.tnm.jp/en/guide (Tokyo National Museum) www.nmwa.go.jp (National Museum of Western Art) www.kahaku.go.jp/english (National Science Museum) |
| 5. Asakusa Kannon |
| Also known as the Senso-ji Temple, the Asakusa Kannon in the Taito ward is the largest and most popular Buddhist temple in Tokyo. It is also the oldest, said to date from AD 628. The story goes that, in that year, two fishermen-brothers found a small statue of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, in the River Sumida nearby, and this temple was built for it; the Kannon statue was later treated as a Buddha image. The famous giant red paper lantern of the Kaminarimon ('Thunder Gate') leads visitors first to the old Nakamise shopping street, lined with stalls selling traditional souvenirs and snacks. Beyond the Hozomon gate, decorated with a giant straw sandal, lies the Kannondo (Kannon Hall) - originally built in 649, destroyed in the war and rebuilt in 1958 - as well as the five-tiered pagoda called the Gojuto, which is said to house ashes of the Buddha. The Shinto shrine next door, the Asakusa Jinja, was built to protect the Buddhist temple, and both become the focus of Tokyo's largest Shinto 'matsuri', festival, each spring. |
| 6. Edo-Tokyo Museum |
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For a vivid insight into Tokyo's past, go to the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Ryogoku, in the Sumida ward on the eastern edge of the city. The huge, ultra-modern building was apparently inspired by traditional warehouse on stilts, but looks more like a spaceship. Inside it presents a picture of the history of the Tokyo and all the districts from which the city is composed, covering culture and lifestyle plus major historical events, from the Edo of the Tokugawa shoguns to modern Tokyo. The 50 life-size replicas of buildings and interiors include a Kabuki theatre.
www.edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp/english |
| 7. Sumo at Ryogoku Kogukikan |
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Ryogoku is also famous as the home of sumo wrestling. It contains the Kogukikan National Sumo Stadium, as well as most of the sumo 'stables', where the wrestlers live and are trained. Tournaments, called basho, last 15 days and are held six times a year, when tickets are available to join 10,000 other spectators in the stadium (take bioculars for the cheaper seats). English-language leaflets explain the highly-ritualized proceedings. The Kogukikan also has a small Sumo Museum. A few of the stables permit visitors to watch training sessions, which take place in the early morning.
www.sumo.or.jp/eng |
| 8. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum |
| The architecture of Tokyo, flattened once by the earthquake of 1923, and then by bombing in the Second World War, is ever-changing and often breathtakingly modern. But memories of the past are preserved in the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei Park, in the western suburbs of the city, which presents a collection of historic buildings from in and around Tokyo that have survived the calamities of history and been rescued from the wrecking ball. Among the 30 or so buildings are farmhouses, shops, a bathhouse, a photography studio, a tavern and the homes of famous people. |
| 9. A view of Tokyo |
| For one of the best views over the city, go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Shinjuku ward, the impressive skyscraper district. It offers views from the observatories (North and South) on the 45th floor at 202m (663ft), and has the advantage of being free. The Tower also contains the Tokyo Tourist Information Centre. Alternatively, in the futuristic cityscape of Roppongi Hills, a shopping and entertainment complex in the Minato ('port') ward, the Tokyo City View at the Mori building gives a 360° view from 250 m (820ft); a ticket to the Mori Art Museum includes entrance to the viewing deck. Similar views are possible from the upper observation deck of the Tokyo Tower, also in Minato, a replica of the Eiffel Tower, built in 1958, and part of a tourist complex. |
| 10. Sanrio Puroland |
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Of course, if you want a theme park, you could always go to the hugely successful Tokyo Disney Resort, located in Urayasu, Chiba, just east of Tokyo. But for a more authentically Japanese experience, try the Sanrio Puroland, in the western suburb of Tama, an indoor theme park animated by favourite Japanese cartoon characters created by Sanrio company, the most famous of which is Hello Kitty.
www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp www.puroland.co.jp/spl/english |
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