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At its heart, Tokyo abounds with contradictions and a schizophrenic
personality that refuses to be pinned down. Perhaps the only
thing that binds the city together is its voracious appetite
for consumption. In Tokyo everything is a commodity, from
clothing and gadgets to cultural pursuits and leisure activities.
If you come here to shop you'll soon discover you're not alone;
the whole city will be standing shoulder to shoulder with
you, doing it too. And if you don't come here to shop it's
a sure bet you'll find yourself doing it soon enough.
Highlights:
- Visit the oasis of calm and the residence of the Japanese
royal family right in the centre of the city - the Imperial
Palace
- Get your vocal chords working at the fascinating 5am tuna
auction at the world's biggest fish market, Tsukiji
- Have your fortune told at Tokyo's most famous Buddhist
temple complex, Senso-ji
- Experience the sheer intensity of Tokyo's seething mass
of people at Shinjuku Station, the world's busiest
- Go out in Roppongi, have a few drinks and indulge
in the Japanese pastimes of karaoke and pachinko
- Explore the stunning modern and postmodern architecture
of the city by visiting the Tokyo Metropolitan Building
and the Fuji TV building
- Gorge yourself at one - or many - of Tokyo's more than 100,000
restaurants
- Visit the Ghibli Museum, a shrine to the national
obsession of anime - Japanese cartoons
Getting Around
Trains
Your best bet for getting around is to use the trains. They're
fast, cheap and almost always on time - in the rare event
that they're delayed in the morning rush staff give out apology
slips to office workers to show their superiors! The system
can be confusing for visitors at first because
Tokyo is serviced by a combination of overground Japan
Railway, private inner-city subway lines and private overground
suburban lines - but after a couple of attempts you should
get the hang of it. Buying a Japan Rail pass is your
best bet it gives you almost unlimited use of the national
JR network and all JR lines in Tokyo.
Taxis
Try and avoid taxis unless you're out after the last trains,
which stop running around half past midnight and start up
again at around 5am. Taxis are expensive and with the traffic
congestion it'll take you longer than getting a train anyway.
Still, if you do want to be driven to your destination, you
should have no problem finding a cab as there are more than
50,000 taxis in Tokyo. Make sure you know where you're going
as Tokyo streets often don't have names and even the locals
find it hard to find places by address alone. And don't forget
the doors open automatically.
Buses
Many locals go their whole life without using the bus network,
partially because the train system is so good but also because
the buses are pretty difficult to use. For foreigners it's
even harder as the signs are rarely in English. If you do
brave it, get on the bus at the front, get off at the back,
and drop the exact change into the slot in front of the driver.
Cycling
Riding a bike is a very common way of getting around the
city, but it's ill-advised for tourists as even the locals
find it rough with the acute traffic congestion. If you do
go ahead with it, theft is rare but you should always lock
up your bike as a precaution.
Car
Renting a car isn't a great option; combine the lane-changing
habits of Tokyo drivers with the difficulties in reading the
road signs and driving round the city becomes very stressful.
Outside the city the toll charges for roads often make driving
more expensive than taking the train or bus, but GPRS-enabled
hire cars means you can plug in your destination and let the
car guide you in English instead of negotiating more Japanese
road signs.
Walking
Japan's capital is a world class walking city since you're
not liable to wander into a no-go area and the place is very
safe around the clock. Getting about by foot allows you to
snoop into those unusual places tucked away in every neighborhood
you come to. If you do opt for the walking option be aware
that Tokyo is nothing like London or New York where everyone's
off somewhere in a massive hurry, people here walk at a snail's
pace which can often result in as big jams as those on the
roads!
Top Sights
Odaiba
Continuing a long tradition of land reclamation from Tokyo
Bay (environmentalists are worried this can't be sustained)
the latest addition to the city is Odaiba Island which
has seven of the city's ten tallest buildings as well as one
of the world's biggest ferris wheels. Perhaps more than anywhere
in the city Odaiba is currently the epicenter for futuristic
Tokyo. Visit the Toyota Megaweb, a giant car showroom
with cars stacked on shelves where you can take the latest
models for a test drive on the purpose made track. Odaiba's
manmade beaches use sand all the way from Australia. The Decks
Tokyo shopping mall looks like cruise liner and Venus
Fort is a shopping centre modeled on seventeenth century
European town; each of the five plazas have different themes
(church, olives, fountains, hope, happiness) and every hour
the ceiling's sky changes from bright daylight to dusk.
Ginza
Consumerist and futuristic Ginza was the first quarter to
modernize after Japan opened its doors to the West in the
second half of the 19th century. Brick buildings were erected
and other novel inventions such as sidewalks and street lamps
were introduced. Nowadays the streets are lined with another
elegant addition - the Ginza girls. These are ladies both
young and old who wouldn't dream of leaving home without their
Chanel suit and Louis Vuitton handbag. Make sure you check
out Mitsukoshi, one of Ginza's biggest department stores
where you'll find all the latest designer gear, as well as
the Sony building which showcases the company's latest models
of cameras, Playstations and other gadgetry. Ginza is a test-bed
for Japanese corporations latest technology, where you can
test out and buy tomorrow's world today.
Asakusa
This area is the closest you're going to get to traditional
Japan while in Tokyo. It's home to the city's biggest temple
complex, Senso-ji. The streets around it evoke an atmosphere
closest to old Tokyo - Edo. It's round here also that you'll
find Kappabashi-dogugai which is the place to buy the
realistic plastic food that you'll spot in every restaurant
window.
Shinjuku and Shibuya
In the west of Tokyo, Shinjuku and Shibuya are new Tokyo's
twin centres; this is the fast-paced, vital and ever changing
area of the city. Shinjuku is Tokyo at its most Blade Runner-like.
A modern and postmodern architectural dream with highlights
like the Tokyo Met Gov Building, a metallic Notre Dame-esque
skyscraper designed by Japan's foremost architect, Tange
Kenzo. East Shinjuku has been a focus for nightlife from
Edo times - its home to plenty of bars and the right light
district of Kabuchiko as well as daytime attractions
of art galleries, a shrine and some of the city's best department
stores. Shinjuku is home to Shinjuku Station. Two million
people pass through it every day making it the world's busiest
station.
Shibuya, along with the neighboring areas of Harajuku
and Minami-Aoyama, is the center for fashion - both
youth and haute couture fashions. Youngsters show their sub-cultural
alliances in a range of bizarre outfits from fetish to cute
- expect to see Goths, metal heads, Louis XIV impersonators,
cyberpunks, and a colorful array of many more. This is certainly
the place to get the latest trends in fashion, food, music,
whatever - and just the spot for people watching.
Roppongi
Sometimes referred to as 'gaijin (foreigner) ghetto' by the
locals, this area has been the epicenter of after-dark fun
since the 1960s. This is often visitors' first taste of nightlife
and it's a mesmerizing place, full of energy, neon, narrow
streets, traffic and people everywhere as well as countless
bars and clubs whose fortunes ebb and flow constantly. Find
some locals and ask them what's hot when you go, chances are
it'll have changed from a couple of months prior!
Roppongi is also the site of Tokyo's latest urban development,
Roppongi Hills, whose designers hope that the complex
will be a safe haven for people to flock to rather than run
away from if the anticipated big earthquake should strike
the city. Check out the observation deck for a great view
of the city from 250 meters up and check out Tokyo's highest
art gallery, the Mori Art Museum, on the 52nd floor
of the complex.
Tsukiji Fish Market
This place will bowl you over - and not just by the smell!
It's the top fish market in the world in every category; a
small town with a definite community and hierarchy. It handles
over 400 different types of seafood, imports from 60 countries,
moves five million pounds of seafood (seven times more than
the world's second biggest fish market in Paris), sells $28
million worth of fish per day, employs 60,000 people and uses
32,000 vehicles. Premium tuna sold at the fascinating daily
auction costs between $6,500 to $11,000. The market has its
own Shinto shrine that's 350 years old with a chief priest
to say prayers for the souls of fish. It also conducts classes
in auction protocol, knife handling, and cooking classes for
its employees. It's not surprising that this market is so
vast and complex when you consider that the Japanese consume
seventeen percent of the world's fish catch.
Ryoguku
In the northeast of Tokyo is Ryoguku - sumo town - where
shops sell outsize clothes, restaurants serve chanko nabe
(traditional body building stew), and stables where wrestlers
practice their moves in the early morning. Three times a year,
basho competitions are harshly fought in the National Sumo
Stadium. They're great spectacles, especially pre-match
rituals, and highly recommended if you're in the city at the
time.
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