Tokyo （東京、とうきょう）
Area |
2,191 km² |
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Population |
13,389,584 |
International/Domestic Airports |
International: Narita Airport（成田空港）, Haneda Airport（羽田空港） |
Shinkansen Stations |
Tokyo（東京）,Shinagawa（品川）,Ueno（上野）,Shin-yokohama（新横浜） |
Certificated Tourist Information Center |
Category 3: 4 Category 2: 14 Category 1: 6 |
World Heritage |
Ogasawara Islands（小笠原諸島） |
A Guide to Tokyo
Tokyo is a huge and very complicated megalopolis, but you can travel easily and conveniently even without tour guides. Certainly, the map of Tokyo is like a labyrinth, but English signs are set up in everywhere, and it must lead you to your destination. Even if you are lost, a lot of Travel Information Centers (TICs) are in Tokyo, and English speakers work in almost all TICs. Therefore, if you have any problems, you go to near TICs, and the staffs help you politely. In addition, Tokyo has a fine railway network. There are about 700 stations in Tokyo, and you can go wherever you want by train. Also, if you buy One-day pass (\1580), you can ride trains unlimitedly for a day. Of course, in stations and trains, English signs and announce tell you the next station, where you are, and transfer information. If you use the train system efficiently, your trip must be more fruitful.However, there is one thing that you should pay attention to; numerous numbers of people are in Tokyo. Tokyo always is full of people, so in order to enter popular restaurants, you usually need to stand in a long line (generally, you should wait for more than30 minutes in lunchtime). Of course, after passing peak time, you don’t need to wait so long time, so we recommend you schedule when and where you have a meal for saving your time. Also, 40% of people in Tokyo commute by train, so trains always are overcrowded in rash hour. If you don’t want to have a painful time, you should avoid using trains from 6 to 8 o’clock.
A Tokyo train map is here
Sightseeing spots
Southern Tokyo
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Marunouchi is the area around Tokyo station, and there are numeours shops and restaurants. |
Ginza is an upscale shopping district, and you will see wide range of brand name prducts in the district. |
Tsukiji market is the largest wholesale market in the world. You can observe a hot auction of tuna. |
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Odaiba is an artificial island, and a lot of shopping complexes are in there. In addition to this, Odaiba includes many museums, amusement facilities, and a large hot spring thema park. |
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Eastern Tokyo
| Asakusa （浅草） | Tokyo Skytree （東京スカイツリー） | Ueno （上野） |
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Asakusa is one of the most popular and historical town in Tokyo. Asakusa has not only the famous temple "Sensō Temple", but also the old shopping street "Nakamise Street", and always is thriving. |
Tokyo Skytree is the highest tower in the world. Also, Tokyo soramachi （東京ソラマチ） includes numerous shops and restaurants! |
Ueno includes beautiful parks, popular zoo, and many museums. Also, Ueno park is famous for its beautiful cherry blossoms. In addition to this, there are manu long-established restaurants in Ueno. |
| Akihabara （秋葉原） | ||
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Akihabara is crowded of by stores specializing in electric appliances and otaku goods, so people say "Akihabara is a mecca for electrics and otakus". |
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Western Tokyo
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Harajyuku is the place for youngers, and there are numerous shops related with clothes, cosmetic, and trendy items. |
Meiji Shirine is the largest and the most popular shrine in Tokyo and deifies the soul of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. |
Shibuya is a huge shopping and entertainment district comparing with Harajyuku and Ikebukuro. There are many shops for youngers, and you will see the latest fashion in Japan. |
Ikebukuro （池袋） |
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Shinjyuku is one of the busiest spots in Tokyo. There are a lot of department stores, restaurants, and izakaya (Japanese syle tavern). |
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Ghibli Museum is the museum of STUDIO GHIBLI (Japanese animation studio) and exhibits materials and items of movies, thr replica of the studio, and interesting attractions. |
