Tokyo Travel Guide
Tokyo City Overview
The dazzling 12 million metropolis of Tokyo, which defies any definition, apparently effortlessly combines tradition and modernity and fascinates every visitor with its unique atmosphere.
The fact that this confusing amalgamation of districts and districts can function as a coherent whole is possible above all because of the unusually powerful network of train and subway lines that crisscross the city and circle it. These main arteries of Tokyo carry hordes of business people, employees, and students from the suburbs to the city’s huge train stations. Two million people are smuggled through Shinjuku station alone every day. The business district with its many skyscrapers is full of plainly dressed corporate warriors and the modest secretaries who also ?? office flowers ?? to be named. The anarchy of architecture and the crowds crowded in the tightest of spaces form an attack on the senses.
In the city center there are antiquated shopping arcades in the middle of densely built-up old quarters, where the sounds of the temple bells echo above the roofs. Here the seasons still determine the rhythm of life. On January 1st, the Tokyo residents swarm into the venerable Shinto temples to usher in the new year, and in the spring you can see groups in bright excitement looking at flowers or picnicking among cherry blossoms. During the warm, humid summer, there are numerous exuberant, traditional festivals, and the spirit of old Edo has also been preserved – in the neon-flooded entertainment districts, the “floating worlds”. of today with karaoke, cinemas, bars and bath houses. The traditional Kabuki theater is just as popular as operas, ballet and symphony concerts; Tokyoers are also passionate about sumo wrestling and baseball. Food is another great passion that you can meet in this city with 60,000 restaurants and the largest fish market in the world. From bowls of steaming ramen noodles to fine slices of sashimi, chefs compete for the freshest produce, and the presentation of food becomes an art form.
In the summer of 2020, Tokyo will host the Olympic Games from July 24th to August 9th.
Important facts
Area code: 3rd
Population: 13,929,286 (2019)
Latitude: 35.675865
Longitude: 139.769955
Tokyo Weather
Tokyo has something to offer all year round. The nearby ski areas (December to March) and the cherry blossoms (March to May) attract visitors in winter. As far as possible, Tokyo closes during the Golden Week (a week with four public holidays, late April to early May) and New Year. Flights are significantly more expensive during these times and hotels should be booked early. Since a festival is celebrated almost every week, the chance of getting a glimpse of old Japan is relatively high all year round.
City History of Tokyo
Unlike Rome, Paris or London, Japan’s capital is a relative newcomer in the global city scene. Yet in less than 500 short years, Tokyo has also experienced more than its fair share of historical defeats and triumphs, flowering arts, and devastating natural and man-made disasters.
Tokyo is the symbol of the Japanese success story and a metropolis on the Pacific coast of Honshu, the largest island in the Japanese archipelago. The city was founded in 1590 under the name of Edo as the capital of Shogun – the absolute ruler of Japan, determined by inheritance, and commander-in-chief of the Japanese army. Edo had a lively culture of its own, which included the celebrated floating world of entertainment districts, theaters and cherry blossoms, which were immortalized in the woodcut prints of the time. It was the time of samurai, tea ceremonies and calligraphy.
With the fall of the shogun in 1867, imperial power was restored. Emperor Meiji renamed the city Tokyo (the eastern capital), a harbinger of its rebirth as a dynamic modern city, the showpiece of a rapidly developing country. The emperor opened the national borders and welcomed foreign influences, especially from the west. He made Shinto the state religion, and consequently established himself as a divine being with total power over the nation. This hurricane of change became known as the Meiji Revolution and headlong Tokyo into the 20th century. Rural people flocked to the city, educational standards improved, and the humanities and theater flourished.
Despite the catastrophic earthquake in 1923 and the almost complete destruction during World War II, Tokyo was able to rise from the ashes and act as the venue for the Olympics in 1964. The city later became a pioneer of the Japanese economic miracle.
As the center of Japan’s highly centralized government and economy, Tokyo was hit hard by the recession, bank collapse and scandals in the 1990s. Much of what was taken for granted in the past has been destroyed. Nevertheless, despite the uncertainties about future changes, the citizens of the city still live in prosperity and are optimistic about the future.
