Tokyo just might be the largest town in the world, comprised of 23 individual wards, all with their own unique traits. Foreigners are simply threatened by the sheer expanse of Japan’s capital city and its 17 million inhabitants ( 5 million are commuters ) ; {however ,} due to this volume alone Tokyo has developed an unmatched public transportation system and a complex network of visitor friendly information resources. The most effective way to travel Tokyo’s frantic bustle is to permit the tube to steer the way. A loose itinerary will draw you into true japanese life through surprising encounters and more intimate experiences.
Tokyo : A patron Capital
It could be ironic that one of the costliest cities in the world also has one of the most rampant and showy patron cultures. Visitor attractions in Tokyo consist of many gargantuan shopping complexes in addition to the cultural tops. The Ginza retail zone reigns supreme for ostentatious spending activities, with thousands of mega-stores, boutiques and an exaggerated array of non-functional novelty stores for the simply amused within us all. For a dose of Long Island in Tokyo, visit Shibuya, which is common with higher-end shops, shrines, King-Kong-sized plasma television screens and the most hectic pedestrian street crossing in the world.
A Culture of Retrospect and Reflection
There is a tendency to become inundated and desensitized by the lights that line the town streets like masts in Japan’s sea of technology. While these electrical churches serve to extol a hyper-modern age, Tokyo also possesses some of the most idyllic and tranquil shrines and pagodas in the country. Meiji-jingu is the most electrifying of Tokyo’s Shinto shrines, built with japanese cypress and copper plates for the roof. Even though the shrine was annihilated during World War Two, the reconstruction has not lost any of the grandeur. Just north of the city, Bonsai Park treats visitors to the zen-like art of cultivating these carefully placed miniature trees and experiencing the calming of the mind. A necessary experience for anyone journeying to Tokyo is the view of Mount Fuji in the early hours of dawn. This is possible from inside the town, atop one of the massive skyscrapers such as the governing body Building in Shinjuku. Without delay in the middle of Tokyo, the Imperial Palace ( Kokyo ) is an inner-city sanctuary that is home to the Imperial Family. The public can visit the encircling East Gardens and walk along the double bridge over the tranquil moats of the palace grounds, but the palace buildings and inner yard are closed to visitors.
Travel to Tokyo with a willingness to get lost among the hustle and perhaps find yourself again in the silence of a shrine. The expansive city and system of tubes make it almost impossible to make a wrong turn.
Where would you go if you are given the opportunity? View and explore the most famous places around the world at famouswonders.com and check out Kyoto National Museum.