Tokyo

Japan · 8 sights · guided virtual tour

Welcome to Tokyo, the capital of Japan, at the head of Tokyo Bay on Honshu, the country's largest island. Greater Tokyo is one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. The city was once called Edo, and it rose to prominence in 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate, growing from a small fishing village into one of the largest cities in the world. After the Meiji Restoration, the emperor moved here from Kyoto, and the city was renamed Tokyo, Eastern Capital. In 1964 Tokyo became the first city in Asia to host the Summer Olympics. Let us begin in its oldest temple.

Sights

1. Sensō-ji ▶ Listen

   Walk along Nakamise-dori, lined with shops selling traditional goods, and you reach Sensō-ji in Asakusa, Tokyo's oldest temple and one of its most significant. It is dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. Pass through the large gates and you will see the main hall and a five-storey pagoda. With over 30 million visitors a year, it is the most widely visited religious site in the world. The temple was destroyed in the firebombing raid of 10 March 1945, and the main hall was rebuilt in the 1950s. Right next door stands the Shinto Asakusa Shrine.

2. Tokyo Tower ▶ Listen

   Rising in white and international orange, Tokyo Tower was completed in 1958. At 332.9 metres, it was the tallest tower in Japan until Tokyo Skytree came along in 2012. Its lattice design was inspired by the Eiffel Tower, while those bright colours are there to comply with air safety rules. Visitors can ride up to the Main Deck at 150 metres and the smaller Top Deck at almost 250 metres. Here is a curious fact: the tower is repainted every five years, and the job itself takes a whole year.

3. Tokyo Skytree ▶ Listen

   In the Sumida district, Tokyo Skytree soars 634 metres into the sky. When it reached full height in 2011, it became the tallest tower in the world, overtaking the Canton Tower. It was completed on Leap Day, 29 February 2012, and opened to the public that May. Skytree was needed because the older Tokyo Tower no longer gave complete digital television coverage, surrounded as it is by high-rise buildings. Today Skytree is the main broadcasting site for the whole Kantō region, and at its foot there is even an aquarium.

4. Meiji Shrine ▶ Listen

   Step through the grounds of Meiji Shrine in Shibuya, a Shinto shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken. The emperor is not buried here; his grave lies south of Kyoto. After his death in 1912, the shrine was built on the site of an iris garden the imperial couple had been known to visit. Construction began in 1915 in the traditional nagare-zukuri style, mostly with Japanese cypress and copper. It was a true national project: youth groups and civic associations from all over Japan contributed labour and money, and materials came from every prefecture.

5. Shibuya Crossing ▶ Listen

   Get ready for the crowd: this is Shibuya Crossing, often called the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world. Opened in 1973 next to Shibuya Station, it is a scramble crossing, and as many as 3,000 people can cross during a single green light. Even so, road traffic jams rarely occur here. Amazingly, foot traffic hardly drops even at midnight or early in the morning. You may already know this scene: it appears so often in films and television that it has become a symbol of Tokyo.

6. Tokyo Imperial Palace ▶ Listen

   In the heart of Chiyoda lies the Imperial Palace, the main residence of the emperor of Japan. Its park-like grounds and gardens, about 1.15 square kilometres, are built on the site of the old Edo Castle, once the stronghold of the Tokugawa shoguns. Emperor Meiji moved into the palace in 1869. Within its walls are the Fukiage Palace, where the emperor lives, the main palace used for ceremonies and receptions, residences of the Imperial Family, and museums.

7. Ueno Park ▶ Listen

   Welcome to Ueno Park, established in 1873 as one of Japan's very first public parks, following Western examples in the early Meiji period. It is Japan's most popular city park, home to several major museums, and in spring it is celebrated for its cherry blossoms. The land once belonged to the temple of Kan'ei-ji, founded in 1625 in the unlucky northeast direction of Edo Castle, known as the demon gate. Most of the temple was destroyed in the Battle of Ueno in 1868, but some buildings survive, including a five-storey pagoda from 1639.

8. Mount Fuji ▶ Listen

   About 100 kilometres southwest of Tokyo, on a clear day, you can see Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain at 3,776 metres. It is an active volcano that last erupted from 1707 to 1708, with an exceptionally symmetrical cone covered in snow for about five months of the year. Mount Fuji is one of Japan's Three Holy Mountains and a true cultural icon. According to UNESCO, which listed it as a World Heritage Site in 2013, it has inspired artists and poets and been an object of pilgrimage for centuries.

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