Tokyo Travel Guide 東京
Sunset where Tokyo and Mount Fuji mix.
Credit: DR
The light illuminate the night Shinjuku Tokyo.
Credit: DR
The Asakusa district in Tokyo, lined aisles shopping leads to Kaminanimon the Thunder Gate.
Credit: DR
Amazement and Adventure
This avant-garde metropolis stretches out as far as the eye can see. More than just a city, Tokyo is a fascinating mix of modernity and tradition.
Contemporary Tokyo, formerly known as Edo, has undergone a dramatic change over the years. In this city, the present connects with the past and constantly flirts with the future, ignoring a linear narrative. It reinvents itself every day, breaking down and rebuilding itself. Wiped out twice, burned down twice, first by the Kanto earthquake in 1923, then by carpet bombing by the US Army in March 1945, Tokyo rose from the ashes, at a price.
The urban landscape fascinates and baffles visitors. There is a huge variety of places to see and things to do, suitable for everyone. A visit to a museum, a nice escape to a park or garden, a foodie visit to the basement of a department store, a stroll through the streets with ever more innovative contemporary architecture, the discovery of a Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple, the spectacle of a Noh performance or sumo tournament. Anything is possible in Tokyo.
"It is not a city, but a cluster of cities." Marguerite Yourcenar
Each ward has its own particular style and its customs. Shinjuku, Ginza, Asakusa, Shibuya and Odaiba tell a plural and universal history, the history of the impermanence of things. Here, nature intertwines with modern life. An old willow tree hangs over an alley garlanded with electric cables. The cherry blossoms are the first to announce the arrival of spring. Weeds take refuge in the cracks of a building. While Tsukiji, the worlds largest fish market, reminds us of Tokyo's coastline.
In the evening, Tokyoites devote themselves to unwinding from the days stresses. From bars to restaurants, jazz clubs to nightclubs, everyone can follow the adventure they want, right up until the last subway train of the night, and for the hardened clubbers, beyond...
Read more about night life in Tokyo.
