Tokyo

Tokyo

 

"Tokyo is simply breathtaking and there is something for everybody here. But what gets me most is the sheer volume of amazing restaurants and for a food obsessive like me that is the draw that pulls me back again and again."

Over 500 years old, the city of Tokyo grew from the modest fishing village of Edo (江戸). The city only truly began to grow when it became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603. While the emperor ruled in name from Kyoto, the true power was concentrated in the hands of the Tokugawa shogun in Edo. After the Meiji restoration in 1868, during which the Tokugawa family lost its influence, the emperor and the imperial family moved here from Kyoto, and the city was re-named to its current name, Tokyo.

 

Culture

Shinjuku at night

Tokyo is vast: it's best thought of not as a single city, but a constellation of cities that have grown together. Tokyo's districts vary wildly by character, from the electronic blare of Akihabara to the Imperial gardens and shrines of Chiyoda, from the hyperactive youth culture mecca of Shibuya to the pottery shops and temple markets of Asakusa. If you don't like what you see, hop on the train and head to the next station, and you will find something entirely different.
The sheer size and frenetic pace of Tokyo can intimidate the first-time visitor. Much of the city is a jungle of concrete and wires, with a mass of neon and blaring loudspeakers. At rush hour, crowds jostle in packed trains and masses of humanity sweep through enormous and bewilderingly complex stations. Don't get too hung up on ticking tourist sights off your list: for most visitors, the biggest part of the Tokyo experience is just wandering around at random and absorbing the vibe, poking your head into shops selling weird and wonderful things, sampling restaurants where you can't recognize a single thing on the menu (or on your plate), and finding unexpected oases of calm in the tranquil grounds of a neighbourhood Shinto shrine. It's all perfectly safe, and the locals will go to sometimes extraordinary lengths to help you if you just ask.

Sensōji

Sensōji

Sensōji (浅草寺), also known as Asakusa Kannon, is Tokyo's largest Buddhist temple and a major attraction for Japanese and foreigners alike. Take the Asakusa exit of the subway and follow the crowds.

• Up first is the Kaminarimon (雷門) or "Thunder Gate", featuring a much-photographed giant lantern and statues of guardian gods Raijin (god of thunder) and Fujin (god of wind). First built in 942, the gate has been destroyed numerous times and the current incarnation dates to only 1950. The Nakamise shopping arcade leading up to the temple starts after the gate .

• At the end of the arcade is the main gate Hōzōmon (宝蔵門), notable for a giant straw sandal (waraji) hung up on one side. This gate too is guarded by ferocious guardian gods.

• The perennially busy Kannondō (観音堂, Kannon Hall) is behind the gate, with a steady stream of worshippers wafting incense over themselves and trooping up the steps to pray and donate. According to legend, the hall was originally built in 628 to house a statue of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, fished out of the Sumida River by two brothers.

• To the west is the Gojūnoto (五重塔, 5-Story Pagoda), reputedly containing some of the ashes of the Buddha.

Other temples and shrines

• Asakusa Jinja (浅草神社). To the east behind the temple is this Shinto shrine devoted to protecting the Buddhist temple in a typically Japanese arrangement. The fairly plain shrine is not much to look at, but is notable as the focal point of the Sanja Matsuri festival 

• Chingodo Shrine. If you turn left before the Hozomon gate and head west for a few hundred meters, this quiet shrine is on your left. The shrine is dedicated to the Japanese raccoon god tanuki, notably primarily for its big flask of sake and gigantic testicles (at least when depicted as a statue).  

• Denpoin Temple (伝法院). Further down to the west, this temple has a beautiful private garden not generally accessible to the public, but you might get lucky if you ask.   

History of Tokyo 

Sengoku period

The construction of Edo Castle by Ōta Dōkan, a vassal of Uesugi Mochitomo, began in 1457 during the Muromachi period in what is now the East Garden of the Imperial Palace.^[2] Hōjō Ujitsuna entered Edo Castle in 1525.

Momoyama period

In 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu established himeself in Edo.^[2]

Edo period

The Edo period (Edo jidai) began when Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun in 1603.^[3] This period was marked by continuous growth which was interrupted by natural disasters, including fires, earthquakes and floods.

The outer enclosures of Edo Castle were completed in 1606.^[4] and it continues to remain at the core of the city.

Fires were so commonplace that they came to be called the "blossoms of Edo".^[5] In 1657, the Great Fire of Meireki destroyed much of the city;^[6] and another disastrous fire in 1668 lasted for 45 days.^[7]

The Hoei eruption of Mount Fuji spewed ash on Edo in 1707.^[8]

In 1721, Edo's is the world's largest city with an estimated population of 1.1 million.^[9] In part because of Edo's growth, the Great Meiwa Fire of 1772 caused an estimated 6,000 casualties.^[10]

In 1855, the Great Edo Earthquake caused considerable damage.^[11]

The bakumatsu era saw an increase in political activity in Edo. In 1860 Ii Naosuke, who favored opening Japan to the West, was assassinated by an anti-foreign rebel samurai.^[12] Japan's last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu caused an end to the shogunate when he surrendered power to the emperor in 1867.^[13]

In 1868, the emperor traveled to Tokyo for the first time; and Edo castle became an Imperial palace.

Modern history

• 1868 With the Meiji Restoration, the ruler of Japan shifts from the shogun to an oligarchy ruling under the banner of the emperor. On July 17, Emperor Meiji issues the Edict Renaming Edo to Tokyo (江戸ヲ稱シテ東京ト爲スノ詔書 Edo o shōshite Tōkyō to nasu no shōsho^?), citing the city's importance in the economy of eastern Japan.^[15]
• 1869 Emperor Meiji relocates to Tokyo and makes Edo Castle the Imperial Palace. However, as the capital was never officially "transferred" from Kyoto to Tokyo, the status of Tokyo vis-à-vis Kyoto remains ambiguous See: Capital of Japan. Former samurai from the Satsuma and Chōshū (and other) regions, take crucial roles in the new ruling Meiji oligarchy. A foreigner settlement is established at Tsukiji.
• 1871 The feudal domain system is replaced by a prefectural system. Tokyo Prefecture is established out of parts of former Musashi province.
• 1872 Tokyo Prefecture expands to include what is now the 23 wards.
  
  • Tokyo's (and Japan's) first rail line opens between Shimbashi (now Shiodome) and Yokohama
  • Tokyo National Museum is opened.
• 1874 Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is established.
• 1877 A modern higher education school was opened, forerunner of the University of Tokyo.
• 1882 Ueno Zoo opens.
• 1885 The first section of what was to become the Yamanote Line opens between Akabane and Shinagawa Stations. Train stations such as Shibuya and Shinjuku Stations open as a result.
• 1889 Tokyo City is established with 15 wards.
• 1893 Three districts from the Tama area of Kanagawa Prefecture are annexed to Tokyo Prefecture
• 1893 M6.6 Meiji Tokyo earthquake kills 31, injures 157 people
• 1899 Tsukiji Foreign Settlement is abolished.
• 1903 The first tram lines was opened.
• 1905 In protest against the Treaty of Portsmouth after the Russo-Japanese War, the Hibiya Incendiary Incident occurs at Hibiya Park.
• 1914 Tokyo Station opens.
• 1920 Meiji Shrine is constructed.
• 1921 Prime Minister of Japan, Takashi Hara, is assassinated at Tokyo Station.
• 1923 The Great Kantō earthquake strikes Tokyo, killing approximately 70,000 people.
• 1924 Ueno Park opens.
• 1925 The Yamanote Line train line loop is completed when the section between Kanda and Ueno Stations is completed.
• 1927 Tokyo's first subway (Ginza Line) opens between Asakusa and Ueno.
• 1931 Tokyo Airport opens at Haneda, in southern Tokyo.
• 1932 Five districts and 82 towns and villages are annexed to Tokyo city which then expands to 35 wards.
• 1936 National Diet Building is completed.
  
  • In an attempted coup (the February 26 Incident), nearly 1500 junior officers of the IJA 1st Division occupy the National Diet Building, the Prime Minister's Residence) and other key locations in Tokyo. The coup was suppressed by the Army and Navy within three days.
• 1942 Tokyo is bombed in the Doolittle Raid, the first American air raid against Japan in World War II
• 1943 Tokyo Prefecture and Tokyo city merge to form Tokyo Metropolis or Tokyo-to.
• 1945 Tokyo was heavily bombed, and much of the city was burned to the ground by USAAF B-29 and other aircraft. Extensive tracts of land were leveled both by explosions and subsequent fires. The damage extends to Hachioji and other cities in western suburbs. From February to March, the Battle of Iwo Jima was fought on Iwo Jima. Due to the heavy death toll and populace fleeing to the countryside, the 1945 Tokyo population was only half that of 1940. From September, Tokyo is under military occupation and governed by the Allied forces, and the Ogasawara Islands (Bonin Islands) was separated to U.S. military occupation. General Douglas MacArthur established the occupation headquarters in what is now the Dai-Ichi Seimei building. The American presence in Tokyo made it an important command and logistics center during the Korean War. Tokyo still hosts Yokota Air Base and a large number of minor U.S. military installations.
• 1946 The first Central May Day Festival after 1935 was held on the Front Park of Tokyo Imperial Palace.
• 1947 Tokyo's number of wards is consolidated to 23
  
  • Typhoon Kathleen floods eastern Tokyo.
• 1948 The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE, Tokyo Trial) is concluded. Seven men were executed.
• 1950 The Capital Construction Law was passed.
• 1954 The Marunouchi Line, Tokyo's second subway line, opens between Ikebukuro and Ochanomizu.
• 1957 Tokyo Metropolitan Government completes Ogochi Dam on the Tama River, creating Lake Okutama in Okutama, in northwest Tokyo for drinking water.
• 1958 Tokyo Tower is completed.
• 1961 Hibiya subway line opens between Minami-Senju and Naka-Okachimachi.
• 1962 The population of Tokyo exceeds 10,000,000, making it the largest city in the world.
  
  • The first line of the Shuto Expressway opens for traffic.
• 1964 Tōkaidō Shinkansen opens on October 1 in time for the Tokyo Olympic Games starting on October 10.
• 1967 The first (and thus far, only) left-wing Governor, Ryokichi Minobe was elected, with backing by the Japan Socialist Party and Japanese Communist Party.
• 1968 The Ogasawara Islands (Bonin Islands) are returned to Japan and become Ogasawara Village, Tokyo.
  
  • The Tōmei Expressway is opened, and Tokyo Interchange in Setegaya Ward connects it to the center of Tokyo via the Shuto Expressway.
• 1971 In the south-western area of Tokyo, Tama New Town accepts its first residents.
• 1972 Almost all 181 km of Tokyo Toden tram lines are closed, except a short part, now the Toden Arakawa Line.
  
  • Takeshi Kitano starts his career in comedy at a strip theater in Asakusa.
• 1977 Tachikawa Air Force Base reverts to Japan and converted partially into a park.
• 1978 New Tokyo International Airport (Narita International Airport) in Chiba Prefecture opens. Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport) then serves mainly domestic flights.
• 1979 The 5th G7 summit is held in Tokyo. The conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) recovers the post of governor, with the win of Shunichi Suzuki in elections.
• 1985 New Ryōgoku Kokugikan opens, used for Sumo.
• 1986 The bubble economy starts with land prices skyrocketing. Mount Mihara volcano erupts, forcing all residents of Izu Ōshima to temporarily evacuate the island
• 1988 Tokyo Dome indoor baseball stadium opens.
• 1989 Emperor Hirohito (Emperor Showa) dies in the Tokyo Palace.
• 1990 The bubble economy collapses, triggering a massive fall in Tokyo land prices.
• 1991 The new Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku is completed. The office is moved from Yūrakuchō.
• 1993 Rainbow Bridge is completed. It supports the development in the waterfront area on the Tokyo Bay, Odaiba.
• 1995 On March 20, the Aum Shinrikyo cult spread Sarin nerve gas on the Tokyo subway system; 12 people were killed and thousands affected (see 1995 Tokyo Subway Attacks). Newly-elected Tokyo governor Yukio Aoshima cancels the "World City Expo" that was to be held in 1996 in the Odaiba waterfront area.
• 1999 Conservative Shintaro Ishihara is elected Governor of Tokyo
• 2000 The Oedo subway line opens.
  
  • Due to volcanic eruption all residents of Miyakejima evacuate; cannot return until 2005.
• 2001 Studio Ghibli opens its Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, the eastern of Tama area.
• 2003 Shintaro Ishihara is reelected Governor of Tokyo. Roppongi Hills opens.
• 2005 Tsukuba Express railway line opens.
• 2007 Completion of Tokyo Midtown (currently the city's tallest high-rise building) and the Tokyo Metro Line 13.

 

Asakusa View Hotel (beginning)

3-17-1 Nishiasakusa, Taito, Tokyo Prefecture 111-0035, Japan

Hotel amenities

Hotel Century Southern Tower  (last days of journey)

2-2-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo Prefecture 151-8583, Japan

Hotel website

011 81 3-5354-0111

Ranked #1 of 29 hotels in Shibuya

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Century Southern Tower

Tokyo

Located just 5 minutes walk from JR Shinjuku Station on the southern terrace opposite Takashimaya Times Square department store, the Southern Tower makes for the perfect base from which to explore not just Shinjuku but the whole of the central Tokyo and beyond. The hotel lobby is to be found on the 20th floor of a building which also houses Microsoft's Japan HQ. The lobby offers great views of the city and on clear days you can see Mt Fuji towering up in the distance. All rooms are stylishly decorated with modern earthy tones and high quality bed linen. The bathrooms have a range of beauty products provided and rooms come with flat screen TVs, direct dial phones and a free high speed internet connection. In the evenings you will have a choice of dining in the hotel with a superb Tepanyaki restaurant, an excellent Chinese, a French influences restaurant and a cafe bar for light refreshments.

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