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Tokyo

The Nation’s Capital

Five thousand years ago, the handful of hunter-gatherers who left behind the shell mounds unearthed in Tokyo’s Shinagawa ward could not have dreamed that they would be the forerunners of today’s twelve million inhabitants of one of the world’s industrial, commercial, and financial powerhouses. What they did no doubt recognize, however, were the geographic and climatic conditions that seeded Tokyo’s growth from a tiny fishing hamlet, first recorded in 1457, to the bustling metropolis it has become today.

Situated on a wide, fertile coastal plain, what is now Tokyo and its surroundings would have provided the primitives with an abundance of food, sufficient building and clothing materials, and freedom from the rugged, forbidding mountains that reign supreme over 70 percent of Japan’s total area. Even now, 7 percent of the country is considered inaccessible.

Today Tokyo is a remarkably international city, with ample provisions of everything the Westerner or Easterner could possibly want, but it is ironic that the city’s rise to prominence and then dominance of the country came during the Edo period (1603-1868), when the Tokugawa shoguns strangled development with a garrote of feudalism and isolationism. With the restoration to power of Emperor Meiji in 1868 came the rush for modernization and westernization that has made Greater Tokyo a complex and enticing medley of traditional Japanese culture and international influences.

A single day’s trip around the capital city clearly reveals Tokyo’s rich diversity. From Asakusa Kannon Temple with its classic Kaminarimon gate (left) to the forty-eight-story, ultramodern Tokyo City Hall; from the manic hustle and bustle of the shopping centers of Shibuya, Ikebukuro, and Ginza to the serene peace of Meiji Shrine and Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden; from the financial frenzy of the Tokyo Stock Exchange to the minor wheelings and dealings of myriad flea markets, Greater Tokyo today tempts resident and visitor alike with a kaleidoscopic world of past and present.

Tokyo’s new City Hall, designed by world-acclaimed architect Kenzo Tange, stands as a tribute to the city’s wealth and power.

This gingko-lined avenue provides the perfect shady walk from trendy Aoyama to the National Sports Stadium.

In late spring, visitors can experience the intoxicating beauty of the irises in the gardens of Meiji Shrine.

For most Japanese, the new year starts with a pilgrimage to a shrine.

This flea market in Tokyo’s Setagaya ward has been held for over four hundred years.

The Shichi-go-san (seven-five-three) festival brings traditionally clad boys of five and girls of seven and three to shrines to pray for good luck.

Without a doubt, the most enthusiastically celebrated tradition in Japan is cherry-blossom viewing. Each spring Tokyo’s Ueno Park plays host to thousands of picnickers eating, drinking, and singing the balmy evenings away under the magnificent pink canopy.

One of Japan’s most famous statues of the Buddha is in Kamakura. Almost forty feet tall and cast in 1252, the bronze statue bears testament to the technological ability and refined artistry of the ancient Japanese.

The beauty of Japanese architecture is often encapsulated in the gentle, flowing lines of Buddhist temples like Chuzenji in Nikko.