Tokyo (23 wards) areas such as Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Ginza, and Roppongi, where the latest trends are being disseminated. There are also many historical spots such as Sensoji Temple in Taito Ward, Ryogoku in Koto Ward, and Tsukiji in Chuo-ku.
Features and Attractions of Tokyo (23 Wards), Comprising the Special Wards of Tokyo
Tokyo has long flourished as the economic and political center of Japan, and its many tourist attractions and commercial facilities for shopping make it a popular area for both domestic and international tourists.
Major popular tourist spots include "Asakusa Hanayashiki", "Ueno Zoo", "Odaiba", "Chidorigafuchi", and "Tokyo National Museum".
Asakusa Hanayashiki, which opened in 1853, is said to be the oldest amusement park in Japan, having been demolished once before being revived. The oldest existing roller coaster in Japan, which was built in 1953, is still one of the most popular attractions for both men and women of all ages, and many tourists fondly recall their youthful memories of the ride.
The Ueno Zoological Gardens opened in 1882, and is known as a zoo that has entertained many people since its opening. Today, the zoo is popular as a rare zoo where pandas can be seen, and is visited by many tourists and families on weekdays and holidays, and is said to be the most popular zoo in Japan in terms of the number of annual visitors.
Odaiba is famous for its many commercial facilities and office buildings. Odaiba is home to the headquarters of Fuji Television Network, a television station, and is crowded with tourists during the summer vacation season, when a variety of events are held there.
Odaiba is also home to the Tokyo Waterfront New Transit Rinkai Line, which is known for its unmanned, automated operation and is affectionately known as "Yurikamome" by tourists and other visitors alike. The line is one of the most popular tourist destinations, as it offers a panoramic view of Tokyo Bay and Odaiba from the windows of the train.
Chidorigafuchi is one of the most famous cherry blossom viewing spots in Tokyo.
During the cherry blossom season from late March to early April every year, the moat is lit up with lights and boats can be rented for viewing the cherry blossoms, making it a popular spot for people to enjoy the cherry blossoms day and night.
The Tokyo National Museum is the oldest museum in Japan (founded in 1872) and houses 87 national treasures and 634 nationally important cultural properties (as of March 31, 2015), including many historically important artworks and archeological artifacts.
There is also a wonderful garden on the grounds, which is open to the public only twice a year, in spring and fall. The gardens are filled with rare plants, remnants of the former botanical and floral research department, and are a delight to the eyes of visitors.
At 634 meters tall, it is the tallest tower in the world. It is the second tallest man-made structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) at 828 meters. There are observation decks at 350 meters and 450 meters above the ground, offering spectacular views of the horizon during the day and the night skyline of Tokyo below at night....»
Senso-ji Temple is the oldest temple in Tokyo.The temple grounds are lined on both sides by Nakamise Street with its traditional downtown atmosphere, the Kaminarimon and Hozomon gates, the main hall, and the five-story pagoda, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in Japan. Nakamise DoriOne of the oldest shopping streets in Japan, Nakamise-dori stretches 250 meters from Kaminarimo...»
The zoo breeds over 3,000 animals of 500 species, including the world's three rarest animals, the giant panda, okapi, and pygmy hippopotamus, as well as rare animals such as the Sumatran tiger and the lowland gorilla. In the 14-hectare lush green park, there are exhibits that recreate the animals' habitat, up-close exhibits, and a corner where visitors can interact with guinea pigs, rabbits, and ...»
The second tallest structure in Japan after the Tokyo Sky Tree, the Tokyo Tower is a 333-meter-high radio tower. On a clear day, the two-story Main Deck, 125 meters above ground, and the 250-meter-high Top Deck, a special observation deck, offer panoramic views of Mount Fuji, the Miura Peninsula, and the Boso Peninsula in the distance. Foot Town, a five-story facility located below the tower, ho...»
Facing Tokyo Bay, the park covers an area of about 80 hectares and includes an aquarium, an aviary, a Giant Ferris Wheel, an observation rest house, a lawn area, eating and drinking facilities, and even a hotel.A wide variety of plants and wild birds can be seen, and the observation rest house and Giant Ferris Wheel offer panoramic views of the ocean.Crossing the bridge from Shiofu no Hiroba leads...»
The aquarium is located in Kasai Rinkai Park, a vast park of approximately 80 hectares facing Tokyo Bay.It holds the record for the largest number of annual visitors to an aquarium in Japan and is the most visited aquarium in eastern Japan. The building is a glass dome about 30 meters above the ground at the center of the pond.The entrance is directly under the dome, and the exhibition space exte...»
The shrine covers an area of 73 hectares (about 220,000 tsubo). It is divided into an inner garden and an outer garden. The Meiji Jingu Museum displays objects related to the deities of the Meiji period court culture, and the Meiji Jingu International Shinto Cultural Institute promotes the international transmission of Shinto culture. The shrine attracts tourists from Japan and abroad every New ...»
Rikugien was built in 1695 by Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa, a feudal lord who was highly respected by Tsunayoshi Tokugawa, the fifth Tokugawa Shogun, as his own residence. In 1695, a hill was built on a flat area of about 27,000 tsubo (about 7,000 m2) by heaping up earth, and a pond was dug by draining water from the Senkawa River.The garden is designated as a special place of scenic beauty. The azalea ...»
Odaiba Kaihin Koen is a park surrounding a quiet cove in Odaiba.There is an 800-meter-long artificial sandy beach called "Odaiba Beach," where various events are held. The Statue of Liberty was erected to commemorate the friendship between Japan and France. The Rainbow Bridge can be seen beautifully from the adjacent Daiba Park. Daiba Park is the site of a gun emplacement built on Tokyo Bay in ...»
The building was designed based on cross-sectional sketches by Hayao Miyazaki, and it is as if you have entered the world of Studio Ghibli's animated films. The entrance hall is dotted with characters from the films, including a reception desk where Totoro greets visitors and a fresco mural of Ghibli characters dotted across the ceiling.Original animated short films are screened, and there are ex...»
The aquarium is located in Tokyo Solamachi in Tokyo Skytree Town.The aquarium exhibits 7,000 marine creatures of about 260 species in eight zones.It is open until 9:00 p.m., so visitors can stop by at the end of their sightseeing tour. JellyfishAbout 700 jellyfish of 14 species born and raised in the SUMIDA AQUARIUM, including red jellyfish and octopus jellyfish, are on display.In the "Big Petri ...»
Rainbow Bridge is a double-decker suspension bridge with a total length of approximately 800 meters. It is popular as a weekend driving course because of its excellent daytime and nighttime views of the ocean and buildings. The upper part of the bridge is connected to the Metropolitan Expressway, while the lower part is connected to the new Yurikamome transportation system in the center, with ord...»
The Sunshine Aquarium is an urban aquarium located 40 meters above ground on the roof of a skyscraper in the Sunshine City complex. Visitors can see 23,000 marine creatures of approximately 550 species in carefully designed exhibits, including flying penguins that appear to swim in midair, a tunnel tank of jellyfish, and a large tank with vivid coral reefs and fish. Based on the concept of an oa...»
This church was newly built in 1964 with an innovative design.The unique curved concrete buildings intersect to form a cross when viewed from the sky. From the ground, it looks like a silvery swan shaking its wings, and looking up from below, it gently creeps up to the cross-shaped top light at the top, creating a sense of ascent, as if the viewer's gaze is directly reaching the heavens. The sta...»
A combination of a Japanese garden, an English landscape garden, a French-style landscaped garden, and a large greenhouse in a space of about 58 hectares, the park is an imperial garden open to the public. There are many kinds of trees, with more than 10,000. There are approximately 1,300 cherry trees of 65 varieties, and the park has been selected as one of the 100 best cherry blossom viewing sp...»
The National Museum of Western Art, opened in 1959, is Japan's only national art museum dedicated to Western art in general. In addition to the Matsukata Collection, which consists mainly of paintings and sculptures from the 19th to early 20th centuries, including Impressionist works collected in Europe by the industrialist Kojiro Matsukata in the early 20th century, the museum has a permanent co...»
Ueno Park was designated as Japan's first park in 1873, and is one of the largest urban parks in Japan. Its official name is "Ueno Onshi Koen.Within the park, there are many cultural facilities such as museums and zoos. Cultural facilities such as Ueno Zoo, Tokyo National Museum, National Museum of Western Art, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Ueno Royal Museu...»
Koishikawa Korakuen is one of the best Japanese gardens (feudal lord's garden), which is the predecessor of the garden of the Mito Tokugawa family created in the early Edo period.It is designated as a Special Historic Site and a Special Place of Scenic Beauty by the national government. In 1629, Yorifusa Tokugawa, the first lord of the Mito Tokugawa family, ordered the gardener Sahei Tokudaiji to...»
The garden was developed from the former residence of a conglomerate. Taking advantage of the topography of the Musashino Plateau, with its slopes and lowlands, a Western-style building was built on a small hill on the north side, with a Western-style garden on the slope and a Japanese garden on the lowlands.The garden is designated as a national place of scenic beauty.It is well known as one of t...»
Hamarikyu Gardens is a garden with a tidal inlet that brings in seawater from Tokyo Bay, and the scenery changes with the ebb and flow of the tides. The garden is one of the largest in Tokyo, and visitors can enjoy the changing scenery of the four seasons. The garden was created in the Edo period (1603-1867) as the garden for the Hamarikyu Goten, a villa of the Tokugawa shoguns. After the detach...»