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Stories from Tokyo, Japan

Every story, long read and guide in the ULTIMATE Tokyo City Guide, in one place.

Areas

Tokyo, district by district

Eight districts, each with its own guide: the palace, the station and Ginza; old Nihonbashi; Roppongi and Azabudai; Toranomon and Akasaka; Shibuya and Omotesandō; Shinjuku; the villages of Ebisu and Nakameguro; and Asakusa and Ueno in the old north-east.

The red-brick Marunouchi building of Tokyo Station and the plaza before itNeighbourhood guideGinza & MarunouchiThe palace, the station and GinzaThe renovated ground floor of the Nihombashi Mitsukoshi main storeNeighbourhood guideNihonbashiWhere Edo did businessTokyo Tower above the city, seen from Roppongi Hills Mori TowerNeighbourhood guideRoppongi & AzabudaiArt, towers and the Azabu tablesThe Shibuya scramble crossing at nightNeighbourhood guideShibuya & OmotesandōThe crossing and the avenueNeon signs over Yasukuni-dōri in Shinjuku at nightNeighbourhood guideShinjukuTowers, gardens and Golden Gai

By train

The Yamanote Line makes a loop through Tokyo, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ueno: plan a day east and a day west, and let the loop do the rest.

  1. Neighbourhood guideEbisu, Daikanyama & NakameguroThe village side of Tokyo
  2. Neighbourhood guideAsakusa & UenoTemples, museums and old Tokyo
  3. Neighbourhood guideToranomon & AkasakaThe new business heart

History

History & heritage

Edo Castle and the shogun’s city, the merchants of Nihonbashi, the eastern capital of 1868, the earthquake of 1923, the rebuilt city and the Olympics of 1964 and 2021.

Old castle walls in the East Gardens of the Imperial PalaceHistory & heritageTokyo: history and heritageEdo, the shoguns and the eastern capital

Practical

Before you go

Haneda or Narita, the 90-day stay, the new tax refund, IC cards and the seasons, and three days that work for a first visit.

The red-brick Marunouchi building of Tokyo Station and the plaza before itBefore you goTokyo essentialsEntry, money, 119 and the seasonsInside a Tokyo Metro trainGetting aroundGetting aroundAirports, the metro and the bullet trainThe Kaminarimon gate of Sensō-ji with its great red lanternItineraryTokyo in three daysEast, centre and westTokyo Tower lit orange among the towers of Minato at nightLuxury guideLUX LivingThe finest addressesPalace Hotel Tokyo by the palace moatItineraryThe Gold weekendThe Palace Hotel and Ginza
  1. ItineraryThe Platinum weekendAman and two three-star tables

Our advice

Sensō-ji at dawn, Shibuya at dusk

Sensō-ji’s grounds are open before the shops of Nakamise and after they close: come early or late. Book SHIBUYA SKY for a sunset slot well ahead, then see the crossing from the street after dark. The great sights

Day trips

Beyond Tokyo

Hot springs and Mount Fuji to the south-west, the Great Buddha of Kamakura by the sea, the gilded shrines of Nikkō in the cedars, the port of Yokohama, Little Edo at Kawagoe and Kyoto by bullet train.

The red torii of Hakone Shrine standing in Lake AshiBeyond TokyoHakone & Mount FujiLakes, hot springs and the mountainThe bronze Great Buddha of KamakuraBeyond TokyoKamakuraThe Great Buddha by the seaThe carved and gilded Yōmeimon gate of Nikkō TōshōgūBeyond TokyoNikkōShrines in the cedar forestMinato Mirai and its big wheel at sunset, with Mount Fuji beyondBeyond TokyoYokohamaThe port cityThe wooden Toki no Kane bell tower among Kawagoe’s old housesBeyond TokyoKawagoeLittle Edo
  1. Beyond TokyoKyotoThe old capital

Our advice

Give Fuji a winter morning

Mount Fuji hides in cloud for much of the summer. The clearest views come on cold, dry mornings from late autumn to early spring: from Lake Kawaguchi, from Hakone, or from the right-hand side of a westbound Shinkansen. Hakone & Mount Fuji guide

In depth

Tokyo in depth

Old Edo and the new city, eleven three-star tables and a bowl of soba, screens and stages, the hotels in the sky, the department stores and the new tax refund, the bullet train and what a foreigner may buy: the stories behind Tokyo.

Marunouchi’s Naka-dōri under the winter illuminationsMarunouchi’s Naka-dōriChristmas in TokyoGolden avenues, a Christmas market and the New Year at the shrinesThe great wooden torii on the southern approach to Meiji JingūIn depth: nature & wildlifeWild TokyoForest shrines, garden ponds and the mountainsAnago (sea eel) nigiri at a sushi counterThe back storyTokyo at the tableThe stars and the soba

At the table

The best counters seat eight and book weeks ahead; lunch is often the easier way in, and a bowl of Bib Gourmand soba is never far away.

  1. The back storyScreens, stages and white cubesTokyo’s arts
  2. The back storyWhere Tokyo sleepsTowers, ryokan and hills
  3. The back storyShopping in TokyoAnd the new tax refund
  4. The back storyGetting aroundThe loop and the bullet train
  5. The back storyBuying in TokyoOpen to foreign buyers

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