Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
4
Tokyo Neighborhoods
& Suggested Itineraries
If your time in Tokyo is limited,
the suggested itineraries below will make
the most of it by guiding you to the best the
city has to offer, coordinating sightseeing
with dining and evening plans. Keep in
mind that some attractions are closed 1
day of the week, so plan your days accord-
ingly.
1
GETTING TO KNOW TOKYO
CITY LAYOUT
Tokyo is located on the mideastern part of
Honshu,
Japan's largest and most historically
important island, and sprawls westward onto the
Kanto Plain
(the largest plain in all
Japan). It is bounded on the southeast by
Tokyo Bay,
which in turn opens into the
Pacific Ocean.
If you look at a map, you'll see that Tokyo retains some of its Edo Period features, most
notably a large green oasis in the middle of the city, site of the former Edo Castle and
today home of the Imperial Palace and its grounds. Surrounding it is the castle moat; a
bit farther out are remnants of another circular moat built by the Tokugawa shogun. The
JR Yamanote Line
forms another loop around the inner city; most of Tokyo's major
hotels, nightlife districts, and attractions are near or inside this oblong loop.
For administrative purposes, Tokyo is divided into 23 wards, known as ku. Its business
districts of Marunouchi and Hibiya, for example, are in Chiyoda-ku, while Ginza is part
of Chuo-ku (Central Ward). These two ku are the historic hearts of Tokyo, for it was here
that the city had its humble beginnings. Greater Tokyo is also a prefecture (similar to a
state or province) and includes 26 cities, five towns, and eight villages in addition to its
23 wards, as well as Pacific islands. For most purposes, however, references to Tokyo in
this guide pertain mostly to central Tokyo's 23 wards.
MAIN STREETS & ARTERIES
One difficulty in finding your way around Tokyo is that hardly any streets are named.
Think about what that means—some 12 million people living in a huge metropolis of
nameless streets. Granted, major thoroughfares and some well-known streets in areas
such as Ginza and Shinjuku received names after World War II at the insistence of
American occupation forces, and a few more have been labeled or given nicknames only
the locals know. But for the most part, Tokyo's address system is based on a complicated
number scheme that must make the postal workers' jobs here a nightmare. To make mat-
ters worse, most streets in Tokyo zigzag—an arrangement apparently left over from the
past to confuse potential attacking enemies. Today they confuse Tokyoites and visitors
alike.
Among Tokyo's most important named streets are
Meiji Dori,
which follows the loop
of the Yamanote Line and runs from Minato-ku ward in the south through Ebisu,
