Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Tokyo shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Tokyo offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Tokyo at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Tokyo? Wrong! If the Tokyo is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Tokyo then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Tokyo? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Tokyo and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Tokyo wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Tokyo then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Tokyo site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Tokyo, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Tokyo, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Infobox Prefecture Japan| Name = Tokyo| Fullname = Tokyo| JapaneseName = 東京都 Tōkyō-to| Symbol = PrefSymbol-Tokyo.svg| SymbolName = Tokyo Metropolitan Government symbol| SymbolDescription = Adopted in June 1989, Tokyo's official symbol has three arcs forming the letter T for Tokyo in the shape of a vivid green ginkgo leaf. It symbolizes Tokyo's future growth, prosperity, charm, and tranquility.]| Island = Honshū, [2006)| PopRank = 1st| Density = 5796| DistrictCategory = Districts of Japan| Districts = 1| Municipalities = 62|latd = 35|latm = 41|lats =|latNS = N|longd = 139|longm = 45|longs =|longEW = E| ISOCode = JP-13| Flower = [Sakura cherry blossom| Tree = Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)| Bird = Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)]-->

, or more formally , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan of Japan and, unique among the prefectures, provides certain municipal services characteristic of a Cities of Japan, as defined by Japanese law.

Because it is the seat of the Government of Japan and the Kokyo, and the home of the Imperial House of Japan, Tokyo is the de facto capital of Japan.See capital of Japan for the debate on whether Tokyo is also the de jure capital.

Tokyo is the most populous prefecture and city in the country. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, although each administratively a city in its own right, constitute the area informally considered as the "city of Tokyo" and are collectively one of the largest cities in the world with a total population of over 8 million people. The total population of the prefecture exceeds 12 million.

The Greater Tokyo Area, centered on Tokyo but also including Chiba Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Saitama Prefecture, is the most World's largest cities with a population of over 35 million people. It has been the world's most populous urban area since between 1965 and 1970, and despite Japan's declining population, is still growing.

Tokyo has the largest metropolitan gross domestic product in the world for a city, and it held the title of the world's most expensive city for over a decade from 1992 through 2005.

Tokyo is a major global city and megacity. The name "Tokyo" refers variously to Tokyo Metropolis (the prefecture) as a whole, or only to the main urban mass under its jurisdiction (thus excluding west Tama and Izu / Ogasawara Islands), or even the whole of Greater Tokyo Area, which includes Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, and Yamanashi Prefecture prefectures, depending on context.

This article uses the name to refer to Tokyo Metropolis unless otherwise stated.

History Tokyo's rise to importance can be largely attributed to two men: Tokugawa Ieyasu and Emperor Meiji. Tokugawa Ieyasu made Edo (the forerunner of Tokyo) his base. When he became shogun in 1603, the town began to grow into the capital of his nationwide military government. It became one of the largest cities in the world with a population topping one million by the 18th century. It became the de facto capital of Japan{{cite book | title= The Making of Urban Japan: Cities and Planning from Edo to the Twenty First Century | last=Sorensen | first=Andre | publisher=[RoutledgeCurzon | year=2004 | pages=p. 16 | isbn=0415354226 --> even while the emperor lived in Kyoto, the imperial capital.

After about 263 years, the shogunate was overthrown under the banner of Meiji Restoration. In 1869, the 17-year-old Emperor Meiji moved to Edo, which was Geographical renaming "Tokyo" ("Eastern Capital") the year before. Tokyo was already the nation's political and cultural center{{cite web | url=http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/PROFILE/overview01.htm | title=History of Tokyo | accessdate=2007-10-17 | publisher=Tokyo Metropolitan Government -->, and the emperor's residence made it a de facto imperial capital as well with the former Edo Castle becoming the Kokyo. The Tokyo City was established, and continued to be the capital until it was abolished as a municipality in 1943 and merged with the "Metropolitan Prefecture" of Tokyo.

Central Tokyo, like Osaka, has been designed since about the turn of the century (1900) to be centered around major train stations in a high-density fashion, so suburban railways were built relatively cheaply at street level and with their own right-of-way. This differs from other world cities, such as Los Angeles, that are low-density and automobile-centric. Though Shuto Expressway have been built, the basic design has not changed to this day.

Tokyo went on to suffer two major catastrophes in the 20th century, but it recovered from both. One was the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, and the other was World War II. The Bombing of Tokyo in World War II, with 75,000 to 200,000 killed and half of the city destroyed, were almost as devastating as the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. After the war, Tokyo was completely rebuilt, and showcased to the world during the city's 1964 Summer Olympics. The 1970s brought new high-rise developments such as Sunshine 60, a new and controversial Narita International Airport at Narita (well outside Tokyo), and a population increase to about 11 million (in the metropolitan area).

Tokyo's subway and commuter rail network became one of the busiest in the world{{cite web | url=http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr25/pdf/f04_oka.pdf | title=Rail Transport in The World's Major Cities | publisher=Japan Railway and Transport Review | accessdate=2007-10-17 | format=PDF --> as more and more people moved to the area. In the 1980s, real estate prices skyrocketed during an economic Japanese asset price bubble. The bubble burst in the early 1990s and many companies, banks, and individuals were caught with real estate shrinking in value. A major recession followed, making the 1990s Japan's "lost decade"{{cite book | last = Saxonhouse | first = Gary R. (ed.) | coauthors = Robert M. Stern (ed.) | title = Japan's Lost Decade: Origins, Consequences and Prospects for Recovery | publisher = [Blackwell Publishing Limited | year = 2004 | isbn = 1405119179 --> from which it is now slowly recovering.

and Tokyo Tower as seen from Odaiba at night.

Tokyo still sees new urban developments on large lots of less profitable land. Recent projects include Ebisu, Tokyo Garden Place, Tennozu Isle, Shiodome, Roppongi Hills, Shinagawa (now also a Shinkansen station), and Tokyo Station (Marunouchi side). Buildings of significance are demolished for more up-to-date shopping facilities such as Omotesando Hills. Land reclamation projects in Tokyo have also been going on for centuries. The most prominent is the Odaiba area, now a major shopping and entertainment center.

Tokyo was hit by powerful earthquakes in 1703, 1782, 1812, 1855 and 1923{{cite web | url=http://sicarius.wr.usgs.gov/tokyo/submitted/GrunewaldJGR_submitted.pdf | title=A New 1649-1884 Catalog of Destructive Earthquakes near Tokyo and Implications for the Long-term Seismic Process | accessdate=2007-10-14 | format=PDF | publisher=U.S. Geological Survey -->{{cite web | url=http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/reports/reprints/Stein_PRSLA_364.pdf | title=A new probabilistic seismic hazard assessment for greater Tokyo | accessdate=2007-10-14 | format=PDF | publisher=U.S. Geological Survey -->. The Great Kanto Earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 8.3, killed 142,000 people.

There have been various plans proposed{{cite web | url=http://www.jpc-sed.or.jp/eng/committee/committee06.html | title=Shift of Capital from Tokyo Committee | accessdate=2007-10-14 | publisher=Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development --> for transferring national government functions from Tokyo to secondary capitals in other regions of Japan, in order to slow down rapid development in Tokyo and revitalize economically lagging areas of the country. These plans have been controversial{{cite web | url=http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/GOVERNOR/SPEECH/2003/0301/2.htm | title=Policy Speech by Governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara at the First Regular Session of the Metropolitan Assembly, 2003 | accessdate=2007-10-17 | publisher=Tokyo Metropolitan Government --> within Japan and have yet to be realized.

An older method of Romaji Japanese resulted in "Tokio" as an earlier spelling.

During the early Meiji period, the city was also called "Tōkei", an alternative pronunciation for the same Chinese characters representing "Tokyo". Some surviving official English documents use the spelling "Tokei".{{cite web | url=http://www.soumu.metro.tokyo.jp/01soumu/archives/tokei_ibun.htm | title=www.soumu.metro.tokyo.jp/01soumu/archives/tokei_ibun.htm --> This pronunciation is now obsolete.

Geography and administrative divisions



The mainland portion of Tokyo lies northwest of Tokyo Bay and measures about 90 km east to west and 25 km north to south. It borders Chiba Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the west, Kanagawa Prefecture to the south, and Saitama Prefecture to the north. Mainland Tokyo is further subdivided into the special wards (occupying the eastern half) and the Tama area (多摩地方) stretching westwards.

Also within the administrative boundaries of Tokyo Metropolis are two island chains in the Pacific Ocean directly south: the Izu Islands, which are almost parallel to the Izu Peninsula; and the Ogasawara Islands, which stretch more than 1,000 km away from mainland Japan.

Under Japanese law, Tokyo is designated as a to (wiktionary:都), translated as "metropolis"{{cite web]. Within Tokyo lie dozens of smaller entities, most of them conventionally referred to as cities. It includes Special wards of Tokyo (特別wiktionary:区 -ku) which until 1943 comprised the Tokyo City but are now separate, self-governing municipalities, each with a mayor and a council, and having the status of a city. In addition to these 23 municipalities, Tokyo also encompasses 26 more cities (wiktionary:市 -shi), five towns (wiktionary:町 -chō or machi), and eight villages (wiktionary:村 -son or -mura), each of which has a local government. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is headed by a publicly elected governor and metropolitan assembly. Its Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building are in the ward of Shinjuku, Tokyo. They govern all of Tokyo, including lakes, rivers, dams, farms, remote islands, and national parks in addition to its famous neon jungle, skyscrapers and crowded subways.

The twenty-three special wards The Special wards of Tokyo (tokubetsu-ku) of Tokyo comprise the area formerly incorporated as Tokyo City. On July 1, 1943, Tokyo City was merged with Tokyo Prefecture (東京府, Tōkyō-fu) forming the current "metropolitan prefecture". As a result of this merger, unlike other wards of Japan in Japan, these wards are not part of any larger incorporated city.

Each ward is a Municipalities of Japan with its own elected mayor and assembly like the other cities of Japan. The wards differ from other cities in that certain governmental functions are handled by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

The special wards of Tokyo are the following:{||- valign="top"| | |}

The term "central Tokyo" today may refer to the 23 special wards, the centres of Shinjuku, Minato, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo and Chūō, Tokyo connected and enclosed by the Yamanote Line, or to the three centrally located wards of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo and Minato, Tokyo.



Western Tokyo 's Landsat 7.

To the west of the special wards, Tokyo Metropolis consists of cities, towns and villages that enjoy the same legal status as those elsewhere in Japan.

While serving a role as "Bedroom community" for those working in central Tokyo, some of these also have a local commercial and industrial base. Collectively, these are often known as Tama Area or Western Tokyo.

Cities Twenty-six cities lie within the western part of Tokyo Prefecture:{||- valign="top"| | |}

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has designated Hachiōji, Tachikawa, Machida, Ōme and Tama New Town as regional centres of the Tama area{{cite web|url=http://www.toshiseibi.metro.tokyo.jp/plan/pe-011.htm|title=Development of the Metropolitan Center, Subcenters and New Base|accessdate=2007-10-14|publisher=Bureau of Urban Development, Tokyo Metropolitan Government-->, as part of their plans to disperse urban functions away from central Tokyo.

Districts, towns and villages The far west is occupied by the district (gun) of Nishitama, Tokyo. Much of this area is mountainous and unsuitable for urbanization. The highest mountain in Tokyo, Mount Kumotori, is 2,017 m high; other mountains in Tokyo include Mount Takasu (1737 m), Mount Odake (1266 m), and Mount Mitake (929 m). Lake Okutama, on the Tama River near Yamanashi Prefecture, is Tokyo's largest lake.



Islands Tokyo's outlying islands extend as far as 1850 km from central Tokyo. Because of the islands' distance from the city, they are locally run by branches of the metropolitan government. The islands are organized into two towns and seven villages.

In Izu Islands, there are 2 towns and 6 villages. In Ogasawara Islands, there is only 1 village.

Izu Islands The Izu Islands are a group of volcanic islands and form part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. The islands in order from closest to Tokyo are:



(south) are part of Tokyo Prefecture.

Izu Ōshima and Hachiojima are towns. The remaining islands are six villages, with Niijima and Shikinejima forming one village.

Ogasawara Islands

National Parks There are four national parks in Tokyo Prefecture:

Climate Tokyo lies in the humid subtropical climate zone (Koppen climate classification Cfa), with hot humid summers and generally mild winters with cool spells. Its location on the coast of the Pacific Ocean affords Tokyo a milder climate than other cities worldwide at a similar latitude. Annual rainfall averages 1,380 mm (55 inches), with a wetter summer and a drier winter. Snowfall is sporadic, but does occur almost annually.

Economy Tokyo has the largest metropolitan economy in the world. According to a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Tokyo urban area (35.2 million people) had a total GDP of US$1,191 billion in 2005 (at purchasing power parity), ranking again as the largest urban agglomeration GDP in the world.

Tokyo is a major international finance center{{cite web]s and insurance companies, and serves as a hub for Japan's transportation, publishing, and broadcasting industries. During the centralized growth of Japan's economy following World War II, many large firms moved their headquarters from cities such as Osaka (the historical commercial capital) to Tokyo, in an attempt to take advantage of better access to the government. This trend has begun to slow due to ongoing population growth in Tokyo and the high cost of living there.

Tokyo was rated by the The Economist as the most expensive (highest Cost-of-living index) city in the world for 14 years in a row ending in 2006. (inactive). Note that this is for living a Western corporate executive lifestyle, with items typically considered luxuries in large cities, like a detached house and several automobiles. Many Japanese get by fine on a budget in Tokyo, underpinning the high national savings rate.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the second largest in the world by market capitalization of listed shares, at $4.99 trillion. Only the New York Stock Exchange is larger. However, its prominence has fallen significantly since early 1990s asset bubble peak, when it accounted for more than 60% of the entire world's stock market values.

Tokyo had 8,460 ha (20,900 acres) of agricultural land as of 2003,http://www.maff.go.jp/esokuhou/sei200305.pdf according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan), placing it last among the nation's prefectures. The farmland is concentrated in Western Tokyo. Perishables such as vegetables, fruits, and flowers can be conveniently shipped to the markets in the eastern part of the prefecture. Komatsuna and spinach are the most important vegetables; as of 2000, Tokyo supplied 32.5% of the Japanese leaf spinach sold at its central produce market.

With 36% of its area covered by forest, Tokyo has extensive growths of cryptomeria and Chamaecyparis obtusa, especially in the mountainous western communities of Akiruno, Ōme, Okutama, Hachiōji, Hinode, and Hinohara. Decreases in the price of lumber, increases in the cost of production, and advancing old age among the forestry population have resulted in a decline in Tokyo's output. In addition, pollen, especially from cryptomeria, is a major allergen for the nearby population centers.

Tokyo Bay was once a major source of fish. Presently, most of Tokyo's fish production comes from the outer islands, such as Izu Ōshima and Hachijōjima. Skipjack tuna, nori, and Carangidae are among the ocean products.

Demographics As one of the world city{{cite web|url=http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/citylist.html|title=Inventory of World Cities|accessdate=2007-10-14|publisher=Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network-->, Tokyo has over eight million people living within its 23 wards, and during the daytime, the population swells by over 2.5 million as workers and students commute from adjacent areas{{cite web|url=http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/PROFILE/overview03.htm|title=Population of Tokyo|accessdate=2007-10-14|publisher=Tokyo Metropolitan Government-->. This effect is even more pronounced in the three central wards of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, and Minato, Tokyo, whose collective population is less than 300,000 at night, but over two million during the day. The entire prefecture has 12,696,000 residents in March 2007, with an increase of over 3 million in the day.{| class="wikitable"|+ Population of Tokyo Prefecture|-! By area1|Tokyo Prefecture
Special wards
Tama Area
Islands|12.6 million
8.64 million
4 million
27,000|-! By age²|Juveniles (age 0-14)
Working (age 15-64)
Retired (age 65+)
|1.433 million (12%)
8.507 million (71.4%)
2.057 million (16.6%)|-! By hours³|Day
Night|14.667 million
12.017 million|-! By nationality|Foreign residents|353,8264|-|colspan="3" style="font-size:90%;"|1 as of June 1, 2007.
² as of January 1, 2003.
³ as of 2000.
4 as of January 1, 2005.|}As of 2005, the five most common foreign nationalities found in Tokyo are Chinese (123,661), Korean (106,697), Filipino (31,077), American (18,848) and British (7,696){{cite web|url=http://www.toukei.metro.tokyo.jp/tnenkan/2005/tn05qyte0510b.htm|title=Tokyo Statistical Yearbook 2005, Population|accessdate=2007-10-14|publisher=Bureau of General Affairs, Tokyo Metropolitan Government-->.

The 1889 Census recorded 1,389,600 people in Tokyo city, Japan's largest city at the time.

Transportation

Tokyo is Japan's largest domestic and international hub for rail, ground, and air transportation. Public transportation within Tokyo is dominated by an extensive network of clean and efficient trains and subways run by a variety of operators, with buses, monorails and trams playing a secondary feeder role. Railway stations are not only transport, but the center of Tokyo and Japanese urban life, as everything is judged in relation to the railroads, taking on the significance of highways in the United States and elsewhere.

Within Ōta, Tokyo, one of the 23 special wards, Tokyo International Airport ("Haneda") offers mainly domestic flights. Outside Tokyo, Narita International Airport, in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, is the major gateway for international travelers.

Various islands governed by Tokyo have their own airports with service to Tokyo International Airport and other airports. Hachijojima is served by Hachijojima Airport. Miyakejima Airport serves Miyakejima. Izu Ōshima is served by Oshima Airport.

Rail is the primary mode of transportation in Tokyo, which has the most extensive urban railway network in the world and an equally extensive network of surface lines. East Japan Railway Company operates Tokyo's largest railway network, including the Yamanote Line loop that circles the center of downtown Tokyo. Tokyo Metro and Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation operate the subway network. The metropolitan government and private carriers operate bus routes. Local, regional, and national services are available, with major terminals at the giant railroad stations, including Tokyo Station and Shinjuku Station.

Expressways link the capital to other points in the Greater Tokyo area, the Kantō region, and the islands of Kyūshū and Shikoku.

Taxis operate in the special wards and the cities and towns. Long-distance ferries serve the islands of Tokyo and carry passengers and cargo to domestic and foreign ports.

Education Tokyo has many universities, junior colleges, and vocational schools. Many of Japan's most prestigious universities are in Tokyo, the University of Tokyo being the most prestigious{{cite book | last = Knafelc | first = Kara | title = Tokyo, City Guide | pages=p. 76 | publisher = [Lonely Planet | isbn = 1740594509 --> of all. Japanese national universities located in Tokyo include Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo Institute of Technology and University of Tokyo. There is only one public university (i.e., not national): the Tokyo Metropolitan University. Keio University and Waseda University, top private universities in Japan, are located in Tokyo. Tokyo also has a few universities well-known for classes conducted in English. They include International Christian University, Sophia University, Waseda University and Temple University Japan. For an extensive list of universities in Tokyo, see List of universities in Tokyo.

Publicly run kindergartens, elementary schools (years 1 through 6), and junior high schools (7 through 9) are operated by local wards or municipal offices. Public high schools in Tokyo are run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education and are called "Metropolitan High Schools". Tokyo also has a great number of privately run schools from kindergarten through high school.

Culture Tokyo has many museums. Located in Ueno Park are the Tokyo National Museum, the country's largest museum and specializing in traditional Japanese art; the National Museum of Western Art; and the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, which contains collections of Japanese modern art as well as over 40,000 Japanese and foreign films{{cite web | url=http://www.bunka.go.jp/english/pdf/chapter_11.pdf | format=pdf | title=National Cultural Facilities | publisher=The Agency for Cultural Affairs | accessdate=2007-10-18 -->. Ueno Park also contains the National Museum of Science and the municipal zoo. Other museums include the Nezu Art Museum in Aoyama; the Edo-Tokyo Museum in the Sumida Ward across the Sumida River from the center of Tokyo; and the National Diet Library, National Archives, and the National Museum of Modern Art which are located near the Imperial Palace.

Tokyo is the national center of performing arts as well. There are many theatres in the city in which traditional forms of Japanese drama (like noh and kabuki) as well as modern dramas. Symphony orchestras and other musical organizations perform Western and traditional music. Tokyo also plays host to modern Japanese and Western Pop music and rock music.

Tokyo is home to many different festivals that occur throughout the city. Major festivals draw people from all over the city including the Sanno Festival at Hie Shrine, and the Sanja Festival at Asakusa Shrine. Many Japanese cities hold festivals called matsuri. The Kanda Matsuri in Tokyo is held every two years in May. The festival features a parade with elaborately decorated floats and thousands of people. Annually on the last Saturday of July, an enormous fireworks display is held over the Sumida River and it attracts over 1 million viewers. Once cherry blossoms, or sakura, bloom in spring, many residents gather in parks such as Ueno Park, Inokashira Park, and the Shinjuku Gyoen for picnics under the sakura.

Sports The sports teams listed below are based in Tokyo.

Football (soccer)

Baseball

Ice Hockey

Basketball

Volleyball

Rugby

Tennis Tokyo hosts one of the ten prestigious Tier I tournaments on the women's tennis tour (WTA) and it takes place directly after the Australian Open, near the beginning of the tennis season. It attracts a vast number of top players each year, including Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis, Ai Sugiyama, Elena Dementieva, Ana Ivanović and Lindsay Davenport. Tokyo also hosts another tennis event later in the year, after the US Open.

On the men's ATP tour Tokyo also hosts a tennis event, won in 2006 by Roger Federer.

Olympics The city hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, the first modern olympiad held in Asia. Tokyo is also bidding for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Tourism Tokyo has many tourist sightseeing, cultural and sport attractions. These include famous temples, shrines, annual festivals and events, parks, scenic views, popular shopping and nightlife districts. Cultural highlights of Tokyo include museums, concert halls, and theaters.

Tokyo in popular media As the largest city in Japan and the location of the country's largest broadcasters and studios, Tokyo is frequently the setting for many Japanese movies, television shows, animated series (anime), and comic books (manga). The best-known outside Japan may be the kaiju (monster movie) genre, in which landmarks of Tokyo are routinely destroyed by giant monsters such as Godzilla. Many comics and animated series are set in Tokyo, such as Digimon, Sailor Moon, Ranma ½, Azumanga Daioh, Death Note, Beyblade, Yu-Gi-Oh! and even the western animation Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, have become popular across the world as well. Some futuristic anime and manga such as Akira (manga) often depict Tokyo as a sprawling metropolis in a post-apocalyptic setting; some often go so far as to have numbers designating different Tokyos.

Some Hollywood directors have turned to Tokyo as a filming location for movies set in Tokyo. Well-known examples from the postwar era include Tokyo Joe, My Geisha, and the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (film); well-known contemporary examples include Kill Bill, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Lost in Translation (film).

Sister relationships Tokyo has Town twinning with eleven places worldwide:



In addition, Tokyo has a "partnership" agreement with the cities of London, Auckland International partnerships (from the Auckland City Council website. Retrieved 2006-10-07., Paris and Rome. and many of the wards and cities within Tokyo maintain sister-city relationships with other foreign cities.

Gallery Image:Wako ginza.jpg|GinzaImage:Akiba denkigai.jpg]Image:Shibuya crossing.jpg|ShibuyaImage:Shinjuku night view.jpg]Image:Roppongihills overview.jpg|RoppongiImage:Tokyo station01 1920.jpg]Image:Tokyo Metropolitan Goverment Building no1 Tocho 08 7 December 2003.jpg|Tokyo Metropolitan Government BuildingImage:Kokyo0057.jpg]

References External links



{{Infobox Prefecture Japan| Name = Tokyo| Fullname = Tokyo| JapaneseName = 東京都 Tōkyō-to| Symbol = PrefSymbol-Tokyo.svg| SymbolName = Tokyo Metropolitan Government symbol| SymbolDescription = Adopted in June 1989, Tokyo's official symbol has three arcs forming the letter T for Tokyo in the shape of a vivid green ginkgo leaf. It symbolizes Tokyo's future growth, prosperity, charm, and tranquility.]| Island = Honshū, [2006)| PopRank = 1st| Density = 5796| DistrictCategory = Districts of Japan| Districts = 1| Municipalities = 62|latd = 35|latm = 41|lats =|latNS = N|longd = 139|longm = 45|longs =|longEW = E| ISOCode = JP-13| Flower = [Sakura cherry blossom| Tree = Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)| Bird = Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)]-->

, or more formally , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan of Japan and, unique among the prefectures, provides certain municipal services characteristic of a Cities of Japan, as defined by Japanese law.

Because it is the seat of the Government of Japan and the Kokyo, and the home of the Imperial House of Japan, Tokyo is the de facto capital of Japan.See capital of Japan for the debate on whether Tokyo is also the de jure capital.

Tokyo is the most populous prefecture and city in the country. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, although each administratively a city in its own right, constitute the area informally considered as the "city of Tokyo" and are collectively one of the largest cities in the world with a total population of over 8 million people. The total population of the prefecture exceeds 12 million.

The Greater Tokyo Area, centered on Tokyo but also including Chiba Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Saitama Prefecture, is the most World's largest cities with a population of over 35 million people. It has been the world's most populous urban area since between 1965 and 1970, and despite Japan's declining population, is still growing.

Tokyo has the largest metropolitan gross domestic product in the world for a city, and it held the title of the world's most expensive city for over a decade from 1992 through 2005.

Tokyo is a major global city and megacity. The name "Tokyo" refers variously to Tokyo Metropolis (the prefecture) as a whole, or only to the main urban mass under its jurisdiction (thus excluding west Tama and Izu / Ogasawara Islands), or even the whole of Greater Tokyo Area, which includes Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, and Yamanashi Prefecture prefectures, depending on context.

This article uses the name to refer to Tokyo Metropolis unless otherwise stated.

History Tokyo's rise to importance can be largely attributed to two men: Tokugawa Ieyasu and Emperor Meiji. Tokugawa Ieyasu made Edo (the forerunner of Tokyo) his base. When he became shogun in 1603, the town began to grow into the capital of his nationwide military government. It became one of the largest cities in the world with a population topping one million by the 18th century. It became the de facto capital of Japan{{cite book | title= The Making of Urban Japan: Cities and Planning from Edo to the Twenty First Century | last=Sorensen | first=Andre | publisher=[RoutledgeCurzon | year=2004 | pages=p. 16 | isbn=0415354226 --> even while the emperor lived in Kyoto, the imperial capital.

After about 263 years, the shogunate was overthrown under the banner of Meiji Restoration. In 1869, the 17-year-old Emperor Meiji moved to Edo, which was Geographical renaming "Tokyo" ("Eastern Capital") the year before. Tokyo was already the nation's political and cultural center{{cite web | url=http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/PROFILE/overview01.htm | title=History of Tokyo | accessdate=2007-10-17 | publisher=Tokyo Metropolitan Government -->, and the emperor's residence made it a de facto imperial capital as well with the former Edo Castle becoming the Kokyo. The Tokyo City was established, and continued to be the capital until it was abolished as a municipality in 1943 and merged with the "Metropolitan Prefecture" of Tokyo.

Central Tokyo, like Osaka, has been designed since about the turn of the century (1900) to be centered around major train stations in a high-density fashion, so suburban railways were built relatively cheaply at street level and with their own right-of-way. This differs from other world cities, such as Los Angeles, that are low-density and automobile-centric. Though Shuto Expressway have been built, the basic design has not changed to this day.

Tokyo went on to suffer two major catastrophes in the 20th century, but it recovered from both. One was the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, and the other was World War II. The Bombing of Tokyo in World War II, with 75,000 to 200,000 killed and half of the city destroyed, were almost as devastating as the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. After the war, Tokyo was completely rebuilt, and showcased to the world during the city's 1964 Summer Olympics. The 1970s brought new high-rise developments such as Sunshine 60, a new and controversial Narita International Airport at Narita (well outside Tokyo), and a population increase to about 11 million (in the metropolitan area).

Tokyo's subway and commuter rail network became one of the busiest in the world{{cite web | url=http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr25/pdf/f04_oka.pdf | title=Rail Transport in The World's Major Cities | publisher=Japan Railway and Transport Review | accessdate=2007-10-17 | format=PDF --> as more and more people moved to the area. In the 1980s, real estate prices skyrocketed during an economic Japanese asset price bubble. The bubble burst in the early 1990s and many companies, banks, and individuals were caught with real estate shrinking in value. A major recession followed, making the 1990s Japan's "lost decade"{{cite book | last = Saxonhouse | first = Gary R. (ed.) | coauthors = Robert M. Stern (ed.) | title = Japan's Lost Decade: Origins, Consequences and Prospects for Recovery | publisher = [Blackwell Publishing Limited | year = 2004 | isbn = 1405119179 --> from which it is now slowly recovering.

and Tokyo Tower as seen from Odaiba at night.

Tokyo still sees new urban developments on large lots of less profitable land. Recent projects include Ebisu, Tokyo Garden Place, Tennozu Isle, Shiodome, Roppongi Hills, Shinagawa (now also a Shinkansen station), and Tokyo Station (Marunouchi side). Buildings of significance are demolished for more up-to-date shopping facilities such as Omotesando Hills. Land reclamation projects in Tokyo have also been going on for centuries. The most prominent is the Odaiba area, now a major shopping and entertainment center.

Tokyo was hit by powerful earthquakes in 1703, 1782, 1812, 1855 and 1923{{cite web | url=http://sicarius.wr.usgs.gov/tokyo/submitted/GrunewaldJGR_submitted.pdf | title=A New 1649-1884 Catalog of Destructive Earthquakes near Tokyo and Implications for the Long-term Seismic Process | accessdate=2007-10-14 | format=PDF | publisher=U.S. Geological Survey -->{{cite web | url=http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/reports/reprints/Stein_PRSLA_364.pdf | title=A new probabilistic seismic hazard assessment for greater Tokyo | accessdate=2007-10-14 | format=PDF | publisher=U.S. Geological Survey -->. The Great Kanto Earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 8.3, killed 142,000 people.

There have been various plans proposed{{cite web | url=http://www.jpc-sed.or.jp/eng/committee/committee06.html | title=Shift of Capital from Tokyo Committee | accessdate=2007-10-14 | publisher=Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development --> for transferring national government functions from Tokyo to secondary capitals in other regions of Japan, in order to slow down rapid development in Tokyo and revitalize economically lagging areas of the country. These plans have been controversial{{cite web | url=http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/GOVERNOR/SPEECH/2003/0301/2.htm | title=Policy Speech by Governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara at the First Regular Session of the Metropolitan Assembly, 2003 | accessdate=2007-10-17 | publisher=Tokyo Metropolitan Government --> within Japan and have yet to be realized.

An older method of Romaji Japanese resulted in "Tokio" as an earlier spelling.

During the early Meiji period, the city was also called "Tōkei", an alternative pronunciation for the same Chinese characters representing "Tokyo". Some surviving official English documents use the spelling "Tokei".{{cite web | url=http://www.soumu.metro.tokyo.jp/01soumu/archives/tokei_ibun.htm | title=www.soumu.metro.tokyo.jp/01soumu/archives/tokei_ibun.htm --> This pronunciation is now obsolete.

Geography and administrative divisions



The mainland portion of Tokyo lies northwest of Tokyo Bay and measures about 90 km east to west and 25 km north to south. It borders Chiba Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the west, Kanagawa Prefecture to the south, and Saitama Prefecture to the north. Mainland Tokyo is further subdivided into the special wards (occupying the eastern half) and the Tama area (多摩地方) stretching westwards.

Also within the administrative boundaries of Tokyo Metropolis are two island chains in the Pacific Ocean directly south: the Izu Islands, which are almost parallel to the Izu Peninsula; and the Ogasawara Islands, which stretch more than 1,000 km away from mainland Japan.

Under Japanese law, Tokyo is designated as a to (wiktionary:都), translated as "metropolis"{{cite web]. Within Tokyo lie dozens of smaller entities, most of them conventionally referred to as cities. It includes Special wards of Tokyo (特別wiktionary:区 -ku) which until 1943 comprised the Tokyo City but are now separate, self-governing municipalities, each with a mayor and a council, and having the status of a city. In addition to these 23 municipalities, Tokyo also encompasses 26 more cities (wiktionary:市 -shi), five towns (wiktionary:町 -chō or machi), and eight villages (wiktionary:村 -son or -mura), each of which has a local government. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is headed by a publicly elected governor and metropolitan assembly. Its Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building are in the ward of Shinjuku, Tokyo. They govern all of Tokyo, including lakes, rivers, dams, farms, remote islands, and national parks in addition to its famous neon jungle, skyscrapers and crowded subways.

The twenty-three special wards The Special wards of Tokyo (tokubetsu-ku) of Tokyo comprise the area formerly incorporated as Tokyo City. On July 1, 1943, Tokyo City was merged with Tokyo Prefecture (東京府, Tōkyō-fu) forming the current "metropolitan prefecture". As a result of this merger, unlike other wards of Japan in Japan, these wards are not part of any larger incorporated city.

Each ward is a Municipalities of Japan with its own elected mayor and assembly like the other cities of Japan. The wards differ from other cities in that certain governmental functions are handled by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

The special wards of Tokyo are the following:{||- valign="top"| | |}

The term "central Tokyo" today may refer to the 23 special wards, the centres of Shinjuku, Minato, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo and Chūō, Tokyo connected and enclosed by the Yamanote Line, or to the three centrally located wards of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo and Minato, Tokyo.



Western Tokyo 's Landsat 7.

To the west of the special wards, Tokyo Metropolis consists of cities, towns and villages that enjoy the same legal status as those elsewhere in Japan.

While serving a role as "Bedroom community" for those working in central Tokyo, some of these also have a local commercial and industrial base. Collectively, these are often known as Tama Area or Western Tokyo.

Cities Twenty-six cities lie within the western part of Tokyo Prefecture:{||- valign="top"| | |}

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has designated Hachiōji, Tachikawa, Machida, Ōme and Tama New Town as regional centres of the Tama area{{cite web|url=http://www.toshiseibi.metro.tokyo.jp/plan/pe-011.htm|title=Development of the Metropolitan Center, Subcenters and New Base|accessdate=2007-10-14|publisher=Bureau of Urban Development, Tokyo Metropolitan Government-->, as part of their plans to disperse urban functions away from central Tokyo.

Districts, towns and villages The far west is occupied by the district (gun) of Nishitama, Tokyo. Much of this area is mountainous and unsuitable for urbanization. The highest mountain in Tokyo, Mount Kumotori, is 2,017 m high; other mountains in Tokyo include Mount Takasu (1737 m), Mount Odake (1266 m), and Mount Mitake (929 m). Lake Okutama, on the Tama River near Yamanashi Prefecture, is Tokyo's largest lake.



Islands Tokyo's outlying islands extend as far as 1850 km from central Tokyo. Because of the islands' distance from the city, they are locally run by branches of the metropolitan government. The islands are organized into two towns and seven villages.

In Izu Islands, there are 2 towns and 6 villages. In Ogasawara Islands, there is only 1 village.

Izu Islands The Izu Islands are a group of volcanic islands and form part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. The islands in order from closest to Tokyo are:



(south) are part of Tokyo Prefecture.

Izu Ōshima and Hachiojima are towns. The remaining islands are six villages, with Niijima and Shikinejima forming one village.

Ogasawara Islands

National Parks There are four national parks in Tokyo Prefecture:

Climate Tokyo lies in the humid subtropical climate zone (Koppen climate classification Cfa), with hot humid summers and generally mild winters with cool spells. Its location on the coast of the Pacific Ocean affords Tokyo a milder climate than other cities worldwide at a similar latitude. Annual rainfall averages 1,380 mm (55 inches), with a wetter summer and a drier winter. Snowfall is sporadic, but does occur almost annually.

Economy Tokyo has the largest metropolitan economy in the world. According to a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Tokyo urban area (35.2 million people) had a total GDP of US$1,191 billion in 2005 (at purchasing power parity), ranking again as the largest urban agglomeration GDP in the world.

Tokyo is a major international finance center{{cite web]s and insurance companies, and serves as a hub for Japan's transportation, publishing, and broadcasting industries. During the centralized growth of Japan's economy following World War II, many large firms moved their headquarters from cities such as Osaka (the historical commercial capital) to Tokyo, in an attempt to take advantage of better access to the government. This trend has begun to slow due to ongoing population growth in Tokyo and the high cost of living there.

Tokyo was rated by the The Economist as the most expensive (highest Cost-of-living index) city in the world for 14 years in a row ending in 2006. (inactive). Note that this is for living a Western corporate executive lifestyle, with items typically considered luxuries in large cities, like a detached house and several automobiles. Many Japanese get by fine on a budget in Tokyo, underpinning the high national savings rate.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the second largest in the world by market capitalization of listed shares, at $4.99 trillion. Only the New York Stock Exchange is larger. However, its prominence has fallen significantly since early 1990s asset bubble peak, when it accounted for more than 60% of the entire world's stock market values.

Tokyo had 8,460 ha (20,900 acres) of agricultural land as of 2003,http://www.maff.go.jp/esokuhou/sei200305.pdf according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan), placing it last among the nation's prefectures. The farmland is concentrated in Western Tokyo. Perishables such as vegetables, fruits, and flowers can be conveniently shipped to the markets in the eastern part of the prefecture. Komatsuna and spinach are the most important vegetables; as of 2000, Tokyo supplied 32.5% of the Japanese leaf spinach sold at its central produce market.

With 36% of its area covered by forest, Tokyo has extensive growths of cryptomeria and Chamaecyparis obtusa, especially in the mountainous western communities of Akiruno, Ōme, Okutama, Hachiōji, Hinode, and Hinohara. Decreases in the price of lumber, increases in the cost of production, and advancing old age among the forestry population have resulted in a decline in Tokyo's output. In addition, pollen, especially from cryptomeria, is a major allergen for the nearby population centers.

Tokyo Bay was once a major source of fish. Presently, most of Tokyo's fish production comes from the outer islands, such as Izu Ōshima and Hachijōjima. Skipjack tuna, nori, and Carangidae are among the ocean products.

Demographics As one of the world city{{cite web|url=http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/citylist.html|title=Inventory of World Cities|accessdate=2007-10-14|publisher=Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network-->, Tokyo has over eight million people living within its 23 wards, and during the daytime, the population swells by over 2.5 million as workers and students commute from adjacent areas{{cite web|url=http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/PROFILE/overview03.htm|title=Population of Tokyo|accessdate=2007-10-14|publisher=Tokyo Metropolitan Government-->. This effect is even more pronounced in the three central wards of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, and Minato, Tokyo, whose collective population is less than 300,000 at night, but over two million during the day. The entire prefecture has 12,696,000 residents in March 2007, with an increase of over 3 million in the day.{| class="wikitable"|+ Population of Tokyo Prefecture|-! By area1|Tokyo Prefecture
Special wards
Tama Area
Islands|12.6 million
8.64 million
4 million
27,000|-! By age²|Juveniles (age 0-14)
Working (age 15-64)
Retired (age 65+)
|1.433 million (12%)
8.507 million (71.4%)
2.057 million (16.6%)|-! By hours³|Day
Night|14.667 million
12.017 million|-! By nationality|Foreign residents|353,8264|-|colspan="3" style="font-size:90%;"|1 as of June 1, 2007.
² as of January 1, 2003.
³ as of 2000.
4 as of January 1, 2005.|}As of 2005, the five most common foreign nationalities found in Tokyo are Chinese (123,661), Korean (106,697), Filipino (31,077), American (18,848) and British (7,696){{cite web|url=http://www.toukei.metro.tokyo.jp/tnenkan/2005/tn05qyte0510b.htm|title=Tokyo Statistical Yearbook 2005, Population|accessdate=2007-10-14|publisher=Bureau of General Affairs, Tokyo Metropolitan Government-->.

The 1889 Census recorded 1,389,600 people in Tokyo city, Japan's largest city at the time.

Transportation

Tokyo is Japan's largest domestic and international hub for rail, ground, and air transportation. Public transportation within Tokyo is dominated by an extensive network of clean and efficient trains and subways run by a variety of operators, with buses, monorails and trams playing a secondary feeder role. Railway stations are not only transport, but the center of Tokyo and Japanese urban life, as everything is judged in relation to the railroads, taking on the significance of highways in the United States and elsewhere.

Within Ōta, Tokyo, one of the 23 special wards, Tokyo International Airport ("Haneda") offers mainly domestic flights. Outside Tokyo, Narita International Airport, in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, is the major gateway for international travelers.

Various islands governed by Tokyo have their own airports with service to Tokyo International Airport and other airports. Hachijojima is served by Hachijojima Airport. Miyakejima Airport serves Miyakejima. Izu Ōshima is served by Oshima Airport.

Rail is the primary mode of transportation in Tokyo, which has the most extensive urban railway network in the world and an equally extensive network of surface lines. East Japan Railway Company operates Tokyo's largest railway network, including the Yamanote Line loop that circles the center of downtown Tokyo. Tokyo Metro and Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation operate the subway network. The metropolitan government and private carriers operate bus routes. Local, regional, and national services are available, with major terminals at the giant railroad stations, including Tokyo Station and Shinjuku Station.

Expressways link the capital to other points in the Greater Tokyo area, the Kantō region, and the islands of Kyūshū and Shikoku.

Taxis operate in the special wards and the cities and towns. Long-distance ferries serve the islands of Tokyo and carry passengers and cargo to domestic and foreign ports.

Education Tokyo has many universities, junior colleges, and vocational schools. Many of Japan's most prestigious universities are in Tokyo, the University of Tokyo being the most prestigious{{cite book | last = Knafelc | first = Kara | title = Tokyo, City Guide | pages=p. 76 | publisher = [Lonely Planet | isbn = 1740594509 --> of all. Japanese national universities located in Tokyo include Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo Institute of Technology and University of Tokyo. There is only one public university (i.e., not national): the Tokyo Metropolitan University. Keio University and Waseda University, top private universities in Japan, are located in Tokyo. Tokyo also has a few universities well-known for classes conducted in English. They include International Christian University, Sophia University, Waseda University and Temple University Japan. For an extensive list of universities in Tokyo, see List of universities in Tokyo.

Publicly run kindergartens, elementary schools (years 1 through 6), and junior high schools (7 through 9) are operated by local wards or municipal offices. Public high schools in Tokyo are run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education and are called "Metropolitan High Schools". Tokyo also has a great number of privately run schools from kindergarten through high school.

Culture Tokyo has many museums. Located in Ueno Park are the Tokyo National Museum, the country's largest museum and specializing in traditional Japanese art; the National Museum of Western Art; and the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, which contains collections of Japanese modern art as well as over 40,000 Japanese and foreign films{{cite web | url=http://www.bunka.go.jp/english/pdf/chapter_11.pdf | format=pdf | title=National Cultural Facilities | publisher=The Agency for Cultural Affairs | accessdate=2007-10-18 -->. Ueno Park also contains the National Museum of Science and the municipal zoo. Other museums include the Nezu Art Museum in Aoyama; the Edo-Tokyo Museum in the Sumida Ward across the Sumida River from the center of Tokyo; and the National Diet Library, National Archives, and the National Museum of Modern Art which are located near the Imperial Palace.

Tokyo is the national center of performing arts as well. There are many theatres in the city in which traditional forms of Japanese drama (like noh and kabuki) as well as modern dramas. Symphony orchestras and other musical organizations perform Western and traditional music. Tokyo also plays host to modern Japanese and Western Pop music and rock music.

Tokyo is home to many different festivals that occur throughout the city. Major festivals draw people from all over the city including the Sanno Festival at Hie Shrine, and the Sanja Festival at Asakusa Shrine. Many Japanese cities hold festivals called matsuri. The Kanda Matsuri in Tokyo is held every two years in May. The festival features a parade with elaborately decorated floats and thousands of people. Annually on the last Saturday of July, an enormous fireworks display is held over the Sumida River and it attracts over 1 million viewers. Once cherry blossoms, or sakura, bloom in spring, many residents gather in parks such as Ueno Park, Inokashira Park, and the Shinjuku Gyoen for picnics under the sakura.

Sports The sports teams listed below are based in Tokyo.

Football (soccer)

Baseball

Ice Hockey

Basketball

Volleyball

Rugby

Tennis Tokyo hosts one of the ten prestigious Tier I tournaments on the women's tennis tour (WTA) and it takes place directly after the Australian Open, near the beginning of the tennis season. It attracts a vast number of top players each year, including Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis, Ai Sugiyama, Elena Dementieva, Ana Ivanović and Lindsay Davenport. Tokyo also hosts another tennis event later in the year, after the US Open.

On the men's ATP tour Tokyo also hosts a tennis event, won in 2006 by Roger Federer.

Olympics The city hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, the first modern olympiad held in Asia. Tokyo is also bidding for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Tourism Tokyo has many tourist sightseeing, cultural and sport attractions. These include famous temples, shrines, annual festivals and events, parks, scenic views, popular shopping and nightlife districts. Cultural highlights of Tokyo include museums, concert halls, and theaters.

Tokyo in popular media As the largest city in Japan and the location of the country's largest broadcasters and studios, Tokyo is frequently the setting for many Japanese movies, television shows, animated series (anime), and comic books (manga). The best-known outside Japan may be the kaiju (monster movie) genre, in which landmarks of Tokyo are routinely destroyed by giant monsters such as Godzilla. Many comics and animated series are set in Tokyo, such as Digimon, Sailor Moon, Ranma ½, Azumanga Daioh, Death Note, Beyblade, Yu-Gi-Oh! and even the western animation Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, have become popular across the world as well. Some futuristic anime and manga such as Akira (manga) often depict Tokyo as a sprawling metropolis in a post-apocalyptic setting; some often go so far as to have numbers designating different Tokyos.

Some Hollywood directors have turned to Tokyo as a filming location for movies set in Tokyo. Well-known examples from the postwar era include Tokyo Joe, My Geisha, and the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (film); well-known contemporary examples include Kill Bill, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Lost in Translation (film).

Sister relationships Tokyo has Town twinning with eleven places worldwide:



In addition, Tokyo has a "partnership" agreement with the cities of London, Auckland International partnerships (from the Auckland City Council website. Retrieved 2006-10-07., Paris and Rome. and many of the wards and cities within Tokyo maintain sister-city relationships with other foreign cities.

Gallery Image:Wako ginza.jpg|GinzaImage:Akiba denkigai.jpg]Image:Shibuya crossing.jpg|ShibuyaImage:Shinjuku night view.jpg]Image:Roppongihills overview.jpg|RoppongiImage:Tokyo station01 1920.jpg]Image:Tokyo Metropolitan Goverment Building no1 Tocho 08 7 December 2003.jpg|Tokyo Metropolitan Government BuildingImage:Kokyo0057.jpg]

References External links





Tokyo city guide, Japan - Time Out Travel
Tokyo, Japan travel guide with information on hotels, restaurants, bars, shopping and sightseeing. ... Let’s not beat about the bush here. Tokyo is not one of the world’s great ...

Tokyo travel guide introduction - Time Out Travel
A guide to the sights and attractions of Tokyo, Japan ... Let’s not beat about the bush here. Tokyo is not one of the world’s great sightseeing cities.

Tokyo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō?), formally Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to?), is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and, unique among the prefectures, provides certain municipal ...

BBC - Weather Centre - 5 Day Forecast in Celsius for Tokyo, Japan
The BBC Weather five day forecast for your selected town or city, showing the temperature in Celsius.

Hilton Tokyo hotel - Hotels in Shinjuku-Ku - Tokyo - Hilton ...
Book a room at the Hilton Tokyo hotel, Shinjuku-Ku - Tokyo online at Hilton.co.uk ... Following a three year multi-million dollar refurbishment the Hilton Tokyo boasts contemporary ...

Tokyo Express Car Performance and Tuning Parts for honda mitsubishi ...
Provide performance and tuning parts for Honda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Nissan, Mazda, and Toyota.

Tokyo Skyline Panoramic Memory drawing by Stephen Wiltshire
Tokyo Skyline Panoramic Memory drawing by Stephen Wiltshire ... Date: 28th of May 2005 Size of original: 10m x 1m, Print: 314cm x 33cm

Tokyo Tourism Info
Includes travel, shopping, amusement, and hot springs information. Provided by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Tokyo Hotels. Save More on Cheap Accommodation in Tokyo
Tokyo hotels and accommodation - cheap, fast and secure reservation service provided by HotelClub Tokyo

Amazon.co.uk: Tokyo: Mo Hayder: Books
Amazon.co.uk: Tokyo: Mo Hayder: Books ... RRP: £6.99 : Price: £5.49 & eligible for Free UK delivery on orders over £15 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

 

Tokyo



 
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