(東京) This “Tokyo” means the smaller Tokyo, Tokyo Station Area. This area used to be the center of Edo where Edo castle was situated which turned into the Imperial Palace, the residence of the emperor in 1868 when Edo period ended. After that, through the significant damages by the war, this area has been developed as the symbolic center of Tokyo. Almost all the Shinkansen lines start from Tokyo station, and there are many offices of enterprises and commercial complexes incorporating stores offering high-quality apparels and goods, cafes, and restaurants. Inside of Tokyo station is also full of shopping complexes where you can purchase various souvenirs. The Imperial Palace is a trendy scenic spot for its historical architecture with lush greenery and cherry trees blooming in spring. It’s suggested to stop by before/after taking Shinkansen.

Tokyo Station Area is literally the center of Tokyo/Japan, and the central hub of Shinkansen lines. Tokyo Station is the large shopping complex called Tokyo Station City, consisting of various shopping streets, hotels, and other services inside of station and underground. The red-brick historical architectures built 100 years ago have been recently renewed and it became a symbol of Tokyo.

This is the large house and garden of Japan’s emperor, a portion of which opens to public visitors. In the Edo period, it used to be the Edo castle where Tokugawa Shoguns lived, and the emperor moved from Kyoto when Edo period (Edo Shogunate) ended. Because it was the castle, the entire premise is surrounded by the moat, and most of the original buildings were gone, but still, some historic buildings and gardens remain. It’s an excellent place to enjoy strolling, especially in the spring season for cherry blossoms. Basically, only Higashi-Gyoen opens to public visitors, and Inui street is seasonally opened in the cherry blossom season. Also, the free tour in the premise of Imperial Palace is available on weekday, that is reservable from http://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/index.html. If it’s fully booked, then try same-day registration, joining a queue on the day. Tickets are distributed from 8:30/12:00 before opening (opening time morning 9:30 afternoon 13:00, the whole tour takes 1h15min).

The Japanese modern art museum exhibits enormous amounts of artworks and craftworks in new and historic buildings. As it’s planned that 70% of craftworks will be moved to Kanazawa in2020, it’s worth visiting before that as per your interest.

The moat in the north part of Imperial Palace is well known as a scenic spot of cherry blossom. Many cherry flowers color both sides of the moat, and it’s great to take a boat and see flowers lighted-up in the night.

Founded in the year of 1869, the shrine enshrines souls of more than two million soldiers as the gods, who died in the wars since the end of Edo period until today. Famous as the notable place for full-blooming cherry blossom in spring and splendid shrine architectures and battle plane exhibited in Yūshūkan are worth seeing.

The red-brick museum is the restored building, which was the former building of Mitsubishi Zaibatsu. Along with exhibitions, authentic British style architecture and gardens are worth seeing.

(秋葉原) The chaotic city is well known as the epicenter of Japanese pop-culture and electronics, which is the must-visit area for who loves those. In the buildings decorated with colorful signs, there are many stores and services related to anime, manga, games, various hobbies, costumes, Japanese idols, and other subcultural stuff. You would find the rare items which are available only here in Japan, even in the world, and also 2nd-hand electronics market is developed here so you can buy high-value items. It’s good to look for your favorites and to purchase souvenirs here. Also, there are special-type cafes and restaurants available such as maid cafe, cat cafe, etc. which make you enjoy another aspect of Japan.

This ancient shrine dating from 730 is well-known as the base for one of Tokyo’s three greatest festivals, Kanda Festival, which takes place in around middle of May every year with around 1,300 years history. The current buildings were constructed in 1934 in a reinforced concrete after the huge earthquake in Tokyo so it could survive from air strikes during the war. It’s told that once you visit Kanda Myojin, then you shouldn’t visit Narita-san Shinshōji temple due to their historical background.

The epicenter of fashion and the mecca of shopping, Shibuya, is well-known for the huge scramble crossing where the world’s largest number of people walk per one cross. Centering on Shibuya station, there are many shopping complexes where you can find the up-to-date Japanese culture and high-quality products.

The busy shopping street with 500m length has around 400 stores where you can buy various items such as clothes, dry foods, and others at cheap prices, and enjoy seafood, snacks, and sweets upon strolling. On the underground floor, Chinese, Korean and East Asian counties’ foods are sold. This lively discount market started as a black market right after World War 2, and its official name “Ameya Yokocho” means candy alley, because candies (ame) and various products imported from America were sold here. Double meanings of Ame are included in the name.