Tokyo Guide

Tokyo thrives as one of the most dynamic and exhilarating capitals in the world. The city’s energy and excitement are as electric as the neon lighting up the Ginza, Shinjuku and Shibuya.

From top left: Shinjuku, the Tokyo Tower, Rainbow Bridge, Shibuya, and National Diet Building

The heart of modern Japan, Tokyo is home to the national government, the financial industry, the arts, fashion and retailing. While Japan remains firmly anchored in the 21st century, it still reveres age-old traditions. Japan has been more successful than most countries in maintaining a balance between old and new. Craftsmen spend months creating a perfect lacquer bowl while hundreds of Walkmen roll off a production line every hour. High atop a 50-storied steel and glass skyscraper, a small wooden Shinto shrine receives daily offerings of rice and sake wine. Some people avoid Tokyo, assuming it’s not exotic enough they picture only skyscrapers and businessmen dressed in dark suits. Others avoid it because they have heard stories of $ 150 melons and $300-a-pound beef and assume the place is way over budget for them. Still others fear traveling where they can’t read the signs. Set aside these worries. Temples, virtual reality game centers, dramatic Kabuki dance, state-of-the-art factories, serene gardens, glittering urban centers, meditative tea ceremony, postmodern architecture, a zillion stores and restaurants

and much more awaits you. We detail highlights of the best-known sights, but also recommend off-the-beaten-path alternatives.

Are you worried about going outside your hotel to try other restaurants? We get you into restaurants where locals go and prepare you to order like a pro in no time. Afraid you won’t know how to act at a Japanese inn? We explain the etiquette, including when to take off your shoes and how to use a Japanese bath. Not sure what temples and shrines are all about? We will provide you with relevant and complete background information to help you known and understand what you see and, more importantly, how to enjoy it.

We tell you how to find the best prices on international tickets and how to travel economically within Japan. Yes, we detail Japanese inns and hotels where you’ll be pampered in a style to which you’d like to become accustomed, but we also tell you about places where it costs less to stav than at a Holiday Inn in the US. So pack you bags, get set, and come one of the world’s great cities Tokyo!

• Getting Around Tokyo, Travel Around Tokyo Sunday, January 25, 2009
• Planning Your Trip To Tokyo Saturday, December 13, 2008
• Tokyo Arrivals & Departures Tuesday, January 20, 2009