| Tokyo has few specific sights of renown. Instead, the main attraction is the opportunity to experience the life of a city that is on the surface so similar to Western cities, yet at the heart so profoundly unfamiliar. There is no main square, no central landmark or prime focus for tourists, as Tokyo is a collection of distinct areas, a conglomeration of mini-cities. Ginza’s classy boulevards and emporiums cater to the prominent and wealthy; Shinjuku, a hive of office workers by day, reinvents itself as a neon-lit entertainment wonderland at dusk; Shibuya and Harajuku offer trendy shopping, sports grounds and fine parks. Meanwhile, in the old neighbourhoods around Ueno and Asakusa, among the small houses and shops, potted plants and roadside shrines, life continues much as it has for decades. Ginza’s glitzy department stores lie less than two kilometres (one mile) from the Pacific Ocean but, curiously, Tokyo gives little feeling of being on the coast. The rapidly developing waterfront rewards the visitor with a different perspective, while an evening stroll through the bustling entertainment areas reveals yet another side to this chameleon city. Tokyo is many things – a maelstrom of rampant consumerism and oases of serenity, sensory overload and subtle beauty in detail. It’s a city rushing into the future but haunted by the past. Most of all, Tokyo is a city that works. |