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A funky Ginza department store window, a rarity since much of Ginza is passé and pricey. The Apple Store should have chosen Harajuku for their Tokyo outlet. Ginza's Kabuki-za, however, is a fine, traditional spot to see Kabuki theatre.

Tokyo Attractions Guide:
- The Imperial Palace Gardens, Maranouchi, though regular tourists only get to see the monstrous walls, moats and gardens. More or less in the centre of the city and free of charge but beware, it's free, spacious, green and tranquil - yes, full of fascination, revelation, palace views, historical artifacts and sightings of the Emperor - no.
Best in the spring or autumn for tree magic, the Imperial Palace Garden is fundamentally a walk in the park, albeit a park with serious walls.
The Garden is closed Mondays, Fridays, 23 December, 28 December - 3 January 3 and for occasional Imperial Court functions.
Nearby [walking distance] are some other worthwhile sights such as the controversial Yasukuni Shrine; another section of the the palace gardens - Kitanomaru Park with its massive Budokan stadium, the lively Science Foundation museum, the National Museum of Modern Art and the Crafts gallery.

The west side entrance of the Imperial Palace in early April.

- Fantastic shrines and temples, particularly Meiji-Jingu [conveniently near Harajuku and Yoyogi park], Asakusa [Japan's oldest temple, Senso-Ji], Yasukuni [Japan's magnificent but controversial warrior shrine, hosting war criminal souls in addition to several million others].

Meiji-Jingu is a favoured shrine for Shinto weddings.

- City overviews from the Tokyo Tower or Shinjuku's free Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No.1, 45th floor, with the added excitement that it sways 7m side-to-side in an earthquake.
Alternatively the new Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills is pricey to enter but offers perhaps Tokyo's best views along with some comfortable seating.

Roppongi's Mori Tower, guarded by 'Mother'.

- Yoyogi park area, near Harajuku and Shibuya, for free live music and plenty of weirdness at weekends, if it's not raining enough to blow the amps.

Street action between Yoyogi Park and Shibuya.

- Sumo wrestling, Tokyo National Museum? Disneyland? Odaiba [an artificial island in Tokyo Bay] with excellent shops, open space, beaches [don't swim] and virtual reality playgrounds courtesy of Sega.

Odaiba beach, shopping and Fuji TV headquarters on Tokyo Bay's massive island of entertainment and romance, built on water from garbage just a few year ago.

- Shopping in Japan and particularly Tokyo is sensational - product quality is world-beating, creativity and variety are expansive while prices range from very competitive to pretty silly.
For trendy shopping, eating and drinking try Harajuku [Omotesando street in particular], Shibuya [unusually, within walking distance of Harajuku], Shinjuku [set design for Blade Runner was inspired by this nightly neon-frenzy] and Tokyo's Shimo-Kitazawa suburb offer way better value and style.
Roppongi? Hmm, mainly a culture-free, after-dark watering hole with plentiful mating opportunities, though Roppongi Hills is an interesting but labyrinthine city-within-a-city.

Harajuku's Omotesando shows off plenty of super-modern, brand name stores but manages to retain a little tradition, some humour and a lot of teen madness.

- Japanese food, whether in supermarkets, cafés or restaurants is of top quality but nevertheless reasonably priced, just be very wary in places such as some sushi joints - and notoriously little old bars in Shinjuku's Golden Gai district - where prices are not displayed.
The easy route to comfortable eating for gaijin [foreigners] is to choose establishments where plastic replicas and prices are displayed outside.

A collection of plastic lunch/dinner set menus for around ¥1200 in Ginza, mostly of deep-fried pork or shrimp.

- Japan does festivals as well as it does high quality manufacturing, and though the Kyoto and Nara region may offer the best fests Tokyo plays host to several celebrations that can be easily enjoyed by foreign tourists, not least early April's Hanami, or Cherry Blossom Festival, an event that celebrates the transient beauty of both nature and life. This is not a costume or procession festival, more of a life attitude display as Japanese people enjoy micro-moments to the full.

Cherry blossom time in Tokyo's Shinjuku Gyoen park. More Tokyo festivals

- Tokyo does not offer tourists an easy-to-find, lively city centre [there's no Manhattan or Leicester Square here]; instead the city sports at least five distinct action zones that are not within easy walking distance of each other - apart from Harajuku and Shibuya - but the rail transportation system is superb, clean, reliable and partly in English - if somewhat complex, totally packed at times and not cheap.
The Yamanote line, for example, runs a circular route including some of Tokyo's favourite haunts and popular tourist destinations such as Shinjuku, Harajuku, Shibuya and Akihabara.
Instead of having to buy different tickets for different train and bus lines, two universal money storage cards are available that simply need to be touched onto a blue illuminated sign to permit entry. Pasmo is the easiest pass to buy, with English instructions available on the machines and fillable in ¥1,000 units. Pasmo can also be used where Suica is indicated. Some shops will now accept payment via Pasmo.

A typical Pasmo card selling or card topping-up machine in Tokyo. Press 'English', number of travellers and amount required, insert that amount [or more], and a tourist has a multi-trip travel card.

Intrepid offer nine interesting, good value Japanese tours, including high culture, high sights, high walks and haiku! e.g. Brochure | Special Deals | Land of the Rising Sun Japan through a Lens | Tokyo Kyoto Highlights | Japanese Active Adventure

Japan Pictures: Kamakura | Japan Pictures | Kanazawa | Kyoto Pictures Guide

Japan Information: Japan Travel Guide | Japan Map | Japanese Bath Etiquette

Kawasaki Festival | Takayama Festival

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