Introduction to Tokyo City
Sophisticated metropolis, ancient traditions: Tokyo, city of many faces, continues to fascinate all its visitors.
In 1869, at the beginning of Meiji period, Tokyo became the Japanese national capital and has since then grown into a giant metropolis with a population of about 13 million. Tokyo was ranked 4th overall - after New York, London, and Paris - according to the American magazine Foreign Policy, which measured big cities around the world in the 5 areas of "business activity", "human capital", "information exchange", "cultural experience", and "political engagement". In the category of "business activity", Tokyo actually ranked 2nd after New York. Furthermore, Tokyo has an urban infrastructure that meets the world's highest standard and is an important transportation hub from which all domestic destinations are accessible.
This city is the birthplace for various kinds of culture and trends, and has many areas of interest: Ginza, ranked alongside New York's 5th Avenue or Champs Elyise'es in Paris as a premier shopping street; the waterfront, which lends the city its futuristic appearance; Akihabara, a sacred town for the otaku culture; and the "Asakusa shitamachi" which retains some traces of historic Tokyo. Spots like these exist together in an eclectic balance and imbue the city with a feeling of vibrancies, which has helped the city garner the world's attention.
