Tokyo
The Imperial Palace occupies the site of the original Edo-jō, the Tokugawa shogunate's castle. In its heyday this was the largest fortress in the world,…
Tokyo
The Imperial Palace occupies the site of the original Edo-jō, the Tokugawa shogunate's castle. In its heyday this was the largest fortress in the world,…
Tokyo
This museum is the heart of the Studio Ghibli world, a beloved (even 'adored') film studio responsible for classic, critically-acclaimed animated titles…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
Golden Gai – a Shinjuku institution for over half a century – is a collection of tiny bars, often literally no bigger than a closet and seating maybe a…
Ueno & Yanesen
If you visit only one museum in Tokyo, make it the Tokyo National Museum. Here you'll find the world's largest collection of Japanese art, including…
Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Rumoured to be the busiest intersection in the world (and definitely in Japan), Shibuya Crossing is like a giant beating heart, sending people in all…
Tokyo
Digital-art collective teamLab has created 60 artworks for this museum, open in 2018, that tests the border between art and the viewer: many are…
Asakusa & Sumida River
Tokyo’s most visited temple enshrines a golden image of Kannon (the Buddhist goddess of mercy), which, according to legend, was miraculously pulled out of…
Harajuku & Aoyama
Tokyo’s grandest Shintō shrine is dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken, whose reign (1868–1912) coincided with Japan's transformation from…
Ueno & Yanesen
Considered by many to be Tokyo's most elegant garden, Rikugi-en was originally completed in 1702, at the behest of a feudal lord. It is definitely the…
Tokyo
One of Tokyo's best parks, Inokashira-kōen has a big pond in the middle flanked by woodsy strolling paths. A highlight is Inokashira Benzaiten, a shrine…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Roppongi Hills sets the standard for 21st-century real-estate developments in Tokyo. The centrepiece of the office, shopping, dining and entertainment…
Ginza & Tsukiji
This beautiful garden, one of Tokyo’s finest, is all that remains of a shogunate summer villa next to Tokyo Bay. There's a large pond with an island,…
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Established in the mid-17th century as the property of the Tokugawa clan, this formal strolling garden incorporates elements of Chinese and Japanese…
Ginza & Tsukiji
Tokyo's main wholesale market may have moved to Toyosu, but there are many reasons to visit its old home. The tightly packed rows of vendors (which once…
Harajuku & Aoyama
If it’s a sunny and warm weekend afternoon, you can count on there being a crowd lazing around the large grassy expanse that is Yoyogi-kōen. You'll…
Harajuku & Aoyama
This broad, tree-lined boulevard is lined with boutiques from the top European fashion houses. More interesting are the buildings themselves, designed by…
Asakura Museum of Sculpture, Taitō
Ueno & Yanesen
Sculptor Asakura Fumio (artist name Chōso; 1883–1964) built his home studio in the early 20th century and it's very much representative of architecture of…
Tokyo
Dedicated to interdisciplinary experimentation, Intermediatheque cherry-picks from the vast collection of the University of Tokyo to craft a fascinating,…
Odaiba & Tokyo Bay
A very popular photo-op, with the Rainbow Bridge in the background, is this 11m-tall replica of Lady Liberty, a fixture on Odaiba's waterfront since 2000.
National Museum of Modern Art (MOMAT)
Tokyo
Regularly changing displays from the museum's superb collection of more than 12,000 works are shown over floors 2 to 4; special exhibitions are mounted on…
Harajuku & Aoyama
Nezu Museum offers a striking blend of old and new: a renowned collection of Japanese, Chinese and Korean antiquities in a gallery space designed by…
Odaiba & Tokyo Bay
There are good views of the central Tokyo skyline from this park’s promenades and elevated walkways – especially at night when old-fashioned yakatabune …
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Established in 1691 and later used as a school for the sons of the powerful during the Tokugawa regime, this is one of Tokyo’s handful of Confucian…
Harajuku & Aoyama
On the grounds of Meiji-jingū (accessed via the shrine's main approach) is the strolling garden, Meiji-jingū Gyoen. It once belonged to a feudal estate;…
Asakusa & Sumida River
This jet-black, inverted obelisk, part of Asahi Beer's headquarters, was designed by Philippe Starck and completed in 1989; atop it sits a 'golden flame'…
Odaiba & Tokyo Bay
The highlight of visiting Toyota's bayside showroom is trying out prototypes of their Segway-like personal mobility device, Winglet. English instruction…
Odaiba & Tokyo Bay
In 2018, Tokyo's central wholesale market moved from its iconic Tsukiji location to this new facility in Toyosu, a structure clearly dreamed up by…
Asakusa & Sumida River
Tokyo Skytree opened in May 2012 as the world’s tallest ‘free-standing tower’ at 634m. Its silvery exterior of steel mesh morphs from a triangle at the…
Tokyo
Crafted from part of the original castle compound, these lovely free gardens allow you to get close-up views of the massive stones used to build the…
Asakusa & Sumida River
Tokyo's history museum documents the city's transformation from tidal flatlands to feudal capital to modern metropolis via detailed scale re-creations of…
Asakusa & Sumida River
Belonging to the esoteric Shingon sect, at this active temple you can attend one of the city's most spectacular religious rituals. Goma (fire rituals)…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
One of the most important temples of the Jōdō (Pure Land) sect of Buddhism, Zōjō-ji dates from 1393 and was the funerary temple of the Tokugawa regime. It…
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Literally ‘For the Peace of the Country Shrine’, Yasukuni is the memorial shrine to Japan’s war dead, around 2.5 million souls. First built in 1869, it is…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Free one-hour tours of parts of Japan's parliament building and grounds are available when the Diet is not in session (ring the day before to confirm)…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Something of a shameless tourist trap, this 1958-vintage tower – painted bright orange and white in order to comply with international aviation safety…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Mori Art Museum is one of Tokyo's leading spaces for contemporary art, taking up a whole floor at the top of Mori Tower. It has no permanent exhibition;…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
Godzilla, a portmanteau of the Japanese words for gorilla (gorira) and whale (kujira), is king of the kaijū (strange beasts) that ruled Japanese popular…
Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architecture Museum
Tokyo
This fantastic yet overlooked museum is a preserve for historic buildings rescued from around Tokyo during the city's decades-long construction jag. Among…
Ueno & Yanesen
Best known for its profusion of cherry trees that burst into blossom in spring (making this one of Tokyo's top hanami – blossom-viewing – spots),…
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
Tokyo's city hall – a landmark building designed by Tange Kenzō – has observatories (202m) atop both the south and north towers of Building 1 (the views…
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