Ultimate Edition

Tokyo, Japan

Published for the capital and the Kanto plain

JP Saturday, October 17, 2026 Vol. DLXIX · Est. 1457

Guides › Japan › Tokyo, Japan

The biggest city on earth, and the one that works best

Tokyo's metropolitan area holds around 37 million people and runs with a precision that shames cities a tenth its size. It is not one city but a few hundred neighbourhoods stitched together by the best railway on the planet.

The Ultimate City Desk

Edo was a fishing village with a castle, built by Ōta Dōkan in 1457, until Tokugawa Ieyasu made it the seat of his shogunate in 1603; within a century it was probably the largest city in the world, with over a million people, while the emperor stayed in Kyoto. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 brought the emperor east, renamed the city Tokyo — 'eastern capital' — and set off the modernisation that made Japan an industrial power. The Great Kanto earthquake of 1923 and the firebombing of 1945 each destroyed most of the city, which is why almost nothing old survives and why Tokyo rebuilds itself every generation as a matter of course. The 1964 Olympics gave it the Shinkansen and the expressways; the 1980s bubble gave it the money; the decades since have given it a calm, ageing prosperity and a housing market that, unusually for a great city, has stayed within reach.

There is no centre. The Imperial Palace occupies the middle and the city arranges itself in a ring around it along the Yamanote line, and the stations are the districts. Shinjuku is the busiest station in the world, the skyscraper city hall and the bars of Golden Gai; Shibuya is the crossing, youth fashion and the tech companies; Harajuku and Omotesando are style; Roppongi is foreign nightlife and the art triangle; Ginza is old-money shopping; Marunouchi and Otemachi are the corporate headquarters beside Tokyo Station. East of the palace is the older shitamachi, the 'low city' — Asakusa's temple, Ueno's museums and park, Akihabara's electronics, Ryogoku's sumo. West along the Chuo line are the neighbourhoods where people actually live: Nakano, Koenji, Kichijoji. The twenty-three wards are the city proper; the Tama area and three neighbouring prefectures make up the rest of the metropolis.

It has more Michelin stars than any other city and the honest view is that the stars miss most of the point: the ramen counter, the standing sushi bar, the department-store food hall and the convenience store all operate at a level other countries reserve for special occasions. There is a museum or gallery for every interest, a live-music scene of tiny basements, sumo tournaments at Ryogoku in January, May and September, and baseball — the Giants at the Tokyo Dome, the Swallows at Jingu — which is the true mass sport. Spring is cherry blossom in Ueno and along the Meguro river; summer is fireworks and festivals in the heat. The city is quiet in a way that surprises people: no horns, no shouting, trains where nobody speaks. It is also very safe, very clean and very good at queueing.

The hard parts: summers are hot and brutally humid from July to September, with a typhoon season on top; the rush-hour trains are as crowded as the videos suggest; the language barrier is real outside the tourist core, and the paperwork of living here — the ward office, the bank, the phone contract, the apartment with its key money and guarantor — is famously tedious. Flats are small. Earthquakes are a routine fact and the city is built for them. Work culture, though improving, still runs long. What it offers is a city of 14 million in which the trains run to the minute, the streets are safe at any hour, the food is the best in the world at every price, and a new neighbourhood can be discovered every weekend for a lifetime without exhausting the supply.

Where People Live

The neighbourhoods

Shinjuku

The busiest station on earth, the metropolitan government towers, the department stores, Kabukicho's neon, the tiny bars of Golden Gai and Omoide Yokocho, and Shinjuku Gyoen, the best park in the city, ten minutes' walk from all of it.

Shibuya, Harajuku & Omotesando

The scramble crossing and the youth-fashion streets, Takeshita-dori's teenage crowds, Meiji shrine's forest, and Omotesando's tree-lined avenue of flagship stores and architecture. Where trends start.

Ginza, Marunouchi & Nihonbashi

The old commercial heart east of the palace: Ginza's department stores and sushi counters, the corporate towers of Marunouchi around Tokyo Station, and Nihonbashi's Edo-era merchant houses and the Mitsukoshi flagship.

Asakusa & Ueno

The shitamachi: Senso-ji temple and its market street, the Sumida river and Tokyo Skytree across it, Ueno's park, zoo and the national museums, and Ameyoko's market under the tracks.

Roppongi & Azabu

The international district: embassies, the foreign-friendly nightlife, and the art triangle of the Mori, the National Art Center and the Suntory museum. Azabu-Juban behind it is where expat families live.

Koenji, Nakano & Kichijoji

West on the Chuo line — Koenji's vintage shops and live houses, Nakano Broadway's anime and collectibles, and Kichijoji, with Inokashira park, voted the place Tokyoites most want to live nearly every year.

Shimokitazawa

Indoors

Ice Cream, Pancake, Pasta, Pizza, Cake, Dessert, Milk, Cafe · Opening hours: Mo-Sa 11:00-19:00 · milklandtokyo.com

Indoors

Airports

Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) 165 km to the centre

Narita, 12, JP — You board from the indoor waiting area — no need to plan for the weather. ✈ 66 airlines (All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines Domestic, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines…) · direct flights to 103 destinations incl. Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok, Los Angeles, Singapore… (OpenFlights route data).

Indoor

✈ Airlines & flight paths — 66 airlines, 103 direct destinations

All Nippon Airways NH (767-300, 777, 777-300ER, 737, 787-8, 737-800…) · 57 routes: Abu Dhabi*, Agana*, Auckland*, Bangkok, Beijing, Calgary*, Chengdu, Chicago, Dalian*, Delhi, Denpasar, Denver*, Doha*, Duesseldorf, Fukuoka, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Hiroshima*, Ho Chi Minh City*, Hong Kong*, Honolulu*, Houston*, Istanbul*, Jakarta, Kanazawa*, Kaohsiung, London, Los Angeles, Macau*, Manila, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Newark*, Niigata*, Okinawa, Osaka, Osaka*, Paris, Qingdao … +17 more
Japan Airlines Domestic JL (767, 787-8, 777-300, 777, 737-800, A320…) · 49 routes: Agana, Babelthuap, Bangkok, Beijing, Boston, Busan, Cairns*, Cheju*, Chicago, Coolangatta*, Dalian, Dallas-Fort Worth*, Delhi, Doha, Dubai*, Frankfurt, Fukuoka*, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Helsinki, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Jakarta, Kaohsiung, Khabarovsk*, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, London*, Los Angeles, Manila, Moscow, Nagoya, Nanjing*, New York, Okinawa*, Osaka, Papeete*, Paris, San Diego … +9 more
American Airlines AA (767-300, 787, 737, 777-300, 777) · 22 routes: Bangkok, Boston, Busan, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Fukuoka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Kaohsiung, Kuala Lumpur, Los Angeles, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, San Diego, Sapporo, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Vancouver
Delta Air Lines DL (747-400, 777, 76W, A330-300, 757-200, A330-200) · 17 routes: Agana, Atlanta, Babelthuap, Bangkok, Detroit, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Manila, Minneapolis, New York, Portland, Saipan, Seattle, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei
United Airlines UA (777, 787-8, 747-400, 737-800, 777-300ER) · 15 routes: Agana, Bangkok*, Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York*, Newark, San Francisco, San Jose*, Seattle*, Seoul, Singapore, Washington
Air China CA (767-300, 737-800, A321, 737, A320) · 9 routes: Beijing, Chengdu*, Dalian, Guangzhou*, Hangzhou*, Qingdao*, Shanghai, Shenyang*, Xiamen*
Genesis GK (A320) · 8 routes: Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Matsuyama, Oita, Okinawa, Osaka, Sapporo, Takamatsu
China Eastern Airlines MU (767, A320, A321, A330-200, A330-300, 737-800) · 5 routes: Beijing*, Dalian*, Guangzhou*, Nanjing, Shanghai
China Southern Airlines CZ (A320, A321, A319, A330-200, 767, 737-800) · 5 routes: Beijing*, Changchun, Dalian, Guangzhou, Shenyang
Air Canada AC (767-300, 777, 777-300ER) · 4 routes: Bangkok*, Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver
Arrow Air JW (A320) · 4 routes: Okinawa, Sapporo, Seoul, Taipei
Korean Air KE (A330-300, 737-900, A330-200, 747-400, 737-800, 777-300ER…) · 4 routes: Busan, Cheju, Honolulu, Seoul
Malaysia Airlines MH (777, 737-800, 777-200) · 4 routes: Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur
US Airways US (777, A380) · 4 routes: Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Singapore
Air India Limited AI (A380, 787-8) · 3 routes: Delhi, Los Angeles*, Singapore*
Alitalia AZ (777-200) · 3 routes: Milano, Rome, Venice
Asiana Airlines OZ (A321, 777-200, A330-300, 74E) · 3 routes: Auckland, Busan*, Seoul
China Airlines CI (A330-300, 747-400, 737-800) · 3 routes: Honolulu, Kaohsiung, Taipei
Jetstar Airways JQ (A330-200) · 3 routes: Cairns, Coolangatta, Melbourne
Qantas QF (A330-200, 747-400) · 3 routes: Cairns*, Coolangatta*, Sydney
S7 Airlines S7 (A320, 787) · 3 routes: Khabarovsk, Moscow*, Vladivostok
Skymark Airlines BC (737) · 3 routes: Miho, Okinawa, Sapporo
Air France AF (A380, 757-200, 787-8, 777-300ER) · 2 routes: Paris, Saipan*
Air Tahiti Nui TN (A330-300, A340-300) · 2 routes: Papeete, Seoul
Cathay Pacific CX (747-400, A330-300, A340-300, 777-200, 777-300, 777-300ER) · 2 routes: Hong Kong, Taipei
EVA Air BR (A321, A330-200) · 2 routes: Kaohsiung, Taipei
Garuda Indonesia GA (A330-300, 767-300, 777) · 2 routes: Denpasar, Jakarta
Ibex Airlines FW (CRJ) · 2 routes: Hiroshima, Kanazawa
Lufthansa Cargo LH (747-400, 787-8) · 2 routes: Duesseldorf*, Osaka
Philippine Airlines PR (A321, 330, 777-300) · 2 routes: Cebu, Manila
Shenzhen Airlines ZH (767-300) · 2 routes: Guangzhou*, Xiamen*
Singapore Airlines Cargo SQ (A380, 777-300ER) · 2 routes: Los Angeles, Singapore
Vietnam Airlines VN (330, 777, A321) · 2 routes: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City
Aeroflot Russian Airlines SU (A330-300) · 1 route: Moscow
AeroMéxico AM (787) · 1 route: Mexico City
Air Busan BX (A321) · 1 route: Busan
Air Caledonie International SB (A330-200) · 1 route: Noumea
Air Macau NX (A319, A320, A321) · 1 route: Macau
Air New Zealand NZ (767-300, 777-200) · 1 route: Auckland
Air Niugini PX (737-800) · 1 route: Port Moresby
Austrian Airlines OS (777-200) · 1 route: Vienna
Bangkok Airways PG (767) · 1 route: Bangkok
British Airways BA (777) · 1 route: London
Cebu Pacific 5J (A320) · 1 route: Manila
Eastar Jet ZE (737-800) · 1 route: Seoul
Emirates EK (777-300ER) · 1 route: Dubai
Etihad Airways EY (A330-200) · 1 route: Abu Dhabi
Finnair AY (A330-300, 787-8) · 1 route: Helsinki
Jeju Air 7C (737) · 1 route: Seoul
Jet Airways 9W (737) · 1 route: Mumbai*
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL (747, 777, 74M) · 1 route: Amsterdam
MIAT Mongolian Airlines OM (737) · 1 route: Ulan Bator
Pakistan International Airlines PK (310) · 1 route: Beijing
Peach Aviation MM (A320) · 1 route: Osaka
Qatar Airways QR (777-200LR) · 1 route: Doha
Sat Airlines HZ (737) · 1 route: Yuzhno-sakhalinsk
Scandinavian Airlines System SK (A340-300) · 1 route: Copenhagen
Scoot TZ (777-200) · 1 route: Taipei
Shandong Airlines SC (767-300) · 1 route: Qingdao*
SriLankan Airlines UL (A330-200, A340-300) · 1 route: Colombo
Swiss International Air Lines LX (A340-300) · 1 route: Zurich
Thai Airways International TG (330, 380) · 1 route: Bangkok
TransAsia Airways GE (A320) · 1 route: Taipei
Turkish Airlines TK (330, 777-300ER) · 1 route: Istanbul
Uzbekistan Airways HY (767-400) · 1 route: Tashkent
Virgin Atlantic Airways VS (A340-600) · 1 route: London

Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.

Haneda Airport (HND) 143 km to the centre

Tokyo, 13, JP — You board from the indoor waiting area — no need to plan for the weather. ✈ 32 airlines (All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines Domestic, Hokkaido International Airlines, Skymark Airlines…) · direct flights to 73 destinations incl. Honolulu, Shanghai, Bangkok, Beijing, Fukuoka… (OpenFlights route data).

Indoor

✈ Airlines & flight paths — 32 airlines, 73 direct destinations

All Nippon Airways NH (767, 737, A320, 737-800, 787, 777-200…) · 60 routes: Akita, Asahikawa*, Bangkok, Beijing, Denpasar, Frankfurt, Fukuoka, Hachijojima, Hakodate, Hanoi, Hiroshima, Hong Kong, Honolulu*, Ishigaki, Iwakuni, Iwami, Jakarta, Kagoshima, Kanazawa, Kitakyushu*, Kobe, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kushiro, London, Los Angeles, Manila, Matsuyama, Memanbetsu*, Miho, Miyazaki, Monbetsu, Munich, Nagasaki, Nakashibetsu, Obihiro*, Odate Noshiro, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa … +20 more
Japan Airlines Domestic JL (737-800, 767, 777, 777-300, Embraer 170, 777-200…) · 45 routes: Akita*, Amami, Aomori, Asahikawa, Bangkok, Beijing, Dubai*, Fukuoka, Hakodate, Hiroshima, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Izumo, Kagoshima, Kanazawa, Kitakyushu, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kushiro, London, Matsuyama, Memanbetsu, Misawa, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Nagoya, Nanki-shirahama, Obihiro, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Osaka, Paris, San Francisco, Sapporo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore … +5 more
Hokkaido International Airlines HD (735, 767-300) · 6 routes: Asahikawa, Hakodate, Kushiro, Memanbetsu, Obihiro, Sapporo
Skymark Airlines BC (737) · 6 routes: Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Kobe, Miho, Okinawa, Sapporo
Star Flyer 7G (A320) · 3 routes: Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Osaka
Air China CA (A321, 330, 777) · 2 routes: Beijing, Shanghai*
American Airlines AA (777, 787) · 2 routes: Honolulu, San Francisco
Asiana Airlines OZ (A321, A330-300) · 2 routes: Seoul, Seoul
China Eastern Airlines MU (A321, 767) · 2 routes: Beijing*, Shanghai
Delta Air Lines DL (76W) · 2 routes: Los Angeles, Seattle
Garuda Indonesia GA (A330-200, 787-8) · 2 routes: Denpasar, Jakarta
Japan Transocean Air NU (734) · 2 routes: Ishigaki, Miyako
Korean Air KE (777-200, 777-300, 737-800) · 2 routes: Seoul, Seoul
Lufthansa Cargo LH (A340-600, 747-400) · 2 routes: Frankfurt, Munich
United Airlines UA (767-300, 777) · 2 routes: Honolulu*, Los Angeles*
Air Canada AC (767-300) · 1 route: Vancouver
Air France AF (777-200, 777-300ER) · 1 route: Paris
AirAsia X D7 (330) · 1 route: Kuala Lumpur
Bangkok Airways PG (767, 777) · 1 route: Bangkok
British Airways BA (777) · 1 route: London
Cathay Pacific CX (747-400) · 1 route: Hong Kong
China Airlines CI (A330-300) · 1 route: Taipei
Emirates EK (777-200LR) · 1 route: Dubai
EVA Air BR (A330-300) · 1 route: Taipei
Hawaiian Airlines HA (A330-200) · 1 route: Honolulu
Hong Kong Express Airways UO (A320) · 1 route: Hong Kong
Philippine Airlines PR (A321, 330) · 1 route: Manila
Qantas QF (777-200) · 1 route: Singapore*
Shanghai Airlines FM (A330-300) · 1 route: Shanghai
Singapore Airlines Cargo SQ (A330-300, 777-300) · 1 route: Singapore
Thai Airways International TG (747-400) · 1 route: Bangkok
Virgin Atlantic Airways VS (777-300ER) · 1 route: London

Getting there by ferry

Ferry terminal

Ferry terminal · 14 km from the centre

Local transit

Toei

Metro, bus, tram · The Toei subway lines, buses and the Arakawa tram. · Fares: Suica or PASMO IC card

Tokyo Metro

Metro · Nine subway lines; Toei runs four more and the buses. · Fares: Suica or PASMO IC card · Airport: Narita Express or Keisei Skyliner; Tokyo Monorail fro

Trains & rail

Coaches & shuttles

Willer Express

Intercity coach

Private aviation

On-demand charter, jet cards and the semi-private scheduled carriers that serve this city.

Tours & experiences

Tokyo Night Culture Tour

Cultural · 5 hours · from ¥18000/pp

Living Here

Practical notes for residents

Getting about

JR East runs the Yamanote loop and the Chuo line; Tokyo Metro has nine lines and Toei four, with the private railways (Tokyu, Odakyu, Keio, Seibu, Tobu) fanning out to the suburbs. A Suica or Pasmo card — on a phone works too — covers every one of them, plus buses and convenience stores.
Trains stop around midnight and restart around five; the last train is the city's curfew and the taxis after it are expensive. Stations are big, so allow time to change lines, and avoid the 8 to 9am crush if you can.
Haneda is the close airport, 20 to 30 minutes to the centre on the Keikyu line or the monorail; Narita is about an hour on the Narita Express or 40 minutes to Ueno on the Skyliner. The Shinkansen leaves Tokyo Station for Kyoto in a little over two hours.
Walking is the way to do any single district, and the flat eastern half is good on a bicycle; a car is pointless.

Health

Dial 119 for ambulance and fire, 110 for police. The University of Tokyo Hospital and the other university hospitals are the top tier; St Luke's International in Tsukiji and the Tokyo Medical and Surgical Clinic are the usual English-speaking choices.
The metropolitan government's Himawari service finds clinics by language and specialty. Residents join national or employer health insurance and pay 30% at the counter; visitors should carry travel insurance, as hospitals bill in full.
Drugstores are on every corner, but some common foreign medicines — pseudoephedrine in quantity, ADHD stimulants — are restricted or banned; check before you fly.

Work & study

The University of Tokyo is the country's most prestigious; Keio and Waseda are the great private universities, and the Institute of Science Tokyo, Hitotsubashi and dozens more make it the biggest student city in Japan.
Corporate headquarters (Sony, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, the banks), finance, publishing and broadcasting, anime and games, and a growing startup scene; the government and its ministries are in Kasumigaseki. Salaries are lower than in London or New York and so are rents.
A residence card and a My Number are the first errands; most jobs outside the foreign firms expect working Japanese. Hours are long by Western standards, though the salaryman culture of the 1980s has softened.

Money & manners

Yen. Cards and IC cards are now widely accepted, but cash is still normal and some small restaurants take nothing else. No tipping, ever. Consumption tax is 10% (8% on groceries and takeaway) and prices are usually shown both ways.
Quiet on trains and no phone calls; no eating while walking; shoes off where the floor steps up; rubbish goes home with you, as bins are rare. A bow is a greeting and a thank-you, and a business card is received with both hands.
Cherry blossom is late March to early April, the rainy season is June, summer is a steam bath until September with typhoons, and winter is dry, bright and cold. Autumn is the best season and the one nobody plans for.

Sources

Everything above is checkable