Tokyo Orientation
Tokyo is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Japan. Formerly known as Edo, it was a small fishing village that became the center of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s government in the 16th century.
In 1868 it became the official capital of Japan and renamed as Tokyo, and since then it has been rebuilt after being hit by disasters as well as devastated by war.
In 1964 the summer Olympics were held in Tokyo, and in 2020 the Olympics are coming back once again to one of the greatest and most prominent cities in the world. By the late 1970s, the metropolitan area population reached eleven million, and today nearly forty million people live here.
As Tokyo has such a long history and covers a lot of ground, it means that there is a huge amount to see and do – but as Tokyo is so well connected even if you only have one day in this city, because of a layover or a connecting flight, you can really pack in a lot.
To help you even more, you can get a Tokyo 1-Day Ticket, which allows unlimited use of all the subway lines and JR lines for just 1,590 yen, or a Suica or PASMO card, which can be recharged and enable easy use of the subway.
If you are staying longer or visiting again, then the possibilities are almost unlimited: Tokyo Disneyland can take a whole day or two days, there are many recommended area tours such as going to Yokohama, or spend your time walking around and see what you can discover!