Tokyo

With perpetual change hardwired into its DNA, Tokyo is the ultimate urban adventure. Japan's frenetic capital offers neon-bright canyons of consumerism, contemporary pop cultural escapades and blissful zen-calm gardens and shrines. It's an open-round-the-clock, smooth-running machine with excellent public transport, polite service and negligible crime. Swing by Akihabara, the electronics district now also a mecca for manga, anime and computer games, to stand at the city's cutting edge. Move on to Asakusa, home of the bustling, incense-wreathed temple Senso-ji, for a taste of old-time Tokyo. Board a boat here and cruise down the Sumida river ...

With perpetual change hardwired into its DNA, Tokyo is the ultimate urban adventure. Japan's frenetic capital offers neon-bright canyons of consumerism, contemporary pop cultural escapades and blissful zen-calm gardens and shrines. It's an open-round-the-clock, smooth-running machine with excellent public transport, polite service and negligible crime. Swing by Akihabara, the electronics district now also a mecca for manga, anime and computer games, to stand at the city's cutting edge. Move on to Asakusa, home of the bustling, incense-wreathed temple Senso-ji, for a taste of old-time Tokyo. Board a boat here and cruise down the Sumida river to Tokyo Bay and the doorstep of Tsukiji, the hyper-active fish and fresh produce market that is every sushi and sashimi lover's dream. Shop-a-holics will also feel they have died and gone to heaven in the fashion boutiques along and around Omotesando, Tokyo's most stylish avenue leading to the verdant, serene grounds of the Imperial shrine Meiji-Jingu. Don't miss out on Roppongi, Tokyo's hippest neighborhood, home to a trio of major art museums and two of the city's biggest recent urban developments — Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Midtown.

About the Expert

Simon Richmond has written Rough Guides to Malaysia and Japan; Lonely Planet guides to India and Russia; and adventure travel guides for Frommer's on Australia, India, South America, and Southeast Asia.