On the edge of the Orient, TOKYO - the last great
conurbation before the yawning chasm of the Pacific Ocean - is one
of the world's most perplexing cities. On the one hand, gaudily
hung about with eyeball-searing neon and messy overhead cables,
plagued by seemingly incessant noise, often clogged with
bumper-to-bumper traffic and packed with twelve million people
squashed into minute apartments, it can seem like the stereotypical
urban nightmare. Yet behind the barely ordered chaos lie remnants
of a very different way of life. Step back from the frenetic main
roads and chances are you'll find yourself in a world of tranquil
backstreets, where wooden houses are fronted by neatly clipped
bonsai trees; wander beyond the high-tech department stores, and
you'll find ancient temples and shrines. In this city of 24-hour
shops and vending machines, a festival is held virtually every day
of the year, people regularly visit their local shrine or temple
and scrupulously observe the passing seasons. And, at the centre of
it all, is the mysterious green void of the Imperial Palace
- home to the emperor and a tangible link to the past.
In many ways Tokyo is also something of a modern-day utopia.
Trains run on time; the crime rate is hardly worth worrying about;
shops and vending machines provide everything you could need (and
many things you never thought you needed) 24 hours a day; the
people wear the coolest fashions, eat in fabulous restaurants and
party in the hippest clubs. It's almost impossible to be bored here
and first-time visitors should be prepared for a massive assault on
the senses - just walking the streets of this hyperactive city can
be an energizing experience. You'll also be surprised how
affordable many things are. Cheap-and-cheerful izakaya (bars
that serve food) and noodle shacks far outnumber the big-ticket
French restaurants and high-class ryotei , where
geisha serve minimalist Japanese cuisine, while day-tickets
for a sumo tournament or a Kabuki play can be bought for the price
of a few drinks. Many of the city's highlights are even free: a
stroll through the evocative Shitamachi (low city) area
around Asakusa and the major Buddhist temple Senso-ji ; a
visit to the tranquil wooded grounds of Meiji-jingu , the
city's most venerable Shinto shrine, and the nearby teenage
shopping mecca of Harajuku ; the frenetic fish market at
Tsukiji ; the crackling, neon-saturated atmosphere of the
mini-city Shinjuku - you don't need to part with lots of
cash to explore this city.
Even if you don't arrive in Tokyo, chances are you will end up
here or pass through on your way to other parts of Japan, since the
capital is the major transport hub . Every day, scores of
Shinkansen (bullet trains) speed up to the far north of Honsho or
south to Kyushu, while flights, buses and ferries connect Tokyo to
the far-flung corners and islands of the Japanese archipelago.
The only time Tokyo is best avoided is during the steamy height
of summer in August and early September, when the city's humidity
sees its citizens scurrying from one air-conditioned haven to
another. October and November, by contrast, are great months to
take in the spectacular fireburst of autumn leaves in Tokyo's parks
and gardens. Temperatures dip to freezing in the winter months,
though the crisp blue skies are rarely disturbed by rain or snow
showers. April is the month when Tokyoites love to party beneath
the flurries of falling cherry blossoms - one of the best months to
visit the capital. Carrying an umbrella is a good idea during
tsuyu , the rainy season in June and September, when
typhoons occasionally strike the coast.
Legend says that a giant catfish sleeps beneath Tokyo Bay, and
its wriggling can be felt in the hundreds of small tremors that
rumble the capital each year. Around every seventy years, the
catfish awakes, resulting in the kind of major earthquake
seen in 1995 in Kobe. There is a long-running, half-hearted debate
about moving the Diet and main government offices out of Tokyo,
away from danger. Yet, despite the fact that the city is well
overdue for the Big One, talk of relocating the capital always
comes to nothing. Now, more than ever before, Tokyo is the centre
of Japan, and nobody wants to leave and miss any of the action.