Sights & Attractions in Tokyo

Tokyo Sights

For many, the 2003 film Lost in Translation by Sophia Coppola was the first chance to see beyond Tokyo's historic temples and sushi to the modern, pulsating metropolis that it is today. But don't think that the temples and sushi stands have gone away. This is a city of old and new, where opposites attract and new trends come and go like the tide, but history and tradition continue to be held in utmost respect.

The city is also the center of design and cutting-edge fashion. One step into the hip neighborhoods of Harajuku and Shibuya and you'll know what we mean. Dining is also a study in contrasts. People can dine at a Michelin-starred restaurant one night, and then belly up to the counter at the local ramen joint the next. And the people are as varied as their city. Residents of Aoyama may wear European fashion and drive fancy imports but those residing in Asakusa prefer to be decidedly less flashy. Stop in a bar in Ginza and one might find groups of salarymen, flush with large (though not as hefty in decades past) expense accounts, entertaining clients, but down the Hibiya Line in Ebisu many of the cheap watering holes are filled with young office professionals.

Even the landscape is varied. The city hosts some of the most unsightly sprawls of concrete housing—extending for miles in all directions—in the world. But it's also home to some pretty tall buildings. In Roppongi, you'll find the city's tallest building, Tokyo Midtown (248 meters [814 feet]), and the 634-meter (2,080-foot) Tokyo Sky Tree transmission tower is now taking shape near the Sumida River (set for completion in 2012).

Whether you're gazing at the glow of Tokyo's evening lights or the green expanse of its parks or a plate of the freshest sushi imaginable or dramatically dressed people, this is a city of astonishing and intriguing beauty. If you're a foodie, artist, design lover, or cultural adventurer, then Tokyo, a city of inspiration and ideas, is for you.