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Things to see in Tokyo

Tourist information: 

Tokyo Tourist Information Center (TIC)
10F, Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan Building, 2-10-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: (03) 3201 3331.
Website: www.jnto.go.jp
Opening times: Daily 0900-1700.

The Japanese National Tourist Organisation (JNTO) runs several Tourist Information Centres (TIC) in Tokyo and Narita Airport. English-speaking staff can book your accommodation commission-free and are a fantastic source of local knowledge.

Passes: 

There are no sightseeing passes as such in Tokyo, but a couple of guides printed by the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau offer discount vouchers to foreign visitors. The Narita Welcome Card (not an actual card but a page you have to print out: www.chiba-tour.jp/eng/airport/card.html), for example, offers reductions in restaurants, shops and hotels, while the Tokyo Handy Guide covers more than 30+ affiliated attractions. Collect these in one of the tourist offices or print them directly from the JNTO website.

Edo-Tokyo Hakubutsukan

Housed in what looks like a colossal white spaceship, the Edo-Tokyo Museum is a wonderful place for visitors to get a feel for Tokyo's history and culture. The permanent exhibition is divided into three distinct areas, while temporary exhibitions regularly spice things up. The ‘Edo Zone' opens with a replica of Nihombashi ‘Bridge of Japan', which takes you on the tour throughout Tokyo’s post-war reconstruction, political challenges and changes to everyday life.

Opening Times: Tues-Sun 0930-1730 (Saturdays until 1930).
Admission Fees: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: 1-4-1 Yokoami, Tokyo, Japan
Telephone: (03) 3626 9974.
Website: www.edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp
Kyoko Higashi-gyoen

The Imperial Palace East Garden, on the site of the shoguns’ old Edo Castle, is the only part of the Imperial Palace regularly open to the public. If you’re looking for a combination of restraint, elegance, formal gardens complete with moat then you’ve come to the right place. Enter through the Otemon Gate, which used to be the castle’s main entrance, to see a section of the original moat plus the foundations of the inner castle. You’ll also find a teahouse, a pond and a waterfall.

Opening Times: Daily 0900-1630.
Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: Otemachi, Tokyo, Japan
Telephone: (03) 3213 1111.
Meiji-jingu

One of Japan's finest examples of Shinto architecture, the atmospheric Meiji-jingu (Meiji Shrine) is tucked away in the centre of a dark, cool forest - an unexpected oasis in the centre of the city. Passing through a vast wooden torii gate, you’ll follow a wide gravel path deep into the forest and then the shrine itself. Look out for the rather unexpected homage to French wine – to honour the memory of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken and their approach to modernisation and harmony with the outside world.

Opening Times: Daily dawn to dusk (can vary, but usually 0500/0600-1600/1700).
Admission Fees: No (charge for the Gyoen Inner Garden)
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: 1-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Japan
Telephone: (03) 3320 5700.
Website: www.meijijingu.or.jp
Sensoji Temple

This is Tokyo’s most revered Buddhist temple, and pilgrims have flocked here for over 1,000 years – though its size, noise and commerce may surprise you. A military commander commissioned Sensoji’s entrance gate – and boy does it show! Giant lanterns watch over smoking incense, swirling crowds and teeming shops. Originally founded in AD628 to enshrine a statuette of the Kannon Bodhisattva (the Goddess of Mercy), damage from bombing raids mean that today you’ll find a lavish, five-storey reconstruction. Smoke from the huge incense burner in front of the temple is said to have healing powers.

Opening Times: Daily 24 hours (grounds), 0600-1700 (shrine).
Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: 2-3-1 Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan
Telephone: (03) 3842 5566.
Website: www.senso-ji.jp/about/index_e.html
Shinjuku-gyoen

For an impressive blend of Japanese and French gardens, head to Shinjuku-gyoen. Originally created for the royal family, these may well be the most beautiful gardens in Tokyo. It’s a tradition here to grab your family and a picnic and hang around the gardens on a sunny day. If the weather’s not so good, there’s also an imperial villa and a tropical greenhouse to explore. Visit in the spring if you can to catch a glimpse of that iconic Japanese bloom: cherry blossom.

Opening Times: Tues-Sun 0900-1630.
Admission Fees: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: 11 Naito-cho, Tokyo, Japan
Telephone: (03) 3350 0151.
Website: www.env.go.jp/garden/shinjukugyoen/english
Tokyo Disney Resort

Tokyo Disney Resort is a faithful replica of the Californian original, complete with Adventureland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, as well as shows, parades and firework displays. The unique DisneySea Park, set against the backdrop of Tokyo Bay, and offering several country-themed areas, is proving enormously popular amongst a more mature crowd.

Opening Times: Daily 1000-1800.
Admission Fees: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: 1-1 Maihama, Tokyo, Japan
Telephone: (045) 330 5211.
Website: www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/en/index.html
Tokyo Tocho

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices may not sound exciting, however their extraordinary architecture and the free observation decks on the 45th floor make up for the boring name. Designed by Kenzo Tange, one of Japan's top architects, the monumental twin towers apparently took inspiration from Notre Dame in Paris. To perhaps everyone other than the architect, though, Batman's Gotham City springs to mind. The observation decks (one in each brooding, granite tower) have high-speed lifts to give you spectacular views across the city. When the Tokyo mist lifts, you can even see the legendary Mount Fuji.

Opening Times: Daily 0930-2300(north deck), 0930-1730 (south deck).
Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: 2-8-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Telephone: (03) 5321 1111.
Website: http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/TMG/outline.htm
Tokyo Tower

Opened in 1958, this 333m (1,092ft) red-and-white tower is an almost exact replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. However, it’s not only the extra height that’s made the difference. Not only is the Tokyo Tower taller than its French counterpart but it also includes an aquarium, several gift shops and a waxwork exhibit. The 250m-high (820ft) observation tower offers views as far as Mt Fuji - although you’ll have to be lucky and have a very clear day if you want to see that far.

Opening Times: Daily 0900-2200.
Admission Fees: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: 4-2-8 Shinbakoen, Tokyo, Japan
Telephone: (03) 3433 5111.
Website: www.tokyotower.co.jp
Ueno-koen

As Tokyo’s largest park, when the cherry blossom covers the 1,000 or so trees here each spring, it brings a splash of the countryside into the concrete city walls. Ueno-koen also feeds museum fever, housing the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, the National Museum of Nature and Science, and the Shitamachi History Museum. Phew! Oh, and there’s also a zoo and the Tokyo ‘branch' of the Nikko Toshogu Shrine.

Opening Times: Daily 0500-2300.
Admission Fees: No (yes for the museums)
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Telephone: (03) 3828 5644.
Website: www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/bus/shitamachi/english/information/ueno/7_c.html?KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=400&width=700
Yasukuni-jinja

Perhaps the most controversial of all Tokyo's sites, this shrine houses the souls of those killed in various Japanese wars. The controversy arises over whether or not war criminals are inappropriately honoured here. Perhaps unlike other shrines you may come across in Japan, the Yasukuni-jinja is a more serious and sober affair, although still a place of beauty. Peaceful paper lanterns stand next to bold bronze statues of kamikaze pilots and information about the rise and fall of the samurai.

Opening Times: Daily 0900-1700.
Admission Fees: No (charge for the museum)
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: 3-1-1 Kudankita, Tokyo, Japan
Telephone: (03) 3261 8326.
Website: www.yasukuni.or.jp
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