Must-see attractions in Tokyo

  • Tokyo Imperial Palace, tokyo, japan 138905807 ancient, architecture, asia, asian, attraction, bridge, building, castle, city, edo, emperor, fort, fortress, historic, historical, history, imperial, japan, japanese, king, landmark, moat, monarchy, nijubashi, old, oriental, otemachi, palace, royal, royalty, stone, tokyo, tower, travel, urban, wall

    Imperial Palace

    Tokyo

    The Imperial Palace occupies the site of the original Edo-jō, the Tokugawa shogunate's castle. In its heyday this was the largest fortress in the world,…

  • April 29, 2018: The Robot statue in an open garden space at the Ghibli museum.

    Ghibli Museum

    Tokyo

    This museum is the heart of the Studio Ghibli world, a beloved (even 'adored') film studio responsible for classic, critically-acclaimed animated titles…

  • Shinjuku, Tokyo, Kanto region, Japan. Tiny alleys crowded with night bars and clubs at Golden Gai district.

    Golden Gai

    Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo

    Golden Gai – a Shinjuku institution for over half a century – is a collection of tiny bars, often literally no bigger than a closet and seating maybe a…

  • Tokyo, Ueno, Taito-ku: Tokyo National Museum, Honkan

    Tokyo National Museum

    Ueno & Yanesen

    If you visit only one museum in Tokyo, make it the Tokyo National Museum. Here you'll find the world's largest collection of Japanese art, including…

  • Tokyo, Japan view of Shibuya Crossing, one of the busiest crosswalks in the world. aerial, architecture, asia, asian, billboards, buildings, business, city, cityscape, commercial, cross, crosswalk, crowd, district, downtown, dusk, evening, famous, futuristic, japan, japanese, landmark, lights, location, metropolis, metropolitan, modern, morning, night, office, pedestrian, people, place, plaza, road, scene, scenery, scenic, shibuya, shopping, signs, skyline, skyscrapers, square, street, tokyo, twilight, urban, view, walk

    Shibuya Crossing

    Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa

    Rumoured to be the busiest intersection in the world (and definitely in Japan), Shibuya Crossing is like a giant beating heart, sending people in all…

  • teamLab Borderless

    Tokyo

    Digital-art collective teamLab has created 60 artworks for this museum, open in 2018, that tests the border between art and the viewer: many are…

  • Exterior of the Sensouji Temple. 1075025648 architecture, asakusa, asia, background, blue, buddhism, buddhist, building, capital, city, copy, cultural, day, destination, famous, god, japan, japanese, landmark, landscape, morning, old, people, pray, red, religion, senso-ji, sensoji, sensouji, shinto, shrine, sky, space, temple, tokyo, tourism, tourists, travel, worship

    Sensō-ji

    Asakusa & Sumida River

    Tokyo’s most visited temple enshrines a golden image of Kannon (the Buddhist goddess of mercy), which, according to legend, was miraculously pulled out of…

  • TOKYO, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 23: Meiji-jingu in Tokyo, Japan on November 23, 2013. The shrine officially designated one of Kanpei-taisha, the 1st rank of government supported shrines. 191077460 architecture, city, gate, harajuku, interest, japan, japanese, jingu, meiji, meiji-jingo, meiji-jingu, of, people, place, roof, shinto, shrine, sightseeing, temple, tile, tokyo, torii, tourism, tourist, urban, visit

    Meiji-jingū

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    Tokyo’s grandest Shintō shrine is dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken, whose reign (1868–1912) coincided with Japan's transformation from…

  • Rikugi-en

    Ueno & Yanesen

    Considered by many to be Tokyo's most elegant garden, Rikugi-en was originally completed in 1702, at the behest of a feudal lord. It is definitely the…

  • TOKYO, JAPAN - 2023/03/22: Visitors of Tokyo's Inokashira Park enjoy the blooming Sakura trees on a rowing boat. The traditional Cherry tree blooming season reaches its peak on March 23rd this year. For the first time after the Covid-19 pandemic, picnics are allowed in public parks where people can enjoy themselves together in large crowds. (Photo by Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) 1249128020 visitors, tokyo's inokashira park, blooming, sakura tree, rowing boat, bloom, traditional, cherry tree blooming season, cherry blossom. spring, blooming season

    Inokashira-kōen

    Tokyo

    One of Tokyo's best parks, Inokashira-kōen has a big pond in the middle flanked by woodsy strolling paths. A highlight is Inokashira Benzaiten, a shrine…

  • Tokyo, Japan - April 08, 2023: park in front of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, a 54-story mixed-use skyscraper in Roppongi, Minato. Completed in 2003 it is the 6th-tallest building in Tokyo at 238 meters 1795712885 attraction, commercial, culture, famous, landmark, local, trees, urban, windows

    Roppongi Hills

    Roppongi, Akasaka & Around

    Roppongi Hills sets the standard for 21st-century real-estate developments in Tokyo. The centrepiece of the office, shopping, dining and entertainment…

  • Tokyo, Japan - October 3, 2016: View at modern skyscrapers and Hamarikyu Gardens in Tokyo. It is a public park opened April 1, 1946. 639141584 Building Exterior, Landscaped, Green Color, Japanese Culture, Urban Scene, Outdoors, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan, Asia, Tree, Plant, Lake, Formal Garden, Park - Man Made Space, City, Hamarikyu

    Hama-rikyū Onshi-teien

    Ginza & Tsukiji

    This beautiful garden, one of Tokyo’s finest, is all that remains of a shogunate summer villa next to Tokyo Bay. There's a large pond with an island,…

  • Autumn in Japan is very attractive season for its beautiful colors of Japanese maple, gingko and other trees.

    Koishikawa Kōrakuen

    Kōrakuen & Akihabara

    Established in the mid-17th century as the property of the Tokugawa clan, this formal strolling garden incorporates elements of Chinese and Japanese…

  • A chef at a street kitchen on the famous fish market Tsukiji in Tokyo, Japan, preparing seafood on a grill 1750853188

    Tsukiji Market

    Ginza & Tsukiji

    Tokyo's main wholesale market may have moved to Toyosu, but there are many reasons to visit its old home. The tightly packed rows of vendors (which once…

  • yoyogi park in Tokyo, Japan

    Yoyogi-kōen

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    If it’s a sunny and warm weekend afternoon, you can count on there being a crowd lazing around the large grassy expanse that is Yoyogi-kōen. You'll…

  • Omotesando Dori

    Omote-sandō

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    This broad, tree-lined boulevard is lined with boutiques from the top European fashion houses. More interesting are the buildings themselves, designed by…

  • Exterior of the 'Asakura Choso Museum' (Museum of Sculpture) in Yanaka, Tokyo. This was the home and studio of sculptor Fumio Asakura and now exhibits his work. 648163650

    Asakura Museum of Sculpture, Taitō

    Ueno & Yanesen

    Sculptor Asakura Fumio (artist name Chōso; 1883–1964) built his home studio in the early 20th century and it's very much representative of architecture of…

  • Tokyo central post office at night; Shutterstock ID 284205230; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel]; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    Intermediatheque

    Tokyo

    Dedicated to interdisciplinary experimentation, Intermediatheque cherry-picks from the vast collection of the University of Tokyo to craft a fascinating,…

  • Statue of Liberty and Rainbow bridge in Tokyo Japan 1145213461 olympics

    Statue of Liberty

    Odaiba & Tokyo Bay

    A very popular photo-op, with the Rainbow Bridge in the background, is this 11m-tall replica of Lady Liberty, a fixture on Odaiba's waterfront since 2000.

  • National Museum of Modern Art (MOMAT)

    Tokyo

    Regularly changing displays from the museum's superb collection of more than 12,000 works are shown over floors 2 to 4; special exhibitions are mounted on…

  • Nezu Museum

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    Nezu Museum offers a striking blend of old and new: a renowned collection of Japanese, Chinese and Korean antiquities in a gallery space designed by…

  • TOKYO, JAPAN - JANUARY 05: A general view of the first tuna auction of the New Year at Toyosu Wholesale Fish Market on January 5, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images) 1908408787

    Toyosu Market

    Odaiba & Tokyo Bay

    In 2018, Tokyo's central wholesale market moved from its iconic Tsukiji location to this new facility in Toyosu, a structure clearly dreamed up by…

  • Gold & Silver

    Tokyo Skytree

    Asakusa & Sumida River

    Tokyo Skytree opened in May 2012 as the world’s tallest ‘free-standing tower’ at 634m. Its silvery exterior of steel mesh morphs from a triangle at the…

  • Japanese garden

    Imperial Palace East Garden

    Tokyo

    Crafted from part of the original castle compound, these lovely free gardens allow you to get close-up views of the massive stones used to build the…

  • April 25, 2018: Exhibitions at the Edo Tokyo Museum, which illustrates Tokyo's past. 1224886435 ancient, architecture, art, asia, asian, boat, city, culture, decoration, doll, dress, edo, edo tokyo museum, education, elegance, festival, historic, japan, japanese, kimono, kyoto, maiko, miniature, model, museum, old, oriental, people, perform, red, river, samurai, street, theatre, tokyo, tourism, tourist, town, traditional, travel, vintage, yukata

    Edo-Tokyo Museum

    Asakusa & Sumida River

    Tokyo's history museum documents the city's transformation from tidal flatlands to feudal capital to modern metropolis via detailed scale re-creations of…

  • TOKYO, JAPAN - MARCH 07: Some 10,000 crystal 'Gorinto', five-rings tower is arranged at the 'Corridor of Pray' at Fukagawa Fudodo Temple on March 7, 2017 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images) 668504212

    Fukagawa Fudō-dō

    Asakusa & Sumida River

    Belonging to the esoteric Shingon sect, at this active temple you can attend one of the city's most spectacular religious rituals. Goma (fire rituals)…

  • The shine of the Zōjō-ji Buddhist temple in Minato in the early evening.

    Zōjō-ji

    Roppongi, Akasaka & Around

    One of the most important temples of the Jōdō (Pure Land) sect of Buddhism, Zōjō-ji dates from 1393 and was the funerary temple of the Tokugawa regime. It…

  • Yasukuni Jinja.

    Yasukuni-jinja

    Kōrakuen & Akihabara

    Literally ‘For the Peace of the Country Shrine’, Yasukuni is the memorial shrine to Japan’s war dead, around 2.5 million souls. First built in 1869, it is…

  • The Chamber of the House of Representatives in the National Diet Building, located in Tokyo, Japan, is a significant and impressive space where legislative activities take place. This chamber is characterized by its large, semicircular arrangement of seats, designed to facilitate debate and discussion among the representatives. The interior features a blend of traditional Japanese and Western architectural elements, with a prominent central podium and a gallery for public viewing. The chamber's design emphasizes transparency and democracy, highlighted by the use of natural light and symbolic decorative elements. As the primary venue for Japan's legislative process, it holds a pivotal role in the country's political landscape. 1939346721

    National Diet

    Roppongi, Akasaka & Around

    Free one-hour tours of parts of Japan's parliament building and grounds are available when the Diet is not in session (ring the day before to confirm)…

  • Tokyo Tower and skyline at dusk, Tokyo, Japan

    Tokyo Tower

    Roppongi, Akasaka & Around

    Something of a shameless tourist trap, this 1958-vintage tower – painted bright orange and white in order to comply with international aviation safety…

  • TOKYO - June 2: Mori Tower stands at the center of Roppongi Hills on June 2, 2010 in Tokyo. Opened in 2003, this 54-floor building is 238 m high and houses stores, restaurants, offices and a museum. ; Shutterstock ID 167248913; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; Project no. or GL code: 56530; Network activity no. or Cost Centre: Online-Design; Product or Project: 65050/7529/Josh Vogel/LP.com Destination Galleries

    Mori Art Museum

    Roppongi, Akasaka & Around

    Mori Art Museum is one of Tokyo's leading spaces for contemporary art, taking up a whole floor at the top of Mori Tower. It has no permanent exhibition;…

  • asia, city, godzilla, japan, shinjuku, tokyo, urban, monster, asia city godzilla japan shinjuku tokyo urban monster Godzilla at Hotel Gracery, Shinjuku.

    Godzilla Head

    Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo

    Godzilla, a portmanteau of the Japanese words for gorilla (gorira) and whale (kujira), is king of the kaijū (strange beasts) that ruled Japanese popular…

  • Japan Edo-Tokyo museum plaza panorama modern city cultural landmark

    Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architecture Museum

    Tokyo

    This fantastic yet overlooked museum is a preserve for historic buildings rescued from around Tokyo during the city's decades-long construction jag. Among…

  • TOKYO, JAPAN - APRIL 3 : Ueno Park in spring season with Cherry Blossom taken on April 3, 2007 243536872 activity, asia, beauty, blossom, cherry, city, day, flower, hanami, japan, land, landscape, leisure, outdoor, pale, park, path, people, pink, plant, relax, sakura, season, spring, tokyo, tourism, travel, tree, walk, way, white

    Ueno-kōen

    Ueno & Yanesen

    Best known for its profusion of cherry trees that burst into blossom in spring (making this one of Tokyo's top hanami – blossom-viewing – spots),…

  • Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, Shinjuku

    Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

    Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo

    Tokyo's city hall – a landmark building designed by Tange Kenzō – has observatories (202m) atop both the south and north towers of Building 1 (the views…

  • Sumida Hokusai Museum designed by Sejima Kazuyo, Asakusa & Sumida River.

    Sumida Hokusai Museum

    Asakusa & Sumida River

    The woodblock artist Hokusai Katsushika (1760–1849) was born and died close to the location of this museum, which opened in 2016 in a striking aluminium…

  • TOKYO, JAPAN: Boats float on a pond surrounded by cherry blossoms at Kitanomaru Park in Tokyo 05 April as the flower-viewing season reaches its climax. The park is considered to be a prime site for enjoying cherry blossoms. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)

    Kitanomaru-kōen

    Tokyo

    This large park north of the Imperial Palace is home to noteworthy museums as well as the Nippon Budōkan concert hall. The gate at the park’s northern end…

  • Asia, Japan, Tokyo, Shibuya ward, Hachiko dog meeting point, Christmas lights

    Hachikō Statue

    Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa

    Every evening, Akita dog Hachikō would go to Shibuya Station to greet his companion. It's a practice he kept up everyday for 10 years after the professor…

  • Hotel New Ōtani Japanese Garden

    Roppongi, Akasaka & Around

    Nonguests are welcome to visit Hotel New Ōtani's beautiful 400-year-old Japanese garden, which once belonged to a Tokugawa regent. Including vermilion…

  • A giant female panda Shin Shin eats bamboo at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo on April 1, 2011. A pair of pandas, leased from China, arrived at Ueno Zoo on February 21, and are now displayed to the public after the zoo closed following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO/TOPSHOTS (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)

    Ueno Zoo

    Ueno & Yanesen

    Japan’s oldest zoo, established in 1882, is home to animals from around the globe, but the biggest attractions are the giant pandas from China, Rī Rī and…

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