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…
Ante Vukorepa / 500px
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
This swathe of central Tokyo runs alongside the Soto-bōri, the former outer moat of Edo Castle, and the Kanda-gawa. From west to east there's the old geisha district of Kagurazaka and the hallowed grounds of controversial shrine Yasukuni-jinja. In Kōrakuen the dazzling traditional garden Koishikawa Kōrakuen is a highlight, as is watching a baseball game at neighboring Tokyo Dome. Further east, browse the bookshops of Jimbōchō, the traditional restaurants of Kanda, and the electronic, pop-culture and contemporary-craft emporiums of Akihabara.
Attractions
Must-see attractions
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…
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Kōrakuen & Akihabara
This exhibition centre and workshop is dedicated to the quintessential Japanese art of origami, which you can learn to do yourself in classes here. There…
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Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Tracing its history back to AD 730, this splendid Shintō shrine boasts vermilion-lacquered halls surrounding a stately courtyard. Its present location…
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Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Most history museums in Japan skirt the issue of WWII or focus on the burden of the common people. Not so here: Yūshū-kan begins with Japan's samurai…
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Kōrakuen & Akihabara
This Russian Orthodox cathedral, complete with distinctive Byzantine-style architecture, was first built in 1891 under the supervision of English…
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Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
How did baseball come to be a Japanese obsession? This museum chronicles baseball’s rise from a hobby imported by an American teacher in 1872 to the…
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Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Kagurazaka’s signature shrine only bears a passing resemblance to the traditional ones around the city. In 2010 the shrine, which can trace its history…
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