Tokyo
This keep, constructed in 1559, once stood on the grounds of Kyoto's since-destroyed Fushimi Castle. It was dismantled and reassembled at Edo-jō by…
Must-see attractions in Tokyo
Asakusa & Sumida River
On the grounds of Sensō-ji, this 53m-high, five-storey pagoda is a 1973 reconstruction of a pagoda built by Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1648. The current…
Ginza & Tsukiji
This gallery features monthly changing exhibits of graphic arts – focusing on advertising and poster art – from mostly Japanese artists but with the…
Ueno & Yanesen
This small museum recreates life in the plebeian quarters of Tokyo during the Meiji and Taishō periods (1868–1926), before the city was twice destroyed by…
Ginza & Tsukiji
The cosmetics company Shiseido runs its experimental art space out of the basement of its Shiseido Parlour complex of cafes and restaurants. An ever…
Harajuku & Aoyama
Of course you could shop here, but pretty much everyone comes just to ogle the curvaceous glass bubbles of the boutique's exterior, designed by Herzog &…
Tokyo
Meaning 'northern drawbridge gate' this was the principal entrance to the north side of Edo-jō and now provides access to the Imperial Palace East Garden…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
The impressive main gate of the temple Zōjō-ji was built in 1605. Its three sections are designed to symbolise the three stages one must pass through to…
Tokyo
Kikyō-mon is one of the main original gates to Edo-jō. This is the departure point for official tours of parts of the Imperial Palace grounds.
Ueno & Yanesen
This century-old liquor shop (which operated until 1986) has been returned to its original state, but as a museum of bygone Tokyo, with old sake barrels,…
Tokyo
Dating from 1635, the northern gate to Kitanomaru-kōen was once part of Edo-jō and is designated as a national important cultural asset.
Odaiba & Tokyo Bay
Archi-Depot curates changing exhibitions of the models architects make to conceptualise buildings, some of which have gone on to be built; others remain…
Tokyo
This side gate to the San-no-maru (third compound) of the castle was used mainly by maidservants.
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)…
Harajuku & Aoyama
This five-storey glass building (2003) uses clever lighting and acrylic screens to pull off the effortlessly chic look of a breezy tiered skirt. Pritzker…
Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku
Harajuku & Aoyama
The entrance to this castle-like structure by Nakamura Hiroshi is a dizzying hall of mirrors (which makes for a great photo); there’s a roof garden on top.
Ueno & Yanesen
Tokyo University (commonly called Tōdai) was founded in 1877 and is Japan's top university. The attractive and leafy campus occupies what was once the…
Tokyo
This small museum, designed mostly for kids (and rather dry considering its subject), covers the history of animation in Japan and its digital future…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
Merchants from nearby Kabukichō come to this Shintō shrine to pray for the solvency of their business ventures. Founded in the 17th century, the shrine is…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
The prime reason to visit Honda's showroom is not so much to admire its range of cars and motorbikes but to be wowed by the company's robot technology. At…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Opened in June 2014, the 52-storey, 247m Toranomon Hills mixed-use complex is crowned by the sleek hotel, Andaz, with panoramic views from its bars and…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
This strolling garden was once the estate of a Meiji-era statesman and is now the grounds of a luxury hotel, though it's open to the public. The shaded…
Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Deep underground, Tadao Ando's design for the Shibuya terminus of the city's newest subway line, the Fukutoshin Line, resembles a concrete space ship, or…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Mohri Garden is an Edo-style strolling garden, on the grounds of the Roppongi Hills mall, complete with meandering paths and a central pond. When…
Tokyo
Just to the northeast corner of Kōkyo-gaien Plaza, this small park has two fountains that were built to commemorate the weddings of past Emperor Akihito…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
On the outskirts of Ikebukuro and opened in 1875, Zōshigaya-reien is the final resting place of many influential writers and artists of the modern era …
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…
Asakusa & Sumida River
On the ground floor of Ryōgoku Kokugikan stadium, this small museum displays pictures of all the past yokozuna (top-ranking sumo wrestlers), or, for those…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
There's a plan for buildings along this broad, tree-lined boulevard to be decorated with street art as part of the Tokyo Mural Project (http://mural.tokyo…
Watari Museum of Contemporary Art
Harajuku & Aoyama
In a building (1990) by Swiss architect Mario Botta, Watari-Um stages exhibits that range from retrospectives of established art-world figures (such as…
Harajuku & Aoyama
This deceptively deep concrete mall (2003), designed by Tadao Ando, spirals around a sunken atrium. Andō’s architecture utilises materials such as…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
This wooden residence, next to Nogi-jinja, is where General Nogi and his wife committed ritual suicide on the death of Emperor Meiji. It's open to the…
Harajuku & Aoyama
Artist and stylist Sebastian Masuda is behind the lurid colours, surrealist installations and other-worldly outfits of this darkly cute cafe. In the…
Tokyo
There are 300 or so kites in this small but fascinating museum, located above the restaurant Taimeiken, including brilliantly painted kites based on folk…
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Among the hundreds of vintage cameras on display here is an 1839 Giroux daguerreotype, the world's first camera. Japan wasn't far behind: the ornate Tsui…
Asakusa & Sumida River
Originally built in 1774, this bridge was once the point of departure for boat trips to the Yoshiwara pleasure district, north of Asakusa.
Tokyo
Asagaya's 1km-long shōtengai (market street) is one of Tokyo's longest and most iconic – a covered arcade with an arching roof and a poetic name (the…
Odaiba & Tokyo Bay
Looking like something giant builders left behind, this enormous, 15.5m-tall, red-handle and blade designed by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen is…
Ginza & Tsukiji
Godzilla's assault on Tokyo continues apace: first there was the Godzilla Head that appeared on the Toho building in Shinjuku; and now a 3m-tall statue…
Ueno & Yanesen
This Inari shrine inside Ueno-kōen is most noteworthy for its photogenic succession of torii gates, which form a vermilion tunnel. This feature is typical…
