Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
Japan's most celebrated manga artist Tezuka Osamu lived most of his life in Takadanobaba and the neighbourhood couldn't be prouder. In front of the station is a mural with all the characters Tezuka created, including his most famous, Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom in Japanese).
As extra fan service, the theme song for the anime version of Astro Boy plays on train platform at Takadanobaba, in place of the usual JR jingle.
4.12 MILES
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…
7.57 MILES
This museum is the heart of the Studio Ghibli world, a beloved (even 'adored') film studio responsible for classic, critically-acclaimed animated titles…
1.27 MILES
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…
3.66 MILES
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…
18.09 MILES
This impressively slick attraction is dedicated to, you guessed it, cup noodles. But in reality, its focus is more broad, with numerous exhibitions…
4.11 MILES
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…
3.47 MILES
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,…
5.24 MILES
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…
1 MILES
Lucky are the girls who attended the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed 'School of the Free Spirit' (Jiyū Gakuen; 自由学園). Built in 1921, Myōnichikan functioned as…
2. Ikebukuro Life Safety Learning Center
1.09 MILES
This public safety centre has a room that simulates a real earthquake and it's not for the faint of heart (literally): what you experience is a level…
1.17 MILES
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 …
1.2 MILES
Godzilla, a portmanteau of the Japanese words for gorilla (gorira) and whale (kujira), is king of the kaijū (strange beasts) that ruled Japanese popular…
1.22 MILES
Rising nearly 40m high and glistening in the sun, this stainless-steel contemporary cathedral was completed in 1955. It's the work of Japan's foremost…
1.23 MILES
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…
1.27 MILES
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…
1.31 MILES
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…