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Tokyo: Frenetic Asian Fun!

Visiting Tokyo, Japan is sort of like watching something whirl around inside a blender. Twelve million people scurry to and fro in a daily dance that makes New York City look positively tame by comparison. Tokyo is meant to be explored, as some of its best attractions lie hidden from outward view. A seemingly inconsequential building on the outside may house a bar with wonderful mahogany in the basement, a small Shinto shrine on the roof, and a French restaurant on the upper floors. Japan has enough museums, shrines, and gardens to keep a body busy for a month of Sundays. Shoppers will find plenty of opportunities to satisfy their thirst, everything from bargain loaded street kiosks to upscale boutiques and department stores.

To get a better understanding of rich, Japanese culture, make a beeline for Tokyo National Museum. This is not only the largest museum in Japan, it holds the most extensive collection of Japanese art in the world. The museum is filled with kimonos, samurai armor, priceless swords, metal works, pottery, scrolls, calligraphy, ceramics, archeological finds, and much more. The museum consists of five buildings housing different aspects of the overall collection. The Gallery of Eastern Antiquities houses art and artifacts from everywhere in Asia outside Japan. The Heiseikan Gallery is where you'll find archaeological relics of ancient Japan, including pottery and Haniwa clay burial figurines of the Jomon Period. The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures displays priceless Buddhist treasures from the Horyuji Temple in Nara, founded by Prince Shotoku in 607. If you visit one museum in Tokyo, the Tokyo National is it!

Even though Tokyo is urban, there are enough green spaces in the form of parks and gardens to make any nature enthusiast happy. One of the best is Ueno Park, a cultural mecca with a number of attractions set in a natural environment. The Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, the Ueno Zoo, and the Shinobazu bird sanctuary are all housed within the grounds. Another beautiful spot is the Hama Rikyu Garden, a peaceful oasis that has a history stretching back 300 years. Visit the place where the upper classes enjoyed themselves during the Edo Period. In 1871, possession of the garden passed to the imperial family, who used it to entertain such visiting dignitaries as General Ulysses S. Grant. Located on Tokyo Bay and surrounded by water on three sides, the garden contains an inner tidal pool, spanned by three bridges draped with wisteria. There are also other ponds, a refuge for ducks, herons, and migratory birds, and a promenade along the bay lined with pine trees and offering views of Rainbow Bridge.

Shrines play an important role in Japanese culture. They serve as both a place of memorial and a place of solitude, allowing visitors to reflect both upon the past and the present. One of the most important is the Toshogu Shrine. The only shrine in Tokyo to be called a National Treasure, Toshogu Shrine was erected in 1651 and is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. The pathway to the shrine is lined with massive stone lanterns, as well as 50 copper lanterns donated by daimyo (feudal lords) from all over Japan. Meiji-jingu is Tokyo's premier Shinto shrine, a memorial to Emperor Meiji, who died in 1912, and his empress Shoken, who died in 1914.

If shopping is your thing, you will want to seek out Omotesando, Tokyo's equivalent of cruising the Champs-Élysées. The elegant, tree-lined street is chock full of trendy boutiques, high-end super stores, funky little specialty shops, bustling restaurants, and sidewalk cafes. Serious bargain hunters never miss out on the outdoor antiques market held on the first and fourth Sundays of each month in the precincts of the neighboring Togo-jinja . The market sells everything from fine tansu (traditional Japanese chests) to old kimonos and crockery.

Tokyo is a city that needs to be discovered as much as seen. Tiny, unmarked streets finger off of busy thoroughfares, hiding no end of hidden treasures. Some portions of the city are as busy at 3:00 am as they are at rush hour. If sleep isn't important to you, a visit to Tokyo can be a 24 hour a day funfest! Take in a movie at the Tokyo IMAX Theatre. Visit the John Lennon Museum and learn about the former Beatle's love of Japan. Jump on a bullet train and head out for a hike on Mt. Fuji for some of the best views of the surrounding area. Quench your thirst after taking a tour through the Sapporo breweries. Tokyo is a cultural and historical gem. It's time to get out your magnifying glass and explore!