Tokyo attraksjoner

The legendary Mount Fuji, recently named one of the newest UNESCO World Heritage-listed sites, stands 12,388 feet tall (3,776 meters) and is Japan’s highest mountain. With spectacular 360-degree views of Lake Ashinko, the Hakone mountains, and the Owakudani Valley, climbing Mt. Fuji is an unforgettable experience. Over one million people hike to the top of Mount Fuji each year. Mount Fuji is located in the heart of Hakone National Park. The climbing season is from July to August, when the weather is the mildest and there is the least amount of snow on the mountain. Named after the Buddhist fire goddess Fuchi, Mount Fuji is a holy mountain, and at its peak is a Shinto Shrine dedicated to the goddess Sengen-Sama. Below is an astonishing view of the Fuji Five Lakes and the Shiraito Falls. Mount Fuji is surrounded by lush greenery and, in the spring, budding cherry blossoms.

Located on the Island of Honshu, Lake Ashi, also known as Lake Ashinoko, is located inside of Japan's Hakone National Park. With Mt. Fuji as its backdrop, it is a dazzling view on the water. It is considered sacred by the Japanese and has a Shinto shrine at its base. Take a boat ride, relax, and enjoy views of Mt. Komagatake and the lush greenery of the other surrounding mountains, or catch a spectacular view of Lake Ashi on one of the trails in Hakone National Park. One trail even leads from the summer palace of the former Imperial Family, talk about a sight fit for a queen!

This famous mountain station lies at the halfway point between the Yoshida Trail and the summit of Mount Fuji. Its easy access to public transportation makes it the most popular of the mountain’s four 5th stations—particularly during climbing season. Situated some 2,300 meters above sea level, Mt Fuji’s 5th Station offers unobstructed views of the Fuji Five Lakes, as well as panoramic looks at Fujiyoshida City, Lake Yamanaka and Komitake Shrine. The station’s Yoshida Trail, which can take between five and seven hours to climb, is a favorite among hikers. It may be one of the most crowded summits, but epic sunrises make it worth the congestion.

The Hakone National Park, known as the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, is the most incredible outdoor-excursion in Japan. With relaxing hot-springs, Lake Ashi, and of course, Mt. Fuji, The Hakone National Park is a nature-lover's paradise. Divided into four general areas, including the Hakone area, Mount Fuji area, Izu Peninsula, and the Izu Islands, there is much to see in this park. In Hakone, you’ll encounter Lake Ashi, also known as Lake Ashinoko, with Mt. Fuji as its backdrop. Another popular destination in Hakone is Mt. Kintoki, filled with the ruins and shrines of old-Japan. Then, there is the legendary Mount Fuji. At 12,388 feet (3,776 meters), Mt. Fuji is Japan’s highest mountain. With spectacular, 360-degree views of Lake Ashinko, the Hakone mountains, and the Owakudani Valley, climbing Mt. Fuji is an unforgettable experience.

See the so-called Nagano Alps from Japan's highest aerial tramway, the Komogatake Ropeway. The Ropeway opened in 1963 and is a popular way to take in one of the most stunning, scenic views in Japan. The Ropeway runs from the edge of Lake Ashi to the summit of Mount Komagatake, its namesake. The ropeway carries passengers 950 meters (3,116 feet), making it the highest vertical aerial tramway in the country. The ride soars through the clouds to provide views of Japan's highest mountain - Mt. Fuji, as well as the seven Izu Islands, Lake Ashinoko, and expansive coastline. At Mt. Komogatake's summit, passengers off-load to a woodland area with a small shrine and numerous hiking trails to explore. Since the panoramic views are the highlight, it's recommended to only ride the Ropeway on clear days when the mountain summits can be spotted from the ground.

Travel about 60 miles (100 kilometers) out of Tokyo and into Kanagawa Prefecture and you’ll find yourself in the Great Boiling Valley of Owaku-dani. The live volcanic valley makes for one of the most enjoyable -- and smelliest -- day trips from the big city. The area has long appealed to domestic and foreign tourists for its beautiful scenery, hot springs, occasional scenic views of Mount Fiji and for black eggs, eggs that are hard boiled in the sulfurous waters, turning their shells black. A short walking trail leads from the base of the Hakone Ropeway past bubbling sulfurous pools to a tourist stand where you can purchase black eggs. Local legend claims that eating a single egg will extend your life by seven years. From the Owaku-dani tourist station, you can either return on the Hakone Ropeway or continue to hike up to the peak of Mount Kamiyama and nearby Mount Komagatake. From there, a ropeway will ferry you down to beautiful Lake Ashi.

The Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku's Kabukicho district (red-light district) may well be unlike anything you’ve seen before. A sort of sci-fi Japanese cabaret starring giant robots, this show is loud and proud, both visually and audibly, with its flashing lights, multiple mirrors, and huge video screens accompanied by the sounds of taiko drums and pumping techno music. There are four 90-minute shows every night, in which dancers in dazzling costumes perform alongside robots, giant pandas, dinosaurs and more. At one point, neon tanks come out to do battle with samurais and ninjas. It’s a surreal place that needs to be seen to be believed! There are several options for attending the show. You can pre-purchase entrance tickets for several different time slots, or you can bundle the entrance ticket with a dinner package.

The Kokugikan Sumo Stadium, also known as the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, is Tokyo’s largest indoor sports arena hosting sumo wrestling tournaments. Sumo is Japan’s most popular sport, so catch an incredible show with up to 10,000 other spectators and find out what sumo is all about. Each Sumo tournament lasts fifteen days, and the matches begin with amateurs and end with advanced sumo wrestlers. Tournaments are held only six times a year, so grab a seat while you still can. The Sumo Museum, known as Nihon Sumo Kyokai, is attached to the Kokugikan Sumo Stadium and is open year-round. It is a great place to learn about sumo’s important place in Japanese culture.

With its neon lights, towering department stores, and nightclubs, the Ginza Shopping District is a chic, cosmopolitan adventure. You can catch a live Kabuki show, check out the latest Japanese film, or tour the most prestigious and innovative restaurants of Tokyo. And of course, there’s shopping! Featuring the most exclusive stores and brands, like Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Chanel, this is window shopping at its finest. Highlights include the Sony Building and Hakuhinkan Toy Park. Another must-see attraction is the Wako Department Store, a Neo-Rennaisance-style building known for its impressive clock tower. The Ginza Shopping District is also a great destination for entertainment. The Kabuki-za Theater presents traditional Kabuki Theatre daily. On the side streets of Ginza, there are clusters of art galleries, and then there’s the Ginza Cine Pathos, housing dozens of film theaters, small bars, and food-stalls built in a tunnel underneath Harumi-dori.

Shibuya is a popular shopping district and entertainment center in Tokyo. It is home to the eccentric fashions of Harajuku, department stores and boutiques, post-modern buildings, and many different museums. Known for its busy streets, flashing lights, and neon advertisements, Shibuya is a definite sight to see. Next to the Shibuya train station is the statue of Hachikō, a legendary dog that waited for his late master, every day in front of the station, for twelve years. The surrounding area is known as Hachikō Square, and is the most popular area for locals to meet. Nearby is the Center Gai, a little street packed with stores, boutiques, department stores, restaurants, and arcades. Close to the Center Gai are a series of strange and fun museums, including the Bunkamura-dori, Tobacco and Salt Museum, and the Tokyo Electric Power Company Electric Energy Museum. There are many clubs and performance spaces in the area as well.

The Studio Ghibli Museum houses art and animation from the world-class Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli, which produced the films Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Howl’s Moving Castle. With stand-out architecture, wonderful film showings, and great exhibits with stunning animation, this museum is a feast for the eyes. Outside, a giant robot statue guards the Studio Ghibli Museum. The overall design of the museum is quirky and other-worldly, so that you feel like you are actually walking through an animated set. The first floor of the museum houses its permanent collection and examines the history and culture of animation. The second floor has special exhibitions and films, showing both the work of Miyazaki and other celebrated animated films, like Toy Story and Wallace and Gromit.

The Tokyo Imperial Palace is home to the head of state, and is where the Imperial Family lives. It is also the former site of the Edo Castle. Filled with gardens, ancient stone bridges, and museums, the Tokyo Imperial Palace is a beautiful, historical, and important cultural landmark in Japan. In front of the Imperial Palace, visitors can view the Nijubashi, two ancient, stone bridges that lead to the inner palace grounds. The inner palace grounds are not open to the public, except on January 2 and December 23, two days that commemorate the New Year and the Emperor's birthday. However, the Imperial East Gardens are open to the public, and stand at the foot of the hill where the foundation of the Edo Castle tower still remains. The gardens have a natural pond, with groomed trees and lush greenery.

The Asakusa Temple combines majestic architecture, centers of worship, elaborate Japanese gardens, and traditional markets to give you a modern-day look at the history and culture of Japan. Erected in the year 645 AD, in what was once an old fishing village, the Asakusa Temple was dedicated to the goddess of mercy, Kanon. Known as the Senso-ji Temple in Japan, it is located in the heart of Asakusa, known as the "low city," on the banks of the Sumida River. Stone-carved statues of Fujin (the Wind god) and Raijin (the Thunder god) guard the entrance of the temple, known as Kaminarimon or Thunder Gate. Next is the Hozomon Gate, leading to the shopping streets of Nakamise, filled with local vendors selling folk-crafts and Japanese snacks. There is also the Kannondo Hall, home of the stunning Asakusa shrine.

Located in the Kichijoji neighborhood of Tokho, Inokashira Park (more specifically the pond found within) was the first water source for Edo (now Tokyo) until a new water supply system was completed in 1898. The public park was established in 1917 and today is one of the city’s most popular and lively green spaces. The long Inokashira Pond stretches east to west through the park, and tree-lined paths meander around it. Locals and visitors come to the park to picnic in the shade, rent paddle boats for a trip around the pond, feed the ducks or visit one of the park’s bigger attractions, a small zoo or the Ghibli Museum. On the weekends, local artists are often seen selling their wares while buskers perform for tips throughout the park. During spring, some 250 cherry trees surrounding the pond provide a stunning display of blossoms.

The Meiji Shrine is the most important and popular Shinto shrine in Tokyo. It was dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and his wife Empress Shōken in 1926. The shrine is made up of buildings of worship, forests, and gardens. Each tree in the Meiji Forest was planted by a different Japanese citizen wanting to pay his respects to the Emperor. Meiji is thought of as the man who helped modernize Japan, and though the shrine was originally bombed in WWII, the shrine was restored in 1958.

Odaiba is a chain of man-made islands inside of the Tokyo Bay. With dazzling views of Mt Fuji, the Rainbow Bridge, and the bay, it is surrounded by Tokyo's beauty. A shopping and entertainment center known for its futuristic architecture and theme parks, Odaiba combines fashion-forward thinking with fun for an unforgettable experience. The Ferris Wheel in Patel Town, is one of Odaiba's featured landmarks. At 377 feet (115 meters) high, it offers one of the best views of the city. Other architectural wonders include the Telecom Center, Fuji TV Building, and Tokyo Big Sight, known for their avant-garde design, and a replica of the Statue of Liberty. For entertainment there's the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, the Aqua City shopping mall, and Decks Tokyo Beach, loaded with arcade games, boutiques, and a food theme park known as "Little Hong Kong."

For kitschy souvenirs and trinkets to bring home as gifts or mementos of your time in Japan, there’s really only one place to shop, and that’s Nakamise Street. The name roughly translates to “Street of Inside Shops,” and you’ll find both sides lined with stores selling knickknacks, souvenirs and snacks. The shopping street owes its existence to the Senso-ji Buddhist temple, dating back to the seventh century. The temple has drawn in enough devotees over the centuries to spawn a thriving commercial district. The shops once served as homes for the temple servants who cleaned the grounds, but now it’s wall to wall shops. Here you’ll find folding fans, kimonos and their accompanying wooden sandals, Edo-style colored glassware and the typical lineup of tourist trinkets. Save room in your stomach to sample some of the traditional Japanese snacks sold along the street, particularly the savory rice crackers, Azuki bean paste and sticky rice cakes.

Tokyo’s Rainbow Bridge, a suspension bridge spanning Tokyo Bay to connect Shibaura Wharf and the Odaiba waterfront area, is one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, particularly at night. The bridge was completed in 1993 and was painted all in white to help it better blend in with the Tokyo skyline. During the day, solar panels on the bridge collect and store energy to power a series of colorful lights that turn on after sundown and give the bridge its name. If you’re planning to spend a morning or afternoon at Odaiba, Tokyo’s futuristic “New City” filled with shopping and arcades, check to see if the pedestrial path across the Rainbow Bridge is open. If so, you can walk across in less than 30 minutes with excellent harbor views along the way. From the various observation platforms you can spot Tokyo Tower, the Kanebo building and Skytree.

Opened in May 2012, Tokyo's newest landmark, the Tokyo Skytree, has entered the record books as the world's second tallest building. A broadcasting tower that houses a restaurant, a café and two observation decks, Tokyo Skytree towers above Tokyo at a height of 634 meters (2,080 feet). At 350 meters (1,148 feet) and 450 meters (1,476 feet) high, the Tokyo Skytree has the highest observation decks in Japan with unsurpassed views over Tokyo. To reach the highest observation deck, visitors can walk up a spiraling corridor that circles the tower and offers dizzying views across the city below.

Located in Tokyo’s popular Shinjuku ward just north of the world’s busiest rail station, you’ll find a small alley called Omoide Yokocho. The historic alley, known locally as Memory Lane or Piss Alley depending on who you ask, is in fact one of Tokyo’s more authentic and atmospheric dining destinations. Don’t let the negative nickname deter you. Today, it’s a bit of a misnomer anyway. In 1999, the entire alley was destroyed in a fire. It has since been rebuilt in much the same way and with the same old world Postwar Tokyo atmosphere, but with one notable exception. The alley now has bathrooms. The nickname “Piss Alley” harkens back to the days when no such facilities existed. As you walk down the narrow alley, you’ll see tiny bars and restaurants tightly packed together on either side with the occasional tattered red paper lantern lighting the way.

Kabukicho, one of Tokyo’s busiest nightlife and red light districts, offers the foreign visitor nothing short of a bizarre cultural experience. An estimated 150,000 people pass through the district’s 200 clubs and 80 love hotels each day, and you’re much more likely to see groups of male work associates in business suits than couples or families. After dark, the district lights up with LED signs in every color covering nearly any open wall surface. Many of the clubs catering to executives and lonely husbands are themed, so you’ll see girls wandering around in full costume on their way to or from work. While Kabukicho isn’t a place to take the kids, it isn’t nearly as promiscuous from the street as other red light districts around the world. Come enjoy the people watching after a dinner in one of the district’s many izakayas. Even the restaurants here are themed, allowing you to enjoy a meal locked up in a stone jail cell or in a cafe full of real cats.

The neighborhood of Shinjuku, one of 23 city wards in Tokyo, houses a thriving business, entertainment and shopping district centered around Shinjuku Station, the busiest railway station in the world with more than 2 million passengers moving through daily. The 11-square mile (18-square kilometer) area houses approximately 300,000 people with a sizable concentration of foreign residents. The west portion of Shinjuku, one of Tokyo’s main business districts, also houses a majority of the city’s skyscrapers, including the Metropolitan Government Office with its free public observation towers. The eastern portion of the ward, known as Kabukicho, is one of the few remaining geisha districts in Tokyo and one of the wildest red light districts in the country.

Monjya Street is situated on the man-made island of Tsukishima and is the main hub for monjayaki restaurants in Tokyo. Here, over 70 of these restaurants jostle for attention, coming up with unique flavors for their monjayaki (a type of crispy pancake with various savory fillings). The monjayaki is served uncooked in most cases, and hungry diners must first cook their food using a grill at their table before enjoying the fruits of their labor. Some of the restaurants only specialize in monjayaki, while others also sell other food items, such as yakisoba. Aside from the food, Tsukishima has some beautiful scenery and is a fascinating mix of the ancient and the modern, making it one of Tokyo’s most interesting neighborhoods.