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ABOUT TOKYO
/ TOKYO GUIDE
Tokyo is the seat of the Japanese
government and the Imperial Palace, the home of the Japanese
Imperial Family, and the de facto capital of Japan.
Prior to 1943, Tokyo was the name of both one of the 47 prefectures
of Japan, Tokyo-fu, and the populous city of Tokyo in the eastern
half of the prefecture. In 1943 the city and prefecture were merged
into a unique prefecture level government entity, known as Tōkyō-to
東京都 or "Tokyo Metropolis". This administrative region includes the
twenty-three "special wards" of the former city, many suburban
cities in the western half of the prefecture, and two chains of
islands extending south into the Pacific Ocean. About 12 million
people, 10 percent of Japan's population, live within Tōkyō-to's
prefectural boundaries.
About 35 million people live in the Greater Tokyo Area[2] which
encompasses Tōkyō-to and surrounding prefectures, making it the
world's most populous metropolitan area. Because of its huge
population and wealth, many world records are or were held here,
including the most expensive real estate ever ($1.5 million/sq meter
in 1990), the most expensive city for over a decade running, the
most passengers served by its train system, and has the largest GDP
of any metropolitan area in the world.
Distinctions of Shitamachi (literally "downtown,"
to the north and east) and Yamanote (literally "uptown," to the
south and west) have shaped the character of Tokyo since the 17th
century and will guide you as you explore the city. Tokyo north and
east of the Imperial Palace embodies more of the city's history, its
traditional way of life, whereas the fruit of modernity --
contemporary, international Tokyo -- generally lies south and west.
For a place its size, Tokyo is an extremely easy city to negotiate.
If you have any anxieties about getting from place to place, remind
yourself first that a transportation system obliged to cope with 4
or 5 million commuters a day simply has to be efficient, extensive,
and reasonably easy to understand. Virtually any place you're likely
to go as a visitor is within a 15-minute walk of a train or subway
station -- and station stops are always marked in English.
Tokyo is considered one of the world's major global cities and a
mega city. The word "Tokyo" may refer to Tōkyō-to as a whole, or
only to the main urban mass under its jurisdiction (thus excluding
west Tama and Izu / Ogasawara Islands), or even the whole of Greater
Tokyo Area, depending on context. This article refers to Tōkyō-to
unless otherwise stated.
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