Tokyo
The photograph on the left shows the Tokyo Tower. On the right is Tokyo Station. Below that is the Marunouchi business district that is to the west of the station. Many white-collar workers work here.
Tokyo is Japan's capital city and the center of the government, economy, culture, and information. The population was 12,451,966, so approximately 10% of Japan's population lives in Tokyo (2004). Tokyo Station, modeled after Amsterdam Station in the Netherlands, was built in 1914. It is a very large station where the JR (Japan Railway) had about 3,860 regular and Shinkansen trains leaving and arriving daily (2004). The station has more than 20 platforms on five underground levels. The Yaesuguchi area on the east side of the station has department stores and an underground shopping district, while the Marunouchi area on the west side has long been a district representative of Japanese business.
The Tokyo Tower, completed in 1958, is an antenna tower 333 m tall that is used for television and other broadcasting. The tower has observation platforms 150 m and 250 m above the ground from which people can see downtown Tokyo and, on clear days, Mt. Fuji. At night it is illuminated with orange lights. The tower is a symbol of Tokyo.
TOWN
Town means a place that has many houses built together or that has many shops clustered together and bustles with activity (in which case the term machi may be written with a different character). A local unit of government that is larger than a village but smaller than a city may also be called a town (in which case the character may be pronounced chô). There are 677 cities, 1,961 towns, and 552 villages in all of Japan (2003). The photograph on the left shows Tokyo city streets from the air, and the one on the right shows a town that is about an hour away from the Tokyo city center.
SHIBUYA
This is the Shibuya area. The photograph on the bottom right shows the bronze statue of Hachikô the dog.
The Shibuya area has many clothing shops for young people and restaurants lining the narrow streets. There are also movie theaters and many other cultural facilities for movies, art exhibits, concerts, and so on. As a birthplace of new fashions and fads, Shibuya is always overflowing with young people.
Near the north entrance to Shibuya Station is Hachikô Square, which many people use as a place to meet. Hachikô is the name of the dog after which this bronze statue was made. Hachikô accompanied his master to and from the station every day on his way to and from work. When his master died, Hachikô waited ten years at the station for him to return. People thought this was admirable, and erected the bronze statue of the dog in front of the station.
ASAKUSA
The photograph on the left shows the Kaminari-mon (Thunder Gate) located at the entrance to Sensôji Temple in Asakusa. The area between this gate and the temple has many shops selling souvenirs and so on that are called nakamise (shops inside the temple grounds). The photograph on the right shows the Sumida River.
Asakusa is a typical example of the traditional working-class neighborhood in Tokyo. The Sensôji Temple located here is Tokyo's oldest temple. The huge paper lanterns that hang from the Kaminari-mon at the temple entrance are 4 m tall and weigh as much as 670 kg. Both sides of the street from this gate to the temple are lined with some 90 shops known as nakamise. They sell Japanese-style sweets, toys, and accessories for Japanese clothing, and some of them are old shops that have been here since the Edo period.
The Sumida River, which flows near Asakusa, flourished in the past when boats were a vital means of transportation. Now there are 13 bridges across the river, and water buses go back and forth on it. The area along this river is presently undergoing development as a new business and residential district for Tokyo. Fireworks displays are held here in the summer.
Sanjya Matsuri

This festival is held at Senso Temple in Asakusa on the Saturday and Sunday closest to May 18. Senso Temple is also called Sanja-sama (the Three Shrines), and the festival is for the three gods who protect Asakusa. It involves several large portable shrines that are carried around, and the festival can be said to typify early summer in the working-class neighborhoods of Tokyo. It is a very high-spirited, boisterous festival that displays the character of the old-time Edokko (the born and raised native of Edo, which is the old name for what is now Tokyo).
Akihabara

This is the district of Tokyo called Akihabara. There are many electrical appliance stores here.
Akihabara is famous as a district with many stores specializing in electrical products. There used to be mostly shops that sold radio parts and similar goods, but now there are also large stores like department stores. There are about 1,000 of these stores in all, including stores that have everything from televisions, videos, refrigerators, washing machines, and other electrical products, to personal computers and game software, and shops that sell only particular parts, such as batteries or electrical plugs. Every conceivable kind of electrical product is available, and the prices are low, so many people come to Akihabara to shop.