10 Things You May Not Know About Tokyo

January 2, 2018 10:34 AM | Skymet Weather Team

Tokyo has everything you can ask of a city, and has it in spades: a rich, cosmopolitan dining scene, more cafes and bars than you could visit in a lifetime, fantastic public transport and grassy parks – plus it's clean and safe. Tokyo is constantly evolving, mutating, reconsidering its past and rushing headlong into the future. This synergy between tradition and ingenuity is what makes Tokyo the city it is today.

From the beautiful landscapes which are blessed by natural to the modern buildings, all of them have their own breathtaking characteristics but when they gathered together, it makes Tokyo have its own unique beauty. Tokyo is a city of extremes, of contrasts and diversity.

One of the things that we absolutely loved about Tokyo was how crazy and loud it could be one moment and then after walking around a corner, it could be so serene and peaceful. Tokyo provides the antidote to itself, it balances out, it is yin and yang! A true exploration of mild, body and soul!

[yuzo_related]

And here we bring to you 10 things that you may not know about Tokyo:

The city of Tokyo does not exist

Image Credit: Tokyo Cheapo

Tokyo has been selected as the host city of the 2020 Olympic Games, but the City of Tokyo does not actually exist. Tokyo is not a city, but a so-called metropolitan prefecture. The Tokyo Metropolitan Prefecture consists of 23 Special Wards or Ku, 39 municipalities and two island chains, the Izu and Ogasawara Islands.

Tokyo only became the capital of Japan in 1868

Image Credit: GaijinPot Travel

The Japanese capital has been in many locations, including Nara, Osaka, and Kyoto. Kyoto was Japan’s capital from 794 through 1868. The city was renamed as Tokyo in 1868 and became Japan’s new capital.

Tokyo has more Michelin Guide stars than any other city in the world

Image Credit: South China Morning

Tokyo is the gourmet city of the world. In the 2013 edition of the famed Michelin Guide, Tokyo received 323 stars, more than any other city in the world.

Tokyo has one of the lowest murder rates of all major cities in the world

Image Credit: The Economist

In 2009, Tokyo’s homicide rate per 100,000 people stood at 0.4, one of the lowest in the world for a major city. This doesn’t mean that Tokyo is 100% safe. Roppongi, for example, is a high-risk area for credit card information theft, while Kabuki-Cho, Shibuya, and Ikebukuro experience physical and sexual assaults, pickpocketing and cases of drugs slipped into drinks.

WWII allied bombing of Tokyo was more devastating than the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

We all know about the devastation caused by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. But one single air raid on Tokyo in March of that year destroyed a larger area and killed more people than were killed directly during the atomic bombings.

Tokyo is home to 26 of the world’s busiest train stations in the world

 

Image Credit: Wikipedia

Tokyo train stations are busy is well-known, but did you know that of the 51 busiest train stations in the world, 26 are in Tokyo.

Tokyo has more inhabitants than any other metropolitan area in the world

Image Credit: Truly Tokyo

Tokyo forms part of the world’s most populous metropolitan area with over 35 million people. It features the world’s largest urban agglomeration economy.

Tokyo is vulnerable to flooding

Image Credit: IB Times.UK

Tokyo is infamous for its many earthquakes. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 devastated Tokyo and killed 142,800 people. Talking about floods, Tokyo has been repeatedly flooded in its history.

Tokyo’s Skytree is the tallest freestanding tower in the world

Image Credit: Tokyo Cheapo

Tokyo Skytree, a broadcasting, restaurant, and observation tower in Sumida, is the tallest tower in the world, and the second tallest structure in the world after Burj Khalifa.

Tokyo’s Tsukiji market is the largest fish market in the world

Image Credit: The Style Scribe

The Tsukiji fish market is world famous, and you probably know that it is the largest fish market in the world. It deals with more than 400 different types of seafood.

Image Credit:  ThingsPlan         

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