Higashi-Gyoen Garden is open to the public, the main palace garden is only accessible twice a year, on New Year’s Day and on the Emperor’s birthday. Still in use by the Imperial Family, the Palace is constructed on the site that the feudal lord Ota Dokan originally built his first fortress and from which the city of Tokyo would eventually grow. Japan’s booming economy is on display in the Ginza shopping district. Analogues to New York’s Times Square and attracting visitors from all over the world, Ginza is recognized as one of the most luxurious shopping districts on the globe. Prominent brands Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Chanel, and flagship stores of some of the biggest leaders in technology are on display in Ginza, including showrooms for Sony and Apple.

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If the noise and the bustle of the city leave you yearning for more peace, Tokyo offers a plethora of shrines and temples to experience. Among them are the Meiji Shrine, located in the central West of Tokyo and surrounded by the greenery

mong the more popular sights in the city is the Imperial Palace located in Tokyo’s Marunouchi district. Though the East

of Yoyogi Park. Walkways throughout the over 100,000 trees encompassing the Meiji Shrine offer the possibility of a peaceful and reflective afternoon walk.

No discussion of Tokyo’s natural wonders would be complete without mention of Japan’s renowned cherry blossoms. The practice known as Hanami literally translates to viewing flowers, and in modern times has come to mean enjoying viewing cherry blossoms. It is widely believed that the custom of Hanami goes back as far as 1,000 years, when the aristocracy would write poetry as they gazed at the beautifully blossoming cherry trees. A 10 minute walk from Shinjuku Station in central Tokyo will bring you to Shinjuku Gyoen. This area is full of spacious lawns and over 1,000 cherry trees of a dozen different varieties for your viewing pleasure. Japan’s considerable contri- butions to the world of visual art are on display in the

numerable art museums of Tokyo. Among them are the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, the most prominent among Tokyo’s art museums. Established in 1952, the museum not only displays the work of well-known Japanese artists, but also contains the National Film Center, Japan’s only public institution specifically dedicated to cinema. The National Film Center holds special screenings in its theaters and preserves many important cinematic works of Japanese history. Among them are a recently restored animated film entitled, “The Blunt Samurai Sword,” originally released in 1917. Discovered at an antique market in Osaka, this rare film print is the oldest surviving example known of Japanese animation. With its vast and varied assets, Tokyo is sure to entice any lover of culture and beauty that finds themselves in Japan.

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