Major Cities in Japan

By | July 9, 2022

Tokyo, Honshu Island (Japan)

According to ITYPEMBA, Tokyo is the capital of industrial Japan – its heart. Connoisseurs of the aesthetics of industrial culture should definitely start their acquaintance with the Land of the Rising Sun from its main city, and it is better from its main shopping street Ginza – the most expensive shops and restaurants are located here. It was built by English architects when the city was rebuilding after a devastating fire in 1872. And if you still want to feel like in the East, start with the Asakusa area – it has preserved the unique flavor of old Japan more than any other. In ancient times, it was famous for “houses of brothel” and was considered the most vile place in the capital. The Imperial Palace is located in the central part of the capital of Japan.

It is located on the territory of Edo Castle, which was built by the local feudal lord Dokan Ota in 1457. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, settled in the castle in 1590 and made it his residence. Subsequent shoguns from the Tokugawa clan expanded and fortified the castle, and from 1637 it became the largest in the country. Until 1868, the official residence of the Japanese monarchs was in Kyoto. During the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which eliminated the power of the shoguns, the capital of the country was transferred to Tokyo., and Edo Castle, built between 1603 and 1651, became the emperor’s new residence. It is behind its moat and walls, among the picturesque parks of Higashi-gyoen and Kitanomaru, that the modern Imperial Palace is currently located. The buildings that survived from the Edo Castle, as well as the stone walls of the castle, were declared a national treasure in 1963 and protected by the state, and the complex of the modern imperial palace was built in 1964-1968. It was erected on the site of the former palace, built in the Meiji era and burned down in May 1945 during one of the American bombing of Tokyo.

Among the main attractions of the Japanese capital should also include the Tokyo TV tower (333 meters), the complex of ultra-modern skyscrapers “Three Towers” on the island of Harumi.

AT Tokyo is home to one of the most famous and visited Shinto shrines – the Meiji Shrine. The shrine is dedicated to Emperor Meiji, who is credited with opening Japan to the outside world (before him, no one was allowed into Japan from outside), and his wife, Empress Shoken. Built in 1920 after their deaths in 1912 and 1914 respectively, the shrine was destroyed during World War II and was only rebuilt in 1958.), which was completed in 1926. Among the other interesting places of the Shrine is the museum (Homotsuden), which was built in 1921. It houses photographs and personal valuables of the Emperor and Empress.

Sensoji Temple (Senso-ji) is located in the Asakusa area. This most revered temple in Tokyo was founded in 628 to house a golden statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, said to have been found by two fishermen. The temple and the five-story pagoda were heavily rebuilt after the Second World War, but this does not prevent it from being a respected and visited place. The large incense burner in front of the entrance is said to have healing properties. There are many Shinto shrines on the temple grounds.

Also, Tokyo known for its museums, some of which have no analogues in the world. These are the Kite Museum (more than 4 thousand exhibits), the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, the Idemitsu Museum with a collection of paintings and calligraphy, the Ota Museum with an exposition of Japanese prints, the Metro Museum, as well as the Eyewear Museum, the Lighter Museum, the Water Pipe Museum, the Bicycle Museum and Bag Museum.

Osaka (Japan)

Osaka is the third largest city in Japan after Tokyo and Yokohama. Despite its rich history (before the founding of Tokyo, it had one of the leading roles in the state), tourists are traditionally more interested not in the old days of the city, but in its signs of the new century. Here we are talking primarily about such monuments of the new Japan as the Kansai International Airport, the unique feature of which is that it is the world’s first airport built on water, or rather on a 5-kilometer artificial island, poured into the sea bay.

Worth close attention and the International Center for Wholesale. The Osaka Dome is also beautiful, an indoor multi-purpose stadium that can accommodate up to 55,000 spectators.

Sapporo (Japan)

Sapporo is the capital of Japan’s northernmost and second largest island of Hokkaido, whose name translates as “way to the northern seas”. It is the most sparsely populated and least industrialized of the Big Four islands. One tenth of the island’s area is occupied by national parks, which favors the development of active tourism on the island.

Due to the rather harsh winter and the characteristic mountainous terrain, ideal conditions for winter sports are created here. For the 1972 Olympics, a modern winter sports center was even built here.

The main attractions of the city are the local Botanical Garden, which presents plants of different latitudes, as well as the Susukino entertainment quarter. But the main function of the city is transport – it is from here that countless routes and excursions around the island start.

Sapporo (Japan)