Where is Tokyo? Sightseeing in Tokyo with photos

The city of Tokyo (Japan) is the capital of the state and one of the largest megacities on our planet. In addition, it is the main industrial, financial, political and cultural center of the entire eastern region. For any tourist it would be unthinkable to visit Japan and not visit its capital. This is not surprising, because despite its modernity, national traditions are revered here, originating many centuries ago. In this article, we will talk in more detail about where Tokyo is located, its history and sights.

Short story

According to historical information, the first people appeared at the current location of the city in the Stone Age. However, he received much greater significance much later. In the middle of the twelfth century, the present capital of Japan was a small fishing village that was called Edo. In 1590, a shogun named Tokugawa Ieyasu made it the capital of the shogunate and began to establish here long-term management institutions. Since that time the city began to develop actively, and already in the eighteenth century it turned into one of the largest not only in Japan, but all over the world.

Its current name Tokyo was in 1869, after the emperor Mutsuhito transferred here the capital of the state from Kyoto. In the nineteenth century, industry and shipbuilding developed very rapidly here. In 1872, the first railway was built, connecting the Japanese capital with its suburb - Yokohama.

For the entire history of the city's existence, the locality where Tokyo is located has twice suffered from disasters. The first time it happened in 1923. Then under the influence of the strongest earthquake (9 points) almost half of the metropolis was burnt. More than 90 thousand local residents died.

The second time the city was badly damaged as a result of its massive bombardment on March 8, 1945. She killed 80 thousand people. Whatever it was, in both cases, Tokyo rebuilt and continued to develop. Not prevented this and its temporary occupation after the Second World War.

Geographical position

Speaking about where Tokyo is located, first of all, it should be noted that in connection with the geographical specifics, administrative urban boundaries cover not only the continental areas, but also two chains of archipelagos that stretch for several hundred kilometers. The main part of the megalopolis lies on the north-western part of Tokyo Bay, on the island of Honshu. The territory of the city to a greater extent is the plain of Kanto. With regard to geographical coordinates, then officially for the Japanese capital they are 35 degrees 41 minutes north latitude and 139 degrees 36 minutes east longitude.

It should be noted that all the important administrative, political, financial and cultural centers, as well as the most important transport hubs of the country, including the international airport of Tokyo, are concentrated on the mainland. The metropolitan area is just over 2,188 square kilometers.

Climate

Tokyo is under the influence of a subtropical climate with mild winters and hot, dry summers. Each year, an average of about 1300 millimeters of precipitation falls here. The largest number is typical for the period from June to July. The average air temperature in the summer ranges from 18 to 20 degrees Celsius. In winter, under the influence of the Pacific Ocean, the northern winds become softer. At this time, the thermometer's column, as a rule, is at the level of 3 to 5 degrees below zero.

Here, snowfalls can be called a single phenomenon. Together with this, as a rule, they occur every winter. One can not but note the fact that many scientists call this metropolis a vivid confirmation of how much the population growth in cities affects the climate.

The capital of Japan is located in one of the most dangerous regions of the planet. The matter is that in a southern direction from it there is a joint of four lithospheric plates at once . All of them are in constant motion, which is why earthquakes often occur here. The most destructive of them was discussed earlier. Quite a frequent occurrence is typhoons, however, as a rule, they do not have such significant consequences.

Administrative device

The main city of Japan is considered one of the prefectures, or rather - the metropolitan district, which consists of 62 administrative units. When it comes to Tokyo, there are usually meant 23 districts, which in the period from 1889 to 1943 were the same. As of today, they are all equal in status to cities (each has measures and city council).

The government of the capital is headed by the governor, whom residents choose on a general vote. The municipal center of the city is the headquarters that is located in Shinjuku. Among other things, the state government of Japan is located on the territory of the megapolis.

Building features

Keeping in mind where Tokyo is located, its residents are forced to build buildings that would be seismically safe. The construction legislation of the country obliges the companies engaged in this field of activity to apply modern technologies that allow to reduce to a minimum the consequences of tremors. In this connection, there is no such thing as quarter construction in the Japanese capital. All buildings here for security reasons are located at a certain distance from each other. City streets are designed in such a way that in the event of the destruction of the house they lean against the walls of neighboring buildings.

Large anthill

Tokyo is a city that is often called a "big ant hill". The fact is that thousands of houses, buildings and structures are erected here along narrow streets. Two cars can miss most of them with difficulty. Quarters with large shopping centers and skyscrapers strongly contrast with them. Among other things, the metropolis is shrouded in a network of wires, rails and highways. If on its main streets there are mainly buildings built in European style, then on the more remote - densely tuned, mostly two-story houses.

The Japanese try to use every bit of land in Tokyo with the maximum benefit. The prices for it here are simply astronomical. The main reason for this is the acute shortage of free space. As a result, the government of the country is forced to gradually fill the sea. Thus, artificial islands are created, on which not only residential quarters, but even airports, factories, shopping centers, parks and other objects are being built. According to tentative estimates, by the end of 2015, the population in the Tokyo metropolitan area will reach the level of 29 million people.

Transport

City transport in the Japanese capital works flawlessly. Local suburban trains and the metro run late into the night and are the fastest type of communication. Most of the people working in the metropolitan area, who live in its suburbs and on the outskirts, park their cars near the nearest station and change to trains.

It is impossible not to mention the Tokyo airport "Haneda", whose passenger turnover averages 41 million people per year. In size, it takes the sixth place on the planet. With the purpose of its unloading, another air gate - Narita - was built 60 kilometers from the city limits. Get to this airport in Tokyo very quickly, using the high-speed train "Shinkantzen".

Among other things, the Japanese capital is also the largest in the state navigable junction. In order to ensure the possibility for mariners to enter Tokyo, a modern port was built in the suburb of Yokohama, connected to it by an in-depth water channel. The average annual turnover of goods here is about 124 million tons.

sights

All of Japan is proud of the local cultural heritage. Attractions in Tokyo annually attract millions of tourists from all over the world. Quite popular among travelers are the local national parks (especially Meiji Grove, Ogasawara and Ueno).

Whatever it was, one of the most significant places here is the Imperial Palace with a garden, which is in the heart of the metropolis. Its first buildings date back to the sixteenth century. They survived even after numerous strong earthquakes. The total area of buildings with gardens is about 7.5 square kilometers. Inside the complex is the imperial residence.

In the park of Siba there is a television tower of Tokyo. Comments from local residents indicate that it is now a real symbol of the Japanese capital. Today it is only a tourist attraction, observation platforms, halls and museums which are visited by an average of 2.5 million tourists a year. The height of the tower is 332.6 meters.

Another popular local attraction is another television tower - "Heavenly Tree of Tokyo". Among other similar objects on the planet, it has the greatest height (634 meters with antenna included).

The most desirable place to visit for children was Tokyo Disneyland.

Interesting Facts

• If Tokyo was a separate country, then in the list of states for GDP, it would take 15 place in the world.
• In honor of the Japanese capital, an asteroid was named, which was discovered by local astronomers in 1900.
• Tokyo is a city in which about 35% of higher educational institutions of Japan are concentrated. Every second student of the country studies in them.
• Due to the high seismic activity in the region, the state often has discussions about the possibility of moving the capital to another city. The main contenders are Higashino, Nasu and Mie. Despite the approval of such an idea by the government, no further action has been taken so far.
• For 14 consecutive years, until 2006, the famous "Economist" edition of Tokyo was called the most expensive city in the world for the cost of living and real estate.