Tokyo offers foreign visitors a tempting array of treats. Forget its overblown reputation for being expensive and crowded! The city's delights include courtesy, security, cleanliness, and refinement and contrasts between new and old,. Best of all, many of these treats are free or very affordable. They epitomize Tokyo's status - little known by foreign travelers - as one of the most civilized and sophisticated places on earth.

New and old are also in arresting juxtaposition at Hamarikyu Garden, a former hunting ground of the shoguns located at the edge of the Tamagawa River. It features a large pond, on which is set a magnificent traditional tea pavilion. Gazing at it across the pond and admiring its taut lines and elegant wooden simplicity, visitors can readily conjure up Old Japan, especially when women in kimonos mince along the walkway over the water to the pavilion. And yet, just beyond the Garden and dominating the pond and tea pavilion, is a powerful image of Tokyo's dynamic modernity: a spectacular row of new skyscrapers, some with avant-garde curves, daring exterior steel bracing, and subtle shades of glass sheathing. Known as the Shiodome complex, this stupendous burst of urban renewal on the site of former freight yards has sprung out of the ground since 2000. It includes luxury hotels, apartment blocks, a TV network headquarters, upscale shopping, an Italian garden, office towers designed by some of the world's leading architects, and glamorous top floor restaurants with sweeping views of Tokyo Bay.

A Taste of Japan - guide to Japanese food.

Restaurant Guide for Tokyo - restaurants and drinking spots - over 1000 listings

Sightseeing in Tokyo - things to do and see

Tokyo Pocket Guide

Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery

Tokyo National Museum

Live Music in Tokyo