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Tuesday 4 May 2010

Tokyo


HISTORY

Tokyo is considered the capital and largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is located on the eastern side of the main island, Honshü, and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands.
Its population is about 12,989,000,000 people.
Tokyo was originally a small fishing village called Edo. In 1603, the town became the centre of his nationwide military goverment. Edo grew into one of the largest and most populated cities in the world by the 18th century. In 1869, the 17-year-old Emperor Meiji moved to Edo. Tokyo was already the nation's political and cultural centre and being the emperor's residence made it a facto imperial capital as well with the former Edo Castle becoming the Imperial Palace. The City of Tokyo was established and continued to be the capital until it was abolished as a municipality in 1943. Central Tokyo has been designed since about 1900 to be centered major train stations in a high-density fashion.
Tokyo suffered two major catastrophes in the 20th century, but it recovered from both of them. One was the 1923 Great Kantö earthquake and the other was the World War II. The bombing of Tokyo in 1944 and 1945 was almost as devasting as the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. The 1970s brought new high-rise development such as Sunshine 60, which made the population increase 11,000,000 people.
Tokyo's subway and computer network became one of the busiest in the world as more and more people moved to the area. In the 1980s real estate prices increased a lot during a real estate and debt bubble. The bubble burst in 1990s and many companies, banks, etc., were caught with mortage backed debts. A major recession followed, making the 1990s Japan's lost decade from which it is now slowly recovering.
Tokyo still sees new urban developments like the Ebisu Great Palace or Tennozu Isle.


PLACES YOU CAN VISIT

In Tokyo, you can visit many places like:

The National Science Museum, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo National Museum, The Meiji no Mori Takao Quasi-national park.
Tokyo's current urban landscape is one of the modern and contemporary architecture. Older buildings are scarce due to the two catastrophes mentioned before.


THINGS TO DO

Tokyo is home to two professional baseball clubs, the Yomiuri Giants and Tokyo Yakult Swallows. The Japan Sumo Association is also headquatered in Tokyo at the Ryögoku Kokugikan. Tokyo also has football teams like F.C. Tokyo and Tokyo Verdy 1969. In Tokyo, you can visit The Shinjuku, The Shibuya, The Yoyogi Park, The Meiji Jingu Park, The Haraj Uku, Ginza and other interesting places.

1 comment:

juan said...

i don't like tokio because the people but the rest i love.
good job