Tokyo

Tokyo is the capital of Japan and one of the biggest cities in the country. The latest available information says that Tokyo is home to over twelve million people. These citizens reside in the region that includes twenty-six cities, twenty-three wards, eight villages and five towns.

Up until 1868, Tokyo went by the name “Edo” which was the name of a sixteenth century Japanese castle. When Shogun Tokugawa Leyasu came to power and established feudal authority, they went back to the old name of Tokyo and became the recognized center of Japan. In only a short time the region grew by attracting the best and brightest people in all of Japan. Soon Tokyo was the hub of the nation; contributing to the growth of the economy, technology, business and tourism.

When the Meiji Dynasty was restored, the palace of the emperor was moved from Kyoto to Edo. These were years of great growth and progress. There were also unthinkable catastrophes. In 1923, a major earthquake damaged significant parts of the city. In 1945, firebombs from the sky by the Americans turned the city into an inferno.

Just like its neighbor Osaka, Tokyo has always depended on its state-of-the-art railway stations. Compared to other city railways systems, like Los Angeles, Tokyo is light years ahead. The city engineers are entirely to thank for this great achievement. They began work on the trains as soon as the population began to grow. The result is a system that has no problem accommodating one of the busiest business districts in the entire world.

Most people are shocked when they find that the bustling metropolis of Tokyo began as a simple fishing village. By 1603, the village was chosen to be the new home of Tokugawa and it grew with blinding speed. By 1885, the city was already experiencing a congestion problem. That is when the Yamonote line stepped in and built Japan’s great train line.
Despite its many setbacks and tragedies, Tokyo has always proven to be a vibrant and resilient city. In a very short span of time, they have gone from a mostly wooden city to one of the most modern metropolises on the face of the earth.