By Diana Trejo
Before you start to make your traveling plans, are you sure you know the most important things about Japan’s cultural center, known as Tokyo? If you’ve never been before, here is a guide to help you in travelling to Tokyo.
Japanese Culture
There is a lot that you need to know before travelling there. The first thing we are going to talk about is the culture in this beautiful city. Their traditional arts reflect a one of a kind culture. For example, origami (objects made by folded paper), kabuki (performed dramas), and ikebana (flower arranging) are all truly unique to Japan. Their traditions also include festivals, celebrations and rituals. The cherry blossom trees viewed in the month of April are a huge draw for tourists as well.
It is also very helpful to acknowledge how Japanese people like to be treated in their culture. Japanese people often keep to themselves and they seem shy when it comes to Westerners. It is important to know that a bow is a sign of respect for the Japanese. For them, it is rude if you do not bow back. You may know that they also remove their shoes before entering a home or other places and that they also like to bring gifts when they get invited somewhere.
Cuisine and Dining
In addition to being Japan’s cultural center, Tokyo is very known for having a great influence on the country’s cuisine. Seafood is a big specialty in Japan and is provided by Edo Bay (now Tokyo Bay). Because of this, most of the local creations are referred to as Edomay. It’s very important to know that in Tokyo you can find good food at every price range.
Some of the popular dishes in Tokyo include:
- Nigiri-zushi (a piece of seafood on a small ball of rice)
- Tempura (deep fried vegetables and seafood)
- Soba (buckwheat noodles)
- Cankonabe (hot pot, protein-rich dish that contains fish or chicken and seasonal vegetables)
- Tsukudani (small pieces of food simmered in a mixture of soy sauce and sweet sake)
- Monjayaki (runny pancakes made out of flour and water mixed with ingredients such as cabbage and pieces of seafood or meat)
- Tokyo Sweets (small red bean paste filled cakes with fun shapes, sweet pancakes with the red bean paste in between them and more)
Tokyo Attractions
At the same time, Japan’s capital city isn’t just known for the delicious dishes. The world’s most expensive city is very worthy of being explored. Thanks to Tokyo’s superb rail and subway, it is easy to get around. The culture of this modern city is famous for having so many things to do and one of them is checking out their tourist attractions. If you do travel to this fascinating city, you must try to visit most of these attractions.
The top ten are:
- The Imperial Palace (used by the imperial family, contains 17th century parks surrounded by walls and moats)
- Ginza District (Tokyo’s busiest shopping area, includes coffee and tea shops and restaurants)
- The Sensō-ji Temple (the city’s most biggest shrine dedicated to Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of compassion)
- National Museum of Nature and Science (located in the Ueno park and one of the city’s oldest museums)
- Ueno Park and Zoo (the city’s largest green space that contains numerous temples and museums)
- Tokyo National Museum (contains more than 100,000 important works of art and 100 national treasures)
- National Museum of Western Art (mostly made up of important pieces made by important French artists)
- The Meji Shrine (dedicated to Emperor Meji and his wife, original was destroyed in WWII and was rebuilt in 1958, also remains as Tokyo’s most important religious site)
- The Miraikan and Edo-Tokyo Museums (one of the city’s newest museums and contains a impressive insight to japan’s leading role in technology)
- The Tokyo Skytree (communication tower that is 634 meters tall and rises out of the city like a huge rocket ship)
Of course there are many more places and you can find more information by checking out this website.
Conclusion on Travelling to Tokyo
After reading all of this information, we hope it gave you a better knowledge of this interesting city. It’s always important to get to know the places that you want to travel to, that way you can prepare yourself more. If you’re even more convinced of making this trip happen, you can always contact the Faceted Travel Agency and we’ll help you visit the cultural center of Japan.