Tokyo Chronological History Tour

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. One is distinguished by its twin-towered, postmodern silhouette that splits near the thirty-third floor, evoking the vertical lines of a Gothic cathedral. Designed by the architect Kenzo Tange…

Meiji Jingu is defined by an expansive, man-made forest of roughly one hundred thousand trees that blankets seven hundred thousand square meters in the center of Tokyo. This Shinto shrine was established in nineteen twenty to honor the…

Tokyo Tower is a lattice steel structure painted in alternating bands of international orange and white, rising three hundred thirty-three meters above the Shiba-koen district. Completed in nineteen fifty-eight, it was designed as a…

The great vermilion Sangedatsumon gate is the most recognizable feature of Zojo-ji, serving as a bright, wooden landmark that has stood on this site since sixteen twenty-two. As the only original structure to survive the fires and air…

The Imperial Palace East Gardens are defined by massive, weathered stone walls and deep moats that once formed the innermost defensive rings of Edo Castle. While the wooden structures that occupied these grounds between sixteen hundred and…

Tokyo Station is recognized by the long, three-story facade of red brick and white stone, topped with octagonal domes at the north and south ends. Designed by Kingo Tatsuno and opened in nineteen fourteen, the station spans over three…

Kan'ei-ji is a Tendai Buddhist temple founded in sixteen twenty-five by the monk Tenkai. You can distinguish the site by its historic connection to the Tokugawa shogunate, as it was built to guard the northeastern "demon gate" of Edo…

You will recognize Sensō-ji by the colossal red paper lantern hanging under the Kaminarimon, or Gate of Thunder. This is the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo, originating from a moment in the year six hundred twenty-eight when two brothers,…