Rough Guides

A guide to schizophrenic Tokyo

What was once the humble fishing village of Edo is fast approaching its 600 th birthday, and with its age it seems to have foregone wisdom in favour of a hyperactive schizophrenia. In today's Tokyo, amidst the searing neon, you'll find Buddhist monks, dependent on alms, wandering traffic-choked streets lined with vending machines that sell everything from girls' used knickers to 10kg sacks of rice.

Trying to make sense of this idiosyncratic hotchpotch can be a daunting task. Roughguides.com provides you with a solid introduction, without having to cart a weighty guidebook around. To escape the throngs, catch a riverboat from Hinodedock, opposite French architect's Phillipe Starck's landmark Asahi Brewery Building, to Asakusa - home to Tokyo 's most august Buddhist temple(Senso-ji). Closer to the centre, Suzuki's manicured teahouse and gardens offer a sedate respite from the surrounding mayhem.

Those with a little more stamina can trace Tokyo 's history, from the shogun era to its post-war reconstruction, at the immense Edo-Tokyo Museum. To do it any justice requires a full day.

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