Tokyo

The world's busiest pedestrian intersection handles up to 3,000 people per crossing cycle. Watch from the Shibuya Sky observation deck or the Mag's Park cafe for the ultimate overhead view.

The fish market may have moved to Toyosu, but the surrounding outer market remains the best place in Japan for fresh sushi, tamagoyaki, and Japanese street food at 7am.

A forested Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji at the heart of Harajuku. The towering cypress torii gates and gravel paths create a transcendent escape from the city.

A cathedral of light and movement where interactive digital art installations respond to your presence. One of the most mesmerizing art experiences anywhere in the world.

Visit at dawn when the light filters impossibly between towering bamboo stalks and the forest sounds like a natural symphony. One of Japan's most otherworldly landscapes.

Tokyo's oldest temple — founded in 645 AD — announces itself through the thundering Kaminarimon gate, its enormous red lantern framed by incense smoke and pilgrims. The Nakamise shopping street leading to the main hall is the best place for traditional souvenirs. Arrive before 8am to walk the courtyard in near-silence.

At 634 metres, this broadcasting tower is the tallest structure in Japan and its observation decks — at 350m and 450m — offer a view of Tokyo's sprawl that makes the human brain struggle to process the scale. On clear winter days, Mount Fuji floats on the horizon.

Tokyo's most intense neighbourhood runs from corporate skyscrapers to neon-drenched Kabukicho. The real revelation is Golden Gai — a labyrinth of 200+ tiny bars, each seating barely eight people, where film directors drink next to salarymen. This is where Tokyo stops performing and starts being itself.

Japan's otaku capital is a sensory overload — multi-storey electronics stores, anime merchandise towers, retro game shops, maid cafés, and capsule toy machines at every turn. Go in the evening when the neon and crowds peak simultaneously.

A 58-hectare park in the heart of the city containing a French formal garden, English landscape garden, and traditional Japanese garden — all immaculately maintained. During cherry blossom season (late March) it becomes the most beautiful place in Tokyo.

Studio Ghibli's shrine to hand-drawn animation is one of the most imaginative buildings ever built — a whimsical space designed by Hayao Miyazaki himself, with original sketches, the actual Catbus from My Neighbour Totoro, and a rooftop robot soldier. Tickets must be purchased months ahead via ballot — worth every moment of planning.