Tokyo Tour
- Tokyo
- Active & Adventure
| from $295* per person | 2 Days | March-June, September-November |
| Comfort accommodations | Exertion level: 3 | |
| Operator: Walk Japan Limited | 12 people max | |
Walk Japan's two day Tokyo Tour explores what is perhaps the most enigmatic cities of the world. Tokyo is the epitome of the ultimate modern, metropolis - bullet trains glide across the city’s roof tops and past gleaming new skyscrapers; vast TV screens looming over intersections blast their messages down over teeming masses; the pride of Japan’s industry proudly display their latest innovative products to the ever receptive Japanese consumer; a network of freeways lace above and below the city carrying a neverending stream of vehicles; and the young, in unique and eclectic dress populate many of the fashionable city quarters. Tokyo, a city of over ten million souls, bustles 24 hours a day and, never seemingly satisfied with itself, restlessly keeps on rebuilding itself at amazing speed and on a vast scale.
Tokyo is a modern mega-city par excellence. It is also a puzzling place. Whilst its modern urbanscape is recognisable around the world, little is known of its past that led some 19th Century western visitors to call it ‘The Venice of the East’. Today, the city seems so modern that its history, a great and fascinating one, is almost always overlooked by both the Japanese and visitors from overseas. Our Tokyo Tour delves into the city’s history, beginning when it was called Edo and had at its core one of the world's greatest fortress citadels. We learn how Edo, once the site of a marsh 500 years ago, came to be the samurai military stronghold that dominated Japan for much of three centuries; how it nurtured its unique Edo culture, which along with Kyoto’s refined culture has had a great impact on Japan to this day; how rebuilding has always been a major feature of the city; how it came to be Japan’s capital; and how in the present can still be found clues to its unique past. Our fully guided, gently paced walking tour reveals the unique and fascinating history of the city from its feudal samurai origins through to the development of its modern visage.
Walk Japan’s Tokyo Tour focuses on the reasons for the city’s existence
and how it came to be the centre of Japanese political and economic
power. Looking at both the lives of the great and powerful and also the
townspeople we delve into both Edo, its subsequent development into
capital and ultimately megalopolis. We will learn how the samurai ran
their city and also how the townspeople, living in their shadow,
developed a culture that boasts kabuki theatre, print making and the
floating world. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the greatest shogun, and the near 270
year Tokugawa family domination of Japan that Ieyasu began take centre
stage in our walk through Tokyo. But we also focus on the lives of the
not so great, including samurai foot soldiers, merchants, craftsmen and
entertainers from feudal times to the present day.
We learn how
Edo and Tokyo came to be the centre of Japan’s politics, economy and its
day-to-day culture. We will visit some of the greatest historical sites
of Tokyo; stroll through some quiet neighbourhoods that still impart a
sense of the older city; and come to understand how much of modern Tokyo
has its roots in a much concealed, but fascinating history
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Locations visited/nearby
Japan
Itinerary
Day 1
The City of the Shogun. An introduction to
the establishment of Edo, its administration, the life of the shogun,
daimyo and samurai and the castle’s immediate neighbourhood, Nihonbashi.
We start at 9:15 am in Nihonbashi, which is near Tokyo Station. Nihonbashi was the centre of the Edo period Japan and all the nation’s principal roads, including the Nakasendo and Tokaido, led here. Nihonbashi was on the ‘door step’ of Edo Castle and this is where most travellers to Edo completed their journeys. We learn how Nihonbashi grew, firstly, as a neighbourhood of craftsmen entrustedwith the building of Edo and then, secondly, developed into the merchant quarter supplying the needs of shogun’s court and townspeople alike. We will learn about some of the personalities associated with the area including William Adams and Sadayakko. Adams was an Englishman who became a confident of the great shogun Tokyugawa Ieyasu and was one of only two westerners ever to become samurai. Sadayakko was a geisha born in Nihonbashi who became celebrated throughout the west at the beginning of the 20th Century, performing for the presidents of the USA and France, the Prince of Wales and Tzar of Russia and appearing on the front of Harpers Bazar magazine in1900.
We walk via the modern business district of Marunouchi to the Imperial Palace. Marunouchi is now Japan’s premier business district but was once an integral part of the Edo Castle and we uncover some clues to this on our way. Just beyond here is the site of Edo Castle, now the Imperial Palace. Today the Palace provides a verdant, green refuge at the very centre of Tokyo. At 5km around its circumference it also provides a popular, pleasant jogging course. However, as large as the current extent of the Palace is it is only a fragment of Edo Castle’s original 16 km periphery.
We stroll through the core of the Castle, where the towering central keep once stood. The keep has not existed since it last burned down in the mid-17th Century, but the still standing, massive stone ramparts of the castle evoke the magnificence and power of life at the shogun’s court. We continue onto nearby Yasukuni Shrine through what was once castle grounds but are now pleasant, forested parks. Yasukuni Shrine is a contentious symbol of Japan’s recent warring past but has its roots in the Meiji period to commemorate the soldiers of the opposing sides at the time of the demise of the shogunate and the restoration of the emperor. From here we walk just beyond the original extent of Edo Castle to Kagurazaka, a little known but delightful area of restaurants and small shops. Here we enjoy lunch, which is not included in the tour. The Walk Japan tour leader, however, will recommend places to eat and help settle you in.
Next we take a short train journey to Ryogoku and the excellent Edo-Tokyo Museum for a guided visit. The museum describes well the built environment and life from the Edo period through to the post-war Tokyo. Late afternoon, we transfer by subway to Ginza, once the site of shogun’s treasury and now the premier shopping district of Japan. Ginza has a plethora of upmarket and smaller shops. Of particular interest is a specialist tea shop, which provides a pleasant and refreshing end to our day’s exploration. A cup of tea here is included in the tour. Afterwards and for those with a desire for something stronger, close by is a sake bar and the solitary remaining example of a 1930s beer hall. These however, are not included in the tour price. Although the tour does not extend into the evening, your tour leader will be available to either make suggestions where you may like to eat for your evening meal or join you, if you wish.
Day 2
The city of the Edo townspeople. Today, we
get a feel for the city of the Eddoko, the townspeople, and their life
from the Edo Period, through the city’s tumultuous transition into the
nation’s capital in the late 19 Century and up to the present day.
An 9:30 am start at Nishi-Nippori Station, which is easily reached on the Yamanote loop line that encircles central Tokyo. From here we stroll through an old temple district to the charming, old neighbourhood of Yanaka. Little now remains to see in Tokyo of the life of the people from the Edo period through to the mid 20th Century. However, Yanaka, a quiet quarter with winding streets and narrow alleyways, local shops and an intimate feel, provides perhaps the closest approximation to how life once was in both downtown Edo through to the pre-war years of Tokyo. From here we stroll on to Ueno Park. The park was once the site of a temple complex that protected Edo Castle from the north-east, still considered a direction of bad omen in Japan. Within the park remains a shrine to the Tokugawa shoguns and it was here that Tokugawa troops made a last futile stand against the prevailing forces of the coming new order. In one corner of the park is a statue to one of the great but ultimately doomed heros of the overthrowing forces, Saigo Takamori. The deposing of the Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of the emperor in 1868 set Japan on a path to a democratic, industrial nation. It also marks the transformation of Edo into Tokyo; of a feudal citadel into the capital of a modern nation state.
We continue our journey on through nearby Ameyoko-cho, a bustling, downtown street market that has its origins as a black market in decimated, post-war Tokyo. From here we take the subway to Fukagawa, an old eastern suburb of Edo aside the great Sumidagawa river. After arrival, lunch. Although meals are not included in the tour the Walk Japan tour leader will be on hand to recommend a restaurant in the area and help settle you in.
After lunch, we visit the small but excellent local museum that depicts the Edo townspeople and their life. A short walk from here brings us to the Kiyosumi Teien Japanese garden, one of the best examples remaining in Tokyo. This was once the garden of a daimyo, a regional samurai baron, but after the demise of the shogunate was owned by Iwasaki Yataro, the founder of the Mitsubishi industrial empire. After relaxing in and enjoying these quiet surroundings we continue on through the neighbourhood, passing by some sumo stables. Here, with a bit of luck, we might catch a glimpse of these mighty sportsmen. The Sumidagawa river is close by and, after paying homage at a statue of the great Haiku poet Basho, we walk aside the river to Asakusa. Basho lived near here on the banks of Sumidagawa for a while during his itinerant meanderings of Japan.
Asakusa (not to be confused with Tokyo’s Akasaka) is now considered the home of the Eddoko, or the original townspeople of Edo/Tokyo. The area has long been famous for its Senso-ji temple but we also take time to explore the surrounding streets that provide a sense of the local culture that is still connected to its Edo and early Tokyo roots. A plethora of good local restaurants and interesting period bars provide a pleasant way to conclude today’s tour. Although the tour does not extend into the evening, your tour leader will be available to either make suggestions where you may like to eat for your evening meal or join you, if you wish.
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