Tokyo
The 14,000-plus-seat Bud艒kan was originally built for the judo competition of the 1964 Olympics (产耻诲艒 means 'martial arts') and will be pressed into service again for the 2020 event. Martial-arts practice and contests are still held here, but the Bud艒kan is better known as a concert hall: lots of big names, from the Beatles to Beck, have played here.
The building's unusual architecture was inspired by the eight-sided Yumedono (Hall of Dreams) at Nara's H艒ry奴-ji.
2.31 MILES
If you visit only one museum in Tokyo, make it the Tokyo National Museum. Here you'll find the world's largest collection of Japanese art, including鈥
10.08 MILES
This museum is the heart of the Studio Ghibli world, a beloved (even 'adored')聽film studio responsible for classic, critically-acclaimed animated titles鈥
2.52 MILES
Golden Gai 鈥 a Shinjuku institution for over half a century 鈥 is a collection of tiny bars, often literally no bigger than a closet and seating maybe a鈥
3.62 MILES
Rumoured to be the busiest intersection in the world (and definitely in Japan), Shibuya Crossing is like a giant beating heart, sending people in all鈥
17.55 MILES
This impressively slick attraction is dedicated to, you guessed it, cup noodles. But in reality, its focus is more broad, with numerous exhibitions鈥
2.22 MILES
Digital-art collective teamLab has created 60 artworks for this museum, open in 2018, that tests the border between art and the viewer: many are鈥
0.77 MILES
The Imperial Palace occupies the site of the original Edo-j艒, the Tokugawa shogunate's castle. In its heyday this was the largest fortress in the world,鈥
3.02 MILES
Tokyo鈥檚 most visited temple enshrines a golden image of Kannon (the Buddhist goddess of mercy), which, according to legend, was miraculously pulled out of鈥
0.08 MILES
Dating from 1635, the northern gate to 碍颈迟补苍辞尘补谤耻-办艒别苍 was once part of Edo-j艒 and is designated as a national important cultural asset.
2. National Sh艒wa Memorial Museum
0.14 MILES
This museum of WWII-era Tokyo gives a sense of everyday life for the common people: how they ate, slept, dressed, studied, prepared for war and endured鈥
0.15 MILES
This large park north of the Imperial Palace is home to noteworthy museums as well as the Nippon Bud艒kan concert hall. The gate at the park鈥檚 northern end鈥
0.2 MILES
This section of the moat surrounding the Imperial Palace is one of the city's most popular hanami (cherry blossom viewing) spots. There's a 700m-long鈥
0.23 MILES
Featuring a wide selection of exhibits aimed primarily at children and teenagers, the Science Museum has little in the way of English explanations, but鈥
0.26 MILES
This red-brick building, an annex of MOMAT, stages excellent changing exhibitions of mingei (folk crafts): ceramics, lacquerware, bamboo, textiles, dolls鈥
7. National Museum of Modern Art (MOMAT)
0.34 MILES
Regularly changing displays from the museum's superb collection of more than 12,000 works are shown over floors 2 to 4; special exhibitions are mounted on鈥
0.36 MILES
Literally 鈥楩or the Peace of the Country Shrine鈥, Yasukuni is the memorial shrine to Japan鈥檚 war dead, around 2.5 million souls. First built in 1869, it is鈥