Tokyo
One of Japan’s 47 prefectures, Tokyo is the capital and the
worlds more populated city! With a population in 2023 of 37,194,000!
Interestedly looking at a historical graph, the population peaked in 2019 at
37,435,000 and since has been slowly declining, this is maybe due to the people
who have decided to move out of the city to more rural settings since Covid in
2020.
As Tokyo grow over the years it absorbed the surrounding
areas, meaning the city now consists of 23 central city wards, multiple cities,
towns and villages west of the city centre. Which also includes Ogasawara
Island and Izu.
You might have heard of the “Edo Period” mentioned in
Japanese history…before 1868, Tokyo was named Edo, and started as a small
castle town with it becoming Japan’s political centre in 1603 when Tokugawa
Leyasu established his feudal government there. Edo then grew into one of the
world’s largest cities in only a few decades. After the Meiji Restoration of
1868, the emperor and capital moved from Kyoto to Edo, which was then renamed
Tokyo “Eastern Capital”.
Today Tokyo is constantly reaching into the future, with
massive building, sci-fi like streets with neon lights, shops, restaurants,
entertainment areas. It’s constantly renewing itself…yet is still steep in masses
of culture and history, with temples, garden and greenspaces. There are just
loads to see and do!
