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From the crush of the morning commute to the evening crowds flowing into shops, restaurants, and bars, Tokyo’s image is that of a city that never stops and rarely slows down. It is all too often portrayed as a strange carousel of lights, sounds, and people set on fast-forward, but these days there is a greater focus on cultural development and quality of life.
For a time it seemed that Tokyo was becoming the city of the future—compact urban life, surrounded by high-tech skyscrapers, the world’s densest rail system, and a 3-D network of highways overlapping and twisting above the city. Twenty years of gradual economic stagnation have cooled that vision, but if Tokyo no longer sees itself as the city of the future, it seems to have settled comfortably into being a city of the present.
While parts of the city such as Shibuya or Shinjuku’s Kabuki-cho continue to overwhelm with a 24-hour cacophony of light, sound, and energy, other neighborhoods are surprisingly relaxed. In Ometesando and Aoyama, people are more likely to be sipping wine or coffee with friends at an outdoor café than downing beer and sake with coworkers in an izakaya (a bar that serves food). The people are as varied as their city. Residents of Aoyama may wear European fashion and drive fancy imports, but those residing in Asakusa prefer to be decidedly less flashy.
Even the landscape is varied. The city hosts some of the most unsightly sprawls of concrete housing—extending for miles in all directions—in the world, but offsetting all the concrete and glass is a wealth of green space in the form of parks, temple grounds, and traditional gardens.
Whether you're gazing at the glow of Tokyo's evening lights or the green expanse of its parks, this is a city of astonishing and intriguing beauty. If you're a foodie, artist, design lover, or cultural adventurer, then Tokyo, a city of inspiration and ideas, is for you.
Hibiya Park opened in 1901 as the first Western-style park in Japan. Its nearly 40 acres of land contains beautiful seasonal flowers, a 500-year-old ginkgo tree, two ponds, and two open-air concert halls. It is the place to go for live music, festivals, and a leisurely stroll.
South of Kichijoji Station, with one foot in Mitaka and another in Musashino, this park is a large and laidback green space with all sorts to keep you busy for a day. Not only is the Ghibli Museum in the southernmost part of the almost 400,000-square meter (95-acre) park, there’s a small zoo with a guinea pig petting area and a boating pond with swan-shaped paddle boats and row boats. On weekends, expect to see buskers and other street performers, while in spring, when the park is repainted by pink cherry blossoms, you’ll find crowds of picnickers. It’s a lovely spot to take a bento, but there are also small cafés and restaurants scattered around the park. If you are traveling with small kids who need to burn off some energy, the playground equipment here can help with that.
On the other side of Tokyo Bay, you can find an alternative view of the Rainbow Bridge. Here you'll find families playing football, having picnics, and setting up the perfect BBQ spot. If you don't have your own utensils, The BBQ Beach in Toyosu can supply meat to grill and seats to unwind.
This park is the perfect spot to have a picnic on a sunny day. On Sunday people come to play music, practice martial arts, and ride bicycles on the bike path (rentals are available). From spring through fall there are events, concerts, and festivals most weekends. Although the front half of the park makes for great people-watching, farther along the paths it is easy to find a quiet spot to slip away from the crowds of Harajuku.
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