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Sunday 7 October 2018

Tokyo

The capital of Japan, Tokyo is on Honshu Island. The Sumida river delta separates the city from its suburb of Honcho. 

It is the largest city in the world, and is Japan's major cultural and industrial center.

Pixiebay

HISTORY

Tokyo was founded as a small fishing village named Edo, which means "the mouth of a river" in Japanese.

In 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu made Edo his base. He became shogun thirteen years later, and the town became the center of his military government. This marked the beginning of the Edo period. 

Edo grew into one of the largest cities in the world. Its first  census conducted in 1721 registered a population of about 1.3 million.

An earthquake in 1923 killed some 58,000 people. The Great Kantō earthquake, which struck at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, lasted between 4 and 10 minutes This earthquake destroyed Tokyo, the port city of Yokohama, surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka. 

Tokyo in flames

The Ginza Line, the first subway line in Asia, opened in Tokyo on December 30, 1927. Back then, it only ferried people between Ueno and Asakusa. 

Tokyo was due to host the Olympics in 1940, which was cancelled due to World War II. They wanted a wooden stadium as metal was needed for the war in Manchuria.

In 1943 Tokyo City merged with Tokyo Prefecture becoming Tokyo Metropolis. Since then, no city in Japan has had the name "Tokyo" (present-day Tokyo is not officially a city).

The city was severely damaged by allied bombing in World War II. Despite the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the bombing of Tokyo was even worse. Over 100,000 people were killed, several times that number injured, and 1,000,000 displaced in a napalm-filled, incendiary bomb attack by 334, low-flying B-29 bombers.

Tokyo was completely rebuilt after the war and it has been the world's most populous megacity since 1955.

The 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo were a major world event. It was the first Asian city to host the Summer Games. 

At the height of the Japanese Real Estate bubble in 1989, Tokyo, on paper, was worth twice the value of the whole United States.
FUN TOKYO FACTS

Tokyo is the world's most populated metropolitan area with 39 million residents, 50% more people than any other urban area and a $2.5 trillion economy - larger than that of any other city. 

Tokyo

Tokyo is home to the world's busiest metro system, with approximately 8.7 million daily riders.

The world’s busiest railway station is Shinjuku in Tokyo, with a reported 3.64 million passengers passing through its 200-odd exits every day.

In Tokyo, a bicycle is faster than a car for most trips of less than 50 minutes.

As of March 31, 2008, 36% of the total land area of the Tokyo  prefecture was designated as Natural Parks

Pixabay Cherry blossom park ride

The zoo in Tokyo closes for two months of the year so the animals can have a holiday from visitors.

It is illegal for children in Tokyo to make noise when playing — the legal decibel level city-wide is the same as a library's.


The world's smallest McDonalds is in Tokyo. It is 492 sq ft.

The Tokyo Skytree is the tallest tower in world standing 634 meters (2,080 ft) tall. It is the second tallest (man-made) structure on Earth, after the Merdeka and the Burj Khalifa.

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