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Tokyo is the world’s largest metropolis; over 33 million people live within commuting distance. Plus, its status as a one-time fortress city under the shogun left it with a maze-like street pattern. Intimidated? Don’t be. With a little prep you’ll do fine. Most visitors spend the bulk … more of their time in and around the yamanote or “high city,” as the center of town is called. Once the province of nobles and their retainers, now it’s home to a different kind of nobility: corporations, government entities, and some very high-end real estate. The Yamanote Line train line loops around it; from Tokyo Station (east of the Imperial Palace), head north to Ueno (detouring by subway east to Asakusa) and continue counterclockwise to Shinjuku, with Harajuku and Shibuya in rapid succession along the city’s west side. Roppongi is back toward the city center.
