Tōkyō & Kantō
These cities are often photographed, so I’ve mostly included less common views.
Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, in the mountains north of Tōkyō
Japan has dozens of shrines named Tōshō-gū. They were built to commemorate Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the last shogunate. The elaborate, Chinese-influenced Nikkō Tōshō-gū is the best-known of his shrines.
A sculpture of the shogun’s katana rises from the summit of nearby Mt. Nantai, which I hiked.
Saitama and Chiba Prefectures, Tōkyō’s northern neighbors
East and Northeast Tōkyō (where the big rivers are)
Some favorites
Katsushika Ward: Shibamata area, including Taishakuten Temple (wood carving pictured)
Sumida Ward and Kōtō Ward: walking through the seemingly endless grid of quiet streets (pictured)
Taitō Ward: walking along the Sumida River; Yanaka neighborhood of pre-war houses
Central Tōkyō
Some favorites:
Bunkyō Ward: University of Tōkyō campus
Chiyoda Ward: Jinbōchō bookshops, watching passenger trains along the Kanda River
Chūō Ward: Hamarikyū Gardens
Shinjuku Ward: Shinjuku Gyo-en National Garden
Shibuya Ward: Yoyogi Park
Minato Ward: Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Aoyama Cemetery, Nezu Museum
general: animal cafes
South and West Tōkyō
Some favorites:
Shinagawa Ward: Rinshi-no-mori Park
Setagaya Ward: Shimo-Kitazawa retail district, Gōtoku Temple (pictured below)
Ōta Ward: Ikegami Honmon Temple, Tamagawa Sengen Shrine river viewpoint
Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tōkyō
Some favorites in this area:
Kawasaki: Open-Air Folk House Museum (Minka-en)
Yokohama: Hikaru Maru ocean liner tour; Chinatown; reptile cafe
Kamakura: large temples between Kamakura Station and Kita-Kamakura Station (where I tried Zen meditation); Shōnan Monorail
Fujisawa: Enoshima, a scenic but hectic island
I like complicated multi-level things, and as a result, this section ended up with too much concrete.
