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.

Views of Mt Fuji from the bullet train (shinkansen), probably in Shizuoka Prefecture, Chūbu region