Tokyo is over the top. It’s the biggest,
fastest, flashiest city on Earth, and no
one can ever say that they’ve seen it all.
The metropolis wakes up early to the
sound of fishermen touting their wares
at the Tsukiji Market, buzzes all day
to the whir of commuter trains, then
whiles away the nights to the cheers
of sumo wrestling fans and the beat of
karaoke bars.
CAN YOU HANDLE THE HEAT?
Tokyo’s onsens
(hot springs) are the ideal antidote to the crazy
pace of city life. There is a lot of volcanic and geothermal activity
all over Japan, creating thousands of mineral springs that
are heated by the rocks below. For hundreds of years, Tokyo
residents have loved relaxing in the natural baths, either with
their work colleagues, friends or families. The minerals in the
water are believed to be very nourishing. The locals
head to the onsens
to relieve
all sorts of aches
and pains.
FISHY BUSINESS
One of Tokyo’s great sights is the Tsukiji Fish Market.
It’s the biggest in the world, accounting for much of the 700,000
tonnes (771,600 US tons) of seafood that passes through the
megacity every year. Tsukiji has become such an amazing
spectacle, the market once had to ban tourists from the pre-
dawn auction, where all the best fish (especially gigantic tunas)
get snapped up. Some of the specimens fetch such enormous
sums of money that students wanting to fund their gap year
have been known to rent fishing boats and then bring in their
best catches to sell.
STUFF
THE TRAIN!
Tokyo’s metro system is
mind-bogglingly complex. It’s
really three systems linked together,
creating a network of over 300km
(186mi) of track. The almost constant flow
of trains transports in excess of 3.2 billion
(yes, billion
!) people per year. The rush hour
on some of the lines gets so crowded that
white-gloved oshiya
or ‘train-stuffers’ are
employed to push people on-board,
packing as many as possible
into each carriage.
SUPER-SIZE
Megacities have a population of at
least 10 million people. In recent years,
more and more of these monster
metropolises have popped up around
the world, but Tokyo remains the
daddy of them all with over 37
million residents. The ‘Greater
Tokyo Area’ stretches all the
way to Yokohama – a former
sleepy fishing village that
has now become a
major port city in
its own right.
SUMO CENTRAL
Japan is famous for its
sumo wrestlers. Fans flock to
Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan
(National Sumo Hall) to see
their favourite sporting
stars compete. Enormous
wrestlers called rikishi
try to
force their opponents either
to leave the ring or touch
the ground with anything
other than the soles of their
feet. It might look simple,
but rikishi
have to begin
their training when they’re
still children. Maintaining the
ideal sumo weight of over
200kg (31st) isn’t easy either.
Rikishi
have to eat one or
two enormous meals per
day, tucking away at least
10,000 calories. Sumo is
a traditional sport that
can trace its origins
back to the national
religion, Shintō.