Kanto ŠÖ“Œ
With a population of about 40 million concentrated on 32,377 square km, the flat Kanto plain is one of the most densely populated region on Earth (1,220 people/sq km, or 3,5 times Japan's average population density).
Kanto literally means "east of the barriers", as opposed to Kansai ("west of the barriers"), referring to the control barriers of the Edo period separating the two regions.
The Kanto administrative region is made up of the Tokyo metropolis (Tokyo-to) and the prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma.
Historically, the Kanto was a backwater until shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu established its government in Edo in 1603. Edo boomed and flourished as Japan's new political and economical centre, and the city grew to become the largest in the world by the end of the 18th century.
Nowadays, the Greater Tokyo is still the largest metropolis in the world, with some 33,750,000 people living within 50km of Nihombashi (Tokyo's official centre). Other major cities included in this Metropolitan area are Yokohama, Kawasaki and Chiba. However, that does not include areas as far as the New Tokyo International Airport in Narita (Chiba prefecture), some 80km from Tokyo station.
Sightseeing
Tokyo is the obvious first destination to most visitors. Be it for electronic shops, skyscrapers, huge department stores, or traditional districts of Buddhist temples and matsuri, you will find it all there. The areas most frequented by tourists are Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, Roppongi, Ueno and Asakusa.
The two most popular day trips from Tokyo are Kamakura (in Kanagawa prefecture) and Nikko (in Tochigi prefecture). Kamakura is an 800 year-old jewel of ancient architecture and home to one of Japan's two Great Buddha statues. Nikko's main attraction is the eccentric and colourful Toshogu shrine - Tokugawa Ieyasu's mausoleum - and the adjacent temples.
Japan's world-famous Mount Fuji lies 100km west of Tokyo. The nearby Hakone and Izu Peninsula are good places to view Mt Fuji by fair weather, but also to dip in one of the local onsen (hot springs).
More off the beaten tracks, the town of Kawagoe in Saitama prefecture has good Meiji era warehouse architecture. In the same line, Kawasaki's Nihon Minka-en is a village of traditional country houses from all Japan.
Around Tokyo
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