Mt. Takao, or Takao-san in Japanese, is probably the most popular mountain in Japan after Mt. Fuji, at least in terms of visitor numbers. This mountain and its many hiking trails make for a great day trip to anyone who gets an urge to escape the hustle and bustle of downtown Tokyo. In less than an hour from Shinjuku station, you can be surrounded by lush forests and beautiful scenery.
Tokyo and its surroundings are often classified as the world's largest metropolitan area. The population of what is known as the Greater Tokyo Area today (2019) amounts to about 38 million people sharing on an area about the size of Los Angeles County in the US or Skåne County in Sweden. What is really included in this area, however, is quite fluid depending on who you ask.
Are you trying to figure out where to stay in Tokyo? There's no simple answer to that question that applies to everyone. In this article, I'm listing ten of the most well-known districts and give my thoughts on the pros and cons of each of them. After reading this, you will hopefully have a clearer idea of what area will fulfil your needs the best.
What's the weather like in Tokyo? When is the best time to visit? Are the winters cold in Tokyo? Does it ever snow there? These are examples of question that I get all the time, so I figured the best way to answer it is in the future is to explain everything in a long blog post.
If you're looking for the tl;dr version it is this:
Tokyo is a destination worth visiting all year round except possibly during the summers, from late July until late September, while it is uncomfortably hot and humid.
For those of you who want to know the full story, let me guide you through all four (or should it be five?) seasons and what they have to offer.
The other day some friends participated in an event called “Kawasaki Kimono Walk”, where anyone was welcome to dress up in a kimono and take part in a sake tasting featuring five different kinds of rice wine from the Hokuriku region of Japan. I stuck around with my camera to capture the shenanigans (and rightfully suffered the day afterwards).
Ginza is in many ways the complete opposite to Koenji, the subject of the previous post in this series. In Ginza the streets are wide and lined with shops from every luxury brand imaginable. Yet, Ginza too is one of my favorite areas for street photography, particularly at night when the streets are devoid of busloads with tourists.
