TOKYO CITY GUIDE
Tokyo is the capital of Japan with a population of over 13 million persons. Combined with nearby cities such as Kawasaki, and Yokohama Tokyo is the world’s most populous metropolitan areas with as many as 35 million inhabitants.
Tokyo, originally known as Edo, is the center for politics and business in Japan. The government of Japan as well as the Imperial Palace are located in the center of the city. A majority of multinational corporations in Japan have their offices in the city.
The city is divided into 23 different wards, each with it’s special characteristics, the Minato area is the major ward. The Tokyo Metropolis Government is situated in Shinjuku ward.
Japanese compose an overwhelming majority of all inhabitants in Tokyo but there are a growing number of minority groups living in the city, lead by Chinese and Koreans (over 200,000 persons) Westerners make up less than 50,000 of all the inhabitants in Tokyo.
Tokyo is well-known for its extensive and well functioning infrastructure and transportation system. Tokyo is also known to be one of the most expensive cities to live in for expatriates. The city is a haven for shopping and dining and also boast a large number of parks. Best of all, Tokyo is very safe, and criminality is low.
CLIMATE AND TEMPERATURE
Tokyo lies in the humid subtropical climate zone where summers are hot and humid (Often over 30 degrees Celcius) and dry and sunny winters. The warmest months are July, August and September. The coldest months are January and February.
Celsius, Average High and Low
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 9.8 | 10.0 | 12.9 | 18.4 | 22.7 | 25.2 | 29.0 | 30.8 | 26.8 | 21.6 | 16.7 | 12.3 |
| 2.1 | 2.4 | 5.1 | 10.5 | 15.1 | 18.9 | 22.5 | 24.2 | 20.7 | 15.0 | 9.5 | 4.6 |
Fahrenheit, Average High and Low
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 50 | 50 | 55 | 65 | 73 | 77 | 84 | 87 | 80 | 71 | 62 | 54 |
| 36 | 36 | 41 | 51 | 59 | 66 | 73 | 76 | 69 | 59 | 49 | 40 |
SAFETY AND HEALTH
Tokyo is one of the safest big cities in the world even late at night. Although quite rare pickpockets do exist and you should take precautions to watch over your belongings in central areas popular with travelers and non-residents. Some things to watch out for is hostess clubs and similar in nightlife districts, known to charge outrageous prices.
Finally Tokyo is located in a region with frequent earthquakes, the last major earthquake was in 1923 when 142,000 people were killed. Some experts believe that Tokyo has a 90 percent chance of being hit by a major earthquake over the next 50 years.
The tap water in Tokyo is perfectly safe to drink.
TIME DIFFERENCE
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| - 8 hours | -5 hours | -1 hour | - 16 hours | - 13 hours |
POPULATION
The Great Tokyo area has a population of over 35 million people making it the most heavily populated metropolitan area in the world. The City of Tokyo has close to nine million inhabitants,
AREAS
The City of Tokyo is divided in 23 wards, some of the most central ones, where also the majority of the Western expatriate population live, are Minato-ku, Chuo-ku, and Chiyoda-ku.
CURRENCY AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE
The Japanese currency is called yen. There are four kinds of bills (10,000 yen, 5,000 yen, 2,000 yen 1,000 yen) and six kinds of coins (500 yen, 100 yen, 50 yen, 10 yen, 5 yen, 1 yen) used. Narita Airport has a number of locations where money can be exchanged into local currency.
Most ATM's only accept card issued by Japanese banks but some good locations to get cash from overseas accounts is Seven Eleven convenience store, widely available in the city, and post offices.
ELECTRICITY/VOLTAGE
Voltage: 100V, Frequency: 50Hz, . 2-pin plugs are the most common plug in use. If you travel to Japan with a device that does not accept 100 Volts at 50 Hertz, you will need a voltage converter.