Tokyo: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is situated at the head of Tokyo Bay on the Pacific coast of central Honshu. First developed into a city during the Tokugawa period (1603–1867), when the site was known as Edo, Tokyo is the core of the Tokyo-Yokohama Metropolitan Area, commonly called Greater Tokyo. The city is Japan's major cultural centre as well as its main transportation hub.

Facts

Birthplace Of	Yoichiro Nambu • Yoshida Shigeru • Hiroshige • Tokugawa Yoshinobu • Goro Yamaguchi • Ishihara Takashi • Ken Ogata • Miyazawa Kiichi • Akihito • Yoshio Taniguchi • Ishibashi Tanzan • Rocky Aoki • Abe Shinzo • Kitano Takeshi • Masako • Miyazaki Hayao • Kurosawa Akira • Yoko Ono • Banana Yoshimoto • Joan Fontaine • Hatoyama Yukio • Fumihiko Maki • Naruhito • Olivia de Havilland • Yukawa Hideki • Abe Kо̄bо̄ • Hirohito • Hokusai • Katsu Shintarо̄ • William McDonough
Death Location Of	Yukio Endo • Ichikawa Kon • Duck Dunn • Mifune Toshirо̄ • Ibuka Masaru • Richard Sorge • Shiga Naoya • Fujita Den • Kurosawa Akira • Hatoyama Ichirо̄ • Tanaka Kakuei • Konoe Fumimaro • Kinoshita Keisuke • Hagiwara Sakutarо̄ • Fukuda Takeo • Tange Kenzо̄ • Donn Eisele • Hideko Takamine • Suzuki Zenkо̄ • Sata Ineko • Kenji Ekuan • Mishima Yukio • Hildegard Behrens • Kishi Nobusuke • Morita Akio • Yukio Ninagawa • Yamaga Sokо̄ • Hirohito • Hiroshige • Shima Hideo • Takeo Doi • Abe Kо̄bо̄ • Fukasaku Kinji • Yosano Akiko
Location	Tokyo, Japan
Latitude/Longitude	35.6894875, 139.6917064
Size Of Area	240 sq mi (621 sq km)
Population	9,272,740 (city estimate, 2015)
Currency	yen
Language	Japanese
Time Zone	Japan Standard Time (JST)
Points Of Interest/Tourist Attractions	National Science Museum • National Museum of Modern Art • National Museum of Western Art • National Diet Library • Ginza • Ueno Zoological Gardens • Tokyo National Museum • Koishikawa Botanical Garden
Headquarters Of	Toshiba Corporation • Fuji Bank • Fujitsu Limited • Risshо̄-Kо̄sei-kai • Yomiuri shimbun • NKK Corporation • Trilateral Commission • Idemitsu Kо̄san Co., Ltd. • Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency • Asahi shimbun • NEC Corporation • Mainichi shimbun • Honda Motor Company, Ltd. • Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. • Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Company, Ltd. • Hitachi, Ltd. • Nippon Steel Corporation • Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank • Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group • Export-Import Bank of Japan
Related Events	Doolittle Raid • Tokyo-Yokohama earthquake of 1923 • Bombing of Tokyo • Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games • Tokyo subway attack of 1995

Top Questions

When was Tokyo bombed?

The Bombing of Tokyo took place March 9–10, 1945, during the final stages of World War II. The firebombing raid (codenamed "Operation Meetinghouse") was carried out by the United States. The bombing is often cited as one of the most destructive acts of war in history.

What was Tokyo once called?

Tokyo was formerly (until 1868) known as Edo, the name of the small fishing village that existed on the site for centuries. Edo's development into a city did not occur until the Tokugawa period (1603–1867), when it became the capital of the Tokugawa shogunate. During this period, however, the imperial family remained in Kyōto, the ancient imperial capital. With the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ended the shogunate, the capital was moved to Edo, and the city was renamed Tokyo, meaning "eastern capital."

When were the Tokyo Olympics?

Tokyo hosted the Olympic Games in 1964; the 1964 Summer Games, which took place October 10–24, constituted the first time that the Olympic Games were hosted in Asia. Tokyo is set to host the Olympic Games again in the summer of 2020.

Where is Tokyo located in Japan?

Tokyo is located at the head of Tokyo Bay on the Pacific coast of central Honshu. Tokyo is the focus of the vast Tokyo-Yokohama Metropolitan Area, often called Greater Tokyo.

Did You Know?

Tokyo is home to the Tokyo Skytree, recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's largest tower. While the tower was under construction, its developers found out that the Canton Tower, built about the same time in Guangzhou, China, would be roughly the same size as the Skytree; soon thereafter, an antenna measuring some 20 metres (67 feet) tall was added to the top of the Skytree.
The blooms of the cherry tree, known in Japan as sakura, have long been of immense symbolic importance to the nation, and the blossoming of cherry trees traditionally heralds the arrival of spring in Japan; in an annual tradition that began in 1951, meteorologists publicly forecast the much-anticipated blossoming of the cherry trees each year.