Thursday, October 30

4AM

Tokyo is really God damn big and sprawls for as far as the eye can see. But it never loses its vibrancy. Here are a few of the neighborhoods I visit:

Shinjuki, which is a large business, entertainment and shopping district centered around JR Shinjuku Station. It's the busiest train station in the world with 3.64 million passengers a day. Due East is Kabukicho, Asia's biggest red-light district.

Shibuya, a large shopping and entertainment district best known for the Shibuya crossing, which is the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world. Estimates are that almost 1 million people cross the street here each day (2.18 million people use Shibuya station daily).

Tokyo Station Area (Marunouchi & Yaesu), which handles over a million passengers a day. It's Tokyo's intercity rail hub connecting Tokyo with the rest of Japan by Shinkansen (bullet train). More trains pass through Tokyo station each day than any other station in Japan. My hotel, the Shangra La, located nearby.

We also visit the Park Hyatt, where Lost In Translation filmed, and dine at Gonpachi made famous in Quentin Taratino's bloody Kill Bill.