Impossibly vast, the metropolitan prefecture of Tokyo is the most populous urban area in the world. Technically not a city, the capital crams 23 wards, 26 cities, five towns and eight villages within its gargantuan expanse of over 2,000 square kilometres. Stretched across the east coast of Honshu, Tokyo is home to over 13 million residents.

The sheer mass of people combined with the constant noise and gridlocked traffic may sound like an unbearable urban jungle, but Tokyo has a soft side, a side that shines with historical wonder and serene beauty. The chaotic city is interwoven with sleepy backstreets lined with wooden houses and preened bonsais, where tradition overthrows modernity. Incense-heavy temples and shrines pepper the city, their stunning gardens offering inner-city sanctums. Add to this the numerous parks and green spaces and you have the perfect balance of city and calm.

Let’s get back to the streets. Visit Shinjuku, with its skyscrapers, shopping malls and neon rows of lively yakitori joints. Take a trip to the famous intersection outside Shibuya Station and marvel at the flashing advertisements that illuminate the skies. Fast-paced and frenetic, this round-the-clock super metropolis is an assault on the senses, but one that once adapted to can be addictive.

As for food, nowhere quite does it better. The freshest ingredients are combined with aromatic spices and crafted carefully into something mind-blowing. Nutritious miso soup, hearty ramen and delicious yakitori – it’s not hard to see why Tokyo possesses the most Michelin Stars in the world.

Unsurprisingly, Tokyo plays hard. Nightspots are scattered across the city, offering tourists and locals alike the opportunity to dance and drink sake until dawn. If it all gets too much, just look across to the enduring vista of Mount Fiji over Shinjuku and remember what it’s all about. There’s nowhere in the world quite like Tokyo.

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