Tokyo

Tokyo is one of the world's main economic centers and most populous metropolitan areas. It becomes a jewel box at night with a glittering display of neon and fluorescent lights. But you can retreat to quiet cobbled lanes and sculpted gardens for the harmony, scale and simplicity the Japanese have prized for centuries. Look down one street and you'll see neon and concrete also around the corner find yourself in the bonsai-lined courtyard of a traditional inn. Tokyo has been almost destroyed by fires, earthquakes, floods and war but it has always rebuilt itself. That might explain why it retains only vestiges of Old Japan. You'll find an amazing hodgepodge of old and modern architecture, often side by side, and a maze of streets where even taxi drivers lose their way.