Ancient and modern marvels of Japan

Travel writer and author Adam Jacot de Boinod explores Japan and finds a country filled with fantastic views and interesting sights.

- Adam Jacot de Boinod

As a schoolboy I remember Tokyo having the greatest population in the world, and it’s certainly busy – more with people and skyscrapers perhaps than fumes or the traffic that runs across the grid of streets.

It’s at its most impressive lit up at night. Space is at a premium. Houses come right up to the roads. Cars are parked in minimal or elevated slots. Layers seemingly overlap with tall office buildings and apartments, rail tracks and highways, roads, subways and burrowing basements of supermarkets.

I stayed at Candeo Hotels Tokyo Roppongi (www.candeohotels. com/en/roppongi) in the middle of the nightlife district, with a view out over the Tokyo Tower. I had dinner at Peter, one of The Peninsular Tokyo’s restaurants (www.peninsula.com/en/tokyo/5-star-luxury-hotel-ginza) with a stunning 24th floor view over the malachite green roofs of the Imperial Palace. An amazing treat.

It was time to integrate myself fully into Tokyo’s daily life, so off I went to Tsukiji Market. It bustled with customers’ elbows, policemen barracking and hucksters haggling. I escaped the urban jungle with a walk around Yoyogi Park before dinner at Signature, one of Mandarin Oriental’s restaurants (www.mandarinoriental.com/ tokyo). Positioned on the 37th floor, all the velvet banquettes and tables are angled towards the mesmeric view of Tokyo’s skyline.