Tokyo New City Guide. Mayumi Yoshida Barakan

for its shops selling dolls, toys, novelties, and seasonal decorations. The district is named for the Asakusa bridge that crosses the narrow Kanda River.

      Yanagibashi, the "Willow Bridge," crosses the Kanda further down, close to the point where it meets the Sumida River. The bridge was famous for its geisha quarter and as a departure point for boat passage to the northern Yoshiwara. The Yanagibashi area was the more conservative geisha district of the two. At its peak in the late Edo and early Meiji periods, it faithfully maintained the traditional ways. The boathouses later became ryotei, the most exclusive type of Japanese restaurant. A few ryotei remain in the neighborhood today, and boats can still be rented near the bridge.

      Kuramae was a rice warehouse district in the Edo period. Since 1954, sumo tournaments had been held in the area's Kokugikan. But sumo really belongs to the other side of the Sumida River, to Ryogoku. In 1985 a new sumo stadium was opened and the tournaments returned to their true home.

      Ryogoku literally translates as "both countries," the Sumida River having long separated the districts on either side. In the Edo period, bridge building was restricted by the government in order to make an attack on the capital more difficult for potential invaders. But when hundreds of people were trapped and killed on the banks of the river during one of the many Edo fires, the shogunate permitted a bridge to be constructed in the area.

      Ryogoku remains the center of sumo. Many of the stables where sumo wrestlers live and train are located in the area. During the Tokyo sumo tournaments the wrestlers wander around the streets in all their enormous glory.

      Fukagawa—Kiba—Tsukudajima

      Fukagawa lies on the east side of the Sumida River, south of Ryogoku, bordering Tokyo Bay. The district and the neighboring Kiba were known through the Edo period for their lumberyards. The skills of the early lumber-yard workers are now commemorated in a yearly festival in Kiba. Both areas often suffered damage from the frequent floods of the Sumida. Flood control banks have been built along the river's edge, protecting the lands but destroying much of the neighborhood's atmosphere.

      Until the early Meiji period, Fukagawa was one of the less densely populated districts in the city. Convenient to cheap water transportation, it became one of the major industrial districts of Meiji-period Tokyo.

      Tsukudajima lies to the southwest. The island has grown with postwar reclamation projects, but the original part of the island escaped from the constant fires of the downtown district as well as those of World War II. In spite of recent development and an increasing number of tall buildings, the back streets remain closer to those of the Edo period city than any other part of town.

      Tokyo Bay and the Developing City

      One tends to forget that Tokyo has a waterfront. Tokyo Bay and the Sumida River that were so important to Edo Tokyo have long been lost to the people of this city. For years laws have restricted the use of the Tokyo waterfront to industries that depended upon the sea. Only relatively recently were these laws repealed.

      In the 1980s Tokyo began a vigorous program of planned development along the waterfront—its last remaining, undeveloped resource. Initial stages of planning seemed to offer a hope that the people of Tokyo would soon be able to breathe the sea air, that restaurants and shops could face out on something more than a gray street. Bold plans were discussed, great hopes rose, but the forces that be seem to have swayed the tide in their favor and the waterfront risks being lost to the people once again.

      Spurred on by the property boom of the eighties, huge developments grow along the banks of the river and bay. In a city gasping for breath, only token parks—strips of uninviting concrete walkways and plazas have been left in exchange. A public golf course built on an island created from a garbage fill gives off so much methane gas that smoking is forbidden for fear that the greens might explode. And, while the recession that hit Japan in the late eighties has slowed this "progress" down a bit, it is hard to know what the long-term affects will be.

      Throughout Tokyo, old neighborhoods have been unceremoniously decimated by the omnipresent and seemingly omnivorous machines that push down and crush the fragile old wooden houses as a child might smash a tiny wooden fort. What replaces these remains of the past offers the promise of a mediocre future. Aging wooden homes are replaced by multi-unit "kit" houses or antiseptic apartment blocks. The aggressive, monumental architecture characteristic of new development sites never seems to work.

      Of course, there are some exceptions. There is more good contemporary architecture in Tokyo now than there was in the early eighties, there is better art. There are new neighborhoods blossoming in former warehouse or residential areas. There is a new form of contemporary life emerging from the chaos of the city.

      It is difficult to guess what this rapidly and radically changing metropolis will be like in a few years. But the real life of Tokyo will not emerge from the big developments planned by Japan, Inc. It will emerge from the individual creativity and energy of the people who live here. It will flourish in funny little pockets here and there, in overlooked neighborhoods where, as in the past, the traditional and the avant-garde will coexist, on a human and intimate scale, each playing off the other in that fascinating, sometimes whimsical way that will always make Tokyo an exciting place to be.

      ACCOMMODATION

      Your hotel in Tokyo is about the only place where you'll get away from the city's nearly twelve million inhabitants. Obviously, this should be a subject for serious consideration. Unless you have a friend or relative in town, your choices will fall into four main categories: major hotels, business hotels, Japanese-style lodgings, and hostels.

      Which category you choose will most likely be a matter of budget. Your second criterion should be convenience to where you'll be doing most of your work or play. Equally important is accessibility to public transport. The train and subway systems are so efficient that even if you don't mind paying for a taxi, public transport can save you time. If you're a "night person," consider staying in a hotel close to one of the night life districts. During the day you can travel by transit system, but after midnight the trains and subways go home to rest and you're left with your legs or taxis with a thirty percent surcharge after 1 1:00 P.M.

      HOTELS

      We have selected what we consider the best of the major and business hotels, then divided them by districts. Best is defined here as good quality and service for the price, convenience, and accessibility to public transport. A list of "other" second choice hotels is supplied in the event that our recommended hotels are booked up. All hotels are safe and clean. Most provide cotton yukata robes. Distance on foot to the nearest station has been noted. Rates listed are basic room charges (tax inclusive prices have been noted). In addition, you will pay a service charge of ten to fifteen percent and taxes that run around thirteen percent. In mid-February when the university entrance exams are held in Tokyo, it is almost impossible to find a room—book early.

      Major Hotels—Like anywhere in the world, these range from first class to not particularly distinguished. Price is usually a good indication of quality. The number of rooms has not been noted, but most are large. According to most surveys, the three best hotels in Tokyo are the Okura, the Imperial, and the Capitol Tokyu.

      Business Hotels—Theoretically for the "businessman," these are relatively low-priced hotels with minimal but efficient service. Most hotels with singles under ¥12,000 fall into this category. Rooms are generally quite small and rather Spartan. Bathrooms are strictly utilitarian molded-in-one-piece units. Televisions are usually provided, though sometimes they're coin-operated with extra-charge "adult" video channels.

      Ginza—Shimbashi—Hibiya

      IMPERIAL HOTEL—In Japanese called the "Teikoku Hotel." Established in 1980, new tower completed in 1983. Considered one of the best, but some feel it is too big and impersonal. Good location, best views of Imperial Palace are from upper floors in the new tower.