Guide to Japan & Tokyo

• Name in Japanese: Nihon/Nippon 日本
• Capital: Tokyo
• Largest Cities: Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo
• Population: 127,700,000
• Area: 377,944 sq km
• Highest Point: Mount Fuji (3,776 m)
• Language: Japanese
• Time Zone: UTC+9h
  (Moscow +5h, Zurich +7h, EST +13h)
• Business hours: Monday-Friday 9:00-17:00. Banks until 15:00, shops daily until 19:00-20:00.
• Electricity: Type A plugs like in North America,
  100 V, 50 Hz (60 Hz in Western Japan).
• Phone: Japan has its exclusive 2G network (PDC) and foreign GSM mobile phones don’t work here. However, if you have a 3G phone equipped with the UMTS/WCDMA2100 standard and a 3G SIM card, it might work in Japan provided that your service provider has roaming agreements in Japan. For more information consult your service provider.
• International Dialling Code: +81
• Internet: internet is available in the hotel and many other places, although wired internet is more common than WiFi. It may be useful to take a cable with you.

• Mori Arts Centre, Roppongi: Home to some of the country's best modern art exhibitions and also a good spot to take in a postcard-perfect Tokyo City view from its 52nd floor observation area.
• Ueno Park: Home to a huge number of shrines and temples, museums and galleries, Ueno Park is the perfect place for a taste of Japanese culture.
• Tsukiji Fish Market: With its endless rows of frequently unidentifiable maritime species, bustling workers and a rowdy pre-dawn tuna auction, it is a must - its highlight being the freshest sushi breakfast possible in one of the venues at the edges of the market.
• Omotesando: broad tree-lined Omotesando Boulevard, great for shopping and lots of Japanese modern architecture.
• Imperial Palace East Gardens: Explore the wide lawns, castle ruins and guardhouses that span Kokyo Higashi Gyoen, the walled East Gardens of the Emperor's official residence. Unfortunately, the palace itself is open to the public only on January 2 and the Emperor's birthday on 22 December.

• Tsukiji-Uemura (Japanese); Phone: 03-3443-5371
• Tsukiji Tamazushi (Sushi); Phone: 03-3443-5346
• Tempura Tsunahachi (Tempura); Phone: 03-3443-3284
• Grand Central Oyster Bar (Seafood); Phone: 03-6717-0932
• New York Grand Kitchen (Western); Phone: 03-6717-0919
• Ruby Café Shinagawa (Italian); Phone: 03-6717-0928
• Aux Bacchanales (French); Phone: 03-5798-7070

• Ginza 4-chome area (department stores)
• Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi (museums, galleries, many shops and restaurants)
• Akihabara (area famous for electronic stores)
• Kappabashi Street (everything needed for the kitchen: pots, dishes, etc)
• Tokyu Hands (big department store with great variety of products)

• Tenugui: A thin rectangular cotton towel, about 90cm long, printed with various patterns. It can also be used as a headband, to wrap gifts or as table cloth.
• Yukata: Casual light cotton summer kimono, widely worn at festivals and at the ryokan (traditional Japanese inn).
• Japanese Hand Fans: During summer, on the street, in trains or in restaurants, you’ll see a lot of people using fans. Whether they are folding (ōgi) or non-bending flat fans (uchiwa), the hand fans are extremely popular in Japan.
• Paper Lanterns: Made of washi (traditional Japanese paper), glued on a bamboo frame. A traditional form of illumination. They are used at festivals, in parks and as home decoration.
• Kendama: A very popular toy in Japan: a wooden, hammer-like object, connected by a string to a wooden ball.
• Matcha Tea Sets: Matcha is the well-known finely-milled Japanese green tea used at the Japanese tea ceremony (includes bowls, tea caddies, sifter, scoops, bamboo tea whisk)
• Traditional Japanese Chopsticks: Made from lacquered wood with a pointed end, and comes in several sizes. They are different from the Chinese versions: shorter and more rounded.
• Bento Box: Bento is a Japanese meal. The boxes made from lacquered wood appeared around the year 1600 and remained popular until today.
• Japanese Porcelain: There are about 18 major styles of Japanese pottery, many of them with multiple sub-styles, so a huge variety is available.