Tokyo has been at the center of Japanese politics since the early 1600s, when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu upset the balance of power by moving his court here, far away from the traditional capital of Kyoto. Ieyasu's original castle is now gone, replaced by the more modern Imperial Palace. We joined a brief tour to get a peek behind the gates.
Unlike many of the places we've visited, Tokyo doesn't have a history which stretches far into the past. In fact, before the close of the nineteenth century, Tokyo didn't even exist; it was known instead as Edo. But the rapid ascension from village to "World's Biggest City" has been as catastrophic as it has been meteoric. Growing pains are always the hardest for those who mature too quickly.
