Tokyo's origins & weekday rhythms, and Kamakura by the sea
Tokyo has been a world-famous city for over 400 years now. Van Gogh's work was clearly influenced by Japanese woodblock prints of the Edo period (1868-1868). Let's take a look at the Tokyo's (formerly Edo) background, allure, and the rhythm of the city from dawn to dawn in the 21st century.
In Asia, Japan was a known exotic location for royals, diplomats, religious leaders, and traders for over 1,400 years. Today, it's a huge travel and tourism destination, domestic and international. And it's the richest and biggest city in Japan by far. Money attracts ships and Japan, as a country, was on the circuit for the Thai kings, the Indian maharajahs, and China since at least the height of the Nara period (710-794). Nara was Japan's first internationally known central capital. Kyoto took that role over from 794 until 1868. And since then, Tokyo has been the city for political power, business, entertainment, and the media. Believe it or not, the Emperor is still coronated in Kyoto today).
During the Edo period, when Edo-Tokyo was the military and political center of Japan, the country was not open to the outside. And the only place foreign ships could dock in the Edo era were near Nagasaki, Kyushu. Christian missionaries didn't do well in the Edo period as they were viewed as a potential political threat (many were killed). So, Japan during the Edo period flourished in many ways but not in terms of international exchange. Trade continued especially with China and Europeans via Nagasaki. China also did a lot of trade with present day Okinawa, which was separate independent kingdom in the Edo period.
In 1868, with start of the Meiji period (1868-1912), Tokyo came into being and almost overnight was no longer referred to as Edo. Meiji Tokyo power spawned the rapid Westernization of Japan: railways, change in clothing norms, changes in diet (milk products and meat). The emperor of Japan and the aristocratic peoples and institutions that served the Imperial Family migrated from Kyoto to Tokyo in the 1870s. And for a while no city in Japan could come even close to rivaling the new capital of Tokyo, which translates as Eastern Capital. However, Osaka would be the number two center of Japan and also a potent rival in the world of manufacturing, banking innovation, and trade.
Today, a traveler possessed of good advice, the kind of advice an expert custom Japan private tour designer like me provides here and to my clients, Tokyo is a 24/7 city and active in distinct rhythms district by district. Here is my brief commentary on Tokyo from dawn to dawn.
Tokyo mornings since the 1970s are characterized by a lot of modern flow patterns and quite a few ancient ones too. At first light, you can find four or five districts that get an early start mostly because of the wholesale food industry and busy food and vegetable markets. The busiest early morning places include Shinjuku, Ueno, and Shinagawa. By six am, you can be in the Outer Tsukiji Market area watching the stalls opening and before long you can be eating the freshest sushi in the world whilst drinking a beer or sake with business people and a few politicians thrown into the mix.
From 8:00 to 9:00 is peak morning rush hour (weekdays only, naturally) for car drivers and commuters. Shinjuku Station has a few million people passing through every morning from the feeder cities west and north of central Tokyo. For this reason, morning Tokyo private tours begin at 9:00 to avoid the super-packed public transit system. From 9:00 everything quiets down. The kids are in school and parents are working.
Lunch can be crazy in the busiest parts of central Tokyo. Lunch starts at 11:30 and runs until 14:30. From 12:00 to 13:00 expect to wait for a table in many restaurants. Late lunches are mellower and calmer by far.
Then from the end of lunch to evening rush hour (peaking between 18:00 and 19:00), Tokyo is easy for walking tours, public transit tours and taxi or private sedan tours.
During evening rush hour, the central Tokyo restaurant and bar scene gets super busy again in key zones. Businessmen and government workers turn the Tokyo Station to Yurakucho Station corridor into a lively scene to avoid rush hour all together. Opting instead to head home on the train or in a cab after 19:30 or so . . .
Nighttime Tokyo can be found around all major commuter stations, including lively street food options, and lasts until 22:00 or so. If you want to hang out later then the jazz clubs of Shinjuku and elsewhere keep the energy going.
After midnight most of Tokyo is asleep and you don't really see a lot of people on the move, which is true of most metropolises on the planet.
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Content by Ian Martin Ropke, owner of Your Japan Private Tours (est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with Japan private tour clients and have worked for all kinds of families, companies, and individuals since 1990. Clients find me mostly via organic search, and I advertise my custom Japan private tours & travel services on www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps in Japan! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip. And thank you for reading my content. I, Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search), am also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!
Ancient Kamakura by the sea, an hour west of Tokyo
Kamakura (with a population of about 173,000 in 2025) was Japan's first major military capital, which served the Kamakura shogunate from 1185 to 1333 (after 1333, the shogun capitals were in Kyoto and Osaka, and then Edo-Tokyo). The Kamakura shogunate was stablished by Minamoto no Yoritomo. Kamakura was the 4th largest city in the world in 1250 AD, with 200,000 people, and Japan's largest, eclipsing Kyoto by 1200 AD.
The Kamakura period is also known as the Hojo Regency period. The Hojo clan, who were originally samurai warriors, seized control of the Kamakura Shogunate by effectively controlling the Kamakura shogunate and its leaders. The evolved Hojo clan went from being samurai to creating a hereditary regency (i.e. from Hojo to Hojo). The Hojo regents wielded the power of the Kamakura shoguns, and as such had enormous influence over Japanese politics and society for over a century. This is ironic given that the samurai class had already learned advantages of a non-political Imperial emperor. So the first shogunate was really managed and ruled by the Hojo Clan, in the name of the latest powerless Kamakura shogun. Often the puppet Kamakura shoguns had no say at all. They were figureheads at best.
During the Edo period (1603-1868), Kamakura regained popularity as a tourist destination among the townspeople of Edo (Tokyo). The Edo period was the first time all of Japan was ruled by a single city (Edo). This was after nearly 150 years of fragmented and bloody civil war during Japan's Sengoku period (1467-1615). It was during the Edo period, for the first time in Japanese history, that the merchant class went from the lowest to 3rd place (after the aristocrats and the samurai class). And the massive increase in merchant wealth changed Japan forever. It produced a growing consumer class who began to enjoy day excursions. And the peace and prosperity of the three centuries of Tokugawa Edo shoguns turned much of Japan into a religious pilgrimage and travel landscape. Kamakura benefited enormously given that its reputation was built on being Japan's first shogunate government and home to major historical landmarks such as Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, the Great Buddha, views of Mount Fuji across the sea, and much more.
Kamakura has many historically significant Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, some of them, like Sugimoto-dera, are over 1,200 years old. Kotoku-in Temple, the actual name of the Great Buddha's temple, is the most famous symbol of Kamakura. A 15th-century tsunami tidal wave destroyed the original massive building that housed the Great Buddha. The statue survived and has remained outdoors ever since. And Kamakura is also home to the deepest and most powerful beginning of institutional Zen Buddhism. The Kamakura Gozan or Kamakura Five Great Zen Temples continue to exist and two of them are massive (buildings and gardens).
Kamakura's rise and Kyoto's demise: 1185-1333
The Azuma kagami, a historical diary that recorded the history of the Kamakura shogunate, describes pre-shogunate Kamakura as a remote, and lonely place. But this isn't really true. The area already had Buddhist temples & shrines in the Nara period (710-794). The area's strategic importance was also recognized early on. It sits on several important land and marine trade routes.
The 150 year reign of the Kamakura shogunate spawned countless poems, books, historical TV dramas, Kabuki plays, and manga and anime legends and historical stories.
Minamoto no Yoritomo (founder of the Kamakura shogunate) after the defeat and almost complete extermination of his family at the hands of the Taira clan in Kyoto became a fugitive hiding from his enemies for a short while to become the most powerful man in the land after defeating the Taira clan in the epic Battle of Dan-no-ura sea & land battle in 1185 (which took place in the straits at the far western end of Honshu Island.
Kamakura became the cradle of the powerful rise of the Nichiren Buddhists during the 13th century. Founder Nichiren wasn't born in Kamakura but he recognized its central powers and knew it was a good place to preach his new ideas. Nichiren began his tay in Kamakura in a straw hut. During his turbulent life, Kamakura remained at the heart of Nichiren's religious activities.
The fall of the Kamakura shogunate & the regency
On July 3, 1333, warlord Nitta Yoshisada, a loyalist of the Kyoto-based emperor, attacked the Hojo Regency and Hoko Clan and Kamakura to try to reestablish imperial rule. Nitta's quick and utter victory over the Hojo Recency (which ran Kamakura with the shogun as figurehead) resulted in 900 Hojo samurai deaths and thousands of citizen deaths.
The next shogun dynasty after Kamakura was founded by Ashikaga Takauji, and called the Ashikaga Shogunate. The Ashikagas formed their base back in Kyoto after calming Kamakura down. Nitta's emperor-backed assault on Kamakura influenced the Ashikagas beyond measure. Their strategy was to set up their military power in the Imperial city of Kyoto. During the Ashikaga reign, which was fraught with rivals and fragmented loyalties, they still managed to build the Silver Pavilion and Golden Pavilion and much more until their fall to lord of Osaka Castle, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, in the late 16th century.
With the dawn of the Meiji Period and the start of Japan's Westernization, Kamakura's stunning range of ancient cultural assets, beaches, and hillsides became all the more popular. However, the Meiji Restoration was also disruptive. Many Buddhist temples had elements of Shintoism. And many shrines included Buddhist buildings and symbols. This mixture of two religions was declared illegal. And all over Japan anti-Buddhist violence accompanied the official policy of a strict separation between Shinto and Buddhism. In many instances, shrines or temples were forced to give up some of their treasures (treasures belonging to the other religion), thus damaging their cultural heritage and decreasing the value of their properties.
Kamakura's massive Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine had to take down two massive Nio Buddhist protection statues. They were moved to Jufuku-ji Temple about a kilometer west of the shrine. And a few big Buddhist temples simply closed down, including Zenko-ji, to which the now-independent Meigetsu-in Temple used to belong.
In 1890, the railroad reached Kamakura bringing more tourists, new residents, and increased prosperity. By the 1920s, Kamakura was a luxurious and not so luxurious suburb an hour west of Tokyo by train. The hillside villas of Kamakura increased greatly in number until WWII. Yasunari Kawabata, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature lived in Kamakura, and so did many wealthy Tokioites.
The architectural heritage of Kamakura is almost unmatched. And despite the devastation of the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, Kamakura's damaged temples and shrines, founded centuries ago, have been carefully restored.
A few of my favorite Kanazawa destinations since 1990
Engaku-ji & Meigetsu-in Zen power temples: These two powerful Zen temples (since the 13th century) are a short stroll from Kita-Kamakura Station and have some of the most impressive gardens and treasures in the region.
The Daibutsu (Great Buddha) hiking trails: Kita-Kamakura Station is also my favorite starting point for expert custom Kamakura hiking tours using the Daibutsu hiking trails. The main route goes from Kita-Kamakura Station to Kamakura Station and from there south to the Great Buddha and Enoshima Island. The second route goes much further west and then southwest over the hills to the Great Buddha area. All well marked and very busy on weekends with Japanese domestic tourists.
Benzaiten Shrine: The main Daibutsu route mentioned above leads directly past Kamkura's Benzaiten Shrine, dedicated to the performing arts and beauty. The shrine has caves and it's guardian animal is a Shinto snake.
Hoken-ji Temple: This small Zen temple, a little southeast of Kamakura Station, has one of the finest bamboo Zen gardens in Japan. Not to be missed!
Hase-dera Temple: Hase-dera Temple is particularly famous for its massive wooden statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy and compassion (worshipped throughout Southeast Asia). According to legend, the temple was established in the Tenpyo era (729-749 AD). However, documents at the temple suggest that the temple really gained prominence and attention in the Kamakura period (1192-1333). Hase-dera's main Kannon statue is one of the largest wooden statues in Japan. The statue, made from a single camphor tree trunk, is 9.18 meters (30.1 feet) high. It has 11 heads, each of which represents a different phase the path to enlightenment.
Private and public bathing on the coast overlooking the sea: Kamakura has a few public and private hot spring facilities right on the coast. Perfect for couples and also families. Public bathing is of course gender segregated. While private bathing is exactly that: private! Bathing in Kamakura on the seacoast is a great way to end a Kamakura private tour (and avoid rush hour!).
Kamakura's Enoshima Island: Enoshima Island, a short walk south of Hase-dera Temple, is a green and serene on top and peppered with modern elements along its short shoreline. A fun place for families with kids and also couples. And a universal seaside stroll experience, with Mount Fuji to the west as sun sets . . .
The Shonan Cable Car ride from Enoshima to Ofuna: When returning to Tokyo from Kamakura (as the best start point is Kita-Kamakura Station) consider hopping on the Shonan Cable Car from Enoshima to Ofuna (a big train line connection point for trains going to Tokyo).
Kamakura Owl Forest: Nestled between the colorful shops on Kamakura’s busy Komachi-dori Street, owl lovers will find the entrance to the Kamakura Owl Forest. On the second floor you buy tickets good for one drink and an unlimited amount of time to pet the owls. The Kamakura Owl Forest gives travelers a rare opportunity to learn about and appreciate these birds of prey up close and in a safe environment. The zoo is also indoors, which makes it a great place for couples and families to stay cool in summer and warm in winter. Details: owls-cats-forest.com/free/owls-kamakura .
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Content by Japan travel specialist & designer Ian Martin Ropke, founder & owner of Your Japan Private Tours (YJPT, est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with all of YJPT's Japan private tour clients and have a great team behind me. I promote YJPT through this content and only advertise at www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip to save time & have a better time. Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search) is also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!