Tokyo
Tokyo is the capital of Japan. Tokyo is located in the pacific bay of Japan. Back before 1868 Tokyo was called Edo. The development of Edo was only started in the Tokugawa Period(1603-1767) when it was a small fishing village. Tokyo is technically not a city. It has 23 wards, 26 cities, 5 towns, and 8 villages. The climates are mild in winter and humid in summer. Tokyo is the most populated city in the world. Tokyo has a dense network of trains and transport. Including bullet trains. Ueno station is the station to go for railroad lines to northern Japan and Shinjuku is the station to go for railroad lines for central Japan. Tokyo is one of the safest cities in the world. One third of Japan’s students attend school in Japan.
Yokohama
Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan in population behind Tokyo. Yokohama is located in east central Honshu. Yokohama is the capital of the Kanagawa prefecture. The area of Yokohama is 167 square miles(433 square kilometers). Yokohama was a small fishing village but then in 1854 Matthew C. Perry and U.S. naval forces arrived and five years later Kanagawa was designated for trade with foreigners. Kanagawa was an important post station on Tokaido, a historic road that connected Osaka and Kyoto with Edo. The Japanese government did not want foreigners to have access to it. Instead they established a port named Yokohama to attract foreigners and a harbour superior to Kanagawa.
Osaka
Osaka is the third largest city in population behind Tokyo and Yokohama. Osaka is located in south central Honshu. Osaka was the capital of Japan in the 7th and 8th century. Osaka has express highways connecting Osakas to the cities like Nagoya, Kyoto, and Kobe. Osaka has different dialects from traditional Japanese. Osaka is also home to the oldest buddhist temple in Japan called the Shitenno-ji temple. Osaka is the street food capital of the world with famous foods like takoyaki and okonomiyaki.
Kyoto
Kyoto is known for the thousands of temples present in its land. It is located 30 miles northeast of Osaka. Kyoto was the capital of Japan for over 1000 years from the year 794 to 1868. Kyoto has over 2000 temples/shrines, including, Kiyomizu dera, Fushimi Inari shrine, and a shrine that is 1300 years old called the Kamigamo shrine.
