Driving around Central Tokyo Japan. This video focuses on the Chiyoda (千代田) Ward in the center of Tokyo and in many ways the center of all Japan, home to the Imperial Palace, the Tokyo Financial District, the Diet, the ministries of Kasumigaseki, the corporate headquarters of Marunouchi, and the shopping districts of Akihabara, Jinbōchō and Kanda.
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Tokyo, (東京 Tōkyō, ˈtoʊkioʊ) officially Tokyo Metropolis (東京都 Tōkyō-to), is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. As of 2018, the Greater Tokyo Area ranked as the most populous metropolitan area in the world. The urban area houses the seat of the Emperor of Japan, of the Japanese government and of the National Diet. Tokyo is often referred to as a city but is officially known and governed as a “metropolitan prefecture”, which differs from and combines elements of a city and a prefecture, a characteristic unique to Tokyo.
The prefecture is part of the world’s most populous metropolitan area called the Greater Tokyo Area with over 40 million people and the world’s largest urban agglomeration economy. The 23 Special Wards of Tokyo were formerly Tokyo City. The latest estimate in 2019 shows the growing population of Tokyo with 13.9 million people, with the special wards 9.6 million, the Tama area 4.2 million, and the Islands 25,147. As of 2011, Tokyo hosted 51 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest number of any city in the world at that time. Tokyo ranked third (twice) in the International Financial Centres Development Index. The city is home to various television networks such as Fuji TV, Tokyo MX, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, Nippon Television, NHK and the Tokyo Broadcasting System.
Tokyo ranks first in the Global Economic Power Index and third in the Global Cities Index. The GaWC’s 2018 inventory classified Tokyo as an alpha+ world city – and as of 2014 TripAdvisor’s World City Survey ranked Tokyo first in its “Best overall experience” category (the city also ranked first in the following categories: “helpfulness of locals”, “nightlife”, “shopping”, “local public transportation” and “cleanliness of streets”). As of 2018 Tokyo ranked as the 2nd-most expensive city for expatriates, according to the Mercer consulting firm. and also the world’s 11th-most expensive city according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s cost-of-living survey. In 2015, Tokyo was named the Most Liveable City in the world by the magazine Monocle. The Michelin Guide has awarded Tokyo by far the most Michelin stars of any city in the world. Tokyo was ranked first out of all sixty cities in the 2017 Safe Cities Index. It was also ranked the first in the 2019 safe cities index. The QS Best Student Cities ranked Tokyo as the 3rd-best city in the world to be a university student in 2016 and 2nd in 2018. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 1979 G-7 summit, the 1986 G-7 summit, and the 1993 G-7 summit, and will host the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Chiyoda (千代田) Ward is the center of Tokyo and in many ways the center of all Japan. A mere 12 km² houses the Imperial Palace, the Diet, the ministries of Kasumigaseki, the corporate headquarters of Marunouchi, and still has room left over for the shopping districts of Akihabara, Jinbōchō and Kanda.
Marunouchi (丸の内) is a commercial district of Tokyo located in Chiyoda between Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace. The name, meaning “inside the circle”, derives from its location within the palace’s outer moat. It is also Tokyo’s financial district and the country’s three largest banks are headquartered there.