Situated to the north and west of the Sumida River, this area has been at the heart of Tokyo since the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu built his castle and capital where the Imperial Palace still stands today. When Tokugawa moved his military center here in 1590, it was surrounded by swamp and marshland. Once filled in, the area that became Ginza – “the silver place” – attracted tradesmen and merchants. Destroyed by a series of disasters, including a devastating fire in 872, the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, and the Allied bombing in World War II, the area has reinvented itself several times over, but has always remained true to its history as the center of Tokyo.

The area’s continuing importance is evident in the Hibiya business district and cosmopolitan Marunouchi, home to the Tokyo International Forum. Ginza and Nihonbashi remain as thriving and prosperous today as they have been since the Edo period (1603–1868), offering a mix of department stores and chic side-street boutiques.