35 Facts About Greater Tokyo

1. Greater Tokyo is known for its extremely busy public transportation as made famous on youtube.

2. Greater Tokyo is one of the world's most important cities in terms of economic power and influence, and it serves as the corporate and communications hub for the E Pacific Rim.

3. Greater Tokyo stores bring the goods of the world home to the domestic market.

4. Greater Tokyo is intersected by the Sumida River and has an extensive network of canals.

5. Greater Tokyo was particularly affected by an economic boom in Japan in the 1980s when the country emerged as a global financial center rivaling Europe and the United States.

6. Greater Tokyo incurred heavy damage from Allied bombings in World War II, when US Air Force raids reduced large sections of the city to rubble.

7. Greater Tokyo is located on the Pacific on the eastern coast of Honshu, the largest of the four main islands comprising Japan.

8. Greater Tokyo is the world's most populous metropolitan area and is the center of Japanese culture, finance, and government.

9. Greater Tokyo was known as Edo until 1868, when the Japanese imperial family was moved there from Kyoto.

10. Greater Tokyo was a founding member of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.

11. Greater Tokyo is the founder member of the Asian Network of Major Cities 21 and is a member of the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations.

12. Greater Tokyo hosts modern Japanese and international pop, and rock music at venues ranging in size from intimate clubs to internationally known areas such as the Nippon Budokan.

13. Greater Tokyo was rated by the Economist Intelligence Unit as the most expensive city in the world for 14 years in a row ending in 2006.

14. In 2006, Greater Tokyo enacted the "10 Year Project for Green Tokyo" to be realised by 2016.

15. Greater Tokyo will be the first Asian city to host the Olympic Games twice.

16. Greater Tokyo still sees new urban developments on large lots of less profitable land.

17. In 1943, the city of Greater Tokyo merged with the prefecture of Tokyo to form the "Metropolitan Prefecture" of Tokyo.

18. The city of Greater Tokyo was officially established on May 1, 1889.

19. Greater Tokyo was originally a small fishing village named Edo, in what was formerly part of the old Musashi Province.

20. Greater Tokyo forms part of the Kanto region on the southeastern side of Japan's main island, Honshu, and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands.

21. Greater Tokyo is a fascinating city, where the latest trends and the oldest traditions meet.

22. Greater Tokyo is one of the best shopping destinations in the world.

23. Greater Tokyo has more Michelin stars than any other city in the world, with an impressive 14 restaurants awarded the top three-star rating.

24. Greater Tokyo contains a third of the universities in the country.

25. Greater Tokyo would like to go yet farther afield, bringing water that now flows into the Sea of Japan across the mountains by tunnel to the Tone.

26. Since the war Greater Tokyo has taken over from Osaka the role of leading industrial centre in the country.

27. Greater Tokyo is served by an extensive bus network, and numerous taxi companies.

28. Greater Tokyo is served by numerous train, subway and bus lines.

29. Greater Tokyo is linked to the rest of Japan by road, rail, and air.

30. In 1964, Greater Tokyo hosted the summer Olympic Games and will stage the Olympics again in 2020.

31. Greater Tokyo is the seat of the Emperor of Japan, the figurehead of Japan's constitutional monarchy, who lives in the Imperial Palace in the heart of Tokyo.

32. Greater Tokyo is on the Kanto plain, bordering Greater Tokyo Bay, 35 degrees 41 minutes north latitude and 139 degrees 46 minutes east longitude.

33. Greater Tokyo is located roughly in the middle of the Japanese archipelago facing the Pacific Ocean.

34. Greater Tokyo is the capital city of Japan, and the biggest city in Japan in terms of population and area.

35. Greater Tokyo has the largest city economy in the world and is one of three major global centers of trade and commerce along with New York City and London.