With a population of over twelve million in the metropolitan area and over thirty-five million in Greater Tokyo, this is one of the biggest and busiest cities in the world. It is also one of the most modern. The subway system is vast and efficient, nearly everyone carries the latest smart phone, endless shops sell fleeting fashions, and you interface with machines rather than people in all sorts of unexpected places.

Every neighborhood in Tokyo has a unique flavor. Some are bright with neon while others maintain the feeling of historic Japan. You can visit serene gardens and take an elevator to the top of a skyscraper. While there are many sights to see in Tokyo, one of the best things to do is just pick a few neighborhoods and wander through them to sample the delights of architecture, cuisine, and shopping to be found in each one.

There are tens of thousands of restaurants in Tokyo serving every conceivable type of food. Whether you’re after traditional Japanese cuisine, hoping for a taste of home, or want to try Peruvian cooking for the first time, someone is offering it in Tokyo.

Sushi, fresh fish pressed into white rice, originated in Tokyo and there are hundreds (if not thousands) of restaurants dedicated to this dish alone. Fish and rice are two of the staples of Japanese cuisine and you’ll find them served all day long. Beans are also essential, especially soybeans in the form of miso and tofu. Noodle dishes are served as a differentiation from rice. The primary types of noodles are udon (a thick, slippery noodle often served in soup), soba (spaghetti-shaped buckwheat noodles), and ramen (egg noodles).

For cheap but delicious meals, go where the students do: noodle bars, bento shops, and bakeries. Noodle bars are on nearly every block in Tokyo. Place your order with the vending machine out front, then head inside, hand over your ticket, and get a steaming bowl of noodles, vegetables, meat, and broth in return. Bento shops offer lunch boxes of various items like fish, meats, vegetables, and rice. And the bakeries sell popular breads and baked goods from around the world including French baguettes and Italian focaccia. Japanese bakery specialties include curry-pain (fried dough stuffed with curry) and mikasa (a sweet pancake filled with bean paste).

The millions of Japanese in Tokyo need to go somewhere after work and the nightlife in this city gives them plenty of options. An izakaya, a Japanese-style pub, is a very popular place to hang out, have a few drinks, and chat with friends. Most serve food and many are all you can drink for certain types of drinks. Popular drinks in Japan are sake (rice wine), umeshu (a liquor made from plums) with soda, and Japanese beers (both national brands like Sapporo and microbrews).

Karaoke bars are also fun and extremely popular. In Japan, karaoke bars offer private rooms for groups of friends to sing and drink together, sort of an alternative living room with karaoke capabilities. The party in karaoke bars can go all night and well into the following morning.

All images are used via Creative Commons Attribution rights. View the original images on Flickr at: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4