Chic, Metropolitan and steeped with not only its own culture but cultures from around the world. Tokyo is a city of dreams. If you want it, it has it: from elite to simple, fashion to Asian cuisine. It is a Mecca of industry and the newest technology. Tokyo is the Paris and New York City of Japan.

Tokyo itself is not actually a city, instead it is a metropolis. It is comprised of 26 cities, 5 towns and 8 villages, all neatly governed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) using a system of 23 wards, much like the different burroughs in New York City. It is the capital of the country and because of this houses the Imperial City, with its rolling hills, private streams and amazing castle like buildings.

Tokyo has the title of the largest city in the world. The population of the greater Tokyo area is aproximately 36.5 million people. The Tokyo Metropolis has about 12.3 million people. The 23 wards of the city contain about 8.3 million people. New York City is the closest city in population with a population of 21 million metro and 8.1 million for the five burroughs. In the world of darkness that means Tokyo should house about 365 vampires, 83 in Tokyo proper. This number of vampires is comprised of Staff run NPC's, player and staff run PC's and faceless NPCs that make up not only the other vampires in the area, but also the mass of humanity.

While geography is not destiny, the fact that Japan is located on islands on the outermost edge of Asia has had a profound influence on Japan's history. Just close enough to mainstream Asia, yet far enough to keep itself separate, much of Japanese history has been the alternation of periods of closure and openness. Until recently, Japan has been able to turn on or off its connection to the rest of the world, internalizing foreign cultural influences in fits and starts. It is comparable with the relationship between Britain and the rest of Europe, but with a much wider channel.

Links of Interest:

(Tokyo Domain Map) . .. (Clickable Tokyo Map) . .. (Quick Japanese Culture)