Worth a visit was the Imperial Palace, or rather its grounds, as the Emperor much like the Queen of England remains in place as a figurehead. The grounds are impressive, covering nearly half a square mile in the heart of Tokyo. In addition to this massive moat, the neat rows of trees in the background, and views of the palace and a lovely bridge, the grounds' East Gardens are open to visitors, including the remains of the 1638 castle established shortly after Edo became Tokyo -- literally, the "Eastern Capital."

Poster on Tokyo Metro. Wouldn't you know it? I take one decent photo of Japanese pop art and it's of an American cartoon character, Clifford the Big Red Dog. Still, just what are that girl and those adorable animals doing? The Engrish, I think, speaks for itself.

View from Bunkyo Civic Center. I'd done my homework before leaving for Japan, and one of the areas I'd researched was views. Some of the best, I'd learned, could be had for free from a government office building on the north side of central Tokyo. The one I'd come for, actually, of the Shinjuku skyline with Mt. Fuji in the distance, turned out to be less interesting than perspectives like the one above, of the megacity's endless sprawl. After all, every city has tall buildings -- but how many cities go on to the horizon, even on clear days? And it was a clear day: Because of the previous day's smog-clearing rain, I was able to see Fuji, an event that happens about 60 days a year on average. Note that while I've referred to this as "sprawl," it is largely dense, urban development of the sort you only see in city centers in America.

View from Bunkyo Civic Center.

View from Bunkyo Civic Center.

View from Bunkyo Civic Center.

View from Bunkyo Civic Center, this time of Shinjuku, with Fuji in the background. On my desktop at work I have the most incredible photo, one I was unable to duplicate: from this very location, but at twilight, with the neon of Shinjuku East awaking for the evening in the foreground. Still, this photo is notable, as Shinjuku is Tokyo's largest skyline -- although it includes just a fraction of the city's skyscrapers.

Shinjuku's tallest skyscraper is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) Building No. 1, by Kenzo Tange, the famed Japanese architect. As of next year, it will no longer even be Tokyo's tallest structure to the roof -- the Tokyo Mid-Town Tower, now nearing completion, will be 813 feet -- but 15 years after construction, its twin towers remain Tokyo's most monstrous; Godzilla would shrink by comparison. Anyway, TMG is Tokyo's City Hall, basically, and on the 45th floor -- 663 feet up -- is a free observation level.

View from TMG No. 1. More Tokyo sprawl, but this time from a higher vantage point. Another, better photo can be found in the Wallpaper section.

Another view from TMG No. 1. A view of central Tokyo from this vantage point can also be found in the Wallpaper section.

Ikebukuro, later that afternoon. Japanese kids are nothing if not cool, and Japanese public spaces are nothing if not lively.

Akihibara "electric town." Akihibara is where Tokyo residents and visitors go for cheap electronic gear; I expected rows of cell phones (more technologically advanced, by the way -- by several years -- than American mobile phones). What I didn't expect was yet another enormous crowd.

Akihibara is also famous for its "maid bars"; these girls were handing out fliers outside the station. Yes, I enjoyed Japan.

Having at least checked out all the hot spots of central Tokyo (one could take a lifetime really exploring the city), I decided to take a sidetrip over Tokyo Bay on the Yurikamome New Transit Line to Odaiba, an artificial island built during the "bubble economy" of the '80s at a cost of $10 billion. It was designed to be a futuristic new town, a showcase of the new Japan, but the bubble burst and the thousand-acre megadevelopment largely lay empty until entertainment uses were let in a decade ago. It's now what Americans think of when they think of modern Japan: a fantastic freakshow of theme malls and other weekend destinations popular with the teens of Tokyo. The Yurikamome Line also crosses the iconic Rainbow Bridge, approaching it via a huge loop built out over the bay. This series of photos was taken from Yurikamome, in motion, through the window; thankfully, Japanese kids haven't discovered scratchiti.

Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower, from Odaiba.

The Japanese have a thing for big ferris wheels. This is the biggest, and the second-largest in the world (after the London Eye) at 377 feet, Daikanransha.

The Japanese don't have a thing for large freeways -- even in urban areas, they're no wider than three lanes each way -- but on Odaiba I spied this supersized monster, as well as a vast parking lot, multiple acres of asphalt. Are the Japanese coming down with our disease? I've heard it said that the best way to learn about one's country is to leave it. In Japan, our most visible exports are fast food franchises (McDonald's really is everywhere).

I have no idea what this building is, but it's actually one of the more ordinary designs on the island. Odaiba is an architectural zoo.

Tokyo Port Tunnel vent, Odaiba.

Finally, I took a cruise on the Sumida River back to Arakawa. It was one of those glass-roofed boats, and on our journey into the heart of the city we passed under a dozen bridges -- at twilight, obviously. The Chuo-ohashi Bridge was the most interesting. If you should ever find yourself in Tokyo, I highly recommend the river cruise.