Where to stay in Tokyo

Shinjuku is built around one of the busiest stations in Tokyo, and everything about it follows from that. West of the tracks, Nishi-Shinjuku is a forest of skyscrapers around the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building; north-east, Kabukicho is a neon maze of hotels and late-night places; and the station exits are ringed by the city's best-known department stores. Shinjuku Gyoen provides the one large green space, to the south-east.

Shibuya is the centre of modern Tokyo fashion and youth culture, and its landmarks are the ones people picture: the Hachiko statue, the Scramble Crossing and the Center-Gai running off it. Shibuya 109 anchors the teenage end, Hikarie and Seibu the polished one, and Shibuya Scramble Square carries the SHIBUYA SKY rooftop platform. It is loud, young and relentlessly busy, and that is the point of it.

Ginza is the oldest of Tokyo's smart districts and it carries itself accordingly: a main street of long-established department stores known for their service, the Ginza Six complex of fashion houses and restaurants, and Kabukiza, the grand house of kabuki. On weekends and national holidays traffic is banned from the main street and it becomes a pedestrian promenade. It is the calmest central address in the city, and the most expensive.

Marunouchi is the district between Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace, a run of modern towers behind the station's restored red-brick facade. The official guide calls Tokyo Station one of the best-connected stations in the city: the Yamanote line circles the busiest districts from here and the Marunouchi line runs direct to Ginza, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro. The station itself is a shopping centre, with GRANSTA, First Avenue and the Yaesu underground mall of some 180 outlets.

Asakusa is the traditional quarter, built around Sensoji temple with the Kaminarimon gate and the Nakamise shopping street leading up to it. The Sumida river runs along its edge, with cruises from the bank and views of the Tokyo Skytree from the red Azuma-bashi bridge. Streets are low, old and full of stalls selling the sort of thing people actually take home. It is the one area on this list that does not feel like the 21st century.

Ueno is built around its park, which holds a run of major museums, a large boating pond, a shrine with a pagoda and Japan's oldest zoo. Beside the station, Ameyoko is a loud market street where sellers call out over stalls of clothes, spices, cosmetics and fresh fish. The two sit within a few minutes of each other, which is unusual: most of Tokyo makes you choose between the cultural day and the everyday one.

Roppongi is anchored by two large mixed-use developments, Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Midtown, each carrying restaurants, luxury shops, arts venues and open space. Its Art Triangle is genuinely strong: the Mori Art Museum, the Suntory Museum of Art and the National Art Center stand within walking distance of each other. It is also Tokyo's best-known nightlife district for international visitors, which is the reason to come and the reason to think twice.

Ikebukuro is a major northern hub that now rivals Akihabara for Japanese subcultures: Otome Road is given over to comics and games aimed at women, and Animate's flagship store stands near the station's east exit. It also holds several large cinema complexes, among them the one with the largest seating capacity in Tokyo and the largest screen in Japan. The official guide puts it 24 minutes from Tokyo Station on the Yamanote line, or 17 on the Marunouchi line.

Akihabara grew out of a postwar black market into a showcase for Japanese technology, and then into the home of gaming, manga and anime fandom. Chuo-dori is lined with shops selling computers, anime, manga, games and figures, and the alleys off it hold the specialists: retro games, computer parts, and the rest. The AKB48 Theatre is here. It is a district with one very strong reason to visit and not much of a second one.