Senso-ji's Edo time bell still rings at six every morning

Senso-ji, by tradition founded in 628, is the oldest temple in Tokyo. On Bentenyama, a small mound in its grounds, a belfry holds one of the bells that once told the time to Edo. It was recast in 1692 on the orders of the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, and Matsuo Basho, who lived in Fukagawa, wrote a haiku about it. During the war, when many temples had to give up their bells, this one was spared because of its history. Today a monk strikes it at six every morning.

The approach to the temple starts at Kaminarimon. Through the gate, the stalls of Nakamise lead to the main hall of Senso-ji, where a large incense burner stands out front and worshippers waft the smoke over their heads and shoulders with their hands.

At the crossing outside Shibuya Station, when the lights turn green, pedestrians step in from all four sides at once and can also cut across diagonally. Below street level are several layers of platforms and passages, and above it are signals and advertising screens on the buildings. When the green ends, the crossing clears and the cars go through.

In Tsukishima, monjayaki is spread across an iron griddle and eaten once the edges crisp. In the shopping arcades, menchi-katsu is often eaten standing outside the shop that fried it. Outside ramen shops late at night, queues follow the markings on the pavement.

Vending machines stand on almost every street in Tokyo, with cold drinks marked in blue and hot ones in red.