Tokyo's Map, Explained

I've lived in Japan for 20 years. This was an astonishingly well put together documentary that was considered and just...so beautifully crafted. I'm used to people bastardising, glamorising, and...well, youtubing the shit of of this place. You did none of this, and for that, you gave it so much more. Well done and easy sub.

As a Japanese who used to keep learning the history of how people build the city of Tokyo(Edo), this video is one of (if not) the best introductory documentary on this subject I’ve ever seen! You’ve done an amazing job. The things I love about this history which you don’t talk about in this particular video are the irony of the start of this city. The Shogun, Ieyasu Tokugawa, was banished from the financial and religious center of the country, Kyoto and Osaka, by the then most powerful person, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, to this fishing village, later called Tokyo. Technically this place was given to him as a reward of a war but in reality it’s a banishment. It’s because Hideyoshi thought this place useless (it actually was at first) and could damage Ieyasu’s growing power in both the short and long term. But the history tells us this banishment backfired a lot and even has given a huge economic boost to Japan as a country for the last 400(!) years. This city started as the second center of this country, which has less ties with traditional aristocrats and temples and has become the place for newly powerful people ever since. The history of how this useless fishing village becomes one of the biggest city in the world is fascinating and worth learning for everyone who are interested in cities imo. So much fun there

I'm addicted to this channel.

It is just amazing that as a non-Japanese speaker, Daniel presents all the historical facts and informations so correctly, that even the spiral developing strategy which is barely known by foreigners is perfectly shown in this well-made video. Nice job to Daniel and those who helped in completing this video!

I’ve lived in Tokyo for 108 years and I can’t believe how well put together this video is

2 trivia’s that I love about the city of Tokyo 1. Aside from old stones, you can find old traces of waterways on modern-day roads of Tokyo. One of it is in Akihabara (yes, the anime capital), and there used to be a small port/ wharf there to unload goods from the ships. These small ports used to be scattered around east Tokyo, connected by the many waterways that acted like a modern-day highway. The harbor in Akihabara is said to be the place to unload fresh vegetables made in the outer rural areas of Tokyo, and these goods that were transported via the waterways fed the many mouths living in Tokyo. It also became the backbone of many commercial facilities in Edo, since it was far more easier to sell the goods unloaded at that port at that place. Although they were ranked last in the social status, merchants thrived in Edo period, creating the unique culture/ identity of Edo. 2. How the Meiji Restoration/ Great Kanto Earthquake affected the modern day sushi and tempura. Sushi and tempura used to be a relatively cheap street snack in the Edo period. Sushi (or Nigiri sushi if you want to be specific) used to be bigger in size, more akin to modern-day Onigiri. Tempura used to have a wooden skewer sticked in the ingredients so you can hold it in your hand. Both were made in stalls, and people would basically eat them as fast foods, while standing/ using their hands. When Meiji Restoration brought modern city building to Tokyo, these stalls were evacuated to small shops, and as a result, sushi and tempura were now eaten while sitting. This lead to the dishes becoming smaller in size, and much much more expensive. And the Great Kanto Earthquake made lots of people immigrate out of Tokyo, including the many sushi and tempura chefs. These chefs introduced sushi and tempura to the regions outside of Tokyo, and thanks to this, dishes that were once only known around Tokyo, became the symbol of Japanese cuisine.

Omg the Japanese tour guide guy is the nicest person i have ever heard…talking about his city with such passion, curiosity, yet with a lot of humility…plus i love his accent!!

3：55 背後に見える、赤いビルと黒いビルの間が按針通り ANJIN street。 「将軍 shogun」の三浦按針 William Adamsの屋敷跡です。

I’m from Ochanomizu and went to go to the schools located in Ichigaya and Iidabashi, so I used to walk down the Sotobori (outer moat). It takes less time if you walk down the Yasukuni-dori (the road between the Nippon Budokan and Yasukuni shrine), but the view from Sotobori especially on the sunny day is so refreshing and awesome so I chose that way. Good memories.

The way this video uses the structure and history of the city to understand each other - unparalleled. Maybe my favorite you’ve done yet, on a channel that’s been consistently illuminating. 🗾

BABE WAKE UP, NEW DANIEL STEINER MAP VIDEO JUST DROPPED

Japan is an island by the sea filled with volcanoes, and it's BEAUTIFUL.

For me as a New Orleanian whose favorite city is Tokyo, you gotta imagine my excitement seeing my favorite two maps back to back. lol excellent work, keep doing what you’re doing!

the emperor business trip joke was funny, great tour guide!

I go to Tokyo every year for business and I wasn’t aware of any of this. You peaked my curiosity. I know what kind of walks I’m going to do next time and I know what to look for. Thank you.

I've lived in Tokyo for more than 30 years and live on the city's east side in reasonable walking distance of Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace. As someone interested in urban history and urban design, I knew a reasonable amount of the information presented here. Even so, I learned more than a few things here. I'm very impressed and immediately subscribed after watching this. I look forward to watching more of these videos!

This channel needs to blow up so you can give us more content more frequent. These videos are so 🔥

驚いたよ、海外の人でここまで正確に江戸城と都市計画を正確にドキュメントした人初めて見たよ

I love Tokyo but I really love the small country towns. You can really appreciate the older architecture there.

Your Tour Guide was lovely