Tokyo typically serves as both the beginning and end of a visitor's vacation to Japan due to its two international airports, but the city is deserving of much more than a brief, jet-lagged pit stop. It's a distillation of the best and worst the nation has to offer: clean, safe, and convenient, but also congested, pricey, and conformist (just try to fit onto a train during rush hour if you don't believe us).

Infinitely diverse, it features timber houses next to contemporary glass and steel towers, fine dining establishments next to shacks that have been serving the same three noodle dishes for decades. Tokyo will pique your attention whether you're into food, art, sports, architecture, nightlife, or fashion. Here are some important reasons why you should visit Tokyo:

For the best and strangest museums

Tokyo may well have the weirdest (and often most wonderful) museums of any city in the world. On the fifth floor of a nondescript building Nihonbashi you can visit the tiny Kite Museum, filled from floor to ceiling with traditional kites, some dating all the way back to the Edo period. Or maybe Meguro’s Parasitological Museum will pique your interest, with its grisly examples of a range of parasites. Thankfully, most of them aren’t common anymore, but if you do want to take a parasite home with you, you can buy one preserved in a keyring.

To experience the most iconic public transportation system in the world

Nothing compares to really using the public transportation in Japan, from the white-gloved employees who firmly but politely cram commuters into trains to the stationmaster cats that wear their own hats.

The exact location of the doors opening is marked on the platform, shinkansen cleaning personnel clean the carriages quickly, and the staff is polite and willing to help. You'll almost surely become disoriented in the city's convoluted network of lines or the confusing Tokyo station, but that's all part of the pleasure. The world's busiest station, with more than 3.5 million daily visitors, should be avoided during rush hour.

To watch sumo

Tokyo hosts three of the six annual major sumo tournaments (honbasho), giving you a greater chance than any other Japanese city to witness the conflict of these titans.

Arrive early at the big sumo hall in Ryogoku (with your reserved tickets). You can sneak down closer to the ring to watch when the smaller matches are played because it will be mostly empty. The fights get shorter, the build-up gets longer, and the fighters get bigger as the day goes on and the massive auditorium fills.

The crowd is in a frenzy by the time you reach the top levels of the sport. The tension between the wrestlers builds for minutes as they stamp, spit, and threaten one another. Eventually, they engage in combat, and the winner is typically determined in a matter of seconds.

To discover the newest trends in Japan

Tokyo definitely outdoes itself in the fashion and design department, even though it doesn't sound revolutionary that the nation's metropolis would serve as its hub. The music, interior design, fashion, and even the Instagrammable cuisine are all so cutting edge that they frequently leave people perplexed.

There are more stylish neighborhoods to be inspired by and perplex than you can visit in one trip. Kawaii fashion, among many other subcultures, has its epicenter in Harajuku; Bunka Fashion College is located in Shinjuku; punk and grunge music is big in Koenji; and independent, alternative, and vintage fashion are all the rage in Shimokitazawa. You'll undoubtedly return from Tokyo with a ton of fresh insights.

If you feel like traveling to Tokyo, we have our travel agents available here who will advise you on everything you need.