US forces fire bombed japan's wooden cities totally destroying 58 % of Yokohama (the size of Cleveland)
51% of Tokyo (new York) 99% Toyama (Chattanooga) 40% Nagoya (LA) killing 50-90% of the population in 67 Japanese cities BEFORE two nuclear bombs were dropped.
Japan's Shinkansen "bullet train" opened in 1964, just before the Tokyo Olympics. It was the world's first high-speed rail line.
Nigiri sushi, a slice of fish on a small mound of rice, was invented in Edo (now Tokyo) in the early 1800s as a fast food sold at street stalls.
In 2019, a Japanese sushi restaurant owner paid about $3 million for a single bluefin tuna at a Tokyo fish market auction.
Jiro Ono is a famous Tokyo sushi chef who became world-famous through the 2011 documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi."
Ramen developed from Chinese wheat noodles, and Rairaiken, which opened in Tokyo in 1910, is often called Japan's first ramen shop.
In 2015, Tsuta in Tokyo became the first ramen shop to earn a Michelin star.
Indoor volleyball became an Olympic sport at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan's women's volleyball team, nicknamed the "Witches of the Orient," won Olympic gold in Tokyo in 1964.
Greater Tokyo is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with about 37 million people.
Tokyo was originally called Edo and was renamed in 1868, when it became Japan's imperial capital.
Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing is one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in the world, with crowds crossing from all directions at once.
Tokyo has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city in the world.
Tokyo's Shinjuku Station is the world's busiest train station, used by about 3.5 million people a day.
Tokyo train stations have employed "oshiya," or "pushers," whose job is to gently cram passengers onto packed rush-hour trains.
Tokyo Skytree, at 634 meters, is the tallest tower in the world.
Tokyo's famous Tsukiji wholesale fish market moved to a new site in Toyosu in 2018.
Tokyo hosted the Summer Olympics in 1964 and 2021. The 2021 Games were delayed a year by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hachikō was a loyal dog who waited at Tokyo's Shibuya Station for his owner every day for nearly 10 years after the owner died, and his statue there is now a famous meeting spot.
Washington, DC's famous cherry trees were a gift from the mayor of Tokyo in 1912.
"Beijing" means "northern capital," while "Tokyo" means "eastern capital."