Tokyo is a city unrivaled. It stands on the cutting edge of the future and thrives on an inimitable blend of technology, trend, and tradition.

It is a bundle of contradictions sprung from a melding of East and West. The highrises of Shinjuku may rule the skyline, but the Imperial Palace, quiet and dignified, remains the spiritual and geographic heart of the city. The trendsetting boutiques of Harajuku may sate Tokyoites' appetite for the

latest in spangle and chic, but it is to the peaceful backstreets of tradition-bound shitamachi that they turn to steep themselves in the Tokyo closest to their soul.

lntroducing Tokyo visually explores this complex city in a way that mere words could never do. Photographer Ben Simmons, a long-time Tokyo resident, knows his city, and every shot radiates with unmistakable Tokyo vitality. Author Donald Richie writes with wit and sensitivity about the city he has

called home for over forty years.

For the visitor, this volume is an invaluable memento of sights seen (Ginza, Shinjuku, Akihabara, Asakusa--they are all here). For the general reader, Introducing Tokyo delivers precisely what its title promises, an incisive look at one of the world's most vital, modern, and multifaceted

cities.