Tokyo Chuo City Tourist Information Center: Explore Tsukiji And Ginza!
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At the Tokyo Chuo City Tourist Information Center, visitors can get sightseeing information, and also try their hands at Japanese culture activities such as wearing a kimono and calligraphy as well.
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Tokyo, Japan
Chuo City is located at the center of the Tokyo Metropolitan area, and since the Edo period (1603 - 1868), it has been the hub of culture, commerce and intelligence for more than 400 years.
Famous sightseeing spots such as Ginza, where high class fashion brand shops line the streets, and Tsukiji, famous for its seafood market, are both located in this district.
Besides these spots, Chuo City also has other appealing areas such as Nihonbashi, with famous department stores such as Mitsukoshi and Takashimaya, Ningyo-cho, an area filled with Edo period atmosphere, and Tsukishima, famous for its local dish - monjayaki.
To fully appreciate the appeal of Chuo City, we recommend a visit to the Chuo City Tourist Information Center, as its staff members possess vast knowledge of the district.
Access to the Chuo City Tourist Information Center
The center is located inside the basement floor of Kyobashi Edogrand, a shopping and commercial complex directly connected to Exit 8 of Kyobashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line.
It is easy to access the center, as Kyobashi Edogrand is located just a five minute walk from JR Tokyo Station, and a ten minute walk from the Ginza and Nihonbashi areas. The center is open from 9:00 to 21:00, which is exceptional for a tourist information center.
There are many hotels in the vicinity of the center too, so visitors can enjoy shopping in Ginza or Nihonbashi, take their baggage back to the hotel, and go to the center to discuss their sightseeing plans for the next day.
Metrolink, a free loop bus connecting the Tokyo Station and Nihonbashi area, stops by Kyobashi Edogrand. Visitors can also take this bus to the center from Nihonbashi, Ningyo-cho or Tokyo Station.
For more information about Metrolink, take a look at the Go Tokyo website.
Maps and Tickets Handled by the Multilingual Staff Members
The center offers concierge service in Japanese, English and Chinese.
Visitors can purchase theater tickets, ask about the location of baggage rooms in various spots, and even learn unique sightseeing information about Chuo City, such as where to find the best monjayaki in the area.
The center also handles various sightseeing guides for outside of Chuo City, and visitors will be able to learn about the traffic information to Hakone here as well.
The staff members are known for their cordiality, so some tourists from abroad are repeat visitors to this center.
There are plenty of brochure and maps containing sightseeing information for Chuo City, and some of them with coupons for restaurants located at Ginza, Tsukiji and Nihonbashi.
Visitors from abroad can also purchase the Tokyo Subway Ticket, which enables them to ride both Toei Subway and Tokyo Metro, and Tokyo Museum Grutto Pass, a booklet providing admission and discount tickets for the eighty museums in the Kanto region from here as well.
Recommendations for a Rainy Day
The official site of Chuo City Tourist Information Center offers model sightseeing routes, recommended shops and event information.
Chuo City Tourist Information Center Website:
About Tokyo Chuo City Tourist Information Center
But by visiting the center, you will find information which can't be gained on the Internet.
For instance, the autumn leaves map, which is posted from October to November, and the cherry blossom map, posted from March to April, are both made with photographs and information gathered by the staff members.
The center also offers unique information such as recommendations for a rainy day, as all the staff members have a vast knowledge of Chuo City.
Visitors will also be able to learn about events only known to true connoisseurs of Japan, and free buses running during festivals.
There is a bulletin board with recommended spots, made by the tourists who visited the center. If you can't decide where to go, it is worth a look.
Japanese calligraphy and Wearing a Kimono
One of the appeals of this center is that visitors can experience Japanese culture.
There are tools for shodo (Japanese calligraphy) which the visitors can use, along with original stamps.
The staff will assist anyone who needs help with the writing brush. If you want to know how your name is spelled in Japanese characters, just ask the staff.
Visitors can also try the kimono dressing experience, with the staffs' assistance. Taking photographs in kimono at the center has become popular among visitors from abroad.
Both shodo and kimono dressing can be tried for free, and it only take about half an hour.
Exclusive Souvenirs
There are some souvenirs that can be purchased only at this center.
Miyai Company is a furoshiki (*1) manufacturer with more than a hundred years' history to it. Senjafuda furoshiki, made by Miyai, is one of the popular souvenirs at the center, as it has the names of 37 places in Chuo City written in kanji.
Senjafuda Furoshiki: 648 yen, including tax.
*1 Furoshiki: a large wrapping cloth, used for carrying bundles and now often fashioned into purses or shopping bags.
Greeting cards with the names of places in Chuo City written in kanji, and pochi-bukuro(*2) with Edo-moji (*3) are also popular as inexpensive, Japanese souvenirs.
Greeting cards: 432 yen, including tax/Pochi-bukuro: 162 yen, including tax
*2 Pochi-bukuro: a gift envelope, used in the New Year when handing out "otoshidama" (allowance) to the children. The pochi-bukuro at the center has a card inside, and can be also used for messages.
*3 Edo-moji: Edo-style penmanship.
Free WiFi
Kyobashi Edogrand, where the center is located, has a free rest space, which also offers information of the surrounding area on its first floor. It is the perfect spot for a meeting place on a hot summer day or a cold day in winter.
Free WiFi is available at this rest space, and also in the center.
There are various restaurants and cafes inside Kyobashi Edogrand. Please take a look at the list of eateries on their official site.
Ginza and Tsukiji in the Edo Period
The center has various materials for history buffs, such as a virtual map, where visitors can compare the current map to the maps of the Edo and Showa Period.
When you visit Tokyo, be sure to go to the Chuo City Tourist Information Center before sightseeing, to obtain information, tickets, and coupons.
Chuo City Tourist Information Center Website:
About Tokyo Chuo City Tourist Information Center
Photos and text by Noriko Nonaka
Sponsored by Tokyo Chuo City Tourist Information Center
Written by
Tokyo, Japan
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