TOKYO Ginza & Nihonbashi Brand shopping and rich history

Visit the opulent downtown district of Ginza for the best offerings in fine dining and luxury brand shopping and head to Nihonbashi to explore the area's rich history.

Ginza Station is accessible via the Hibiya, Marunouchi and Ginza Subway Lines. The major shopping district is just beyond the station.

Mitsukoshimae Station on the Hanzomon and Ginza Subway Lines will bring you right into the shopping area of Nihonbashi. The magnificent and recently restored Tokyo Station is also close to many landmarks.

For the ambitious, consider spending your day walking from one sector to another for a delightful urban hike.

On Chuo Dori street, you'll find many top fashion and cosmetic brand stores. It has many department stores, restaurants and cafes. In fact, this sophisticated one-kilometer strip has some of the highest real estate prices in the world. Nearby, Yurakucho has even more high end shops and izakaya restaurants.

Chuo Dori is closed to motor traffic on weekend afternoons. Feel like royalty strolling down the middle of this street.

Enjoy the juxtaposition of the traditional Kabukiza kabuki theater against a backdrop of modern architecture.

Japan's very first department store, Mitsukoshi, started way back in 1673. Check out its grandiose flagship location in Nihonbashi. Other sites of interest include the Bank of Japan building and the Tokyo Stock Exchange . Over the last century, Nihonbashi emerged as the country's primary financial district.

Nihonbashi means "Japan Bridge," and this is the actual bridge from which it gets its name. You can still see scarring on it from the firebombing of 1945.

Take an English tour of the Bank of Japan, built in 1896.