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[[Image:Tokyo 2.jpg|thumb|Tokyo by night]]
[[Image:Tokyo 2.jpg|thumb|Tokyo by night]]
'''Tokyo''' (東京, “eastern capital”) is the capital of and the biggest city in [[Japan]]. This port city is located in the middle of [[Honshu]] Island's east coast (Honshu is the largest of the four main islands of the Japanese [[archipelago]]).
'''Tokyo''' (東京, “eastern capital”) is the capital of and the biggest city in [[Japan]]. This port city is located in the middle of [[Honshu]] Island's east coast (Honshu is the largest of the four main islands of the Japanese [[archipelago]]).
Tokyo, often thought of as a single city, is the heart of the world's most heavily populated region. However, Tokyo is really a metropolitan region, a network of many cities and communities, sprawling outwards across the [[Kanto]] region of [[Honshu]] island. The population was 12,659,000 in 2006,<ref>''Japan Statistical Yearbook'': '[http://www.stat.go.jp/data/nenkan/zuhyou/y0203000.xls Population by Prefecture 1920-2006]'. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. .xls document.</ref> with millions more within the [[Greater Tokyo Area]].<ref>''United Nations'': '[http://esa.un.org/unup/index.asp?panel=2 World Urbanization Prospects: The 2007 Revision Population Database]'. ''Select 'Japan' in the right hand column and click 'Display'.''</ref><ref>The 'Greater Tokyo Area' has several definitions and therefore names in [[Japanese language|Japanese]]. A common designation is 'One Metropolis, Three Prefectures' (一都三県 ''Itto Sanken'') - i.e. Tokyo, [[Chiba prefecture|Chiba]], [[Kanagawa prefecture|Kanagawa]] and [[Saitama prefecture|Saitama]].</ref>
Literally meaning 'East Capital', Tokyo has been Japan's ''de facto'' capital only since 1868, at a time when the country was ending hundreds of years of self-imposed isolation. Its original name was Edo (江戸), meaning 'estuary'; the city grew in power and prestige over the centuries, eventually becoming the capital on the move of the Emperer Meiji (明治天皇 ''Meiji-tennoo'') from [[Kyoto]].
The Tokyo Area, including Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama, is the most populous metropolitan area in the world with a population of over 35 million people. Tokyo is also the most expensive city in the world.
The Tokyo Area, including Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama, is the most populous metropolitan area in the world with a population of over 35 million people. Tokyo is also the most expensive city in the world.