Tokyo Interesting Facts
Was curious this evening about Tokyo, considering since I live here now it only makes sense to learn a little bit more about the city. Here are a few tidbits that were fun to learn:
- Tokyo inner city has a population over 8 million (thats about 1 million more than NY).
- The metropolitan area is the largest in the world with over 29 million in an area smaller than Rhode Island.
- Tokyo was not the capital of Japan until 1868
- For 14 years until 2006 Tokyo was rated as the costliest city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit
- 50 is the average number of earthquakes over 1 on the Richter scale here every year
- The Tokyo Metropolitan Government headquarters are in Shinjuku - just a short train ride from where I currently live in Sasazuka
- Chinese is the largest foreign population in Tokyo, with 126,498. Koreans have a population of 109,824, and there are about 19,000 Americans here.
- Tokyo has over 100 universities and colleges, and more than 200 parks and gardens
- Tokyo is located on a major fault line that causes a major earthquake approx every 70 years
- The most famous (and last large) earthquake hit Tokyo in 1923 - the Great Kantou quake was an 8.3 on the Richter scale and devastated the city (est over 100,000 died)
- In 2005, Tokyo alone had a GDP of US $1.191 trillion
- The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the second largest stock exchange in the world
- landmarks of Tokyo are routinely destroyed by giant monsters such as Godzilla.
Well, it was fun learning these facts, I hope some of you get a chance to experience these as well (well, excluding the earthquakes - and maybe Godzilla). Looking forward to being a host here someday 
