The Tokyo old map shows evolutions of Tokyo city. This historical map of Tokyo will allow you to travel in the past and in the history of Tokyo in Japan. The Tokyo ancient map is downloadable in PDF, printable and free.

In 1869, the 17-year-old Emperor Meiji moved to Edo (see Tokyo historical map). Tokyo was already the nation political and cultural center, and the emperor residence made it a de facto imperial capital as well, with the historical former Edo Castle becoming the Imperial Palace. The city of Tokyo was established, and continued to be the capital until it was abolished as a municipality in 1943 and merged with the "Metropolitan Prefecture" of Tokyo.

In the 1980s, real estate prices skyrocketed during a real estate and debt bubble in the historical city of tokyo. The bubble burst in the early 1990s, and many companies, banks, and individuals were caught with mortgage backed debts while real estate was shrinking in value as its shown in Tokyo historical map. A major recession followed, making the 1990s Japan "Lost Decade" from which it is now slowly recovering.

The historical central of Tokyo, like Osaka, has been designed since about 1900 to be centered on major railway stations in a high-density fashion, so suburban railways were built relatively cheaply at street level and with their own right-of-way as its mentioned in Tokyo historical map. This differs from many cities in the United States that are low-density and automobile-centric. Though expressways have been built in Tokyo, the basic design has not changed.

The Tokyo vintage map give a unique insight into the history and evolution of Tokyo city. This vintage map of Tokyo with its antique style will allow you to travel in the past of Tokyo in Japan. The Tokyo vintage map is downloadable in PDF, printable and free.

Japan as we know it began to coalesce around AD 300 in what is now known as the Kansai region, an area to the vintage west of Tokyo encompassing the present day cities of Kyoto, Osaka and Nara as you can see in Tokyo vintage map. Though the Japanese archipelago had been inhabited for at least 30,000 years, waves of immigration from the vintage continent began to shake things up at this time, with the introduction of new technologies, such as wet rice farming.

The vintage city name was formally changed to Tokyo, meaning eastern capital, in 1868, when the nearly 700-year shogunate period came to an end, and the new emperor, Meiji, moved his residence there (see Tokyo vintage map). Although Tokyo has remained the de facto capital ever since, there are no rules on the books making it Japan “official” capital, leaving some in the former imperial city of Kyoto to insist that it is the rightful owner of the title.

The Edo period began when Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun in 1603, and the vintage city developed rapidly under his successors. The construction of Edo Castle, including the main tower, was finally completed in 1637 (see Tokyo vintage map). In 1657, the Great Fire of Meireki destroyed much of the Yoshiwara red-light district, Asakusa, and the vintage Edo Castle. 100,000 people died.