Bird's-eye View of Tokyo, late ninteenth century

This view of Tokyo gives a good idea of its location within the broader Kantô Plain. The yamanote ("high city"; literally "toward the mountains") section of the city rises on the Musashino Plain within the Kantô roughly from the location of Edo Castle/Imperial Palace and up (westerly) in this typical orientation. As we can see, the plain does rise "toward the mountains" in the distance. Several Edo- and Tokyo-period sakariba or "thriving places"--that is, popular places of activity--are highlighted here.