Let’s not beat about the bush here. Tokyo is not one of the world’s great sightseeing cities. This is, after all, a city that was razed to the ground twice in the 20th century, once by earthquake and once by wartime bombing raids. On each occasion, Tokyo has risen from the ashes, but precious little of true historical value survives.

Yet despite this, Tokyo still has the power to make you go ‘Wow!’ The sense that nothing here is permanent has produced a city that renews itself at an unimaginable speed. From the futuristic new cityscapes of Odaiba or Roppongi Hills to the bustling shopping and entertainment centres of Shibuya and Shinjuku, all are fully functioning self-contained areas where the first-time visitor runs the risk of neck-ache from craning up to see the neon signs, or the summit of a skyscraper.

Since it first flung open its doors to the world back in 1868, Tokyo has been a laboratory for the meeting and synthesis of local and western architectural styles. Japanese architecture has traditionally been based on the use of wooden materials, and the city’s shrines and temples are overwhelmingly traditional in form. The Meiji Shrine (1-1 Kamizonocho, Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, +81333795511, www.meijijingu.or.jp/english/index.htm, Harajuku station, Omotesando exit or Meiji-Jingumae station, exit 2) is an impressive example of the austere style and restrained colours typical of Shinto architecture. Later Meiji official architecture was often a reflection of western styles; remaining red-brick structures of the period include the Crafts Gallery of the National Museum of Modern Art (1 Kitanomaru Koen, Chiyoda-ku, +81332117781, Tozai Line Takebashi station, Exit 1b), the National Film Center of the National Museum of Modern Art (3-7-6 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, +81335610823, www.momat.go.jp/FC/fc.html, Kyobashi station,exit 1).

Away from the trophy architecture, bright lights and bustling streets, Tokyo offers smaller scale attractions, too. Ueno Park is home to the world’s highest concentrations of top-class museums, and dotted throughout the city are scores of smaller independent ones. Galleries, too, are thriving, with new spaces opening regularly.

But if Tokyo has one area that is famous the world over, Ginza is it. The area’s reputation for exclusivity stretches right back to the 19th-century Meiji period, when Ginza became the first part of Tokyo to be rebuilt in red brick, rather than wood. Sadly, none of the bricks survive, since the area was razed by the great Kanto earthquake. Now there are elegant department stores, traditional shops small galleries and showrooms where you can touch and test the latest high-tech products and a huge number of coffee shops and Japanese tea rooms. Ginza is also home to the Sony Building. All the latest Sony models are on display and can be tried out. It offers eight floors of entertainment, and the sixth floor is dedicated to PlayStation.

Down Harumi Dori is the Kabuki-za theatre (4-12-15 Ginza, Chuo-ku, +8135413131 / +81355656000, www.shochiku.co.jp/play/kabukiza/theater/index.html). Higashi-Ginza station, exits A2, 3), home of kabuki. A single act of the day-long programme can be enjoyed for around ¥1,000. Opera glasses are essential, but it’s a good way to get a taste of traditional performing arts.

Towards the Shinbashi area is the brand new mini-centre of Shiodome. It’s a futuristic city with wide-open plazas, crisscrossed by aerial walkways and a monorail, and houses the ADMT Advertising Museum Tokyo, the Old Shinbashi Station (a reconstruction of the original) and a theatre, as well as a shopping complex and scores of restaurants and cafés.

Also in the Ginza area is the Tokyo Disneyland Ticket Centre (Hibiya Mitsui Bldg, 1-1-2 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, +81335951777, Hibiya Station, exit A12). The theme park is out of town, but this ticket office (staff speak English) is open from 10am until 7pm daily.

Tokyo’s central business district, Marunouchi, is historically linked to the nearby Imperial Palace. Edo (the old name of the city) came to life in 1457 as Ota Dokan settled where the Palace now stands. Once the shogun decided to rule from here too, his castle became the centre of the city. The Marunouchi area was created as he decreed that all daimyo (feudal lords) must live in Edo for half of the year.

Eventually the castle grounds shrank as the city took on a life of its own, and the palace became isolated. But even today, the Imperial Palace and Marunouchi remains the centre of Tokyo in many senses, and most visitors make a beeline for the Imperial Park. It’s directly in front of Tokyo station’s central exit, across Hibiya Dori, about 500 metres (160 feet) away. The Imperial Palace is out of bounds, except on 2 January and 23 December, the emperor’s birthday.

The modern highlight of the Otemachi area is the Tokyo International Forum (3-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, +81352219000, www.tif.or.jp, Yurakucho station, Tokyo International Forum exit or Ginza station, exit C9). Divided in two buildings, the most striking is the ship-shaped Glass Hall Building, which opened in 1996. The glass roof and a 60-metre glass wall make it one of the architectural wonders of the city. The three main halls of this and the adjacent building are increasingly used for concerts, film premieres and festivals.