Something missed by most Tokyo tourists are the communities of activists that are sprouting up all over the city. For the casually interested tourist a good stop would be Okamoto’s Asu no shinwa which is a 30 meter mural just across from the world's busiest intersection and is a beautiful artistic statement about Japan's history featuring the nuclear bombs.

Is Tokyo just shiny commerce, fast trains and polite people? That might be your impression if you have read any commercial travel guidebook. However, a visit to Tokyo also provides travellers with the opportunity to explore the history of Japanese and American imperialism in Asia and connect with radical communities organising against nuclear power, resisting the continued US military presence, and struggling with the two-decade long Japanese economic stagnation that has resulted in an increasingly precarious existence for many, particularly young people.

Landing at Tokyo’s main international airport in Narita drops international visitors right at the heart of this history of radical struggle.

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