But for some young Japanese, the city with its skyscrapers and neon lights is losing its appeal.
The bright lights of the big city have been a draw for decades, pulling people into Tokyo from the countryside.
But for some young Japanese, the city with its skyscrapers and neon lights is losing its appeal.
Like millions of others from her generation Megumi Sakaguchi cannot find a permanent job, just contracts.
Temporary workers now make up a third of the workforce - up from fewer than a fifth in the mid-1980s - and a greater proportion of them are young.
The certainty of the job-for-life tradition enjoyed by earlier generations has passed her by.
"I never know if I'm going to lose my job," she says. "Financially my anxiety levels are very high.
"In the morning during the rush hour when I'm getting off the train, the way people behave, they are almost inhuman," she adds.
So she has decided it is time for a change.
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