hinjuku is the most famous of Tokyo's 23 wards (or boroughs, in New York City terminology). It has become the symbol of post-modern Japan, contraposed against its samurai past much the same way that Manhattan is contraposed against the Wild Wild West.

Like Manhattan, its unmistakable, evolving skyline identifies it in time and place. Shinjuku is home to the world's busiest train station (3.64 million people per day), Tokyo's "skyscraper district," and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

The movie Lost in Translation was filmed in Shinjuku. The hotel bar featured in the film is located on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt Tokyo, which is briefly mentioned in the novel.

When aliens invade or giant lizards start rampaging through Tokyo, those are the buildings they usually take out first. Fortunately, Japan's equivalent of the Pentagon (the Ministry of Defense and Self-Defense Forces) is located a few blocks away.

And when the fighting is over, Kabukicho (Tokyo's famous entertainment and red-light district) and Golden Gai (for all you schmoozers and bar hoppers) are a short taxi ride away. When it's time for a breather, so is Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.

Shinjuku covers seven square miles and has a population of 312,000. By comparison, that's about the same size of the tip of Manhattan from Times Square to Battery Park. You can learn more about Shinjuku at its official English-language website, and virtually tour Shinjuku using Google Maps.