I love Tokyo more than almost any city on earth, and I think the reason is that it refuses to behave like one. It is not a capital with a centre you stay in and radiate out from – it is twenty-three wards that each act like their own downtown, stitched together by trains that genuinely run to the second.

Which means the single most useful thing I can tell you is this: there is no middle. Shibuya and Asakusa have about as much in common as Brooklyn and Kyoto, and they are forty minutes apart. Where you choose to sleep will shape your trip more than any sight on your list – and that is a lovely problem to have, because every one of those neighbourhoods is a holiday in itself.

And here is the happy surprise waiting for you: Tokyo is so much easier than it looks. Everything is signposted in English, the trains make sense after two rides, you could leave your bag on a bench and come back to it, and you will never be more than three minutes from something delicious. The challenge is not finding your way. The challenge is choosing, and that is the fun part.