Tokyo has several English-language information sources and it's as well to take advantage of them before heading off to other regions. There are two Tourist Information Centres (TIC), one at Narita airport , and the main office in central Tokyo, in the basement of Tokyo International Forum (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-noon; tel 03/3201-3331), close to Yurakucho Station. To find the latter, take the Forum exit from the JR station, or exit A4B from the subway - avoid coming here at noon, when there's often only a skeleton staff. There is also an information desk (daily 10am-6.30pm) near the east exit of Shinjuku Station, with English-speaking staff. If you're lost in Tokyo Station, head for the booth (daily 9am-7pm) in the central passage, inside the ticket barriers, near the Keiyo line entrance. The English-speaking staff will direct you to your platform or give you a station map to help extricate yourself from the maze.

You can pick up free maps of the city from any of the tourist centres; look out for the handy, one-page map of central Tokyo (within the Yamanote line), with detailed area maps on the back. If you plan to be here for more than just a few days or want to wander off the normal routes, it's well worth investing in Kodansha's bilingual Tokyo City Atlas (¥2100), which gives more detail and, importantly, includes the chome and block numbers to help pin down addresses .

By far the best English-language magazine is the free weekly Tokyo Classified ( www.tokyoclassified.com ), packed with ads and reviews, features and listings for film and music events, while for traditional and performance arts Tokyo Journal (¥600; www.tokyo.to ) still holds up. It's also worth looking out for Tokyo Notice Board ( www.tokyonoticeboard.co.jp ), another free weekly devoted almost entirely to classifieds, covering everything from accommodation and job offers to dance classes, and the free monthly Japan Traveler ( www.japantraveler.net ), which also carries useful articles and reviews. Keep an eye open for all these at the Tokyo TIC, larger hotels, foreign-language bookstores and bars or restaurants frequented by gaijin .

The main Tokyo TIC posts details of selected events on its noticeboard and hands out more comprehensive monthly lists of festivals and the like on request. Otherwise, phone Teletourist (tel 03/3201-2911), which provides 24-hour pre-recorded information in English on events in and around Tokyo, though you'll be hanging on the phone while they reel through a long list.

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