Among the world's great cities, Tokyo holds a distinctive, glittering place. Not only is this city—literally translated as "Eastern capital"—the seat of the Japanese government and home to the Japanese imperial family, but it's also unique for its 23 different municipalities, each with its own cultural flavor. Shibuya, for instance, is where fashion trends get born, like super-short school uniform miniskirts, and the younger set invents new words and terms at a steady clip. Meguro, on the other hand, is a bastion of education, with nearly a million volumes in its eight public libraries.

No matter where you go in the vast city, though, there are numerous parks, museums, shrines, and centers for performing arts that range from traditional forms like kabuki and noh to modern dramas. Music runs a large gamut from Japanese rock and pop to thousands of karaoke bars, where (for better or worse) anyone can be a rock star for the night. Major festivals, called matsuri, are usually sponsored by local shrines and temples, and feature sumo matches, elaborate parades, and quirky games like grabbing goldfish from a tank.

The expanse of Tokyo seems like it would take a lifetime to explore, but fortunately a business traveler or vacationer can keep on top of local events, get maps, and arrange transportation by taking advantage of the Wi-Fi hotzone available through iPass. Operated by the livedoor network, the hotzone includes more than 230 Wi-Fi access points for coverage of 80 percent of the city. And that's just the tip of the iceberg—iPass offers a total of more than 1,600 broadband venues in Tokyo alone. So, grab your slouchy socks for Shibuya, bring your appetite, and sharpen your karaoke skills, but don't worry about leaving your laptop behind.

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