Why it stays with you
It's the front door of Japan, and the station itself is the sight. The red-brick station building, restored to its original 1914 form, counts among the most striking pieces of architecture in Tokyo. To see it, go round to the Marunouchi side and back away a little: it stretches so far to left and right that from close up you can't fit the whole of it in your field of view. Marunouchi Naka-dori, the cobbled tree-lined avenue, then the Marunouchi Building, the Shin-Marunouchi Building and Marunouchi Brick Square follow on from there, so you can walk straight into the district. The Tokyo Station Gallery inside the building is open 10:00–18:00, and until 20:00 on Fridays only. The one thing to watch is Monday, when it's closed.