Tokyo spreads out from the Imperial Palace in Chiyoda Ward like a massive concrete jungle. Though the numerous skyscrapers can be impressive during the day, at night the lights come on and the metropolis really begins to sparkle.

Unlike many capitals, which feature myriad heritage buildings, the city has almost no buildings that are older than a century. Deanna MacDonald, an architectural historian and co-author of the book "New Japan Architecture," says that in Tokyo "it is still financially and culturally more common to demolish and rebuild. In Japan, half of all houses are demolished before 38 years (compared to 100 years in the United States)."

The average life span for a building in Tokyo is even shorter — about 30 years, according to the Housing and Land Survey by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.