Welcome to Tokyo is Ours, a curated collection of things to do, see and experience in Tokyo. Scroll here to see the full Tokyo is Ours collection, in no particular order – or select Categories in the top menu to search by topic. Enjoy exploring!
Edo Tokyo Museum
The Edo Tokyo Museum in eastern Tokyo provides a comprehensive and entertaining look at the history of Tokyo. Its housed in a monolithic building by the Sumida River, that is a futuristic take on traditional Japanese warehouse design. In the museum’s comprehensive permanent exhibition, the history is brought to life through dioramas, miniature models and full-scale…
Yoyogi Park
Yoyogi Park is a modern 54 hectare public park located adjacent to Meiji Shrine, Harajuku and Omotesando. It features expansive lawns, ponds and fountains in its greener area and a stage and event area across a pedestrian bridge on the other side of the road. The event area also holds weekend festivals and events most…
Tokyu Plaza Ginza
Tokyu Plaza Ginza is one of the Ginza shopping district’s newest malls. It’s an excellent destination for both shopping and dining, housing over 125 stores in all. Aside from the shopping on offer, including Tokyo’s largest duty-free store, Tokyu Plaza Ginza offers some unique spaces to explore. The cavernous Kiriko Lounge on the 6thfloor, featuring…
Number Sugar Factory Shop
Number Sugar is a boutique confectionary company specialising in delicious handmade caramels. They come in ten flavours, with each flavour corresponding to a number – hence the brand name. While they have a shopfront in the Omotesando area, it’s much more interesting to visit their small factory in the backstreets of Sendagaya where you can…
Kiddyland
Kiddlyland is one of the landmark stores on Omotesando and a Tokyo institution. If you’re travelling with kids, know kids back home or a big kid yourself, this multi-level toy store is a must-visit. Its five floors are stacked full of Japanese and international branded toys, merchandise and collectibles. There’s everything from Hello Kitty, Pikachu,…
Canal Cafe
On a sunny day, the Canal Cafe in Iidabashi is a great spot to dine by the water. Established over one hundred years ago, the cafe and its expansive terrace sit beside an emerald green canal that was once the outer the outer moat of the Imperial Palace. Canal Cafe features both formal and more…
New York Grill
The New York Grill, sitting high atop the Park Hyatt Hotel in Shinjuku, was made famous by its use as a location in Sofia Coppola’s movie Lost in Translation. Since then, it’s made its way onto many tourist’s ‘must-do’ lists. While it’s good to check out at night for drinks, the live music and the…
Sanagi Shinjuku
Ever dined under an overpass? You can do just that at Sanagi Shinjuku, a pan-Asian bar and restaurant located under a road in Shinjuku. Magical at night, it features multiple zones, including a tatami room, a gallery room and a lantern-filled ‘outdoor’ space reminiscent of Vietnam. You can dine on share plates of food from…
Watari Museum of Contemporary Art (Watari-Um)
The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, also known as ‘Watari-Um’, is a privately-owned art museum in Gaienmae, a short walk from Harajuku and Omotesando. Housed in an inventive Mario Botta building, the museum holds regular, intimate exhibitions by the big names of the contemporary art world. Yayoi Kusama, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yoshitomo Nara, Larry Clark and…
Tokyu Plaza Shibuya
Tokyu Plaza Shibuya is one of several developments in the Shibuya area that opened in late 2019. Designed around the concept of ‘fashion theme park for grown ups’, it aims to offer a more mature shopping experience in Shibuya, an area famous for its thriving youth-fashion culture. The ‘novelty’ aspects of the mall include a…
PePe Mall
PePe Mall, which sits atop the Seibu Shinjuku Station and adjacent to the Shinjuku Prince Hotel near the edge of Kabukicho, is one of the best kept secrets of the area. For a relatively small shopping mall, it punches way above its weight in terms of what it has to offer. The basement level houses…
Sensoji Temple
If you’re looking for the biggest and best historical landmark in Tokyo, look no further than Sensoji Temple. A Buddhist landmark in Asakusa, Tokyo’s old entertainment district, Sensoji Temple is the world’s most visited spiritual site annually. The temple is also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple and Senso-Ji. The complex, which dates back to 645AD,…
Shibuya Crossing
Shibuya Crossing, one of Tokyo’s most famous landmarks, is also one of it’s most unlikely. After all it’s only a pedestrian crossing. Yet the multi-direction scramble intersection has become iconic as a well-known Tokyo symbol. It is also one of the busiest pedestrian thoroughfares in the world. Tourists visit day and night to see the…
GU
If you’re a fan of Uniqlo, check out a GU store while you’re in Tokyo. It’s Uniqlo’s cheaper cousin, owned by the same retail company, selling a similar product range at lower prices (and to a degree quality). The brand gets its name from the Japanese word ‘jiyū’ (free), which is used to represent ‘free from…
The National Art Centre Tokyo
The National Art Centre Tokyo in Roppongi is one of the largest exhibition venues in Japan. It holds a rotating roster of temporary art and design exhibitions across the year in its 12 gallery spaces. Opened in 2007, the Kisho Kurokawa designed building is an architectural marvel, featuring an expansive facade of curvy glass walls. The…
BEAMS Japan
BEAMS is a fashion retailer that has been serving up on-trend fashion and goods in Japan for more than 40 years. Their flagship store BEAMS Japan, in the heart of the Shinjuku shopping district, is well worth a browse through. It has a wide, eclectic range of goods on offer across multiple floors, which are…
Ron Herman Sendagaya
If you’re looking to while away some time browsing fashion and homewares or grabbing a bite to eat, visit the Ron Herman store in Sendagaya. This outpost of the Californian lifestyle brand, which has over 10 stores in Japan, is like a mini department store, complete with its own café. Featuring multiple ‘department’ zones, the store…
Flying Tiger Copenhagen Omotesando
The Flying Tiger Copenhagen store, nestled in behind Omotesando Hills, provides one of the most unique and fun shopping experiences in the area. Hailing from Copenhagen, the store is packed full of colourful and humorous takes on everyday items, most at reasonable prices. It’s a great place to grab a few fun things to take…
Ameyoko Market
Ameyoko Market in the Ueno district is a lively strip of shops and market stalls that runs alongside the JR Yamanote Line tracks between Ueno and Okachimachi Stations. With a long history, it was originally an area known for its cluster of candy stores. In the post-war era, it was the place to go to for…
teamLab Planets Tokyo
teamLab Planets Tokyo is a long-term pop-up exhibition by world-renowned Japanese digital art collective teamLab. Much of the exhibition is centred around water. Visitors are asked to roll up their pants and wade knee-deep in a few of the artworks. These include a walk up a long, dark ramp toward a waterfall. There’s also a…
SCAI the Bathhouse
SCAI the Bathhouse is one of the most unique contemporary art galleries in Tokyo. Its point of difference is that its housed inside a 200-year-old building that was once a public bath. The building facade features traditional tiled Japanese roofing and the original water tower. There’s even the original wooden lockers from the public bath…
Ootoya
A trip to Tokyo isn’t complete without a meal dining with the locals at Japanese restaurant chain Ootoya. Famed for its signature black vinegar fried chicken and vegetables dish, Ootoya serves up a wide variety of reasonably priced Japanese set meals that include main, tea, pickles, rice and miso soup. You can order in English…
Locale
In smaller drinking and dining establishments in Japan, the proprietors often spend a lot of time engaging their customers in conversation across the counter. If you’re visiting and don’t know the language, this can leave you feeling like you’re missing out on the fun. At Locale though, a cosy farm-to-table restaurant in Meguro, you can…
Nezu Museum
The Nezu Museum, just beyond the top end of the Omotesando shopping strip, has something for everyone. Founded by a Japanese rail magnate, it houses his large private collection of Japanese and Asian art antiquities. But there’s a lot more to it than that. For architecture aficionados, there’s the beauty and simplicity of the Kengo…
Kiyosumi Teien
Kiyosumi Teien is perhaps Tokyo’s most beautiful traditional garden, located in residential Kiyosumi Shirakawa in the city’s east. It was created in the late 1800’s by a shipping magnate who founded Mitsubishi. The Mitsubishi company then donated the garden to Tokyo City in 1932. The tranquil, manicured garden features strolling pathways that wend their way…
Yebisu Garden Place
Yebisu Garden Place is an expansive raised commercial and entertainment precinct. It’s connected to Ebisu Station via a series of travelators that carry you across the streets below and into a large paved plaza featuring a number of notable attractions. Built on the former site of the Yebisu brewery, which was established in 1890, the…
Shibuya Parco
Shibuya Parco is a mainstay of the Shibuya shopping scene that relaunched in 2019 after a 2 year renovation. While a large portion of the store is given over to luxury goods departments, it’s the other quirky aspects of the building that make it worthy of a browse. The basement level is a rabbit-warren of…
MUJI GINZA
If you’re a fan of the simple and clean aesthetic of Japan’s world-famous ‘no brand’ retailer Muji, don’t miss visiting MUJI GINZA, which opened in 2019. It houses both the brand’s global flagship store and Japan’s first MUJI Hotel across it’s 11 floors. At street level there’s a working bakery churning out fresh bread and…
Tiki Tiki
Japan has had a long love affair with Hawaii and it has brought a bit of it home in the form of Hawaiian-themed bar/restaurant Tiki Tiki. Located high up in a building that looks out across the colourful lights of Shinjuku, the large space is thoroughly themed in polynesian-inspired scenery. There’s lots of wood and…
Hachiko Statue
The Hachiko Statue is a wonderful example of Japan’s ability to turn a small story into a larger national symbol of honourable traits. There’s the Hiroshima girl who folded a thousand cranes to cure her illness caused by the atomic bomb. Her story and the cranes she made have become enduring symbols of hope among…
2D Cafe
The 2D Cafe in Tokyo’s Shin-Okubo neighbourhood (next to Shinjuku) is drawing crowds for both its delicious bubble teas and its inventive interior. A lot of care has gone into the cafe’s black and white fitout, with the walls and furniture painted to give the impression that the whole place is a two dimensional illustration….
Shibuya Stream
The area immediately around Shibuya Station has been a major construction zone for many years, with locals and tourists forced to navigate temporary tunnels and footbridges beside building hoardings to reach the attractions of the area. The building works, aimed to revitalise the area, are now thankfully nearing completion. Shibuya Stream was the second of…
Shibuya Sky
As of 2019, Shibuya Sky was the newest of Tokyo’s sky-high observation decks. It sits atop the Shibuya Scramble Square building, 230 metres above ground and features a 360-degree rooftop observation deck plus a couple of internal floors featuring digital art displays and a café and bar. The rooftop features hammocks you can lie in…
2k540 Aki-Oka Artisan
If you’re in the Akihabara area, a wander through 2k540 Aki-Oka Artisan is worth your time. It’s an artisanal goods market snuggled under the railway tracks between JR Akihabara and JR Okachimachi stations. Around fifty shops, cafes and workshops are nestled among the lofty white columns that line the space, each offering a unique take on handmade and…
Tokyo Tower
Tokyo Tower is not the newest and it’s certainly not the tallest observation tower in Tokyo, but it’s definitely the most iconic. So it’s worth a visit for that reason alone. It opened in 1958, with the dual functions of being a television broadcasting antenna and a tourist attraction. If you think it looks like…
Takeshita Street
Takeshita Street in Harajuku is one of the most visited tourist sites in Tokyo. Famous as the birthplace of ‘kawaii’(cute) youth culture in Japan, it’s a narrow shopping street running downhill from Harajuku Station. Its short length is filled with shops and cafes selling ‘cute’ fashion and accessories, idol merchandise and novelty foods. While spotting…
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku is one of the best places to get bird’s eye views of Tokyo. Even better-its free. The impressive building features observation decks 200 metres up in both its North and South Towers. The observation decks offer panoramic views of Tokyo and beyond. You might even see Mt Fuji…
Cafe Kitsune
French clothing label Maison Kitsune has its own stand-alone coffee shop called Cafe Kitsune nestled in the backstreets of Aoyoma. It makes for a great pit-stop if you’re in the area. The cafe is housed in in a basement space beneath the brand’s clothing store. It serves up studiously prepared craft coffee and a small…
Bicqlo
Bicqlo in Shinjuku is a huge collaboration store that puts the best of two of Japan’s biggest retailers under one roof. Electronics chain Bic Camera (the ‘Bic’ in the store name) and fast fashion brand Uniqlo (the ‘qlo’) have joined forces to create a one-stop shop that is geared to tourists. Spread over 9 buzzing…
Maach Ecute
Tokyo has become really good lately at repurposing old, disused buildings and bringing them back to life. Maach Ecute, close to Akihabara, is a perfect example of this. A heritage railways station that trains stopped running to in 1943, has been redeveloped into a design-savvy shopping and dining precinct. Maach Ecute contains bars, restaurants, design…
Roppongi Hills
Roppongi Hills is a massive commercial and entertainment precinct in Roppongi that opened in 2003. Centred around the 54-story Mori Tower office building, it’s multiple levels of plazas and buildings house shops, bars, restaurants, cinemas and gardens. The Grand Hyatt Hotel is part of the complex and directly connects to the shopping and dining precincts….
Meguro River
The Meguro River, particularly the stretches of it intersected by Nakameguro Station, is one of the most popular cherry blossom viewing areas in Tokyo each year. While the river itself isn’t particularly beautiful, with the water metres down in a concrete canal that resembles a stormwater drain, it’s the heavy plantings of cherry trees either…
Tokyo Skytree
Tokyo Skytree is the newest addition to the city’s observation viewing options. Opened in 2012, the 634 metre structure towers over the skyline and you can see it from virtually anywhere in the city. Modelled after the shape of a traditional five-storey pagoda, it’s the tallest structure in Japan. It’s lit up beautifully at night…
Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo
While it might seem counter-intuitive, Tokyo is currently home to the largest coffee-roasting store of American chain Starbucks. It’s called Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo and it’s something to behold. Located in the cool Meguro district, beside a river that teems with people during cherry blossom season, the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo has some serious credentials. The…
Shibuya Scramble Square
Shibuya Scramble Square, which opened in 2019, is a monolithic skyscraper adjoining Shibuya Station. It houses the Shibuya Sky observation deck on its rooftop, plus over 200 stores and restaurants across its lower 14 levels. The ground floor features a large ‘market style’ space offering a wide array of cakes, bakery goods and souvenirs to…
Omoide Yokocho
Omoide Yokocho in Shinjuku, also known as ‘Piss Alley’, is a step back in time to Tokyo’s post-war era. It’s a small precinct of over 80 tiny food stalls in narrow alleyways just outside Shinjuku Station’s West Exit. Featuring mainly yakitori (grilled skewer) stalls, a wander through Omoide Yokocho after dark offers an atmospheric experience….
Shibuya Hikarie
Shibuya Hikarie is a huge commercial and entertainment building directly connected to Shibuya Station. It was the first of several new developments in the Shibuya Station area to complete when it opened in 2012. Shibuya Hikarie is notable for its 200 stores which cater mainly to a female clientele, its basement food halls, 30 eateries…
Eggs’n Things
Eggs’n Things in Harajuku has been famous for years for its queues of people lining up to get their fill of pancakes and egg-based savouries. Located down a side street from Omotesando, the restaurant’s décor reflects its Hawaiian origins. Think relaxed furnishings with surfboards and other tropical accents. Despite having two indoor floors and an…
Hanayashiki
Hanayashiki is Tokyo’s oldest amusement park. Located in Asakusa, just behind Sensoji Temple, the park has been operating since 1853. While it was originally a flower park, rides and amusements were added in 1872, including exotic birds and animals. Tiger quintuplets and the first lion in Japan were born there in the early 1900s. These…
MUJI Diner
MUJI Diner is a casual dining restaurant by the Muji retail company famous for its ‘no-brand’ lifestyle goods. It’s housed in the basement of the brand’s flagship store and hotel in Ginza that opened in 2019, with several floors of Muji shopping above it. You can expect fresh and hearty food at MUJI diner, with…
Don Quijote
A trip to Tokyo isn’t complete without a browse through a Don Quijote store. While there are outlets across the city, the 24-hour store on the edge of Kabukicho in Shinjuku is the one to experience. ‘Donki’ as it’s known by the locals, is a multi-level discount store, with narrow, labyrinthine aisles packed to the…
SunnyHills
SunnyHills quite literally sticks out among its neighbouring buildings in the backstreets of Aoyama. It’s a sampling café and store for SunnyHills pineapple cakes that hail from Taiwan. Designed by famous Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, the organic, latticed wooden structure relies on ancient Japanese building techniques, rising out of the ground like a giant basket…
Hotel New Otani Japanese Garden
One of the best traditional Japanese gardens in Tokyo is actually located in the grounds of a hotel – the Hotel New Otani in the Akasaka district. While that might seem counterintuitive, it’s because the garden was there first, built around 400 years before the hotel was constructed around it in 1964. The hotel has…
Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum
The Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum is housed in the former home and studio of it’s namesake in the backstreets of Aoyama. Okamoto rose to prominence in Japan in the 50’s and 60’s, famous for his abstract and surrealist paintings, photography and sculpture. Numerous examples of his public works are dotted around Tokyo, including a huge,…
Hibiya Park
Hibiya Park is a 16 hectare (40 acre) public park. It’s located between the Ginza commercial district and the Imperial Palace grounds. Featuring multiple different Japanese and Western garden areas, it’s great for a stroll or to sit in nature for a while. There are numerous water features throughout the park grounds, including Japanese ponds and…
Spiral
Great architecture, art, food and shopping all under the one roof? You’ll find that at the Spiral building in Aoyama. Spiral has been a lifestyle destination since it was built in the 1980’s. It gets its name from a huge spiralling ramp within its atrium that takes visitors from an art gallery and café on…
Gonpachi
There’s a couple of places in Tokyo that can thank their patronage on being immortalized in Western cinema classics. There’s the New York Grill in Shinjuku that has become the place for late night drinks thanks to Lost in Translation. Then there’s Gonpachi, a restaurant in Nishi-Azabu near Roppongi that is famous as the scene…
Dover Street Market Ginza
Dover Street Market Ginza is the Tokyo incarnation of fashion conglomerate Comme des Garcons’ multi-brand ‘department’ store concept that originated in London. It features several levels of luxury Japanese and international fashion brands, all housed in unique and inventive ‘concept’ zones. Across the floors you’ll find departments housing Comme des Garcons’ multiple labels, Louis Vuitton,…
Meiji Shrine
Meiji Shrine is one of Tokyo’s most famous historical attractions. Located amid tranquil greenery a reasonably short walk from Harajuku Station, it’s a must see on any first time visit to Tokyo. Compared to other religious landmarks in Tokyo, the shrine, aligned to the Shinto religion, is relatively new. It opened in 1920 in honour…
Food Hall Blast!
If you’re looking for fast and easy, foreigner-friendly dining near the southern end of Shinjuku Station, head to Food Hall Blast! It’s a large, box-like open space that houses a café, a couple of bars and multiple international food stations. With free-seating available throughout the ground level and mezzanine areas, it’s a great place for…
Tokyo DisneySea
Whether you’re a fan of Disney theme Parks or not, Tokyo DisneySea is a must-visit for the pure fact that it’s the only sea-themed Disney park in the world. Situated next to Tokyo Disneyland, it consists of multiple themed zones built around an expansive system of waterways, with a huge volcano looming in the middle…
Yayoi Kusama Museum
Yayoi Kusama is perhaps Japan’s most celebrated contemporary artist. Prominent in the art world since the 1960’s, she’s known for her use of polka dots, her pumpkin motif and the infinity mirror rooms that continue generating long line ups and sold out tickets around the world. In 2017 she opened her very own Yayoi Kusama…
21 21 Design Sight
21 21 Design Sight is a contemporary art and design museum in Roppongi with some big names behind it. The sleek concrete and steel building, which sits low in the park outside the Tokyo Midtown complex, was designed by Tadao Ando, one of Japan’s most prominent architects. Its directors include fashion designer Issey Miyake. 21…
Ghibli Museum
If you’re a fan of the films of Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli, which include My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away and Ponyo, the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka will be the place for you. Sitting on the fringe of Inokashira Park, the museum is housed in a whimsical mansion with winding staircases and tiny doors and…
Log Road
Log Road in the trendy Daikanyama district is an interesting redevelopment of a narrow 220 metre strip of land where railway tracks used to run. It’s now a ‘shopping street’ featuring a collection of elegant, low-slung cottage-style buildings along a beautifully landscaped path. While the flagship Fred Segal store which the development launched with has…
Institute for Nature Study
If you’re craving nature that’s a bit wilder than the manicured greenery of Tokyo’s parks and gardens, the Institute for Nature Study in Meguro is just the thing for you. It’s a huge nature reserve within the city run by Japan’s National Museum of Nature and Science. The Centre’s focus is on researching, preserving and educating…
Shinjuku Gyoen
Shinjuku Gyoen is an expansive 144 acre (58.7 hectare) park nestled next to Shinjuku’s busy shopping and entertainment district. Established hundreds of years ago, it became part of the Imperial Family’s landholdings in the early 1900’s. It was almost completely destroyed during World War II, then restored and opened to the public in 1949. Shinjuku Gyoen…
Ginza Six
Ginza Six is a luxury shopping mall in Ginza. Aside from the 240 high-end stores and food hall on offer, its notable for the multiple contemporary art installations positioned throughout its multiple levels and its pleasant rooftop garden. The atrium of Ginza Six plays host to a changing display of contemporary art hanging from the…
Museum of Contemporary Art
The Museum of Contemporary Art, located in Kiba Park in eastern Tokyo, is one of Japan’s largest contemporary art museums. It’s housed in a low-rise architecturally impressive structure that features lots of concrete, glass and geometric shapes. The museum completed a major renovation in 2019 to celebrate its 25th anniversary. The museum, or ‘MOT’ as it…
Golden Gai
Golden Gai is one of the must-see sights on a trip to Tokyo. Located in the Shinjuku district, it’s a collection of tiny and ramshackle alleyway bars that harks back to the post-war era. There are over 200 bars in the area, many so small they only have seating for a handful of patrons. Each…
La Kagu
La Kagu is a massive lifestyle goods store and cafe in Kagurazaka, the ‘French’ district of Tokyo. It’s housed in an old book storage warehouse that has been revamped and ringed in scalloped wooden terraces by Olympic Stadium architect Kengo Kuma. The ground floor features a cafe serving meals, coffee and sweets plus a women’s…
Ueno Park
Ueno Park is a huge public park in northern Tokyo that greets 10 million visitors per year. It houses a large pond with a temple at its centre, several shrines and many of the city’s major museums within its grounds. These include The National Science Museum, National Museum for Western Art and the Tokyo Metropolitan Art…
Tokyo Joypolis
Tokyo Joypolis is an indoor amusement park within the DECKS Tokyo Beach mall in Odaiba. It features multiple interactive rides and attractions from computer-game company SEGA. It’s twenty-plus attractions include various motion-simulator rides, a spinning rollercoaster, Virtual Reality games, an escape room, horror houses, arcade games and various other experiences. Tokyo Joypolis is the perfect…
UNIQLO Ginza
UNIQLO Ginza is the global flagship store for the Japanese fashion retailer that has become a worldwide phenomenon. It’s also its largest store on the planet. Across 12 floors and almost 5000 square metres, you can experience everything UNIQLO has to offer. This includes its extensive range of casual lifestyle fashion, which includes jeans, t-shirts,…
Tokyo City View
Tokyo City View is one of the best places to see Tokyo from above. The 360-degree observation deck wraps around the 52nd floor of Mori Tower, a massive skyscraper that is the centrepiece of the Roppongi Hills commercial, residential and entertainment development. Tokyo City View is a lofty space with very tall windows, offering breathtaking…
Chinese Cafe Eight
While eating Chinese food on a trip to Japan might seem like a strange idea, it’s well worth a visit to Chinese Cafe Eight in Roppongi for its décor alone. Decked out in what one can only assume is a ‘fertility’ theme, you can dine here in a warm red glow surrounded by golden phalluses…
Tokyo Midtown
Tokyo Midtown is a huge commercial and entertainment development in Roppongi that houses a large luxury shopping mall, office towers, hotels, museums and gardens. Opened in 2007, hot on the heels of Roppongi Hills, it helped clean up the Roppongi district’s reputation as a seedy nightlife district and reposition it as a high-end destination. The…
Cat Street
Cat Street, which cuts through Harajuku and across Omotesando to Shibuya, is a 1.5km long walking street lined with shops, restaurants, cafes and galleries. Cat Street is decidedly low-rise, with architecturally interesting buildings and residential properties sitting amid the stores. So it’s great for a pleasant and interesting stroll. Notable stores include the American multi-brand…
Isetan
If you’re in the Shinjuku area, be sure to spend some time in the historic Isetan Department Store. You won’t miss the heritage façade of the building which stands grand on the corner of two the district’s busy streets. It dates back to the mid 1930’s, when a company that had its origins as a…
Tokyu Hands
Tokyu Hands is one of the must-see department stores in the Shinjuku area. It’s housed in the massive Takashimaya Times Square building that sits alongside the tracks on the south-eastern side of Shinjuku Station. Tokyu Hands is renowned for its high quality, functional lifestyle goods, including bags and travel accessories, stationary, kitchenware, toys and games,…
Inokashira Koen
Inokashira Koen (Park), a short walk through shopping streets from Kichijoji Station, is one of the most beautiful public parks in Tokyo. Located in a gully, it features a large lake ringed with beautiful vegetation. There’s multiple walking trails to explore and plenty of places to sit and relax. You can also enjoy the lake…
Omotesando Hills
A stroll along Omotesando, Tokyo’s answer to the Champs-Elysees, isn’t complete without a look through Omotesando Hills. It’s an upscale shopping mall that stretches 250 metres along the boulevard. The mall was designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando and utilises brutal formed concrete in his signature style. It’s low-rise and angular and totally worth visiting…
Fukagawa Edo Museum
Ever wondered what Tokyo was like in the 1800’s at the end of the Edo era? The Fukagawa Edo Museum in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa brings that period to life with a full-size reproduction of a Tokyo neighbourhood from that time. Entering the museum is like stepping into history, or at least onto the authentic set of a…
lammfromm
If you’re a fan of Japanese contemporary artists Yoshitomo Nara or Yayoi Kusama, head to the lammfromm store in Tokyu Plaza Ginza, which stocks an extensive collection of official merchandise from these artists. The range includes everything from homewares, stationary, key rings, soft toys and t-shirts to design objects and collectibles, all featuring the artists’…
Koe Lobby
If you’re on the hunt for a cool place for a coffee, drink or bite in Shibuya, look no further than Koe Lobby, the ground floor bakery and restaurant in the uber-trendy Hotel Koe. Set in amongst the frenetic shopping of the Shibuya district, Koe Lobby offers up a wide range of dine in or…
Maisen Tonkatsu
What to do with a WWII era community public bathhouse no longer in use in an upmarket Tokyo neighbourhood? Turn it into one of Tokyo’s best tonkatsu restaurants of course! That’s just what the Maisen Tonkatsu restaurant chain has done with its flagship venue in Aoyama. Established in the 1960’s, Maisen Tonkatsu is known for…
Mori Art Museum
The Mori Art Museum is a vast contemporary art museum in the sky, sitting on the 53rd floor of the Mori Tower skyscraper in the Roppongi Hills commercial development. The museum, which celebrated its 15thanniversary in 2019, holds high quality, seasonal solo and group exhibitions. Most feature art by modern and contemporary Japanese and international…
Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo
Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo is an excellent contemporary art gallery housed in a large glass box that crowns LV’s flagship store on Omotesando. Located on the 7th floor and accessed via a discrete elevator, it’s a hidden-away gem that is worth seeking out. Ask the friendly staff to direct you up there. The gallery opened in…
Mister Donut
A trip to Tokyo isn’t complete without a sugary pit-stop at Mister Donut. It’s a donut chain that has become a Japanese favourite since being imported from the USA in the 1970’s. While the franchise has all but died out in America, it has thrived in Japan. There are now over 1100 stores nationwide. Offering…