One of my friends has recently been on a 6 month placement in Tokyo - the lucky lady. Her boyfriend went to visit her and came back brimming with brilliant recommendations. This was an easy recipe for a guest-blog-post. For those of you who are considering Tokyo, here's your shortcut to knowing where to go. My lovely guest Blogger is called Ossie. His girlfriend Fiona is the gorgeous lady in all the pictures:
Here's my suggested coffee-hopping itinerary of our favourite ways to relax in Tokyo (other than Karaoke). Start by reminding yourself of how big Tokyo is by visiting the 53rd-floor Mori Art Museum. Here you get a 360 degree view and tick off 'art’ on your to-do list – Mori has no permanent collection but hosts big exhibitions.
(NB: it seems to be closed for some renovation until April)
Roppongi’s also a great location for Tokyo’s famous neopolitan-style pizza. I would also recommend sampling Strada and Savoy, but our favourite for lunch is Frey’s. Pizza at the counter is quick, simple (the menu is three items long), and among the best I’ve ever eaten. Each takeaway box is hand-painted, which tells you everything you need to know.
After lunch, get the Hibiya line across to Naka-Meguro Metro and walk north up the canal dipping into shops as often as you can afford to. Ebisu is also walkable from here and can be tacked on if you’ve the energy.
For more food, our favourite on the Meguro River is N-1221, with an interesting Japanese menu prepared by an all-female kitchen staff. Crucially it’s great for vegetarians and has bottled that relaxed-cool atmosphere that Tokyo exudes.
Ultimately, you want to head toward Daikanyama for some browsing at Tsutsaya. The book shop comprises three, two-storey boxes linked by walkways, with impressive music, magazine and book selections, a library lounge and tons of desk space. You’re encouraged to linger. It is perhaps my favourite public space for working in any city I have visited. If you plan to work there for a day, get in early to be sure of a desk or be prepared to wait.
From Daikanyama, walk up through Aoyama to Shibuya proper. Marvel at the crowds.
To get away from it all, Yoyogi park and its Meji shrine is just up the road. Fuglen serves the best coffee in Tokyo (huge claim, just my opinion), and cocktails later on.
End the day with all-you-can eat canapes and nomihodai (all you can drink) at the Park Hyatt’s Peak bar.
4b. Peak bar
4b. Peak bar
Central-east
After a day of walking, we gave our feet a break and rented bikes to see the sights of Ueno and Asakusa. Tokyo Bike has a shop just north of Ueno Park – get to Nezu Metro station and walk east for about 10 minutes (full address is: 110-0001, Tokyo, Taito, Yanaka, 4−2−39, http://www.hipshops.com/tokyo/shops/338/tokyobike-gallery). They have a full range for rental at 1000 yen for the day.
After a day of walking, we gave our feet a break and rented bikes to see the sights of Ueno and Asakusa. Tokyo Bike has a shop just north of Ueno Park – get to Nezu Metro station and walk east for about 10 minutes (full address is: 110-0001, Tokyo, Taito, Yanaka, 4−2−39, http://www.hipshops.com/tokyo/shops/338/tokyobike-gallery). They have a full range for rental at 1000 yen for the day.
You’ll notice that Tokyo cyclists use the pavements without hesitation or much care for pedestrians. The good news is, if you can get over your own hypocrisy, you and your hipster bike don’t need to worry about four-wheeled traffic if you don’t want to. If you’re feeling more adventurous, Tokyo’s roads aren’t particularly dangerous-feeling compared to London, especially along the tiny backstreets of Yanaka.
Cruise this area of pre-WW housing and temples before moving down to Ueno Park.
Stop at Hagiso for a snack. (Or at 5pm when you return your bikes...then you can also have a craft beer!)
Next stop to the east is Senso-ji. You’ll probably need to lock up your bikes before approaching because this famous temple is a busy spot.
From there, you can easily cross to the river and cycle the bank down to the Edo Museum (about 15 minutes’ ride). This is a dense history of the city, housed in Kikutake’s ode to Thunderbird 2. This is one of the more cheerful metabolist buildings in Tokyo in my view, and worth the cycle even if you can’t be bothered with the history lesson!
An alternative route would be to head west to Yushukan, Iidabashi and Kagurazaka, and would involve more roads.
A final must-eat at is Teyandei in Nishi-Azabu. Hands down the best izakaya we visited, it serves excellent traditional food and is completely worth the hype. Order the deep fried yams, and everything else. There's a reasonable amount of choice if you’re a vegetarian, too. If you're getting a cab there, make sure you have the full address written down because it’s inconspicuous. (Booking advised, full address is Nishi Azabu 2-20-1, Minato-ku, Tel: +81 03 3462 6411.)Tokyo where to eat in Tokyo one day in Tokyo Frey's Pizza Meiji shrine English guide to Tokyo walking cycling Tokyo Tokyo where to eat in Tokyo one day in Tokyo Frey's Pizza Meiji shrine English guide to Tokyo walking cycling TokyoTokyo where to eat in Tokyo one day in Tokyo Frey's Pizza Meiji shrine English guide to Tokyo walking cycling TokyoTokyo where to eat in Tokyo one day in Tokyo Frey's Pizza Meiji shrine English guide to Tokyo walking cycling TokyoTokyo where to eat in Tokyo one day in Tokyo Frey's Pizza Meiji shrine English guide to Tokyo walking cycling Tokyo
