Tower Records in Shibuya gleams like a beacon, calling out to music and book lovers across the city and its inhabitant nationalities. It has recently gone under construction, so that what was once a peaceful book haven on the seventh floor has become a cool, sophisticated book/coffee shop on the 2nd. There are spaces for you to sit and read, with chargers for your laptop or phone, wooden floors, the best foreign book selection I’ve yet to see, and music which makes you stop and say “I LOVE that track!” The coffee shop serves taco rice, cakes, make-your-own hamburger sets and is decked out in a comfy, earthy style.

www.tower.jp
apan, Tokyo, Shibuya, Jinnan, １−２２−１４
+81 3 3496 3661
Google map: bit.ly/11odpBl

* Hollie is our Been there local for Tokyo. You can check out her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/tokyo-local-hollie-mantle.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/HollieMantle

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Tower Records in Shibuya gleams like a beacon, calling out to music and book lovers across the city and its inhabitant nationalities. It has recently gone under construction, so that what was once a peaceful book haven on the seventh floor has become a cool, sophisticated book/coffee shop on the 2nd. There are spaces for you to sit and read, with chargers for your laptop or phone, wooden floors, the best foreign book selection I’ve yet to see, and music which makes you stop and say “I LOVE that track!” The coffee shop serves taco rice, cakes, make-your-own hamburger sets and is decked out in a comfy, earthy style.

www.tower.jp
2F, 1-22-14, Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-0041
+81 3-3496-3661
Google map: bit.ly/164yvHC

* Hollie is our Been there local for Tokyo. You can check out her profile here:
www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/tokyo-local-hollie-mantle.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/HollieMantle

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Go on a week day to avoid the amazing mass of crowds pouring outside onto the street beside Omotesando Hills. If you’re a fan of the American branded ice cream then this shop wont disappoint. If you’ve never tried it you might want to dip in and see. I recommend getting your hands on some of the more daring and unusual flavours. Couch potato, a sweet potato based flavour, is definitely something I’ve yet to see on another menu in Tokyo ice cream shop menu!

Google map: bit.ly/UMwyub

* Hollie is our Been there local for Tokyo. You can check out her profile here:
www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/tokyo-local-hollie-mantle.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/HollieMantle

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This stylish restaurant in Tokyo’s Daikanyama is decked out in dark wood, lending to the feeling of sitting out on the veranda of a holiday home. The restaurant is mid range with a modern European style menu. Think salads, fish plates, cheeses, pizzas and pasta. The portion sizes aren’t big, so in usual Japanese style I recommend ordering a few plates to share between two. With a great wine list and friendly, approachable staff this place makes for a great date spot or a posh lunch with friends.

16-15 Sarugakucho, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
+81 3 6415 3232
Google map: bit.ly/VQXPe8

* Hollie is our Been there local for Tokyo. You can check out her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/tokyo-local-hollie-mantle.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/HollieMantle

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This chain can be found at most of the bigger stations in Tokyo; Shinjuku, Shinagawa and Shibuya. If you’re a cake addict then this place will make you squeal with delight. Piles of wonderfully flavoured muffins; cranberry and ricotta, carrot cake, oreo (which they will heat up for you!), giant danish pastries, lavish white chocolate and fruit scones... It’s easy to just wonder round the luxury deli items for hours on end. Some of the goods here make great presents for foodie lovers and especially for people who live in Tokyo who have trouble getting their hands on foreign products. I’d especially recommend trying any of their seasonal beverages; the chestnut cream latte is the type you’ll have dreams about for weeks afterwards.

www.deananddeluca.co.jp
2-18-1 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Atre Shinagawa 2F
+803 6717 0935

* Hollie is our Been there local for Tokyo. You can check out her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/tokyo-local-hollie-mantle.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/HollieMantle

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

If you have a bit of a soft spot for the old classic, then Japan is an incredible country in which to indulge your interest. It’s rare to walk down the street without seeing someone donning a pair of Alice tights, or without a stopwatch shaped handbag. This theme has been continued in Tokyo’s upmarket Ginza, where you can dine at an Alice themed restaurant. The tables are shaped like the playing cards, the menu is a pop up apparition of the white rabbit, and the waitresses are all either playing Alice or the Mad Hatter. Even the food comes shaped to fit the decor, with caterpillar sushi rolls and Cheshire cats in the ice cream. It’s quite a small place so I’d definitely recommend booking before to ensure your trip down the rabbit tunnel, but even waiting is a pleasure, enshrouded as you are in floor to ceiling page extracts from the book.

www.diamond-dining.com/alice/index.htm
Taiyo Building 5th floor, 8-8-5 Ginza Chuo Ku Tokyo T 104-0061
+81 (03) 3574 6980

* Hollie is our Been there local for Tokyo. You can check out her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/tokyo-local-hollie-mantle.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/HollieMantle

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Throughout Tokyo (and Japan) there are many, many small, independent coffee shops, normally run by one guy who's the owner and has been running the shop for decades. They often, but not always, have great coffee, often prepared in strange ways (siphon coffee for example) but are usually quite quirky. I've seen everything from old video arcade tables games used as tables to one dedicated entirely to James Brown. As the owners are one man shows, and often quite old, they do what they want and the decor, etc. reflects that. As many of them are quite old, they're slowly disappearing as their owners retire or die, and are generally not replaced so enjoy them while you can.
Smoking is mostly allowed (plus for me as a smoker) but don't let that put you off if you're not. Most have food of the coffee shop variety ( cheese toast, sandwiches, cakes, etc, some have lunch specials). Note: "oyagi" means something like "old, no-longer attractive, man". These are the kind of people who often go to these places, but it's not as bad as that sounds and these guys wouldn't go somewhere for years or decades if they weren't good.

Everywhere, just look for small signs advertising coffee (usually in English) on the street or shop windows. They're mostly on the ground floor.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Tasty, unpretentious vegetarian cooking in the pricey but laid-back Azabu-Juban neighbourhood, with a good wine and beer selection to boot.

A stand-out even in such a foodie city.

Azabu-Juban 2-2-5, Tokyo, 106-0045
+81 3 3798 3191, eatmoregreens.jp
Google map: tinyurl.com/2uy8sne

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Shiodome City Centre is a 42 storey building with great choices of bars and restaurants on the top two floors. The view is as good as, or even better than, Park Hyatt.

I've been to Fishbank for drinks and Izakaya En for dinner and both of them were very reasonably priced and food was very good. It's very close to Ginza and Tsukiji but the nearest station is "Shiodome" on Oedo line.

Shiodome City Centre www.shiodome-cc.com/skyview/index.html

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A chicken on a stick restaurant in Tokyo. Cheap, delicous food with friendly service that it is foreign friendly but you probably need to speak some Japanese. Dangerous shochu drinks may be too strong for the unintiated.

Jiyugaoka station, Tokyu Toyoko Line
Past the Starbucks and take the first right. www.jiyugaoka.or.jp/special/adomachi/index4.html

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

It was my first time in Japan, and I was looking for somewhere cheap to eat that wasn’t a burger joint. I happened upon Yoshinoya (they’re everywhere, look for the bright orange signs). The menu is mainly rice-based: the dishes include pork, beef etc. with ginger, curry etc. The dishes cost from 360 - 630 yen (approx. £2-4) including rice and miso soup - fantastic value for money. I ate there four times in a 10-day holiday, and every time we were the only westerners there; as they say, if it’s where the locals go it must be good!

Everywhere in the major cities

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Molecular gastronomy in Tokyo. It's no surprise that one of Tokyo's most expensive hotels should have a good restaurant or two, but it's perhaps less usual to head to such hotels for fun dining. So hats off for not taking themselves too seriously in their Molecular Tapas Bar, which offers just two sittings per evening for seven people per sitting.

Around 25 courses are served with liquid nitrogen, syringes, glass plates and steel menus to the fore. Each dish is explained, prepared in front of you and the emphasis is on having a laugh and enjoying the experience. A visit last week included dishes such as 'red', 'cappuchino candy floss', a brilliant homemade mozzarella, 'cucumber caviar' and a beer with a Yakult froth tasting. Great fun and at £60 a head, it's terrific value - maybe for a last night in the city. Somehow Tokyo seems the perfect setting for high-tech cuisine.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Chuo-ku,Tokyo
03 3270 8800 www.mandarinoriental.co.jp

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

They may still be more expensive than supermarkets but the lush Harrods-style food courts in the big department store Isetan are a great place to pick up Japanese delicacies for much cheaper than restaurant prices.
Take advantage too of the constant free samples…

3-14-1 Shinjuku

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

You can’t leave Tokyo without sampling some sushi but the city can be a pricey place to eat out. Head instead to Kaiten-zushi for affordable plates from a conveyor belt. This fad may have spread to cheap London chains but the quality is definitely better out in Japan. There are several branches across the city, including Shinjuku.
It’s also handy for anyone who doesn’t speak Japanese or like surprises when it comes to their dinner!

3-25-9 Shinjuku

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

It’s painful to get up at 5am and make the trek to Tsukiji Fish Market before work. But strange as it might seem, if there’s one thing you have to see, it’s this. It’s the largest wholesale fish market in the world, and handles more than 400 different types of seafood from tiny sardines to 300kg tuna. Watching the gigantic fish prepared for sale or the auctioneers’ enthusiasm at landing their prize is a fabulous way to start the day. A tip: make sure you eat breakfast at the market before you leave.

Near the Tsukijishijō Station on the Oedo subway line and Tsukiji Station on the Hibiya subway line:
www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/tukiji_e.htm

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Beige Tokyo, the creation of Chanel and Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse, is so achingly hip it’ll make you take off your suit the moment you get in. Located in the Chanel Ginza Building, it is the perfect fusion of high fashion and impeccable cuisine: try the frog’s legs and akagegyu beef for orgasmic culinary pleasure.

www.hessischer-hof.de/de/

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Conrad Tokyo’s major attraction is its location. Walking distance from the Hamarikyu Garden and the legendary Tsukiji Fish Market (amongst other tourist delights), this is the place to stay if you don’t have a weekend (go for the Hyatt if you do) but do have time to explore in the evenings. The in-house Gordon Ramsay restaurants are also a bonus. Book an Executive Room or an Executive Suite; the latter is exceptional value given its 83 square metre size.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Fukuzushi, near Roppongi is great for a quieter (perhaps weekday team) dinner. It is a dinky, gorgeous, family-run restaurant, with sushi dominating the menu. The sashimi – especially tuna and salmon staples – are irresistibly delicious and the sake deserves your full attention. Two important tips. Get there early – it gets rather empty after 9pm – and make sure you get very clear directions – it’s remarkably difficult to find.

www.roppongifukuzushi.com/e_fukuzushi/e_fukuzushi.html

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The New York Grill on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt is heaving every night, it serves some of the best seafood, poultry and red meat I’ve ever tasted in Japan (no mean feat). There’s also a super-high celebrity quotient.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The two XEX bars in Tokyo are wonderful insider secrets. The first, situated in the Atago Green Hills Mori Tower, is ten minutes from Roppongi and has spectacular views of the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower. The second, located in Daikanyama, is irrefutably the city’s best bar for spring/summer; it features the city’s trendiest folk and also serves very stylish teppanyaki.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends