Mother is a grimy basement bar in Kabuchicho which has space for at most 12 svelte people. It has a CD menu (that's right menu!!) that anyone with a love of alternative music or metal would crawl over glass to look at and request from. Which figuratively you may have to, to find it. It's a great place to chat to Tokyoites (between songs obviously) about shared musical loves.

Exit JR Shinjuku Station's East Exit and pass Alta then cross Yasukuni Dori, go down the narrow street which has a Scottish Pub on the right about a third of the way down. At the end of the block on the right is a great bar, Shuffle Beat (also worth a visit), Mother is on the street to the left and almost right in front of you, look out for a small sign and plunge down those darkened stairs.

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Take yourself along to the Ajinomoto Stadium, affectionately known as the Soup Bowl (Ajinomoto is the Japanese Knorr/Oxo) and watch either FC Tokyo or Tokyo Verdy play at home. Tickets for FC Tokyo's home matches are around Y1500-Y1800 and can be bought in advance from ticket counters in department stores like Marui. Or simply turn up on the day. Match details can be found at the Rising Sun News site www.wldcup.com/Asia/ Get there early to ensure a seat as fans camp out for lunch before 3pm games. Put your feet up, order a beer (Y500) from a young woman with a keg of beer on her back and enjoy.

Take the Keio Hachioji line from the Keio Shinjuku Station (at the West Exit of the JR Shinjuku Station) and get off at Tobitakyu. Follow the crowds and you're there!

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It's erm... either a back massager or a vibrator. Nothing really epitomises kitsch and the whole cult of kawaii (cute) better than the bubble-headed cat Hello Kitty. What could be a more appropriate souvenir of subverting this wholesome image? Just pray you don't get stopped at customs!

Kabukicho in Shinjuku and Shibuya have many ...ahem... shops for adult entertainment which are almost all staffed by sweet old ladies or young students making a yen or two. Hello Kitty products are easy enough to spot.

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This is a collection of houses and buildings saved from various locations around Tokyo which in the UK would be classed as listed buildings. The buildings include pre-Meiji period farms houses, an old sento (bath house), izakaya (bar), photography studio and houses of past luminaries. If you want to capture a condensed image of what Tokyo looked like before and during its many traumas and incarnations this is a good place to start. (As is the Edo-Tokyo Museum proper at Ryukoku Station on the Sobu line).

Take the Chuo Line (Orange train) west out of the city from JR Tokyo or Shinjuku Stations and get off at JR Koganei Station. It's about a 15 minute walk from the north exit, walking north away from the station. When you reach the Tamagawajosui (Tamagawa Canal) you are almost at Koganei Park. The museum is in the park. Koganei Park is a pleasant enough place to pass time if you aren't in a major hurry.

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Sawai is out in the rural west of Metropolitan Tokyo and offers a perfect contrast from the wonders of downtown life. The sake brewery with its restaurants overlooking the River Tama is a great spot to take a breather from what thrills Tokyo has to offer. Tours are in Japanese only but the English pamphlet is well handy and doesn't get in the way of sampling the liquid on offer. There are 4 tours a day.

Sawai is about 90 minutes from Shinjuku Station. Take the Chuo Line to Tachikawa and change to the Ome Line. The Brewery is 5 minutes down the hill from the station. Reservations for a tour can be made on 0428 78 8215.

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Not what you'd immediately think of when visiting Tokyo, this wonderfully friendly restaurant in Shinjuku 3(san)-chome is well worth looking out if you've had your fill of rice, fish or noodles. It happens!! The owners and staff are friendly and the food is cooked almost in front of you. If you phone ahead larger parties can be accommodated. Being a Japanese or Turkish speaker would be advantageous here. It's probably a good idea to phone ahead anyway as the restaurant is popular especially when the belly dancer is doing the rounds! Opposite Istanbul is the semi-legendary Rolling Stone (immortalised in 'Angry White Pyjamas' anyway), a fine bar if you like dark bars, vinyl, drag queens and top quality tunes.

T160-0022, Shinjuku 3-8-2, Kurosu biru B1 (basement). Open between 5:00pm-12:00pm. Telephone 03 3225 4080. From JR Shinjuku Station head east along Shinjuku-dori. The large Isetan is on the right and Marui on the left. At Meiji-dori in front of you across from Isetan is a cinema and a branch of Sanwa Bank, between them is a narrow street. Go down this street until the last block and on the left down in the basement is Istanbul.

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