Natural light floods the atrium lobby on the top floor of this gleaming tower. We love the thoughtful details, from the washi-paper lamps to the kimono-inspired wall patterns.
Even if you don’t check in here, drinks at the hotel’s New York Bar are a must. The 177 rooms, five restaurants, and indoor pool all share stunning cityscape vistas.
The Hong Kong–based hotel group brings its tech-savvy sensibility to the Ginza. Vanities are equipped with nail dryers and in-room VoIP phones let guests make free international calls.
Crowning the Tokyo Midtown Tower complex, the Ritz puts guests in the heart of Roppongi. Guest rooms channel old-world glamour with mahogany desks and oversize armoires.
At the 202-room Shangri-La, Chinese touches (gold-lacquered panels; silk embroidery) offset a more modern aesthetic (blond wood; statement chandeliers).
Overlooking the Hie Shrine, this Kengo Kuma–designed property is a quiet oasis in central Tokyo.
Understated Japanese style pervades at the 52-year-old Hotel Okura. Don’t miss the on-site art museum, with more than 2,000 Buddhist works.
This legendary hotel is known for its large business center and prime location near Hibiya Park.
It doesn’t get more authentic than the New Otani, with its 400-year-old garden, tea ceremonies, and restaurant’s traditional teppanyaki cuisine.
Earthy elements such as gray aji stones at this 290-room property evoke the neighboring Imperial Palace grounds. Ask for a balcony room facing the royal residence.
Among the highlights at this revamped hotel, in Marunouchi: Edwardian architecture and sunlit rooms that look out on to Tokyo Station’s ornate plaster cupolas.
This offbeat shop is a souvenir-seeker’s dream, chock-full of unique finds such as brass necklaces made with tiny lightbulbs and tote bags in the shape of Do Not Disturb signs.
Samurai showdowns, damsels in distress, spirited shouts from the audience—all in a day’s performance of Japanese dance drama. Watch an entire show or buy same-day balcony seats and catch a single act.
Set in Roppongi’s Mori Tower, this museum is a hub for global contemporary talent. Tickets include admission to the Tokyo City View observation deck—a 52-story-high outlook above the city.
At Nezu Museum, you'll find Asian antiques emphasizing Buddhist and tea-ceremony artifacts, a moss-covered Japanese garden filled with teahouses, winding stone paths, and maple-shaded koi ponds.
More than 12,000 ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock prints are housed in a diminutive gallery in Shibuya, representing such masters as Hokusai and Hiroshige—only about 100 are on display at any given time.
In the 18th century, 47 ronin avenged their lord’s death before committing hara-kiri. Their stone graves are well preserved at this Zen Buddhist temple, as is their armor in the small on-site museum.
Takahashi Harutaka's first restaurant, a 10-seat sushi-ya loved as much for its exceptional raw fish as for its laid-back vibe, has earned a loyal following among local chefs.
Here, Zaiyu Hasegawa blends authentic cooking techniques with playful presentations (a mascarpone dessert, for one, is served with ground-tea-leaf “dirt" on a spade with a pair of gardening gloves.
Park Hyatt's 40th-floor restaurant is a lavish introduction to Japanese fine dining, where a kimono-clad waitstaff serves chef Kenichiro Ooe’s simple yet refined dishes on handmade pottery.
This popular chain’s flagship specializes in tonkatsu—panko-breaded pork cutlet that’s fried golden and drizzled with an addictive sweet-tart sauce. Get the kurobuta (Berkshire pork).
In Minami Aoyama, the imaginative dishes of Yoshihiro Narisawa draw a diverse crowd of Converse-clad Europeans and ladies who lunch. Seasonal courses pay homage to regional ingredients.
Locals form long lines to sample market-fresh fish at Sushi Dai, but there are plenty of other options. Enjoy sashimi at Nakaya, oyako donburi at Torito, or croissants at Orimine Bakers.
Devotees line up at this no-frills, eight-seat joint for its ramen—made with an intense pork- and clam-based broth. The dish topped with thin slices of chashu pork and nori is a house specialty.
Find the tastiest yakitori in town at this gem, where hinai-jidori chicken is used to make everything from liver pâté to tender skewered thighs. Don’t miss the smoked duck and soft-boiled quail eggs.
Japan’s craft-beer scene is having a moment; at this cellar bar, you’ll find a wide variety of local brews on tap. Try the Shiga Kogen Miyama Blonde, made in Nagano.
There are no menus at this tiny space in the Ginza. Instead, the bartender recommends cocktails with telepathic precision: a Moscow Mule, say, chilled with diamond-shaped ice cubes.
Yamamoto’s seasonal creations (such as peach- and wasabi-infused shochu) use ingredients sourced from farmers across the country and are served on a 500-year-old Japanese oak counter.
This department store, spread out over eight buildings in Shinjuku, stocks a great selection of international products (French macarons; German cakes) in its basement food hall.
You’ll dine the city’s best bookstore in the trendy Daikanyama district, with more than 140,000 titles covering most genres.
Shibuya’s iconic Shinto shrine, near Harajuku Station in the Shibuya neighborhood, is the perfect place to learn about Japanese history and culture.
For a dose of edgy Tokyo street fashion, head to Tatsuro Motohashi’s boutique in Harajuku, which specializes in homegrown labels, including Tokyo’s Exist and the Osaka-based Roggykei.
After work, it’s great to unwind with a cocktail at the chic lounge on the Palace Hotel Tokyo’s sixth floor, in Marunouchi; order a martini and take in the skyline view.
