OUR TOKYO EDIT: THE PLACES WE ACTUALLY GO
Tokyo is one of those cities that lives up to the hype, and then quietly exceeds it. You arrive expecting a lot, and somehow it still surprises you. Within hours you're immersed: in the food, in the rhythm of it, in the particular way the city manages to feel both overwhelming and completely intuitive at the same time. You don't just visit Tokyo. You fall into it.
Part of what makes it so addictive is that it isn't really one city at all. Every neighbourhood has its own identity, its own crowd, its own reason to linger. Ginza and Shibuya feel nothing like Shimokitazawa. Omotesando, with its tree-lined boulevards and architecture that stops you mid-stride, feels nothing like Yanaka. Whether you're here for the food, the fashion, the culture, or simply to wander with no particular plan, Tokyo will find something for you. Probably several things.
This is our edit. The places we keep coming back to.
ELEVATED OMAKASE
If you've never done omakase before, Tokyo is the place to start. You sit at the counter, the chef decides, and what follows is one of the better decisions you'll ever let someone else make for you.
SUSHI SEN SHIBUYA
Two minutes from Shibuya Station, up on the 10th floor, and easy to miss entirely, which is part of the charm. An intimate Edomae-style counter where the chefs work in front of you and the nigiri is quietly exceptional. Hidden in the best possible sense.
SUSHI SHIN BY MIYAKAWA
The first Tokyo outpost of Hokkaido's Michelin three-star Sushi Miyakawa, on the 38th floor of the Mandarin Oriental. The counter is 350-year-old Hinoki cypress. The ingredients arrive daily from Hokkaido and Toyosu market. The views of Tokyo Skytree are extraordinary. 
CASUAL EATS
TSURUTONTAN UDON
Matcha is everywhere in Tokyo and almost all of it is good. These are the ones that are exceptional.
MATCHA & COFFEE
Sometimes you want something a little more. The lighting is considered, the room has a story, the whole evening feels like an occasion.
CLOUD CLUB MATCHA
One of our absolute favourites. There will be a queue, and it is worth it. They use 7 grams of matcha per drink, whisked by hand in front of you for every order. The flavour is rich, balanced, and unlike anything you'll find at home. Two locations in Ginza very close to each other. Go early, get the premium matcha.
MATCHA MARUNI
Exceptional matcha, and you can also buy your own bowl and the full set to take home, which we did. Two locations close to each other: one is a stand for a quick takeaway, one is a sit-down space when you have more time. 
BONGEN COFFEE
Tucked into a quiet Ginza alley, minimal and beautiful inside, with a living bonsai as the centrepiece. The beans are house-roasted, the baristas treat each cup as its own small project, and the selection of single origins is serious. There will be a queue. It's worth it.
AFTERNOON SWEETS
IYOSHI COLA
A craft cola made using traditional Japanese herbal medicine techniques, brewed from a 100-year-old recipe with over ten natural spices and citrus fruits. Sharper and more complex than anything you're expecting. A genuinely Tokyo-specific experience.
HIHASHIYA GINZA
On Ginza's main street and completely its own world. Freshly made seasonal wagashi, beautiful teas, and an atmosphere that makes the afternoon feel like it deserves more attention. Treat it like a destination, not a stop.
SKYLINE VIEWS & COCKTAILS
Tokyo's skyline is its own kind of spectacle. These are the two places we'd go for a drink with a view and a very good reason to stay late.
VIRTÙ
39th floor of the Four Seasons at Otemachi, Art Deco interiors, floor-to-ceiling windows over the Tokyo skyline. The cocktails play with a Paris-meets-Tokyo brief and do it brilliantly. One of Asia's 50 Best Bars.
BAR TRENCH
The opposite of a view bar, and just as good. Tucked down a back alley near Ebisu, it's small, intimate, and feels like a discovery. The cocktails are inventive and the atmosphere is exactly what you want from a late evening in Tokyo.
TO VISIT
There is so much more to Tokyo than eating and shopping, though we could make a strong case for doing just that. These are the places that stopped us in our tracks.
SHIBUYA SKY
360-degree views across the whole city from the top of Scramble Square. On a clear day it's breathtaking. Stay for a drink as the sun goes down and the city lights up below you.
21_21 DESIGN SIGHT
Co-founded by Issey Miyake and designed by Tadao Ando, this design museum sits partially underground in Tokyo Midtown's garden. The building alone is worth the visit. The exhibitions inside push it further.
SENSO-JI TEMPLE
Yes, everyone goes. Go anyway. Tokyo's oldest temple has an atmosphere that stops you in your tracks regardless of the crowds. Arrive early in the morning and you'll have a version of it that feels almost entirely your own.
STORES
Tokyo is one of the best cities in the world to shop, and we mean that in every sense. From archive fashion that would make your wardrobe weep with joy, to beauty products you genuinely cannot find anywhere else, it delivers. These are the places we kept coming back to.
VINTAGE & ARCHIVE
AMORE VINTAGE
Multiple locations near Omotesando and Aoyama, each with a different focus. One is dedicated entirely to Chanel. Another carries Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Fendi. Everything is in exceptional condition. Fashion people fly to Tokyo specifically for this place.
NUIR VINTAGE
Over 5,000 pieces spanning Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and more in Shibuya. The selection is enormous, the condition is impeccable, and the staff actually know their stuff. If bags are your thing, this is the one.
BEAUTY & SKINCARE
@COSME TOKYO
Japan's biggest beauty review platform, in physical form. Everything in the store has earned its place through ratings and reviews. Japanese skincare, K-beauty, international brands, all triable. Do not go in a hurry.
DON QUIJOTE
Chaotic, enormous, completely unmissable. Part drugstore, part beauty hall, part everything else. Go late at night and lean into it.
A final note on area: if we had to choose one part of Tokyo to base ourselves, it would be Ginza. Sleek, central, and with more of this list on its doorstep than anywhere else. Start there.
And if there's any way to extend the trip, go to Kyoto. A different world entirely, and the place to go if you want to understand the history and culture that sits beneath everything you've experienced in Tokyo. It stays with you long after you leave.
