MO Magazine Tips created by Condé Nast
Follow the meandering paths of the landscaped Hamarikyu Gardens to the boat landing and cruise up the Sumida River to Asakusa, where the giant red paper lantern at the gate of Senso-ji Temple is one of Tokyo's most photographed scenes.
Head to Ueno Park for the world's largest collection of Japanese art at the Tokyo National Museum, a complex including the Gallery of Horyu-ji Treasures by MOMA architect Yoshiro Taniguchi. Also within the park are the National Museum of Western Art, designed by Le Corbusier, and the National Science Museum. For traditional performing arts, the Kabukiza Theatre offers matinees and evening shows.
In Kamakura, an hour and a world away, you can hike through forested hills and stroll by the seashore, taking in any number of Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and Zen gardens. The bronze Daibutsu – the Great Buddha – is a must-see national treasure. Backstreets are fun to explore for pottery and carved lacquerware. Dining options are equally pleasing: if you've had noodles for lunch, go international for dinner – the area has excellent Indian, Italian and French restaurants. On the way back to Tokyo, Yokohama's Chinatown is a worthwhile culinary detour and Jo Gen Ro offers opulent Shanghai-style dining.
Forego room service breakfast for a purely local indulgence: the world's freshest sushi with beer at the Tsukiji Fish Market. Arrival at 8am can secure a seat at any of dozens of sushi shops near the entrance. Sushi-dai, Sushi-say, and Ryu-zushi are but a few local favourites.
Afterwards head back to Nihonbashi for the 10am opening ritual at Japan's oldest department store Mitsukoshi with its pipe organ concert and a bevy of bowing clerks. Nearby, Kanda Myojin is a small shrine honouring the guardian deity of old Tokyo, and the popular Suitengu Shrine offers plenty of local colour.
You're spoilt for choice in Nihonbashi, an area defined by time-honoured speciality shops. Washi (Japanese paper) lovers should go to Ozu Japanese Paper Shop & Museum. Or browse in Ibasen with its four-century history selling fans fashioned from silk, bamboo and paper. For lacquerware, try Kuroeya, for incense, Shoyeido and for epicureans, try Yamamoto Noriten – pioneer of toasted seaweed – or Funasa, purveyor of salty-sweet tsukudani preserves. Kiya is the place to pick up a sharkskin grater, a Peugeot pepper mill, or a bamboo steamer. Take a tea break at Eitaro Sohonpo, crafters of delicate Japanese sweets, or Yamamotoyama, specialists in green tea which offers tea served with a traditional sweet for ¥300.
Take advantage of the stupendous views on the 38th floor of Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo, where you can experience all-day dining at K'shiki (+81 (3) 3270 8188). Choose from Continental, Japanese and Asian dishes while you look over the city and take in the breathtaking vistas.
Or try the cosmopolitan Icon Lounge (+81 (3) 3270 8188) , also on the 38th floor, with its international cuisine and extensive array of delightful tapas all served in a distinctive modern environment. Here you can enjoy dining in a trendy setting similar to a hip New York restaurant.
Then there is the French-inspired restaurant, Le Ciel (+81 (3) 3270 8188), where fine dining matches the elegance of its surroundings. Its gourmet menu is designed to create an everlasting impression on any occasion. Tokyo is renowned for its many fine restaurants and Mandarin Oriental adds to that cachet.
For sheer elegance, book a table for dinner at Alain Ducasse's Beige Tokyo, where haute couture meets haute cuisine at the top floor of Chanel Ginza, then pop into Gerrard Salon.
Dress to the nines and take a stroll at dusk to join kimono-and Armani-clad shoppers. Naka-dori, a tree-lined lane in Marunouchi, east of the Imperial Palace, is a more recent addition to Tokyo's high-fashion scene. Or pop into the unconventional 'free-space' of Marunouchi Café.