Tokyo offers such a diversity of things to do and see that in one morning you can be plunging through the futuristic chaos of the high street and in less than an hour you can be browsing through the ritualistic lives of the thousand year old sumo stables.
For those who would like to take a walk around Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo’s historic neighbourhood, please feel free to download our Concierge's useful guide to shopping and dining in Nihonbashi.
Below, our concierge has compiled a considered list including places to shop and dine to give our guests an interesting taste of Tokyo and useful places to meet or entertain.
Sumo is a traditional combative Japanese sport renowned for the impressive proportions of its competitors who weigh from 100 to 200 kilograms. The basic idea is for the competitors to stand in a ring, dohyou, and the first to push the other out of the dohyou is the winner. An ordinary seat costs 3,600 to 8,200 yen.
Location - 10 Minutes/3 Km or 1.8 Miles
The art of ikebana was brought to Japan from China. The idea is to promote relaxation and peace of mind with symbolic arrangements that originally represented man, heaven and earth when flowers were traditionally left for Buddhist priests.
Influenced by Zen Buddhism, the ceremony involves ritualistic preparation of tea with specific instruments. As you join a tea ceremony you leave behind the physical world and enter the spiritual world of tea. Water represents yin and purity and the fire of the hearth represents yang.
Tokyo’s largest and oldest public park within which are temples, shrines, the zoo and many of the important museums. The Ueno Zoological Gardens has over 10,000 animals; some 300 different species.
Location - 10 Minutes/4 Km or 2.5 Miles
This is located at Ryogoku, near the Sumo Museum. It is worth seeing for the unusual architecture, the appearance is that of a giant space ship. The exhibits focus on the history and culture of Tokyo during the Edo Period.
Location - 10 Minutes/4 Km or 2.5 Miles
The largest museum in Japan with about 86,000 exhibits associated with the history of Japan, China and India. Located in Ueno.
Location - 10 Minutes/4 Km or 2.5 Miles
The museum includes many interactive exhibits, naturally featuring developments in science. Located in Ueno.
Location - 10 Minutes/4 Km or 2.5 Miles
This is Japan’s only museum dedicated solely to Western art. The extensive collection consists of 15th century religious icons to Claude Monet and Jackson Pollack. Located in Ueno.
Location - 10 Minutes/4 Km or 2.5 Miles
The museum presents the living environment of ordinary working class Tokyoites between the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and The Earthquake of 1923. A gem of a museum that is popular with children and adults alike.
Location - 10 Minutes/3 Km or 1.8 Miles
Temporary exhibitions and shows in the main hall feature everything from traditional Japanese art to art nouveau. Located in Ueno.
Location - 10 Minutes/4 Km or 2.5 Miles
A 40 minute boat trip on the Sumida River allows you to view Tokyo from a totally different perspective. You pass under a total of 12 bridges between "Asakusa" and "Hinode Pier" each bridge is unique in both colour and design. The tour stops once at a former Imperial Garden.
This is the largest fish market in the world, selling seafood at the rate of 2.2 million kilos per day. The best time to visit the market is between 09:00 and 10:00am, when the market is open to the public and bustling with activity.
Location - 10 Minutes/3 Km or 1.8 Miles
Visit the world’s second largest stock exchange market. Guided tours in English are available with an advance reservation basis. Please ask our concierge to make arrangements.
Location - 10 Minutes Walk/0.8 Km or 0.5 Miles
One of Tokyo’s oldest neighbourhoods and home Tokyo’s most ancient temple. Enter through the Kaminari-mon gate, from which hangs an enormous red lantern then stroll down the narrow Nakamise Street lined with shops. This leads to Senso-ji Temple where you can bathe your body in curative incense smoke.
Location - 12 Minutes/6 Km or 3.7 Miles
This is not an old shrine, having been reconstructed after World War II but it is a beautiful refuge in Tokyo. It has a pretty garden, with a carp pond. There is a treasure house museum with various artefacts associated with the Emperor Meiji who reigned between 1868 and 1912.
Location - 25 Minutes/9 Km or 5.6 Miles
The Palace itself is only open to the public twice a year on 23 December and 2 January however the East Gardens are open daily except for Mondays and Fridays. Formally known as Edo Castle, this used to be residence of the Tokugawa Shogunate, today it is the Imperial Family residence.
Location - 20 Minutes Walk/2.2 Km or 1.4 Miles
This area is known as the ‘Centre of Japan’; it has been the point of origin for all roads in Japan since the Edo period. For that reason Nihonbashi has thrived as a merchant town, or now as the shopping and business district. The very first Mitsukoshi department store is located here.
The famous upmarket shopping area of Tokyo, where every luxury brand is represented and every purchase seems a luxury. It is possible to pay USD 10 for a cup of coffee here. At the weekend in the afternoon the main street is closed to traffic making it easier to browse through hundreds of shops.
Location - 5 Minutes/2 Km or 1.2 Miles
Pulsating district immediately surrounding Shinjuku station, which handles a staggering 2 million passengers each day. Subterranean shopping malls below and a soaring melee of neon above. You’ll find various department stores, including the Isetan flagship store which sprawls over 10 floors.
Location - 30 Minutes/10 Km or 6.2 Miles
You step out of Shibuya station slap bang into the archetypal Tokyo city shopping image. Giant boards of neon glare down at you; a complex junction flashes lights and crowds of young shoppers cross the street in one homogenous mass. Also the birth place of many unique Japanese fashion trends.
Location - 25 Minutes/11 Km or 7 Miles
The centre for electronic product shops and one of the largest areas of its kind in the world. Marvel at the range of products that have not even left the Japanese market and their amazing technology. The other theme you will notice is the manga shops and cafes.
Location - 5 minutes / 2.2 km or 1.4 Miles
Just north of Shibuya is Harajuku, the main attraction being the narrow, pedestrianized Takeshita Street, which is so crowded at weekends it is virtually impossible to move independently. Omotesando is a more sophisticated experience; reminiscent of European cities.
Location - 25 Minutes/10 Km or 6.2 Miles
There are a number of antique and second hand markets in Tokyo which make an interesting perspective on life even just browsing through them. You may pick up an old wood block, or pretty Japanese tea set, or perhaps a second hand Kimono. Take your pick from the following depending on the time of your visit.
Ameyoko - 10 minutes/4 Km or 2.5 Miles
For an exciting old town Tokyo experience, visit the street markets of Ameyoko. Ameyoko is short for "Ameya Yokocho" (candy store alley), as candies were sold there when it was a black market after WWII. Alternatively, "Ame" also stands for "America", because a lot of American products used to be sold there. Located along the Yamanote Line train tracks between Okachimachi and Ueno Stations, "Ameyoko" today sells various products such as clothes, bags, cosmetics, fresh food and spices at discounted prices.
Opening hours and closing days vary from store to store; most typically open around 10:00 and close around 19:00. Many stores close on selected Wednesdays.
Hanazono Shrine Antique Fair - 30 Minutes/7.6 Km or 4.7 Miles
In Shibuya-ku, open every Sunday from dawn.
Nogi Shrine Flea Market - 15 Minutes/7.2 Km or 4.5 Miles
In Minato-ku, open on the 2nd Sunday of each month.
Ningyocho China Market - 10 Minutes/1.8 Km or 1.1 Miles
Where wholesalers hold a three day clearance sale every August.
Roppongi Antique Fair - 20 Minutes/8.3 Km or 5.1 Miles
Every 4th Thursday and Friday of each month.
Oedo Antique Market - 5 minutes/2 Km or 1.3 Miles
Every 1st and the 3rd Sunday at Courtyard of the Tokyo International Forum
Largest outdoor antique market in Tokyo, and an excellent opportunity to see first-hand historical and cultural treasures produced by master artisans from the Edo period (1600 - 1868)
Tenmo, established in 1885, is one of the most famous tempura restaurants in Tokyo. For lovers of tempura, this is the perfect spot to enjoy prawns, seasonal fish, and fresh vegetables that have been delicately coated and deep-fried.
Location - 3 Minutes by foot
Ukaitei is one of the classiest teppanyaki restaurants in the city. European antiques set in what was once a Japanese home make for a very elegant interior. Enjoy fine Japanese beef and seafood prepared on the metal counter before your eyes.
Location - 10 Minutes by taxi
Hamadaya serves traditional Japanese food in a Sukiya-style building with great historical value as one of the few that are still intact. There are 11 private rooms available, each with their own garden. The food changes with the seasons, and can be ordered a la carte. Kabuki and Shamisen entertainment by Geishas is available.
Location - 7 Minutes by taxi
Established in 1895, Imahan specialize in preparing Gyunabe, which is a beef hot pot made with the best imahan wagyu beef. Their signature dish is Ssukiyaki. It consists of meat (usually thinly sliced beef) which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin.
Location - 7 Minutes by taxi
Established in1872, and still today Toriyasu serves the exact same dish--Aigamo sukiyaki. "Aigamo" refers to a duck that is a cross between a domestic white duck and a wild mallard. The meat of aigamo does not have that wild tang and can be enjoyed by everyone. First the breast meat is removed with the skin attached. This is cut in thick slices, roasted to sizzling deliciousness in an iron pan over charcoal, and dipped in soy sauce with grated daikon radish as flavoring.
Location - 5 Minutes by taxi
This is one of Tokyo's most famous soba (noodle) shops, established in 1880 and rebuilt after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. The house, which is surrounded by a wooden gate with an entryway through a small grove of bamboo, features shoji screens and a dining area with tatami mats and tables. The specialties are hot and cold wheat noodles, which you can order with grated yam, grilled eel, duck, or crispy shrimp tempura.
Location - 10 Minutes by taxi
Holding a branch in Tsukiji fish market, they are directly-managed store. Always up to bringing you fresh fish. Making this restaurant from original Miyagino-beya (sumo wrestler's stable) of Yokozuna Yoshibayama, we still leave the original building made with Japanese cypress hinoki and sumo ring dohyo.
Location - 10 Minutes by taxi
Chef Carme Ruscalleda’s famous Barcelona restaurant has a branch just down the street from our hotel. The chic interior and extremely creative dishes here will be sure to please.
Location - 7 Minutes by foot
A sea of pearl-shaped lights, an impressive floor-to-ceiling wine rack, and windows shaped like falling cherry blossom petals set the scene for a fine dining experience. Dazzle is situated atop the eye-catching Mikimoto 2 building, worth the trip for the building itself.
Location - 10 Minutes by taxi
All the seafood is amazingly fresh – Kazan receives the top seafood from the owner’s world-class seafood trading company. Enjoy the "Angel shrimp" carpaccio with rare white soy sauce and "Cats Eye Oysters". Master chefs who leverage all that outside of the box thinking offers creatively prepare these award-winning ingredients.
Location - 10 minutes by taxi
Carnivores crow over the charcoal-broiled steaks made from high-grade domestic beef and wthe Kyoto-bred chef owner’s “honest” cooking at this chophouse, while the “pleasant” staff also wins praise; with only 20 seats, reservations are a must.
Location - 5 minutes by taxi
This is the first overseas restaurant by Chef Luke Mangan, a star chef from Sydney. Salt offers modern Australian cuisine inspired by Australian ingredients and Japanese essence in the method of French cooking. Please enjoy Luke Mangan’s original modern cuisine in the contemporary & relaxing atmosphere.
Location - 5 minutes by taxi
2-1-1 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 103-8328 Japan
Telephone: +81 (3) 3270 8800
Local Time: 00:00
