Discover a different side to Tokyo

Tokyo is a city of incredible contrasts that defies all the stereotypes as much as it blows your mind, writes Rob Goss. (Main image: Copyright: TCVB)

Think of Tokyo and you conjure up images of a busy and ultra-modern city, where neon-lit futuristic skylines seem copied and pasted straight out of Blade Runner. It is all of these things, but there’s so much more to Japan’s capital. In the 23 special wards that make up the city’s urban core – that among them are home to nine million Tokyoites (there are 14 million including the wider area) – visitors also find traditional gardens and quiet temples. For every busy main street, there’s a warren of becalmed side streets waiting to be explored. For every skyscraper, there’s a low-rise and low-key residential area, where even elementary schoolers can safely walk to school without their parents.

Tokyo is known for its incredible food scene (Copyright: TCVB)

Go beyond the city centre into the Tama region and you’ll find more differences between real Tokyo and the capital’s stereotypes – it is nothing like the world of Lost In Translation. There are mountain ranges for a start, with trails for all levels of hiker. There are ancient temples deep in nature. There are sprawling parks and laidback suburbs. Farmland as well. Look south and Tokyo has an island chain, too, stretching hundreds of kilometres into the Pacific and offering travellers the chance to dive, surf and even trek around active volcanoes. In Tokyo.

One thing often said about Tokyo that is true: the trains do tend to run on time. And they are clean. Another that holds up is that the food is on a different level. It’s not just that Tokyo has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city in the world – 212 at the latest count, including 12 with three stars – it’s the dedication chefs from every culinary walk of life seem to give their craft, whether they are perfecting a ramen stock or crafting kaiseki-ryori, the artistically arranged haute cuisine of Japan with its focus on seasonal produce and techniques that enhance natural flavours. And just as there’s far more to Tokyo than concrete and crowds, there’s also an incredible depth and breadth of flavours on menus to discover – not only sushi, noodles, tempura and wagyu.

Hama-rikyu Gardens (Copyright: TCVB)

It’s become a cliché to say that old meets new, but that’s true at times, too. Sometimes its striking – such as the skyscrapers of Shiodome rising above the traditional garden of Hama-rikyu Gardens. Sometimes its subtle – such as the traditional approach to hospitality even in the most contemporary of galleries, bars or restaurants. The takeaway is that, with Tokyo, there’s always something new to learn, something that will surprise and go beyond expectations. First visit or fifteenth, it’s a city that keeps on blowing minds.

Tokyo in bloom

The parks and gardens of Tokyo are some of the most historical places in the city, and the perfect escape from busy streets. Rob Goss looks at some of the best. (Main image: Copyright: TCVB)

Tokyo is a city of many faces. In places, the capital can play up to its reputation for neon and gleaming skyscrapers, for high-tech and innovation, and for those contrasting moments where the old sits next to the new. In many others, it delivers a surprise. That’s most definitely true with Tokyo’s parks and gardens.

Although the city has been devastated numerous times over the years – in just the past century by the great quake of 1923 and the firebombing during World War Two – traditional Japanese gardens remain from the Edo era (1603-1868). In Kiyosumi-shirakawa in Koto-ku, Kiyosumi Gardens is a lovely example, with its central pond accented by pine-clad islets. It has an interesting history, too, having originally been part of the residence of an Edo-era merchant before being owned by the founder of Mitsubishi, who used the gardens as a place to entertain VIPs.

Koishikawa Korakuen gardens (Copyright: TCVB)

In a similar fashion is the Edo-era Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens in Bunkyo-ku, which like so many classic gardens employs ponds, bridges, rocks, man-made hills and decorative trees to create a succession of miniature landscapes. One quirk of Koishikawa Korakuen is the sight of the Tokyo Dome arena – home of the Tokyo Giants baseball team – looming in the background, but that’s not the most striking old-meets-new garden view in Tokyo. That honour goes to the splendid Hama-rikyu Gardens in Chuo-ku, which as the backdrop to its saltwater ponds and teahouse has the towering skyscrapers of the Shiodome district.

Yoyogi Park (Copyright: TCVB)

Away from traditional landscaping, places such as Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and Ueno Park are both gorgeous in cherry blossom season and year-round are ideal for a stroll or a picnic, while Yoyogi Park in fashionable Shibuya-ku has jogging routes and is always good for a spot of people watching, especially when the rockabilly dancers meet up on Sundays or cosplayers wander in from nearby Harajuku. Todoroki Valley is a different experience altogether – it’s a cool ravine with ancient burial mounds and a waterfall traditionally used for ascetic meditation. Very often, you find greenery in the most unexpected of places, such as the Meguro Sky Garden, which is built on top of a Metropolitan Expressway and on clear days offers views of Mount Fuji way off to the west.

All of the above help give the 23 special wards an unexpected amount of greenery, but go beyond the heart of Tokyo and the parks and gardens take on a whole new scale. You could easily spend a whole day in Tachikawa, exploring the more than 150 hectares of Showa Kinen Park, which is home to cycling trails, sports facilities, birdwatching areas and much more. Inokashira Park in trendy Kichijoji is another gem, with a large boating pond, swathes of greenery and, a short walk away, the Ghibli Museum – dedicated to the films of Japan’s most famous animation studios.

Focus: Todoroki Valley

(Copyright: TCVB)

Hidden away in a neighbourhood just 20 minutes from Shibuya, this stunning ravine is like another world, writes Rob Goss. (Main image: Copyright: TCVB)

Strolling under the green canopy of Todoroki Valley, listening to the gentle flow of water, it’s incredible to think you are in the heart of Tokyo. Found in the neighbourhood of Todoroki in Setagaya-ku, less than 20 minutes from bustling Shibuya, the park is centred on a forested ravine, and an hour or two here makes for a very chilled out break from city life.

After descending a flight of steps into the narrow ravine, a pathway traces what feels like a mountain stream for just over a kilometre, a walk that in itself is calming – and refreshingly cool in Tokyo’s hot and humid summer months. But it’s the things you see on the way that really make the park so different to anywhere else in central Tokyo.

You’ll pass small natural springs and, at one point, come to a waterfall called Fudo no Taki, which for centuries has been used by followers of Shugendo (a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Heian era), meditating as the chilly water falls upon them. It’s more of a mellow trickle these days, but the park’s name (Todoroki can mean ‘roaring’ in Japanese) suggests that the falls were once a more dramatic sight and sound to behold. Nearby is the small but atmospheric Todoroki Fudoson Temple, a particularly pretty spot when its cherry blossoms are in bloom in spring. Elsewhere are ancient burial mounds thought to date to somewhere between the Kofun era (250-538) and Nara era (710-794).

The mood of the ravine changes with the seasons, from the yellow-gold and red hues of autumn to a lush summer greenery, and there are plenty of spots to sit down and slowly soak it in. At the rustic Setsugekka teahouse you can do that with green tea and sweets, or cooling shaved ice covered in fruit sauce in summer. Or you could stop for a moment at the ravine’s small Japanese garden – not as carefully landscaped as many other traditional gardens in Tokyo, but with the way it seems to merge naturally into its surroundings, it’s just as tranquil.

To get to Todoroki Valley take the express train from Shibuya Station on the Tokyu Toyoko Line to Jiyugaoka Station, then change to the Tokyu Oimachi Line and alight at Todoroki Station. Take the south exit and head towards the Seijo Ishii supermarket, turn right and you will see the entrance.

Further afield: Tama and Western Area

Harmonica Alley, Kichijoji (Copyright: TCVB)

Rob Goss explores the Tama region, which covers the western area of Tokyo and has everything from mountains and ancient temples to glamping. (Main image: Copyright: TCVB)

If the 23 special wards that make up the heart of modern Tokyo defy stereotypes with their diversity, then the Tama region goes even further: covering more than 1,500 square kilometres and home to just over four million of Tokyo’s almost 14 million residents, it blows the concrete jungle stereotypes out of the water.

Exploring Tama from central Tokyo, the region begins with suburbs before becoming gradually more rural and even remote, providing a varied range of experiences and attractions. Almost bordering the 23 special wards, Kichijoji has a hip reputation because of its independent cafes, cool bars and street fashions, as well as being one of the neighbourhoods connected to the chilled out Inokashira Park – a lovely spot to picnic, watch street performers or have a paddle in a rowboat. Going ever so slightly further into Tama, but still easy to access thanks to Tokyo’s extensive rail network, you also find the superb Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum and its collection of 30 historic structures in Koganei Park.

In Chofu, other Tama standouts often overlooked by travellers are the Jindai Botanical Gardens and neighbouring Jindaiji Temple. The gardens mix roses, cherry blossoms, azaleas and other seasonal blooms, as well as a greenhouse full of orchids and aquatic plants. In a lovely, wooded grove next door, Jindaiji Temple is said to have first been built in 733 and still has some structures dating as far back as the 1600s. It’s easy to while away an hour or two here in the old stores and restaurants by the temple’s main gateway, and it’s worth planning a lunch stop at one of the rustic restaurants serving handmade soba noodles.

Going further west, it doesn’t take long for the Tama region to transition from suburbs to scenic. Just an hour by train from central Tokyo, the 599m Mount Takao has trails (and a cable car) that lead to the mountainside Yakuo-in Temple – first built in the 700s – and then to a summit that delivers a distant glimpse of Mount Fuji. More challenging and more tranquil are peaks such as Mount Otake, Mount Hinode and Mount Mitake, the latter of which is home to a shrine as well as traditional lodgings. For a bit of the outdoors with a bit of style, glamping has taken off in Tama in recent years, with options including the luxurious Keikoku Glamping Tent in Hinohara.

Further afield: The Izu Islands

From beaches made from volcanic lava to relaxing hot springs, Rob Goss visits the most un-Tokyo part of Tokyo. (Main image: Copyright: TCVB)

Sunbathing on a quiet beach, trekking around an active volcano and scuba diving coral reefs might not be the first thing anyone thinks of when it comes to Tokyo. But look at a map of eastern Japan and you’ll see an island chain stretching south of the capital into the Pacific. Called the Izu Islands, they are technically part of Tokyo, and among them they offer up all sorts of very un-Tokyo experiences.

Only an hour and 45 minutes by jetfoil from Takeshiba Pier in Minato-ku, Oshima Island is the closest – and, at 91 square kilometres, the biggest – of the nine inhabited Izu Islands to the mainland and it’s easy to visit on a day trip. There’s a lot to do here, including hiking the volcanic rim of Mount Mihara, lazing on beaches and soaking in the natural hot-spring baths that dot parts of the coastline. While the island’s camellias are in bloom from January to March, the Oshima Camellia Garden is worth a look year-round to learn about the island’s most famous product, camellia oil, which is said to detoxify and moisturise the skin.

About 100km south of Oshima Island – reached by an overnight ferry from Takeshiba or a 50-minute flight from Chofu – Miyakejima also has an active volcano at its centre, and even as recently as the early 2000s was temporarily uninhabited because of eruptions. That activity has created some striking scenery, from the large crater of Mount Oyama to the black beach of the Imasaki Coast, which was created by a lava flow in the 1600s. Beyond that, Miyakejima is the natural habitat for a great range of wildlife, including rare birds such as the Japanese pygmy woodpecker, Japanese white-eye and Izu thrush, while the waters around the island are home to hundreds of varieties of sea fish, coral and crustaceans, making it a popular scuba diving destination.

Almost at the far southern end of the Izu Island chain – 280km from mainland Tokyo – Hachijojima was once considered so remote that it previously housed a secret submarine base and hundreds of years ago was used as a place of exile. Nowadays, it’s accessible by ferry and light aircraft and has thriving farming and fishing communities, but a trip here still has that feeling of going far off the beaten path. You can visit Uramigataki Waterfall, located within the mossy forests to the south of the island, where a path leads behind the cascading waterfall, and the nearby Uramigataki Hot Spring is a great place to unwind. Sueyoshi Hot Spring Miharashi-no-yu is another hot spring on the coast and the uninterrupted view of the cliffs from the open-air bathtub is stunning. It’s about as un-Tokyo as you can get.

Further afield: The Ogasawara Islands

Minamijima Island (Copyright: TCVB)

Rob Goss heads to the furthest outpost of Tokyo – a group of subtropical islands roughly 1,000km south of the city

While the Izu Islands don’t take much effort to get to, there is a second island group under Tokyo’s jurisdiction that falls firmly in the epic journey category: the Ogasawara Islands, one of Japan’s World Natural Heritage sites. Roughly 1,000km south of central Tokyo, the only way to access the islands is a 24-hour ferry trip from Tokyo’s Takeshiba Pier to the Ogasawara’s main island, Chichijima – population just 2,000.

It’s bucket-list stuff when you get there. First, the islands are naturally stunning, with subtropical rainforest, rugged cliff faces and idyllic beaches. The islands are also home to wildlife that is found nowhere else, including birds such as the endemic Bonin honeyeater, insects such as the endemic tiger beetle and dragonfly, and animals such as the Bonin flying fox. In the waters around the islands, you can add to that coral reefs, whales, dolphins and loggerhead turtles.

Chichijima is where most people will base themselves, and you could easily spend days just exploring the beaches there, whether that’s paddling in the shallow waters of Kominato Beach, snorkelling off Miyanohama Beach or even diving the wreck of a torpedoed cargo ship that sank just off Sakaiura Beach. Another option is to hike through jungle-like forest to the secluded Hatsuneura Beach.

But there’s also plenty of time to go beyond Chichijima – good thing, too, as the ferry to and from Tokyo only runs every three days in warmer months and every six in colder months. About a kilometre south, one great trip is to tiny Minamijima, home to such rare fauna and flora that to protect it only 100 people a day can visit in the presence of a local guide. From Chichijima, a ferry also makes the two-hour journey to another of the Ogasawara’s gems: Hahajima. Only 20 square kilometres in size and with a population of only 500, it’s absolutely unspoilt. The best ways to see it for yourself are to make the four-hour trek to the summit of Mount Chibusayama – at 463m the highest point in the Ogasawara archipelago – or head for the clear blue waters off Minamizaki Beach to snorkel the coral reef.

Feature: Street food

Okonomiyaki, a kind of savoury pancake (Copyright: TCVB)

Rob Goss samples the incredible array of sweet and savoury treats available at various locations around the city. (Main image: Copyright: TCVB)

Japan doesn’t have much of a culture for eating while walking, but that doesn’t mean there’s no street food – just that people tend to stop to enjoy it. And whether sweet or savoury, light or laden with calories, there’s absolutely loads of it to stop for.

For street food full of colour and fun, head to the fashionable streets of Harajuku – indulgent crepe capital of Tokyo. Marion Crepes on the teen-fashion-focused Takeshita-dori Street is the most famous, having been here since the 1970s, and it doesn’t hold back on the portions. Freshly cooked to order on hot plates, the crepes can be filled with about 70 combinations of fruit, drizzled sauces, ice cream and whipped cream, and even be bulked up further with chunks of cheesecake or chocolate brownies. While Marion is an institution, other sweet street food trends come and go (and occasionally stick around) with incredible regularity in Harajuku, so part of the fun is that you never know what you might find – rainbow-coloured cheese toasties, panda- and pig-shaped ice creams and tapioca bubble tea spring to mind as fairly recent trends. One constant is that, whatever the food trend, it will be very Instagrammable.

Over in Asakusa in Taito-ku, the stall-lined approach to Senso-ji Temple is another hunting ground for snacks on the go. Called Nakamise-dori Street, it’s home to traditional stores such as Azuma, which specialises in kibi dango, dumplings made from rice flour and millet that get coated in soybean powder and served on a skewer. The result is a slightly sweet and moreishly chewy snack that goes perfectly with a Japanese tea. Another Nakamise-dori classic is Kokonoe’s age manju, stuffed with sweet red bean paste and then deep fried until it’s crispy on the outside but with a piping-hot soft inside. If that whets the appetite for more, elsewhere along Nakamise-dori are stalls selling traditional snacks like savoury senbei rice crackers and bite-size sponge cakes filled with sweet red bean paste.

You can’t talk about street food without mentioning Tokyo’s army of mobile street vendors. If you are shopping in Ginza and want lunch outdoors, stop by the Tokyo International Forum, as it’s not just a lovely bit of contemporary architecture – at least a dozen food trucks will usually be there, serving international and Japanese flavours. Most usually only run around lunchtime (roughly 11.30am to 2.30pm) on weekdays, but time it right and you could find coffee, roast beef sandwiches, rotisserie chicken, pizza, Indian curries, Okinawan taco rice bowls, organic bento lunch boxes and more, depending on the day. If you aren’t going to be in Ginza, every major business district will have a collection of lunch trucks somewhere to stumble upon.

The mobile stalls that set up at festivals are just as good, although they tend to follow a prescribed Japanese line-up. For starters, there’ll be yakisoba fried noodles, takoyaki (battered chunks of octopus), grilled squid, chargrilled yakitori chicken skewers and a kind of savoury pancake called okonomiyaki. For a sweet finish, expect candy floss, kakigori shaved ice and multi-coloured chocolate-covered bananas.

Feature: Restaurants

Tokyo is one of the great foodie cities of the world, specialising in the most incredible food from every corner of the Earth. Rob Goss samples some of the best. (Main image: Copyright: TCVB)

The late Anthony Bourdain once said that if he had to eat in only one city for the rest of his life, Tokyo would be it. Most chefs he knew, he added, would agree. Without doubt, Tokyo is one of the great foodie cities of the world, and for many reasons. For one, it’s a place where chefs take attention to detail and dedication to the culinary craft to the next level with everything, from simple soba noodles to the most sublime sushi. But, from a culinary viewpoint, Tokyo is a great melting pot, too, with restaurants serving not just classic Japanese fare, but specialities from around the country and from every corner of the Earth.

There are far too many classics to try and reel off here, but to call out a few, we could start with ramen – the noodles that many Tokyoites will happily queue an hour for, albeit for just a few minutes of blissful slurping. With Nakiryu in Toshima-ku and Tsuta in Shibuya-ku, you have low-cost ramen joints with Michelin stars, but you’ll find superb ramen all over the city. If you are passing through Tokyo Station, stop by Tokyo Ramen Street in the station’s sprawling underground network – it has branches of eight well-known ramen restaurants covering a variety of styles.

Sushi (Copyright: TCVB)

Of course, there’s sushi, and that comes in all price brackets. Cheap and cheerful (and still really good) are kaitenzushi restaurants like the Ganso Sushi and Sushiro chains, where you pluck the sushi you want off conveyor belts – although you can also order directly, if you don’t fancy something that may have been circling the restaurant for a while. The high-end could cost ten times as much, but if you are going to splurge on sushi, where better than Tokyo? To pick just two in Ginza alone, Sukiyabashi Jiro and Sushi Yoshitake are both intimate counter-only restaurants with three Michelin stars.

The capital also has some signature dishes that are less well known outside Japan. Being the centre of the sumo world, Tokyo is the best place to try chanko nabe, the hearty hot pot of meat, seafood, tofu and vegetables eaten by sumo wrestlers to get sumo sized. The Ryogoku neighbourhood in Sumida-ku, where the country’s main sumo hall is located, has dozens of chanko nabe restaurants, many of which are run by former wrestlers.

Less of a strain on your belt, the Tsukishima neighbourhood in Chuo-ku has 70 or so restaurants specialising in a Tokyo original called monjayaki, a pan-fried batter that can include diced vegetables, seafood, meat, cheese and all sorts of other things. Admittedly, when you pour the batter mixture onto the hotplate built into your table to start cooking it, monjayaki isn’t the most appetising thing you’ll ever see, but it cooks into a lovely, sticky mess that you scrape up with little metal spatulas, eating directly from the hotplate. It’s one of those foods that just makes you feel happy; that draws you in to the process of cooking, scraping and trying not to burn your tongue on the spatula. Like so much dining in Tokyo, it’s an experience that’s about far more than simply taste.

New openings

Tokyo has an amazing array of hotels for all budgets. Sam Ballard rounds up some of the best new arrivals on the scene

Renowned for being one of the most cosmopolitan cities on the planet, Tokyo is not short of a great hotel or two. Whether you’re looking at a value-for-money capsule hotel or something a little more upmarket – such as the £13,000 per night Ritz-Carlton Suite – the city has you covered.

Last year saw a number of headline-grabbing hotels opening across the city and there are some serious debutants due to come on stream, so we’ve rounded up some of our favourites.

Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi
Having opened its doors in September 2020, the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi marks the luxury hotel chain’s second property in the city. Located close to the Imperial Palace, it is housed at the top of a 39-storey tower within the financial centre of Tokyo. Perfect for the well-heeled who want to stay in a smart part of town.

Aloft

Aloft Tokyo Ginza
Opened last October, Marriott’s youth-orientated Aloft brand’s latest posting is in Tokyo’s Ginza neighbourhood. Rooms come with all the mod-cons – think 4K TVs and rainfall showers – as well as nine-foot ceilings. The design is inspired by the Ginza Miyuki-zoku youth subculture of the 1960s.

Kimpton Shinjuku Tokyo
Shinjuku is one of Tokyo’s many beating hearts, with buzzing bars, karaoke rooms and Golden Gai – an area of tiny bars and clubs. The 151-room Kimpton has been inspired by the “New York art and fashion scene” and promises to be a calming presence close to the manic Shibuya Crossing, one of the busiest intersections in the world.

Tokyo EDITION (credit: Nikolas Koenig)

EDITION Hotels
Ian Schrager’s design-led hotel brand has maintained its meteoric growth with a new property opening in Tokyo. The Tokyo EDITION, Toranomon is the first of two locations planned in the capital, with the second, The Tokyo EDITION, Ginza due to open this year. Expect beautiful furnishings, dark, sultry hotel bars and exquisite rooms.

Janu Tokyo
The new millennial brand by luxury hospitality company Aman is going to be one of three (along with one in Montenegro and another in Saudi Arabia). It will be built around social wellness and will offer a different – perhaps more affordable – opportunity to sample the Aman product . The hotel is due to open in 2023.