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Tokyo

Destination guide

Tokyo

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Ginza Kyubey.

The 90-year-old sushi place you must try when in Tokyo

This place isn’t a secret, it’s not exclusive and it doesn’t have a Michelin star – but it will provide you with a memorable, beautiful experience.

  • Ben Groundwater
Founded in 1629, a distinctive street market culture has since evolved in Shibamata.

The famous Tokyo neighbourhood few Australians have heard of

A record-breaking Japanese movie star put this area on the map through a series of 48 films. Visiting it is like stepping back in time to a Tokyo long gone.

  • Kerry van der Jagt
If you’re into manga, toys, comics, robots, dolls, train sets, or just about anything hobby-related, head to Nakano.

The underrated Tokyo neighbourhoods you need to visit

From vintage clothing and lantern-lit alleyways to Japanese pubs and “cat town”, discovering new places to explore is never an issue.

  • Barry Divola
Tokyo back street.

The best way to see Tokyo? Get lost, say these two experts

In the decades since Michelle Mackintosh and Steve Wide first set foot in Tokyo on their honeymoon in the late 1990s, they’ve watched the city transform.

  • Julietta Jameson
Samurai Town and mushroom foraging tour.

There’s a new way to kill time at Tokyo’s major international airport

Cancelled during the pandemic, Narita has replaced its layover program with a new, improved version.

  • Julietta Jameson
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Music at a record bar in Japan is like a conversation.

I discovered the secret to feeling like a local in Japan

I’m a sucker for a Japanese record bar. The drinks, the decor, and of course, the music are all sublime, coming together to create an experience where you share more than just a beer with the people sitting next to you.

  • Paul Marshall
Tachiataru is in a part of Tokyo where I’ve never seen another tourist.

Want to feel like a local in Tokyo? Here’s where to drink

Small and intimate, tachinomis – also known as standing bars – provide a window into Japanese drinking culture, where it’s okay to turn up alone.

  • Paul Marshall
Not every part of Tokyo is like the futuristic Shibuya or Shinjuku districts.

I will never cease to be amazed by this gigantic metropolis

This Asian city is like no other place on Earth. It thrills me, it revitalises me, it always leaves me wanting more.

  • Ben Groundwater
Fuglen cafe and bar, Tomigaya.

The lively, bohemian Tokyo neighbourhood that’s off the beaten track

It might be walking distance from high-rise, high-octane Shibuya, but off-the-beaten-track Tomigaya is a bohemian pocket where entrepreneurial spirit thrives.

  • Penny Watson
Tokyo deep dive… pool view.

Tokyo Bay district the next big thing as luxury hotel opens

Now boasting Japan’s first Fairmont, Tokyo’s Minato ward might just be about to be on every traveller’s hit list.

  • Julietta Jameson