Japan Recommendations (updated)

Everything here is somewhere I’ve actually been, across five trips (2017, 2023, 2024, spring 2025 and a month in late 2025). Starred items (★) are the ones I’d build a day around. Entries without a note are places I went but didn’t write anything about.

Tokyo

Fine dining and special meals

  • ★ L’Effervescence (Nishi-Azabu). Went twice. Every dish is incredible, the service is impeccable, and the interior is beautiful. Book well ahead.
  • ★ Métis (Roppongi). Chef cooks over fire in front of you, and you can talk with him while he cooks. Even the mocktail pairing was incredible. My favourite dining experience in Tokyo.
  • ★ Hommage (Asakusa). Incredible: beautiful presentation, a great pairing and such good food.
  • ★ VERT (Kagurazaka). A tea-and-dessert tasting course tucked in a winding alley. The lighting and atmosphere are incredible, and the neighbourhood is worth wandering before or after.
  • ★ Sakurai Japanese Tea Experience (Minami-Aoyama). A tea tasting that goes much deeper on the tea itself than VERT, including fermented teas. Do both if you like tea.
  • CYCLE (Otemachi). Went twice.
  • JO (Nishi-Azabu).
  • Tapas Molecular Bar (Mandarin Oriental, Nihonbashi).
  • Pizza Bar on 38th (Mandarin Oriental, Nihonbashi). Amazing pizza with a view.
  • Sushi Tokyo Ten (NEWoMan Shinjuku). A lunch omakase you can book the day before on TableCheck.
  • Aman Tokyo (Otemachi). Lunch.

Casual food

  • ★ Fuunji (Shinjuku). Tsukemen (dipping ramen). There’s a line, and it’s totally worth it. The sauce is incredible.
  • ★ Abe chan (Azabu-Juban). Local izakaya with the best chicken skewers I’ve ever had. Try the veggie sides, skip the beef skirt, and note that some combo options are only on the Japanese menu.
  • ★ Imakatsu (Roppongi). The best chicken katsu of my life. I waited an hour, so go early.
  • Ramen Kamo to Negi (Ueno). Duck ramen with a simple broth and incredible yuzu kosho.
  • Misa Ramen (Kanda). Spicy and really good; always a line.
  • Nippon Curry (Kanda/Akihabara). Karaage or hamburg curry. Really good and cheap.
  • Savoy (Azabu-Juban). The best pizza crust I’ve ever had, though it’s more of a crust experience than a cheese-and-sauce one.
  • Chinese Cafe Eight (Akasaka). Great atmosphere. Some dishes are excellent (wide noodles, pea shoots, spare ribs), others are ordinary. People smoke in the stairwell.
  • Oniku Karyu (Ginza). Meat.
  • Butagumi (Nishi-Azabu). Tonkatsu in an old house; you pick the breed of pork.
  • Ichifuji (Ginza). Counter restaurant; went twice.
  • Bistro Simba (Ginza). French bistro.
  • Japanese Spice Curry Wacca (Hatchobori).
  • Erick South (Yaesu, by Tokyo Station). South Indian curry; good lunch at Tokyo Station.
  • Mensho Taketora (Roppongi). Ramen.
  • Ramen Daisenso (Kanda).
  • Gyukatsu Motomura (Akihabara). Beef cutlet.
  • Shake Tree Diner (Ryogoku). Burgers.
  • Ichiran (Shinbashi). Ramen in solo booths.
  • Ippudo (Ueno). Ramen.
  • Tsukiji Outer Market for sushi and street food.
  • Renga-Tei (Ginza). Not worth the wait or the cost.

Drinks

  • Nonbei Yokocho (Shibuya). A tiny alley of bars.

Cafés and sweets

  • ★ LIT Coffee & Tea Stand (Shiba). A fantastic matcha latte and excellent matcha pudding, on a charming side street.
  • Motosue egg bread (Azabu-Juban). Fluffy and creamy, like a better Japanese cheesecake.
  • Le Petit Mec (Hibiya). The best pastries I had in Tokyo.
  • Parklet (Nihonbashi). Cute café with great matcha.
  • Blue Bottle. The matcha latte is surprisingly good.
  • Boulange (Shinjuku). Great baked goods.
  • Pâtisserie Ryoco (Takanawa). Pre-order on TableCheck, which opens a week ahead.
  • Cokuun. A coffee omakase.
  • Miyanoyu (Nezu). Matcha and espresso in a converted bathhouse.
  • Design Pan (Bunkyo). Bakery.
  • Hatoya (Asakusa). Matcha stand.
  • Asakusa Taiyaki Guraku / Taiyaki Kobo (Asakusa).
  • The Revival House (Asakusa). Small coffee spot near Kaminarimon.
  • I’m Donut? (Omotesando).
  • Atelier Matcha (Ginza).
  • Ginza Manneken. Belgian waffles.
  • Pie Mania.
  • Uniqlo Coffee (Ginza).
  • The Matcha Tokyo (Shibuya/Shinjuku). Overrated and pricey.

See and do

  • ★ Imperial Palace loop. The classic running route in the city.
  • ★ Yoyogi Park and the Koishikawa Botanical Garden in autumn: amazing fall colours.
  • Jingu Gaien ginkgo avenue (Aoyama). Super pretty in late November, and insanely busy.
  • Shiba Park. The southwest corner has a patch of ginkgo trees with a view of Tokyo Tower.
  • Zojo-ji. Nice view of Tokyo Tower, but there are better temples.
  • Tokyo International Forum at night for reflection photos, then Akihabara for neon.
  • Kagurazaka. Wander the back alleys, and stop at Akagi Shrine.
  • Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. A free observation deck.
  • Azabudai Hills. Observation floor (pricey ticket) and the Christmas market in season.
  • Ueno Park. Come at golden hour.
  • Shinjuku Gyoen. Confusing to navigate at night, so go by day.
  • Hama-rikyu Gardens.
  • Asakusa and Senso-ji.
  • Tokyo Skytree.
  • Shibuya Crossing.
  • Toyosu fish market. Be there by about 4:30 AM for the tuna auction.
  • teamLab Planets (Toyosu) and teamLab Borderless (Azabudai Hills). Buy tickets ahead.
  • Museums: the Tokyo National Museum (Ueno), the Nezu Museum and its garden (Aoyama), and Small Worlds (a miniature-world museum in Ariake).
  • Tokyo DisneySea. The Teddy Roosevelt Lounge was one of my highlights. I also ate at Ristorante di Canaletto and the S.S. Columbia Dining Room.
  • Tokyo Disneyland. Skip the Crystal Palace buffet.

Workshops

  • ★ Glass carving workshop at the Little Museum of Glass Art Books (near Asakusa). I carved a Mt Fuji into a glass. Cheap and fun.
  • Chopstick-making workshop (Kuramae). Pairs well with the glass carving the same afternoon.

Shopping

  • ★ Kappabashi Kitchen Street. My favourites were Nami, Baise, Hashitou (chopsticks) and Minochiya (great prices on glasses). Dr.Goods is nicely presented but about 50% pricier than equivalent stores.
  • ★ Standard Products (Ginza). Daiso’s upscale line, and an amazing store.
  • Itoya (Ginza) for stationery.
  • OK Supermarket (Ginza). My favourite discount grocery store. Get the semi-dried persimmons if they’re in stock.
  • Daimaru basement food hall at Tokyo Station. Grab a bento before any bullet train. Tokyo Gift Palette at the station is good for snack gifts.
  • Found MUJI (Aoyama) and Wood Like Company (Aoyama) for beautiful furniture and wood goods.
  • Mokuhankan (Asakusa) for woodblock prints.
  • Department stores and malls: Takashimaya Nihonbashi, Mitsukoshi Ginza, GINZA SIX, Tokyu Plaza Ginza, COREDO Muromachi, Keio Shinjuku, Lumine Est Shinjuku, and the ceramics floors.
  • Electronics and gear: Bic Camera, Yodobashi Akiba, the Sony store in Ginza, Montbell, Hands Ginza.
  • The ones I hit every trip: MUJI, Uniqlo, Don Quijote, Hibiya Chanter.

Day trips from Tokyo

  • Kamakura.
  • Meigetsu-in is the highlight: a beautiful walk from the station along the river, with a famous round window.
  • The Great Buddha (Kotoku-in) is cool, but the other temples are nicer if you’re short on time.
  • Koshomochi for sweets.
  • Lake Kawaguchiko (Mt Fuji). Stay a night at Ubuya, a ryokan with incredible lake and Fuji views.
  • Yokohama. The Kirin Brewery factory tour (book ahead), plus the Costco there for the novelty.
  • Nikko for autumn colours.
  • The Tamozawa Imperial Villa.
  • The Kirifuri Falls viewpoint.
  • Lunch at Manten Chicken Grill.

Kyoto

See and do

  • ★ Arashiyama Bamboo Grove plus the park viewpoint. Go at dawn, because it’s packed by 7:30. The real highlight is the park on the left after you exit the grove: climb to the observation point, then follow the ridge path for a view over the city. Probably my favourite thing I did in Japan.
  • ★ Fushimi Inari. Go early and hike to the peak, since the crowds thin as you climb. It’s also great at night.
  • ★ Kifune Shrine in the morning. Mist rises off the mountains and there are far fewer people. Skip the night-illumination train, which was packed.
  • ★ Daigo-ji night illuminations in autumn (and Sanbo-in by day). Beautiful, but it’s out of the way, so plan your ride back.
  • Kiyomizu-dera. Go at 6 AM or for the night light-up. It’s spectacular and very busy (7.5/10).
  • Rurikoin (spring and autumn). The autumn viewing is by lottery and it’s cash only. It’s beautiful but still crowded, so look for angles beyond the famous shot.
  • Kyoto Railway Museum. Awesome; you can sit inside a bullet-train car.
  • Tenryu-ji and Otagi Nenbutsu-ji (Arashiyama). Otagi has quirky stone statues.
  • Gion: Hanami-koji, Ninenzaka, and a dawn bike ride before anyone’s up.
  • Kamogawa River for walks and runs.
  • Kyoto University Museum.
  • Nishiki Market. Overpriced but fun. It gets better value toward the far end, where there’s a good pottery shop.
  • Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion). Midday is a crowded one-way shuffle; 6/10.

Workshops and experiences

  • ★ Ringram. Make your own silver rings in about two hours. You do almost all of it yourself, and they engrave English letters for free. Highly recommend.
  • Wagashi Issho. A small Japanese-sweets class. The instructor was lovely and the sweets are beautiful, though they’re more about looks than taste.
  • Origami and Japanese gift-wrapping class.
  • Matsui Sake Brewery tour and tasting.

Food

  • ★ LURRA° (Higashiyama). A vegetable-forward tasting menu cooked over wood fire. The non-alcoholic pairing was the best I’ve ever had. Great if you like experimental food.
  • Gion Kappa. A local counter izakaya with cheap small plates.
  • Mizuki at the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto. Kaiseki for a special occasion.
  • Tempura Kawatatsu.
  • Hyatt Regency Kyoto breakfast buffet. Totally worth it even if you’re not staying there.
  • Yakiniku Hiro. You grill the wagyu yourself.
  • Nikuya Suzu (Shichijo). Wagyu yakiniku and cheap wagyu lunch bowls.
  • Senmonten (Gion). Bite-size gyoza.
  • Inoichi. Ramen.
  • Namaste Dhaulagiri (Higashiyama). Nepalese.
  • Arashiyama beef sandwiches. Pretty good but very overpriced.

Cafés and sweets

  • Ippodo Tea Kaboku tearoom (Teramachi).
  • Shinshindo (Teramachi). A French-style bakery café from 1913.
  • Ace Hotel Kyoto lobby café.
  • Shizuya. Bakery.
  • Kyoto Station sweets: Malebranche (matcha langues de chat) and Kyoto Kashi Koji.

Shopping

  • Standard Products. Same as the Tokyo one; I came out with seven bags.
  • Kyukyodo (Teramachi). A stationery store about 400 years old.
  • Good Nature Station (Kawaramachi). A food hall and market; I went back on a second trip.

Osaka and around

  • ★ Wada knife-sharpening workshop (Sakai). Learn from a master craftsman and tour the knife-history museum. It’s a trek from Kyoto and pricey, but worth it. Buy stainless steel to avoid rust spots.
  • ★ Himeji Castle. An awesome castle and grounds, 30–40 minutes by bullet train from Shin-Osaka. Better inside than Matsumoto. Have matcha at the Sojuan tea house in Koko-en garden next door. Cafe Santamaria Nagomi is nearby for coffee.
  • Nara. An easy half day from Osaka or Kyoto: Kasuga Taisha shrine and a few hours on foot around Nara Park and the deer.
  • Osaka food:
  • Wagyu Idaten (Namba) for a charcoal-seared A5 wagyu box.
  • Yakiniku Shokudo Takumi.
  • Wareware for breakfast.
  • WILLcha bubble tea.
  • Harukas 300 observation deck at sunset.
  • Dotonbori and the Ebisubashi-suji arcade in the evening.
  • Hankyu Umeda and LUCUA for shopping.

Japan Alps and countryside

Karuizawa

  • ★ A walkable, slightly bougie mountain town with great fall colours.
  • Kumoba Pond for reflections, especially on a dawn run.
  • Hiroshi Senju Museum. The mix of architecture and art is unlike anything I’ve seen.
  • Wild Bird Sanctuary trail (Hoshino).
  • ★ Tombo-no-yu onsen, with an outdoor bath in cool mountain air. My classic onsen moment.
  • Restaurant Suju. Shinshu cooking; I really loved it.
  • Tanari for a rose-petal matcha latte, my favourite of the trip.
  • Apple Pie Lab, Sawamura bakery and Workshop café.
  • Coriss. A Japan-made lifestyle shop in a former church.
  • Shiraito Falls. Small, and not worth the trip out from town.

Matsumoto and Azumino

  • ★ Matsumoto Castle at sunrise. It’s more beautiful from outside than Himeji. Peek through the holes inside for city views.
  • Grape farm outside town, by loaner bike at dawn. Awesome grapes.
  • Daio Wasabi Farm (Azumino). Free to enter, with beautiful scenery. Trains are infrequent, so plan ahead. Skip the wasabi ice cream.

Takayama and Shirakawa-go

  • ★ Kitchen Hida. Hida beef; get the side sausages.
  • ★ Hida Kokubun-ji. The giant 1,250-year-old ginkgo there was the most beautiful one I saw.
  • Sanmachi old street and sake tasting at Harada Sake Brewery.
  • Miyagawa morning market. Cool to see.
  • June Coffee.
  • Hida Takayama Retro Museum. In and out in six minutes; skip it.
  • ★ Shirakawa-go. Definitely worth the trip. The bus runs hourly, so plan around golden hour. The set-meal place with special beef was worth the 40-minute wait.
  • Solo Pizza Napoletana (Nagoya Station), if you route back through Nagoya. Very good.

Nagano, Shibu Onsen and Bessho Onsen

  • ★ Jigokudani snow monkeys. One of my favourite experiences in Japan, with 100+ monkeys up close. It’s a decent hike from the bus stop.
  • ★ Shibu Onsen. Stay overnight and do the public-bath crawl around town. Shinmeidaki-no-yu (No. 8) was one of my favourites. Koishiya Ryokan’s café is a nice space, but the food is ordinary.
  • Nagano city.
  • Nagano-ken Choju-shokudo: an incredible meal, and everything on the menu was great.
  • Zenko-ji, and Yawataya Isogoro next to it for shichimi spice.
  • Togakushi Shrine. Beautiful in the mountains and worth it if you’re in the area, but not a trip on its own.
  • Bessho Onsen. Uematsuya is a friendly ryokan with an outdoor bath and a great breakfast.

Seto Inland Sea and Wakayama (cycling)

  • ★ Shimanami Kaido, the island-hopping bike route from Onomichi to Shikoku.
  • Shimanami Dolce gelato in Setoda.
  • BetoLabo for banh mi.
  • Onomichi. Aozora Papad for curry, Little Mermaid bakery and Fruits Lab for fresh juice.
  • Wakayama coast bikepacking (Shirahama to Yuasa) for citrus farms and ocean views. Yuasa is the birthplace of soy sauce.

Where I’ve stayed

  • Tokyo:
  • Andaz Tokyo, my favourite (great lobby and evening drinks).
  • Grand Hyatt Tokyo.
  • Comfort Hotel Kanda: a tiny room, but a great location and cheap.
  • Comfort Inn Roppongi.
  • APA Higashi-Nihonbashi.
  • Moxy Kinshicho.
  • Akihabara Washington.
  • An Airbnb in Tatekawa (Sumida).
  • Tokyo Hostel Fuji (Nakano), on my first trip.
  • Kyoto:
  • Hotel Mume, a small boutique hotel in Gion with super helpful staff.
  • The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto.
  • Hyatt Regency Kyoto.
  • Hyatt Place Kyoto.
  • A traditional-house Airbnb in northern Kyoto (see the tea ceremony above).
  • Osaka:
  • Moxy Osaka Honmachi.
  • Karaksa Hotel Grande Shin-Osaka.
  • Hearton Nishi-Umeda.
  • Karuizawa: Kyukaruizawa Kikyo.
  • Matsumoto: Hotel M, a capsule hostel. Avoid it if you value sleep (the free loaner bike was the one plus).
  • Takayama: hotel around TAKAYAMA (Ascend Collection).
  • Fuji: Ubuya.
  • Nikko: Hotel Harumoto.
  • Shibu Onsen: Kaneki Hotel.
  • Nagano: Hotel Metropolitan Nagano, right by the station.
  • Bessho Onsen: Uematsuya.
  • Wakayama: an Airbnb farm stay in Inami, midway through the coast ride.
  • Onomichi: an Airbnb, a good base for the Shimanami Kaido.

Practical tips

  • Booking:
  • Most restaurant reservations go through TableCheck, which works in English and sends a reconfirmation link a week ahead. Click it.
  • Workshops and day passes are on Klook.
  • Email your hotel concierge before you arrive. It paid off every time.
  • Bullet trains: use the SmartEX app for Tokyo–Kyoto and Eki-net for Tokyo–Karuizawa/Nagano. I bought point-to-point tickets rather than a JR Pass.
  • Crowds: go to popular temples at 6–7 AM. Night illuminations are worth it.
  • Getting around:
  • Get a Suica card and use Uber for taxis.
  • LUUP e-scooters and e-bikes are everywhere in Tokyo and Kyoto.
  • Rural trains and buses can be hourly or worse, so plan around them.
  • Cash: carry some for temples and small places. 7-Eleven ATMs take foreign cards.
  • Luggage: ship it ahead between hotels (takkyubin) and travel light.

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