October 2026 · base in Shirokane, Minato

Tokyo Field Guide東京 · 初めての方へ

The layout of the city, your corner of it, day trips, museums and sculpture, amusement parks, where to eat and shop, accessibility, massage and baths, and the mistakes first-timers make.

Last updated 19 Oct 2026, 22:54 JST · what changed

What changed

19 Oct, evening. Shopping expanded for collectors: Pokémon cards (the four Pokémon Centers and how their lotteries work, then Hareruya2, Card Rush, Fukufuku Toreka, magi, Radio Kaikan and Mandarake's Card-kan for singles and old cards), figures and vintage toys (Nakano Broadway floor by floor, Mandarake Complex, Radio Kaikan), retro games (Super Potato, Trader, Retro Game Camp, and what runs on a console at home), and vintage clothing by neighbourhood (Harajuku, Shimokitazawa, Koenji). Koenji joins the shopping map.
19 Oct, afternoon. Seating on every restaurant row: seat count, counter or tables, sunken floor or tatami, private rooms, wheelchair access and whether they take reservations, read from each place's Tabelog page (59 of 61 list a seat count). A Seating filter joins the cuisine and budget chips.
19 Oct, early afternoon. Every Google Maps link now opens the business itself, with its photos, hours and the Directions button, instead of dropping a pin on coordinates. Restaurants search by name centred on their exact position; shops and museums search by name.
19 Oct, midday. New chapter Massage and baths: the three kinds of massage and what they cost, Re.Ra.Ku and Raffine in Azabu-Juban, the Namikoshi shiatsu clinic, Takenoyu, Shimizu-yu and Thermae-Yu with their tattoo rules, and bath etiquette. The relatives chapter is now Accessibility, with what Toei, Tokyo Metro and Uber Assist actually provide.
19 Oct, late morning. New navigation: a Contents button in the sticky bar that names the section you are in and opens a grid of all thirteen, previous and next arrows, and every chapter folds from its heading (Fold all turns the page into a table of contents; folds are remembered on your phone).
19 Oct, mid-morning. All six maps redrawn on OpenStreetMap geometry: real Yamanote track, Tokyo Bay shoreline, rivers, parks, the Mita, Namboku and Oedo lines with a key, road names around the base, and the Kanto coastline on the day-trip map. Labels now have a halo so they read over the lines.
19 Oct, morning. Vintage watches card in Shopping: Fire Kids and Jack Road at Nakano Broadway, Watch CTI in Ginza for Grand Seiko and King Seiko, Komehyo, the Seiko Museum, and what to ask before buying.
19 Oct, early. Breakfast sets that open by 7:00–8:30 (Shinpachi, Tsukiji market, Katsuo Shokudo) added to Where to eat, with navigate links.
18 Oct, evening. The time, shopping and museum maps are now true-scale city maps like the loop map, each place at its real position with minutes in the label. Himawari Zushi in Shinjuku marked as tried.
18 Oct, afternoon. Maps redrawn from real coordinates: the city map is now to scale with the true Yamanote loop, the minute-rings use true compass bearings, and the day trips have a regional map. Conveyor-belt sushi added to Where to eat. This change list.
18 Oct, morning. Google Maps directions links everywhere. New chapters: Museums and sculpture, Amusement parks, Days with the relatives, day-trip playbooks, expanded Help. Shopping chapter with the camera stores.
17 Oct. First version: the loop, your base, day trips, getting around, where to eat near the base, dining rules, manners, help.

JYThe shape of the city

Tokyo looks endless on a map. Almost everything a visitor wants sits on or near one rail loop, the JR Yamanote line. It has about 30 stations and takes roughly an hour to go all the way around.

To scale, north up. The Yamanote track, the bay shoreline, the rivers, the big parks and the three subway lines through the base (Mita, Namboku, Oedo) are drawn from OpenStreetMap geometry; the palace is sketched. Numbers are door-to-door minutes from the base; tap a dot for a live route. Day trips and airports are pointed to from the edges with their true direction and distance.

West side. Shinjuku has skyscrapers, nightlife and Shinjuku Gyoen garden. Shibuya has the famous crossing and youth shopping. Harajuku, Omotesando and Meiji Shrine sit between them.
East side. Tokyo Station, Marunouchi and Ginza surround the Imperial Palace. Akihabara is just north. Ueno is the museum district, with Tokyo National Museum, the zoo and the park.
Old Tokyo, east of the loop. Asakusa and Sensō-ji temple, with Skytree across the river.
The bay, southeast. Toyosu has teamLab Planets and the fish market. Tsukiji's outer market is the better place to eat. Odaiba is a short ride from either.
"Tokyo" is 23 city wards plus suburbs and islands. Very little of what you came for is outside the wards, apart from day trips.

N03Your corner: Shirokane

Shirokane is quiet, upscale and residential, in the southern middle of Minato ward. Expect few tourists, good restaurants and calm evenings. Your station is Shirokane-takanawa N03 I03, about a 7-minute walk.

Namboku line. North to Azabu-Juban N04, Roppongi-itchome N05 and Tameike-sanno N06, where you change to the Ginza line for Ginza or Asakusa.

Mita line. North to Mita I04 for the Asakusa line and the airport train, then on to Otemachi I09 and Jimbocho I10.

Ōedo line at Azabu-Juban, one stop north. It loops through Roppongi, Shinjuku and Tsukiji.

The same true-scale frame as the loop map, with every destination at its real position and door-to-door minutes from the Airbnb in the label. Day trips and airports are pointed to from the edges with direction, distance and minutes. Tap any dot for a live route from Shirokane-takanawa.

Easy outings nearby

Azabu-Juban shopping street. Maps ↗ Old-fashioned shops, sweets and cafés, mostly flat.
Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum. Maps ↗ An Art Deco mansion with gardens, near Shirokanedai. Good with older relatives.
Roppongi Hills. Maps ↗ Louise Bourgeois's giant spider sculpture Maman stands outside, and the Mori Art Museum is upstairs.

OHDay trips for your interests

Each name opens a live route. Sample trains below were read from Yahoo Transit on 18 October for Wednesday 21 October; the pattern holds on other days but check the day before. Late October is leaf season, so the first train out beats the crowds everywhere on this list.

The region to scale, north up, with Tokyo in the centre and the real coastline from OpenStreetMap. Nikko is two and a half hours north, Hakone and Fuji west and south-west, Kamakura on the coast, Narita far to the east. Grid lines are half a degree, about 55 km north to south.

Hakone, for the sculpture park and hot springs

Getting there. The Odakyu Romancecar runs from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto in about 75 to 85 minutes, all reserved seats, roughly two an hour from early morning. Book the seat on Odakyu's e-Romancecar site or at the Shinjuku counter the day before; the seat charge is on top of the fare. Shinjuku is 30 minutes from the Airbnb, so leaving home at 7:00 gets you into Hakone before 9:30.

The loop. Buy the two-day Hakone Freepass at Shinjuku (about ¥7,100, confirm) and it covers everything after the Romancecar: the Tozan mountain railway with its switchbacks, the cable car, the ropeway over Owakudani's sulphur vents, the pirate ship across Lake Ashi and the buses back. The Hakone Open-Air Museum is at Chokoku-no-Mori station on the Tozan line, open 9:00 to 17:00 every day, about ¥2,000 or a little less online, with the Picasso pavilion, a Henry Moore field and a hot-spring foot bath among the sculptures. Do it first, before the loop fills up, and allow two hours. Fuji shows from the ropeway and the lake on a clear morning.

Back. Reserve the return Romancecar when you book the outbound; the last ones leave in the evening and fill on weekends. If you miss it, the Tozan train to Odawara and a Shinkansen or local JR train still gets you to Shinjuku, with a sample last connection at 22:21 from Hakone-Yumoto.

Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto Maps ↗ Home to Shinjuku · 30 min Maps ↗

Nikko, for the national park and the shrines

Getting there. Tobu limited expresses leave Asakusa for Tobu-Nikko in just under two hours, all reserved; the sample 8:30 Revaty on 21 October arrives 10:23 with one platform change at Shimo-Imaichi. Book on Tobu's site; the newer Spacia X sells out first. From the Airbnb, Mita line to Mita and the Asakusa line straight to Asakusa is about 35 minutes with one change, so a 7:40 start works.

The day. Toshogu shrine, Rinnoji temple and the red Shinkyo bridge are a short bus ride from the station and make a full day on their own. Toshogu has long flights of stone steps; the 200-plus to Ieyasu's tomb are optional. The World Heritage Area bus pass sold at the station covers the loop. Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls are higher up the Irohazaka hairpin road, which gridlocks in leaf season; in late October go up only if you're on the first buses, or save it.

Back. Book the return express too. Last trains out of Tobu-Nikko are around 21:00 and the JR alternative via Utsunomiya runs a little later; the sample 20:57 departure reaches Asakusa at 23:54.

Asakusa to Tobu-Nikko Maps ↗ Home to Asakusa · 35 min Maps ↗

Kamakura, the easy one

JR from Shinagawa to Kamakura is about 45 minutes with a change at Yokohama or Ofuna, Suica only, no booking. Get off one stop early at Kita-Kamakura for Engaku-ji, walk 20 minutes to Kencho-ji and on to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, lunch on Komachi-dori, then the little Enoden tram to Hase for the Great Buddha and Hasedera's hillside garden. The Buddha is flat and easy; Hasedera has steps. The Enoden continues to Enoshima island if there's time and light. Shinagawa is about 20 minutes from the Airbnb.

Shinagawa to Kamakura Maps ↗ Home to Shinagawa · 20 min Maps ↗

Kawaguchiko, for Fuji

Two ways from Shinjuku: the Fuji Excursion limited express straight to Kawaguchiko in about two hours, reserved and only a few a day, or the highway bus from Busta Shinjuku, also about two hours and cheaper, booked online. The sample 8:00 bus on 21 October arrives 10:07. Fuji is clearest early and often gone behind cloud by noon, so this is a first-departure day and a gamble; Hakone's lake and ropeway show the mountain too, with more to do if it hides. At the lake: the Chureito pagoda view, the loop bus, the Kachi Kachi ropeway.

Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko Maps ↗

Tokyo Disney Resort is under Amusement parks. Without leaving the city, the National Museum of Western Art in Ueno has major Rodin bronzes in its front courtyard; see Museums.

美Museums and sculpture

The trap is the closed day. Most museums close on Monday, the Roppongi contemporary ones close on Tuesday instead, and a few close between exhibitions. On this trip the Mondays are 19 and 26 October and the Tuesdays are 20 and 27. Minutes are door-to-door from the Airbnb; tap a name for a live route.

modern and contemporary classic collections teamLab gardens and sculpture outdoors

Museums at their real positions on the city map, colour-coded by kind, with door-to-door minutes from the Airbnb. The Roppongi cluster is a short hop north of you; Hakone's sculpture park is off the south-western edge, two hours away.

Closed days at a glance

Hakone Open-Air Museum closed never Maps ↗ 9:00–17:00. The sculpture stop. See Day trips.
Teien Art Museum closed Mon Maps ↗ 10 min walk. Marimekko show 3 Oct–20 Dec. 10:00–18:00.
Nezu Museum closed Mon Maps ↗ East Asian art and a garden you'll remember. 10:00–17:00.
Tokyo National Museum closed Mon Maps ↗ Ueno. 9:30–17:00, later Fri and Sat.
Western Art (Rodin) closed Mon Maps ↗ Ueno. Rodin bronzes in the courtyard are free.
Artizon Museum closed Mon Maps ↗ Near Tokyo Station. Modern collection, dated tickets online.
Mori Art Museum closed Tue, and between shows Maps ↗ Next show opens 31 Oct, so the galleries are probably dark during your stay. Check.
National Art Center closed Tue Maps ↗ Kurokawa's glass wave; no permanent collection, so check what's on.
21_21 Design Sight closed Tue Maps ↗ Tadao Ando building in Midtown's garden. Design shows.
Yayoi Kusama Museum closed Mon–Wed Maps ↗ Thu–Sun only, timed tickets sold online on the 1st of the month. October is likely gone.
teamLab Borderless closed a few days a month Maps ↗ Azabudai Hills, two stops. Timed tickets on the official site only, priced by date.
teamLab Planets closed rarely Maps ↗ Toyosu. Barefoot and through water; wear trousers you can roll up.

Sculpture, in order of payoff

Hakone Open-Air Museum is the one worth a whole day: Moore, Miró, Niki de Saint Phalle, Picasso's own pavilion, all on a hillside with hot springs below. It never closes. The plan is in Day trips.
Rodin at the National Museum of Western Art. The Gates of Hell, The Thinker and The Burghers of Calais stand in the front courtyard in Ueno, free, with Le Corbusier's building behind them. Combine with the Tokyo National Museum across the park on any day but Monday.
Maman. Louise Bourgeois's spider is outside Roppongi Hills, free, two stops from the base. Good at night.
Yayoi Kusama Museum is small, five floors, Thursday to Sunday only, and sells timed tickets on its website on the first of each month. If October is sold out, her pumpkins and dots also turn up at the Mori and National Art Center shops and, this trip, likely nowhere else in the city.
Nezu Museum is the quiet one: a Kengo Kuma building, bronzes and ceramics inside, and a garden with stone lanterns and tea houses that is at its best in late October.
21_21 Design Sight and the National Art Center are a ten-minute walk apart in Roppongi and both close on Tuesday. Neither has a permanent collection, so check the show before you go.

Worth knowing

The Mori Art Museum is between exhibitions. Ron Mueck closed 23 September and Mariko Mori opens 31 October, the day after you fly. Past gaps have meant closed galleries, so treat it as closed unless the website says otherwise. The observation deck and shop in the same tower run on their own schedule.
The Teien Art Museum is your neighbourhood museum, a ten-minute walk, an Art Deco prince's house with a garden and, right now, the Marimekko printmaking show. The easiest museum outing on the list for older relatives.
teamLab needs tickets before you go. Both venues are timed entry, sold only on the official site, and the popular slots go a week or more out. Borderless at Azabudai Hills is the closer one and the better one for a first visit; Planets is the one with water.
Big museums are cheap, usually ¥1,000 to ¥2,000. teamLab is the exception at ¥3,400 and up.
Friday and Saturday evenings are when the Ueno museums stay open late and the crowds thin.

遊Amusement parks

Tokyo Disney Resort is the main event and it is in Halloween mode for your whole stay, which runs to 31 October. Minutes are door-to-door from the Airbnb.

Tokyo Disney Resort, 45 minutes

Which park. DisneySea exists nowhere else in the world and is the one for adults: harbour and volcano scenery, better food, Fantasy Springs with the Frozen and Tangled lands. Disneyland is the familiar one and the better choice if small children are along. One park per ticket; a day each if you have two days.

Tickets. Dated, sold on the official site or app, with prices that move by date; October weekends run to about ¥12,400 for an adult and weekdays nearer ¥9,000. Buy now for any date in your window; weekends do sell out. Download the app before you go: it holds the ticket, lets you take a free Standby Pass for the busiest attractions and buy Premier Access, a paid skip-the-line per ride, which is worth it for one or two headliners. Arrive 45 minutes before opening.

Halloween. Adult costumes are allowed on set days in the second half of October; the parade and the decorations are the draw, and the parks are busier than usual.

Getting there. Mita line to Otemachi or Hibiya, then to Tokyo Station and the JR Keiyo line to Maihama, about 45 minutes with two changes. The Keiyo platforms at Tokyo Station are a long underground walk; allow 10 minutes.

Home to Maihama Maps ↗

Tokyo Dome City, 25 minutes, no transfer

A city-centre amusement park with no entry fee, you pay per ride. The Thunder Dolphin coaster threads through a hole in a building and the Big O is a centreless ferris wheel. The Mita line runs straight to Suidobashi, one stop from the park's doorstep, so it fits into an afternoon. Spa LaQua next door is a hot-spring complex for anyone sitting the rides out.

Home to Suidobashi Maps ↗

Yomiuriland, about an hour

The local alternative, on the Odakyu line to the west with a gondola from the station to the gate. Coasters and a big illumination show that starts in late October. Only if Disney is sold out or you want a second park day.

Home to Yomiuriland-mae Maps ↗

買Shopping

Tokyo shopping is organised by district, and each district does one thing well. Pick the kind of shopping first, then the area. Minutes are door-to-door from the Airbnb by train, read from Yahoo Transit for a weekday late morning. Tap any name for a live route.

department stores, fashion kitchen, craft, stationery electronics, anime, games vintage, books, backstreets near the base

Shopping districts at their real positions on the city map, colour-coded by kind, with door-to-door minutes from the Airbnb. Koenji and Kichijoji are off the western edge.

Near the base, no planning needed

Azabu-Juban shopping street, one stop or a 15-minute walk. Mamegen has sold roasted beans and rice crackers since 1865, Naniwaya does the taiyaki, and there are small ceramics and gift shops along the street. Flat and easy with older relatives.
Platinum-dori in Shirokanedai, a 10-minute walk south. A tree-lined street of boutiques and cafés. Pleasant more than essential.
Hiroo, for National Azabu, the expat supermarket, if anyone wants familiar groceries or packaged Japanese food gifts.
Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Midtown, two stops. Design shops, the Mori Art Museum shop and the 21_21 Design Sight shop. The best museum shops in the city for anyone who likes sculpture and design objects.

What to buy where

Department stores and the food basements

Ginza Mitsukoshi, Isetan in Shinjuku and Takashimaya in Nihombashi are the classic ones. Every department store has a depachika, a basement food hall, which is the best single stop for edible gifts: sweets, tea, pickles, beautifully boxed. Tax-free counters are usually on an upper floor; bring your passport.

Ginza · 25 min Maps ↗ Shinjuku · 30 min Maps ↗ Nihombashi · 26 min Maps ↗

Fashion and the big flagships

Uniqlo's twelve-floor Ginza flagship and the Muji flagship a few doors down are worth seeing even if you own both at home; Muji's has a hotel upstairs. Ginza Six is the upscale mall. Omotesando is the architecture-and-brand avenue, with Cat Street behind it for streetwear. Shibuya Parco has Nintendo Tokyo and the Pokémon Center. Daikanyama is quieter, with the T-Site bookstore.

Ginza · 25 min Maps ↗ Omotesando · 27 min Maps ↗ Shibuya · 23 min Maps ↗ Daikanyama · 35 min Maps ↗

Knives, kitchenware and tableware

Kappabashi is the restaurant-supply street behind Asakusa: a kilometre of knife shops, ceramics, lacquer bowls and the plastic food models. Kama-Asa and Tsubaya will engrave a knife while you wait. Tsukiji's outer market also has knife shops, Aritsugu among them. Knives go in checked luggage, never carry-on.

Kappabashi · 41 min Maps ↗ Tsukiji · 32 min Maps ↗

Stationery, paper and craft

Itoya in Ginza is twelve floors of stationery. Kakimori in Kuramae makes notebooks to order and mixes custom ink; Kuramae's side streets have small leather and craft workshops too. Loft and Hands are the department-store-sized lifestyle shops for everything else, with branches in Shibuya and Ginza. Japan Traditional Crafts Aoyama Square shows regional crafts under one roof, near Omotesando.

Ginza · 25 min Maps ↗ Kuramae · 33 min Maps ↗ Omotesando · 27 min Maps ↗

The two giant camera stores

Yodobashi Camera and Bic Camera are the names you were trying to remember. Both started as camera shops and now sell everything electronic, plus watches, luggage, toys and cosmetics, across eight or nine floors with a staffed tax-free counter. Yodobashi's biggest is Yodobashi-Akiba, attached to Akihabara station; its original store fills the west exit of Shinjuku. Bic Camera's flagship is at Yurakucho, a two-minute walk from Ginza, with big branches in Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro. For new camera gear, the lens floor at Yodobashi-Akiba is the biggest in the city. For a camera bag, either chain has a whole floor of them, with Peak Design, Think Tank, Shimoda and Lowepro next to Japanese makers you rarely see abroad: Artisan & Artist, Hakuba and Etsumi. Yodobashi's Shinjuku west-exit camera building is a five-minute walk from Map Camera, so used body first, then bag, in one trip. For a bag you'd carry every day rather than a padded one, Porter by Yoshida Kaban makes the Tokyo classic; its flagship, Kura Chika, is in Omotesando. Open until about 22:00, cards accepted, passport for tax-free.

Yodobashi-Akiba · 36 min Maps ↗ Yodobashi Shinjuku · 30 min Maps ↗ Bic Camera Yurakucho · 25 min Maps ↗

Used cameras and lenses

Map Camera is the one to go to: a multi-floor shop a few minutes from Shinjuku's west exit, the largest used-camera dealer in Japan, with condition grades you can trust, a one-year warranty on used gear, tax-free and English-speaking staff. Prices are not cheap, but the selection and condition are why people fly in for it. Check the stock online first; it moves fast. Two more worth a look: Kitamura Camera Shinjuku, seven floors on the east side of the station, strong on used and vintage, and Fujiya Camera in Nakano, a short walk from Nakano Broadway, cheaper and more cluttered. Map Camera and Kitamura close around 20:30; bring your passport for tax-free, and remember that Japanese-market bodies may have menus in Japanese only on some models, so ask.

Map Camera, Shinjuku · 30 min Maps ↗ Kitamura, Shinjuku · 30 min Maps ↗ Fujiya, Nakano · 39 min Maps ↗

Pokémon cards: Pokémon Centers for the exclusives, Akihabara for the cards

Two different trips. The Pokémon Centers sell new sealed product at list price, promo cards, the centre-exclusive goods and the plush, and almost no singles. Japanese packs are cheap at list: ¥200 for a five-card pack of the current sets, ¥360 for the 30th-anniversary set, and a 30-pack box is thirty times the pack price with no premium. The catch is that each new set sells by lottery through Pokémon Center Online, weighted towards residents who have verified a My Number card, and the shelves carry per-person caps that change with every release, so buy what is on the shelf and do not plan a box around a Pokémon Center. Four in Tokyo: Tokyo DX on the fifth floor of Nihombashi Takashimaya's east building, 10:30 to 21:00, with the Pokémon Cafe beside it (book online); Shibuya on the sixth floor of Shibuya Parco, 10:00 to 21:00, sharing the floor with Nintendo Tokyo and the Capcom Store; Mega Tokyo on the second floor of Sunshine City in Ikebukuro, 10:00 to 20:00, the biggest and the one with the Pokémon Card Station play area, closed from March to August this year and still limiting entry, so expect a queue; and Skytree Town on the fourth floor of Solamachi, 10:00 to 21:00. The small Pokémon Store on Character Street inside Tokyo Station is the one you pass anyway, open to 20:30.

Singles, older cards and anything graded live in Akihabara, all within five minutes of the Electric Town exit. Hareruya2 Akihabara Tower (Ishimaru No. 3 building, three minutes from the exit) is seven floors of nothing but Pokémon cards, basement to sixth, 10:00 to 22:00 every day: current sets, bargain singles, supplies, 152 free play seats, and a buying counter that takes everything including kyū-ura, the 1996 to 2001 Japanese cards with the old card back, which is what "vintage" means here; its Annex on the same block runs to 23:00. Card Rush has the sharpest single prices and the longest queues: shop 2 on floors 1 and 2 of the Omori building and shop 0 on the seventh floor of Bito Akiba Plaza, weekdays 13:00 to 21:00, weekends from 11:00 (shop 1 is temporarily closed). Fukufuku Toreka in the Kimura building, Pokémon on the second floor, weekdays 13:00 to 20:45, weekends from 10:00, is the name collectors give for older and high-value cards. magi, fifth floor at Sotokanda 3-14-9 with a branch in Radio Kaikan, deals in high-value and graded cards (PSA slabs and the Japanese grader ARS), cash or QR pay only, strict on condition. Radio Kaikan itself, the tower beside the station, 10:00 to 20:00, holds eight card shops on floors 1, 2, 7 and 9 plus Yellow Submarine on 6 and magi on 5, so start there if time is short. For genuinely old stock also try Mandarake's Card-kan on the second floor of Nakano Broadway, 12:00 to 20:00: Carddass, old stickers, phone cards and early Pokémon alongside the newer games.

House rules: photography inside card shops is usually banned, opening packs in the shop depends on the shop, small shops prefer cash, and selling needs a passport and sometimes Japanese residency. Walk past anything labelled "replica" or "metal card" and the lucky-dip oripa packs. Whether cards count as tax-free goods is not written in the official categories, so ask at the till; Hareruya2 and Card Rush do not say on their sites. Before a big card, compare the shop's price with its own online listing; the Japanese market, not eBay, sets the number.

Hareruya2, Akihabara · 36 min Maps ↗ Radio Kaikan · 36 min Maps ↗ Tokyo DX, Nihombashi · 26 min Maps ↗ Shibuya · 23 min Maps ↗ Mega Tokyo, Ikebukuro · 36 min Maps ↗ Nakano Broadway · 39 min Maps ↗

Figures, vintage toys and the rest of the memorabilia

Nakano Broadway is the deepest dig: a 1960s shopping arcade whose upper three floors hold around thirty Mandarake units, each a specialist, all 12:00 to 20:00 with no closed day. Special 1 to 9 are the vintage toy rooms (tin, sofubi, chogokin robots, Showa-era character goods), Henya on the fourth floor has the oldest and strangest stock, Anime-kan sells production cels and Kaiba the drawings behind them, Galaxy is the game and PC software room, Card-kan the cards. Independent dealers fill the gaps with watches, cameras, posters and Godzilla, and Fujiya Camera is a block away. Lunch is the Broadway's basement food stalls or the Sun Mall arcade you walked in through. Mandarake Complex in Akihabara, 12:00 to 20:00 daily at Sotokanda 3-11-12, puts the same company in one eight-storey tower: vintage manga on 3, doujin on 4 and 5, toys on 6 to 8 (American toys, model kits and prize figures; tokusatsu and chogokin; bishoujo and robots). Radio Kaikan by the station is the figure building: Kaiyodo's Hobby Lobby on 5, Volks on 8, Amiami on 4, K-Books on 3, Yellow Submarine on 6, and the Astop rental showcases on 2, where private collectors sell from glass cases a shelf at a time and the odd one-off turns up. Trader at Sotokanda 4-2-1, 11:00 to 20:00, has three floors of figures above its games. For new Nintendo goods, Nintendo Tokyo on the sixth floor of Shibuya Parco, 10:00 to 21:00, next to the Pokémon Center and the Capcom Store; the Jump Shop and the Ghibli shop are on Character Street inside Tokyo Station. The nearest Mandarake to the base is the Shibuya one, basement 2 of Shibuya Beam, 12:00 to 20:00, a fair first stop at 23 minutes.

Nakano Broadway · 39 min Maps ↗ Mandarake Complex · 36 min Maps ↗ Radio Kaikan · 36 min Maps ↗ Mandarake Shibuya · 23 min Maps ↗ Tokyo Station · 33 min Maps ↗

Retro games

Akihabara again, all within ten minutes' walk of each other. Super Potato is the one everyone photographs: floors 3 to 5 of the Kitabayashi building at Sotokanda 1-11-2, 11:00 to 20:00 every day, Famicom, Super Famicom, Mega Drive and PC Engine stock sorted by system, boxed sets behind glass, and a retro arcade with a rest corner on the fifth floor. Prices are the highest on the street; it is the place to see what exists. Trader's main store at Sotokanda 4-2-1, 11:00 to 20:00 daily, sells the same games without the specialist markup: Nintendo on 1, PlayStation, Xbox and the retro shelves on 2, the buying counter in the basement; its second shop sits under the railway arches by the station. Retro Game Camp, a small shop on Chuo-dori in the Shin-Suehiro building C, is the easiest in English and will tell you what will and will not run on your console at home. Surugaya's game store at Sotokanda 3-15-4 and the Book Off by the station price by condition rather than rarity, which is where the bargains are; Hard Off, a few doors from Mandarake, has an untested junk corner for consoles and controllers. BEEP, the vintage-computer shop, was temporarily closed at the start of October. Nakano's Mandarake Galaxy and Super Potato's small Ikebukuro branch, two minutes from Sunshine City, cover the same ground away from the crowds.

Before you buy hardware: Famicom cartridges need an adapter for an NES; Super Famicom cartridges run in a North American SNES once the two plastic tabs in the slot are removed; Japanese PlayStation 1 and 2, GameCube and Wii discs are locked to Japanese consoles; Nintendo DS, PSP and Switch games are region-free, the 3DS is not; and Japanese consoles are built for 100 volts, so a step-down transformer is the safe way to run one at home. Games and controllers travel fine in carry-on.

Super Potato · 36 min Maps ↗ Trader · 36 min Maps ↗ Nakano Broadway · 39 min Maps ↗ Super Potato Ikebukuro · 36 min Maps ↗

Vintage clothing, secondhand and books

Japan has been buying the best American and European old clothes for decades, so the stock is extraordinary and the prices are honest rather than cheap; the steals are on the ¥1,000 racks, not in the denim rooms. Three neighbourhoods, in order of distance. Harajuku is the Americana headquarters: BerBerJin at Jingumae 3-26-11, 13:00 to 19:00 with no closed day, keeps vintage Levi's in its basement sorted by era with military, sweats and sneakers above, and runs five more shops on the same backstreets, including a Collective store opened in April 2026 and Straight from L.A. Toro, Kinji, Santa Monica and Chicago, which mixes Americana with secondhand kimono, are all within a few minutes; Funktique for the 1990s, Solakzade for thousands of pairs of unworn vintage glasses. Shimokitazawa is the whole-neighbourhood version, dozens of shops in the lanes off the south and west exits, most opening around noon: Flamingo at Kitazawa 2-25-12, 12:00 to 21:00 (from 11:00 at weekends), is the cheap, reliable American 1940s to 80s shop; New York Joe Exchange trades in a converted bathhouse; Monk, under a staircase, and Finch for Americana, military and denim; Stick Out for the flat-price racks; Lost Boy Tokyo for vintage tees, anime included; Caka, Mél and KAKKO at the expensive, European and designer end. Haight & Ashbury, the old guidebook favourite, closed in 2022. Koenji is the scruffier, cheaper third: the Pal and Look covered arcades south of the station are lined with secondhand shops (Slat for military and 501s, Sokkyou for American 1920s to 90s, Whistler for the 1940s to 60s), and the side streets north of the station hold more; go in the afternoon. Kichijoji mixes vintage with the Inokashira park, and J'antiques in Nakameguro does 20th-century menswear with old fabric and buttons. For brand pieces in secondhand condition rather than vintage, the chains are reliable: 2nd Street, RagTag, Kindal and Treasure Factory. Expect Japanese sizing even on American clothes (try everything on; no returns), cash at the small shops, and little tax-free outside the chains.

Books: Jimbocho is a whole district of used bookshops, a direct 15-minute ride on the Mita line, and good for old prints and maps. Vintage watches have their own card below.

Harajuku · 25 min Maps ↗ Shimokitazawa · 38 min Maps ↗ Koenji · 41 min Maps ↗ Kichijoji · 50 min Maps ↗ Nakameguro · 31 min Maps ↗ Jimbocho · 23 min Maps ↗

Vintage watches: Seiko, Grand Seiko, King Seiko

Tokyo is the best place in the world to buy a vintage Seiko, and the stock lives in three places. Nakano Broadway is the mall to start in: Fire Kids on the ground floor (units 140 and 141) is a vintage-only dealer whose catalogue is sorted by Lord Matic, Grand Seiko, King Seiko, divers and chronographs, with a repair department added in July 2026; open 11:30 to 19:30 with no fixed closed day. Two floors up, Jack Road is the famous general dealer, thousands of watches from entry Seiko to Patek, tax-free, English pages, 11:00 to 20:30; prices there are fair rather than cheap. Watch CTI in a Ginza 1-chome basement is the Grand Seiko and King Seiko specialist, with 45KS, 56KS and 6138 chronographs on its site next to Rolex and Omega. It keeps odd hours: weekdays 11:00 to 18:00, weekends 11:00 to 17:00, a break 14:00 to 15:00, closed Wednesday, Thursday and most Sundays, and it says its closed days change this October, so email ginza@cticorp.co.jp or call 03-3563-0507 the day before. Fire Kids also has a small branch in the Ginza Nine arcade, closed Wednesdays. For modern secondhand rather than vintage, Komehyo fills four floors of the MLJ building in Shinjuku, 11:00 to 20:00. Collectors on the forums also swear by a tiny shop called Mizutani near Ameyoko in Ueno whose owner speaks English; I could not confirm it from an official source, so treat it as a ten-minute detour on a museum day, not a destination.

Before you buy: ask whether the case has been polished and the dial or lume redone, since original condition is what holds value; ask for the movement calibre and a photo of it running; vintage Seiko carries no warranty beyond the shop's own, usually a few months. Tax-free applies to secondhand goods at licensed shops when you spend over ¥5,000, so bring your passport; Jack Road is a tax-free shop, Fire Kids and Watch CTI do not say. Round off a Ginza run with the free Seiko Museum near Wako, six floors from clock towers to the first quartz, Grand Seiko history on the sixth; 10:30 to 18:00, closed Mondays, and it gives priority to online reservations, so book a slot the night before.

Nakano Broadway · 39 min Maps ↗ Watch CTI, Ginza · 25 min Maps ↗ Seiko Museum · 25 min Maps ↗ Komehyo Shinjuku · 30 min Maps ↗ Ueno · 29 min Maps ↗

Cheap, late and everything at once

Don Quijote is the discount chain open until the small hours, tax-free, chaotic and useful for snacks, cosmetics and a cheap extra suitcase. Daiso and Seria are the ¥100 shops, good for small gifts. Convenience stores sell better food than they have any right to.

Shibuya · 23 min Maps ↗ Ginza · 25 min Maps ↗

How shopping works here

Tax-free needs your passport and ¥5,000 or more at one shop in one day. The shop takes the tax off at the till and seals consumables in a bag you must not open in Japan. Look for the "Tax-Free" sign. A refund-at-the-airport system is scheduled to replace this from November 2026, after your trip.
Shops open late and close early. Most open at 10:30 or 11:00 and close at 20:00. Department stores are strict about 20:00. Don Quijote and convenience stores are the exceptions.
Cash still matters at small shops, markets and the used-book district. Department stores and chains take cards and phone wallets.
Bags cost a few yen and staff will ask. Carry a tote.
Sizes run small. Shoe sizes are in centimetres. Try things on; returns are rare.
Buy a suitcase here rather than hauling an empty one. Don Quijote and the Ginza department stores sell them, then ship the full bag to Narita by takkyubin from any convenience store two days before you fly.
Post offices ship abroad and sell the boxes. Heavy ceramics are cheaper to post than to carry.
Knives and anything sharp go in checked bags. Big electronics are often cheaper at home once you add the voltage question; small things like earphones and cameras are the good buys.

ICGetting around

Pick your exit before you arrive. Big stations have dozens of exits, and the wrong one can add 10 minutes outside. Route apps list the exit number.
JR, Tokyo Metro and Toei are separate companies. One IC card pays for all of them. Changing between companies sometimes means passing through orange transfer gates.
Put Suica in your phone's wallet. On iPhone it takes a minute, and you top it up with a card.
Two kinds of link in this guide. Maps ↗ opens Google Maps directions from wherever you are, which is the fastest way to just go. Place names open Yahoo Transit from Shirokane-takanawa, which is better for exact train times and platforms. The restaurant navigate links do the same in Google Maps.
Check line status before a day trip: Toei (your Mita line), Tokyo Metro (Namboku line) and JR East. Delays under 15 minutes are not posted.
Avoid rush hour with older relatives and bags. Trains are packed roughly 7:30–9:30 and 17:30–19:30.
Last trains run around midnight. After that it's a taxi, and night fares cost more.
Elevators exist at most stations but can be a long walk from your platform. Leave extra time.

Send the bags, not the people. Luggage forwarding, called takkyubin, ships suitcases from hotels and convenience stores to the airport or your next hotel, usually overnight, for a modest fee. It's ideal for the trip back to Narita.

Big suitcases need a reserved space on the Shinkansen. Book the oversized-baggage seat when you buy the ticket.
Skip the nationwide Japan Rail Pass. It rarely pays off for a Tokyo base with day trips.

10:00Hours and booking

Many museums close on Mondays. On this trip that's 19 and 26 October. When a Monday is a public holiday, the closure usually moves to Tuesday.
Book popular places ahead. Disney tickets are dated. teamLab entry is timed. The Ghibli Museum sells a month in advance, so October is probably gone.
Shops open around 10 or 11. Many restaurants close between lunch and dinner, roughly 14:30–17:30.

食Where to eat near the base

These come from Tabelog, Japan's restaurant guide. Its scores run low: 3.5 is very good and anything over 4.0 is rare. Prices are Tabelog's average spend per person, before drinks. Everything here is within one or two stops of Shirokane-takanawa, most of it walkable, except the conveyor-belt sushi and the breakfast places, which live at the big stations and the fish market.

sushi, omakase wagyu, yakiniku shabu-shabu, sukiyaki yakitori set meals, noodles, casual

Every place in this chapter, plotted from its real coordinates over the main roads, parks and the Furukawa river from OpenStreetMap. Rings are straight-line distance from the Airbnb; multiply by about 1.3 for walking. Numbered dots are the Azabu-Juban cluster, listed in the key. The list below has a map pin for each place.

¥1,000–2,500set-meal lunch, ramen, soba, tonkatsu

¥4,000–6,000casual sushi, yakitori, izakaya dinner

¥10,000–15,000omakase, yakiniku, shabu-shabu course

Cuisine

Budget

Seating

Showing all 61 places. Each one has a Tabelog link and a Google Maps link that opens the shop's own card, photos and directions. Seat counts and seating types are the restaurants' own listings on Tabelog; counters are tight, tables and sunken floors suit a group.

Breakfast sets, open by 7:00–8:30, ¥700–2,000

Nearly every set-meal place in Tokyo opens at 11:00. These are the exceptions: grilled fish, rice and miso soup from early morning, checked against each shop's posted hours on Tabelog. The chains carry Tabelog's "hours may change" note, so glance at the page before you go.

3.31Shinpachi Shokudo, Tamachiclosest, 7:00Tamachi 174 m · 7:00–23:00 daily · under ¥999 · Grilled-fish teishoku chain, under ¥1,000. One stop north on the Mita line, about 15 minutes door to door. The same chain has 7:00 branches in Shibuya and Nishi-Gotanda; the Shinjuku south-east exit branch runs 4:00 to 3:00. · 20 seats: counter · no reservations · Google Maps
3.24Azabu Ami ShiroAzabu Juban 233 m · 7:30–22:30 daily · ¥2,000–¥2,999 · Charcoal-grill izakaya that serves breakfast; the walkable option. · 20 seats: counter, tables, terrace · wheelchair access · Google Maps
3.48Fu Teishokuya, EbisuEbisu 223 m · 7:30–15:00 weekdays, 7:30–21:30 weekends · ¥1,000–¥1,999 · Organic Japanese sets. Mita line to Meguro, one Yamanote stop, 14 minutes. · 24 seats: sofas · Google Maps
3.46Shinagawa HiokiShinagawa 94 m · 7:00–22:30 weekdays, 7:00–21:00 weekends · ¥1,000–¥1,999 · Fish sets and rice bowls inside Ecute Shinagawa South, 15 minutes. Good before a Shinkansen. · 45 seats: counter · no reservations · Google Maps
3.58Tadokoro Foods eat-in, Tsukijithe market trip, 6:30Tsukijishijo 267 m · 6:30–14:00, closed Sunday and some Wednesdays · under ¥999 · Tsukiji is 24 minutes: Namboku one stop to Azabu-Juban, then the Oedo line to Tsukijishijo. Under ¥1,000. · 16 seats: counter, tables · no reservations · Google Maps
3.57Chosei An, TsukijiTsukiji 324 m · 7:00–14:30 Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri; 7:00–14:00 Sat; closed Sunday · ¥2,000–¥2,999 · Soba and seafood sets. · 28 seats: tables · Google Maps
3.48Oda Yasu, Tsukiji UogashiTsukiji 375 m · 7:00–14:00, closed Sunday, holidays and market closure days · ¥1,000–¥1,999 · Fried fish and croquette sets. · 4 seats: counter · no reservations · Google Maps
3.49Toto Grill, TsukijiTsukiji 447 m · 8:00 weekdays, 7:00 Saturday, closed Sunday and holidays · under ¥999 · Grilled fish and seafood plates. · 56 seats · Google Maps
3.67Katsuo Shokudo, Shibuyathe famous oneShibuya 548 m · 8:30–13:00, closed Wednesday and Thursday · ¥2,000–¥2,999 · The katsuobushi breakfast: rice, miso soup and a mountain of fresh-shaved bonito flakes. 17 minutes from the base. · 10 seats: counter · Google Maps

Set-meal lunches (teishoku), around ¥1,000–2,000

A tray with a main, rice, miso soup and pickles. The best value meal in Japan and easy with older relatives. Most of these are weekday-lunch places with short hours.

3.71Takishitastart hereAzabu-Juban, 145 m from the station · grilled fish and Japanese sets · closed Wednesday · 24 seats: counter, tables, tatami, sunken floor · wheelchair access · Google Maps
3.51Tonkatsu MiyakoAzabu-Juban · pork cutlet sets and curry · closed Wednesday · 19 seats: counter, tables · Google Maps
3.51Ichiju SansaiHiroo · fish sets · weekdays only · 8 seats: counter · no reservations · Google Maps
3.48Fukushima YaAzabu-Juban, 105 m · oden and set meals · open daily · 28 seats: counter, tables · wheelchair access · Google Maps
3.48AnbaiAzabu-Juban · seafood sets · closed Tuesday · 22 seats: counter, tables · Google Maps
3.42Fujiya ShokudoAzabu-Juban · old-style diner, lunch under ¥1,000 · closed Sunday and holidays · 25 seats: counter, tables · Google Maps

Noodles and cheap classics, ¥1,000–2,000

3.69Tonkatsu OuryuTabelog 100Shirokane-takanawa, 594 m · pork cutlet, lunch ¥1,000–1,999 · closed Monday · 26 seats: counter, tables, sunken floor · private rooms · Google Maps
3.80Iruka TokyoTabelog 100Roppongi · ramen, expect a queue · closed Monday · 13 seats: counter, tables · private rooms · no reservations · Google Maps
3.75Chuka Soba MukanGotanda · clean, classic ramen · open daily · 6 seats: counter · no reservations · Google Maps
3.65Sarashina HoriiAzabu-Juban · famous white soba house since 1789, lunch ¥2,000–2,999 · open daily · 70 seats: tatami · Google Maps
3.69Soba TajimaTabelog 100Hiroo · soba, lunch ¥1,000–1,999 · closed Sunday and Monday · 28 seats · Google Maps
3.48MUHOShirokane-takanawa, 239 m · soba, udon and tempura bowls, ¥1,000–1,999 · closed Thursday · seats not listed: tables · no reservations · Google Maps

Casual sushi dinner, ¥3,000–6,000

Counter or table, order by the piece or a set. No reservation needed at most of these.

3.33Sushi MisakiHiroo, 48 m from the station · dinner ¥3,000–3,999 · open daily · seats not listed · Google Maps
3.33SugidamaAzabu-Juban, 118 m · sushi izakaya, dinner ¥3,000–3,999 · 74 seats: sofas · Google Maps
3.32MIYAHiroo · sushi and seafood bowls, dinner ¥4,000–4,999 · closed Sunday · 24 seats · Google Maps
3.51Sushiya no UmataroGotanda · dinner ¥5,000–5,999 · closed Sunday · 40 seats: counter, tatami · Google Maps
3.52Sushi DanHiroo, 124 m · lunch ¥4,000–4,999, dinner ¥6,000–7,999 · closed Wednesday · 12 seats: counter, terrace · Google Maps

Conveyor-belt sushi, ¥1,500–4,000, no booking

Kaitenzushi: plates circle past on a belt, or you order from the tablet and a lane delivers it. Colour-coded plates set the price, green-tea powder and a hot-water tap sit at every seat, and you're in and out in twenty-five minutes. The best ones are at the big stations rather than near the base, which makes them the right lunch on a day out. None take reservations; the famous ones queue at noon, so eat at 11:30 or 14:00.

3.48Katsumidori Megurobest valueMeguro 114 m · lunch ¥1,000–¥1,999, dinner ¥2,000–¥2,999 · The chain Tokyo people queue for: big fish for the price, plates from about ¥150. At Meguro station, 12 minutes from the base, so the closest conveyor belt to you. · 66 seats: counter · no reservations · Google Maps
3.51Toriton, Atre ShinagawaShinagawa 171 m · lunch ¥3,000–¥3,999 · A Hokkaido chain with a Tokyo cult; thick cuts of northern fish. In the Atre building at Shinagawa station, handy before a Shinkansen or on the way back from Kamakura. Expect a queue at lunch. · 52 seats · no reservations · Google Maps
3.55Nemuro Hanamaru, KITTETokyo 279 m · lunch ¥2,000–¥2,999 · The other Hokkaido name, in the KITTE building beside Tokyo Station. Take a ticket from the machine and shop while you wait; the wait is often an hour. · 67 seats: counter · no reservations · Google Maps
3.49Haneda Ichiba, GranstaTokyo 125 m · lunch ¥3,000–¥3,999, dinner ¥4,000–¥4,999 · Inside Tokyo Station's ticket gates, fish trucked in from Haneda's market. The fastest proper meal on a Disney or Shinkansen day. · 42 seats: counter, tables · no reservations · Google Maps
3.49Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onoderathe fancy oneOmote Sando 236 m · lunch ¥4,000–¥4,999 · Conveyor belt from the group behind one of Ginza's famous counters, in Omotesando. Dearer, better fish, still no booking and still a belt. · 70 seats: counter, tables · private rooms · no reservations · Google Maps
3.48Ginza Onodera Musuko, ShibuyaShibuya 154 m · lunch ¥4,000–¥4,999 · The same group's younger Shibuya branch, near the station. · 22 seats: counter, tables · private rooms · Google Maps
3.46Numazuko, ShinjukuShinjuku Sanchome 166 m · lunch ¥2,000–¥2,999 · A small, famous shop by Shinjuku-sanchome with fish from Numazu port. Queue, eat, leave; it moves fast. · 52 seats: counter, tables · no reservations · Google Maps
3.43Edokko, UenoKeisei Ueno 135 m · lunch ¥1,000–¥1,999, dinner ¥2,000–¥2,999 · Cheap and quick by Keisei Ueno, useful after the museums. · 30 seats: counter · Google Maps
3.45Hinatomaru, AsakusaAsakusa 214 m · lunch ¥2,000–¥2,999, dinner ¥4,000–¥4,999 · Near Sensō-ji; a sit-down break on an Asakusa or Kappabashi day. · 20 seats: counter · no reservations · Google Maps
3.43Himawari Zushi, Shinjukutried 18 Oct, greatShinjuku 275 m · lunch ¥1,000–¥1,999, dinner ¥2,000–¥2,999 · closed Tuesday · Old-school Shinjuku belt with a loyal lunch crowd. · 28 seats: counter · no reservations · Google Maps

Omakase, ¥8,000–20,000

The chef chooses, usually 15 to 20 pieces over about two hours at a counter of 8 to 10 seats. Book a week or more ahead. Tell them about allergies when booking, not at the counter.

3.72Sushi Ya ShotaAzabu-Juban · ¥15,000–19,999 · closed Sunday and Monday · 7 seats: counter · Google Maps
3.69Tachigui Sushi TonariAzabu-Juban · standing counter, omakase quality at ¥8,000–9,999 · closed Monday · 14 seats: counter · Google Maps
3.60Wa NogiHiroo · dinner ¥15,000–19,999, lunch sets ¥2,000–2,999 · closed public holidays · 12 seats: counter, tables · private rooms · Google Maps
3.57Sushi SuzumeAzabu-Juban · ¥10,000–14,999 · 9 seats: counter · Google Maps
3.54Sushi MukauclosestShirokane-takanawa, 2 min from exit 4 · 10-seat counter, ¥15,000–19,999 listed, diners report ¥20,000+ · open daily 17:00–23:00 · reservation only, 050-5890-7506 · 10 seats: counter · Google Maps
3.52Sushi YoshikawaAzabu-Juban, 28 m from the station · ¥10,000–14,999 · 23 seats: counter, tatami, sunken floor · private rooms · Google Maps

Wagyu: yakiniku, ¥8,000–15,000

Yakiniku is grill-it-yourself beef over charcoal at your table, ordered by cut. The easiest way to eat a lot of good wagyu without a tasting-menu price. Ask for kalbi (short rib), harami (skirt) and tan (tongue) to start.

3.91UshimatsuTabelog 100Hiroo · ¥10,000–14,999 · open daily · 60 seats: tables, sofas · private rooms · Google Maps
3.74Kiraku TeiTabelog 100Hiroo · ¥10,000–14,999 · closed Tuesday · 35 seats · private rooms · Google Maps
3.73Yakiniku Jumbo ShirokaneTabelog 100Shirokane-takanawa, 519 m · lunch ¥4,000–4,999, dinner ¥10,000–14,999 · open daily · 64 seats: sofas · private rooms · Google Maps
3.68Niku Yakiya D-29Tabelog 100Hiroo · yakiniku and steak, ¥10,000–14,999 · closed Monday · 25 seats: counter · private rooms · Google Maps
3.59KABUNAzabu-Juban, 129 m · Korean-style, ¥8,000–9,999 · 49 seats: counter, sofas · private rooms · Google Maps

Shabu-shabu and sukiyaki, ¥8,000–15,000

Both are hot pot cooked at the table, good for a group and gentle on anyone who finds raw fish or grilling a chore. Shabu-shabu swishes thin beef through light broth, eaten with ponzu or sesame sauce. Sukiyaki simmers it in sweet soy and is dipped in raw egg.

3.57KotakinoclosestShirokane-takanawa, 275 m · beef tongue shabu-shabu, ¥10,000–14,999 · open daily · 25 seats: counter, tables, tatami, sunken floor · private rooms · Google Maps
3.55Sukiyaki JunitenHiroo, 127 m · all-you-can-eat sukiyaki, ¥10,000–14,999 · open daily · 15 seats: counter, tables · Google Maps
3.54SuginoAzabu-Juban · oden and shabu-shabu, ¥8,000–9,999 · closed Sunday · 44 seats: counter, tables · private rooms · Google Maps
3.45KabutoAzabu-Juban · yakiniku, shabu-shabu and sukiyaki under one roof, ¥8,000–9,999, lunch ¥1,000–1,999 · 90 seats: tatami, sunken floor, sofas · private rooms · Google Maps

Yakitori, the splurge version

Grilled chicken skewers. Cheap izakaya versions are everywhere; these are the counter tasting-menu kind, and the ratings around Shirokane are the highest of any cuisine in the area.

4.20Minami Aoyama Nana ChomeAward 2026Hiroo · ¥15,000–19,999 · weekdays only · 10 seats: counter · Google Maps
4.12MizukiTabelog 100Shirokanedai · ¥15,000–19,999 · closed Wednesday and Thursday · 9 seats: counter · Google Maps
4.09Torisho Ishii HinaAward 2026Azabu-Juban · ¥15,000–19,999 · closed Sunday and Monday · 12 seats: counter · Google Maps
3.58Shirogane ToritamaTabelog 100the affordable one · ¥5,000–5,999 · open daily · 18 seats: counter · Google Maps

Tempura and soba together

3.69KomotoHiroo · soba and tempura, lunch ¥3,000–3,999, dinner ¥10,000–14,999 · closed Sunday · 56 seats: counter, tables, sofas · private rooms · Google Maps
3.56Azabu Kawakami AnAzabu-Juban · soba and tempura, lunch ¥2,000–2,999 · open daily · 50 seats: counter, tables, terrace · private rooms · Google Maps

If a relative wants something familiar

3.70Azabu KogaikenTabelog 100Hiroo · omelette rice and Japanese-style Western food, lunch ¥1,000–1,999 · open daily · 15 seats: counter, tables, sofas · Google Maps
3.67Restaurant EdoyaShirokanedai · hamburger steak and omelette rice, dinner ¥5,000–5,999 · closed Tuesday and Wednesday · 15 seats: counter, tables · Google Maps
3.74AMANOYATabelog 100Azabu-Juban · old coffee house, sweets and okonomiyaki · closed Tuesday · 20 seats: tables, tatami · Google Maps
3.78Naniwaya SohontenTabelog 100Azabu-Juban, 90 m · taiyaki, the fish-shaped bean-paste pastry, since 1909 · closed Tuesday and Wednesday · 12 seats: tables · Google Maps

¥How dining works here

Getting a table

Lunch is the bargain. The same kitchen often charges half at lunch. Omakase counters that run ¥18,000 at night may do a ¥3,000 lunch set.
Small counters are reservation only and book out a week or more ahead. Ask the Airbnb host to call, or use TableCheck or Omakase.in, which take bookings in English for many places.
No-shows are a serious offence. Cancel by phone if plans change. Some counters charge the full course for a no-show.
Ramen, soba and set-meal shops don't take bookings. Queue, and expect to be in and out in 30 minutes. Many have a ticket machine by the door: pay first, hand over the ticket.
Restaurants close between services, roughly 14:30 to 17:30, and many close one weekday. Check the closed day before you set out.
Groups over four are hard at counters. Book ahead, or pick yakiniku, shabu-shabu or izakaya, which seat tables.

At the table

Izakaya add a cover charge, called otoshi, with a small appetiser you didn't order. Around ¥300–800 a head. That's normal.
Don't tip. It confuses people. The bill is the bill.
Say "sumimasen" to call staff. Nobody will come otherwise. Many places have a call button on the table.
Omakase etiquette: eat each piece in one bite as it's served, soy sauce is already applied, and ginger is a palate cleanser between pieces, not a topping. No perfume. Ask before taking photos.
Allergies and dietary limits go in the booking, not to the chef mid-course. Vegetarian is hard at sushi and yakitori; shabu-shabu, tempura, soba and set-meal places cope better. Dashi broth almost always contains fish.
Slurping noodles is fine. Blowing your nose at the table is not.

Paying

Pay at the register by the door, not at the table. Take the bill up when you're done.
Carry cash. Small restaurants, ticket-machine shops, shrines and market stalls may not take cards. 7-Eleven ATMs accept foreign cards.
Bring your passport for tax-free shopping at participating stores on larger purchases.

揉Massage and baths

Japan treats a massage as maintenance, not a treat, so it is cheap, everywhere and open late. There are three kinds, and knowing which door you are walking through saves money and surprises.

The three kinds

Relaxation chains (リラクゼーション). The shopfronts in every station building and mall: Raffine, Re.Ra.Ku, Karada Factory. Momihogushi is a firm kneading done through your clothes, with loungewear provided; the therapists are trained by the chain rather than state-licensed. Roughly ¥2,300 for 20 minutes and ¥7,000 to 8,000 for an hour. Walk in or book the same day. This is the one to use after a long shopping day.
Licensed shiatsu and anma (指圧・あんま). Finger-pressure therapy by practitioners with a national licence, usually in a clinic rather than a salon. Better for a bad back or a stiff neck that a chain cannot shift. Expect ¥7,000 to 11,000 for 60 to 90 minutes and book a day ahead.
Head spa, oil and Thai. Head spa (a long scalp, neck and shoulder treatment, often with a wash) is the current Tokyo craze and Azabu-Juban has several salons; oil and aroma courses are undressed under towels; Thai places cluster around Roppongi and Azabu-Juban. Prices run from chain level up to ¥12,000 or more for 40 minutes at the boutique ones.

Near the base

Re.Ra.Ku, Azabu-Juban. Maps ↗ Basement of the JMN building, four minutes from Namboku exit 4 (two minutes from the base by train, fifteen on foot). Open 11:00 to 20:00 daily, last booking 19:20; same-day web booking; 60-minute reset course ¥7,900, a 30-minute first-timer rate about ¥3,500. Phone 03-3401-3408.
Raffine, Azabu-Juban. Maps ↗ The biggest chain in the country; the listing shows 11:00 to 22:00 with last reception 21:30, which makes it the late option. Chain prices start at ¥4,600 for 40 minutes and ¥6,900 for 60, plus ¥200 at weekends; each store sets its own, so check the board.
Head spa in Azabu-Juban. Maps ↗ Several small salons within a few streets of the station, most by reservation and most Japanese-only. Wayanpuri advertises English menus; onsenSPA annex runs 10:00 to 06:00 at ¥11,000 to 12,000 for a 40-minute dry head spa. Book through the salon's own page or ask the host to phone.
Namikoshi Shiatsu Center, Koishikawa. Maps ↗ The clinic of the family that gave shiatsu its name, ten minutes' walk from Korakuen, which is a direct 16-minute Namboku ride from Shirokane-takanawa. 10:00 to 20:00 with a lunch break, closed Tuesdays. Whole body ¥7,700 for 60 minutes, ¥11,000 for 90; reserve first. The website is in English; ask for an English-speaking practitioner when you book.
Hotel spas. The Aman, Mandarin Oriental and Peninsula spas are the luxury end, several times the chain prices and booked days ahead. Worth it once if you want the view and the pool with it; not for a sore back.

Baths: onsen and sento

A sento is the neighbourhood public bath, ¥550 by law in Tokyo; an onsen is fed by a hot spring; a super sento is a bath complex with saunas, restaurants and massage inside. All three are the best thing to do with a tired body in this city.

Takenoyu, Minami-Azabu. Maps ↗ A real hot-spring sento ten minutes' walk from Azabu-Juban, with dark tea-coloured water from its own source, even in the cold plunge. 15:30 to 23:30, closed Mondays and Fridays, ¥550 cash, sauna extra. Bring your own towel and soap or buy them at the counter. Tattoo rule not published; ask at the desk.
Shimizu-yu, Minami-Aoyama. Maps ↗ A modern sento two minutes from Omotesando exit A4 (19 minutes from the base): soft water throughout, a strong carbonated bath and a silk bath, about ¥1,100 with the sauna. 12:00 to 24:00, to 23:00 at weekends, closed Fridays. It refuses tattoos, including henna.
Thermae-Yu, Shinjuku. Maps ↗ The super sento, two minutes from Shinjuku-sanchome exit E1 and open 24 hours: baths, saunas, a rock bath, restaurants and a floor of body care, foot care, head spa and Thai treatment. ¥3,100 Monday to Thursday and ¥3,200 Friday to Sunday for up to 18 hours, loungewear and towels included; staying past midnight adds about ¥2,000. Tattoos: foreign visitors are admitted with a ¥330 cover sticker and a passport; small tattoos on women need no sticker; it refuses tattooed Japanese men.

How it goes

At a massage: shoes off at the door, phone off, the course sheet is pictures. Say kata for shoulders, koshi for lower back, mō sukoshi tsuyoku for harder and yowaku for softer; itai means it hurts and they will ease off at once. Pay after, card or cash at the chains. No tipping anywhere in this chapter.
At a bath: undress completely in the changing room, wash and rinse at a seated tap before you get in, keep the small towel out of the water (on your head is traditional), tie long hair up, no photos, speak quietly. Soak ten minutes, cool off, repeat. Drink water after. Men and women bathe separately.
Tattoos are still refused at many baths; the three above tell you where they stand. A sento is usually more relaxed than a resort onsen, and a waterproof cover sticker from a pharmacy solves it at the places that allow covering.

UDAccessibility

Tokyo is kind to slow walkers once you stop treating the train network as a sport. This chapter is for anyone in the party who moves slowly or with help: a cane, a bad knee, a wheelchair, a stroller, or simply a long day. The rules were written for the days the older relatives are along, and they hold for everyone.

What the operators provide

Toei (Mita, Oedo, Asakusa, Shinjuku lines). Elevators at every station give at least one step-free route from street to gate to platform, and every station keeps a portable ramp, so staff can bridge the train gap at any point on the platform. Ask at the gate; they phone ahead so someone meets the train at the other end.
Tokyo Metro (Namboku, Hibiya, Ginza and the rest). Its own figures put step-free routes at every station by this fiscal year, but at the big interchanges such as Ginza and Shibuya there may be only one or two elevators, often far from the exit you want. Plan the elevator exit, not the nearest one.
Ticket gates and toilets. The wide gate is the one beside the staffed booth. Multipurpose toilets with grab rails are at almost every station and in every department store and museum.
Wheelchair taxis. Most Tokyo cabs are the boxy JPN Taxi with a sliding door and a fold-out ramp. For a guaranteed one, request Uber Assist in the Uber app (23 wards): a certified driver helps with boarding, folds a chair or walker into the back, and charges the ordinary metered fare plus any dispatch fee. Chairs up to 120 by 70 cm fit.

Pace

One anchor a day, with a sit-down lunch in the middle and home by 16:00, before the evening rush. A museum and its café is a full day. Two neighbourhoods is too many.
Build in chairs. Department stores have lounges on the upper floors, museums have cafés, parks have benches. Shinjuku Gyoen and the Teien garden are the gentlest walks on this list.
Mornings are better than afternoons for crowds, weather and energy.

Trains and taxis

Every station has an elevator route, but it may be far from the platform you arrive on. Look for the elevator symbol on the station map at the ticket gate, or ask staff for the erebētā. Namboku line platforms have doors and the cars are new.
Avoid 7:30–9:30 and 17:30–19:30. No seats, no space for a cane or a chair. Priority seats and the wheelchair bays are at the car ends; people do give them up if asked.
Taxis are the right answer more often than you'd think. The GO app works in English and takes cards; Uber also works here and sends ordinary taxis. Fares start around ¥500 and a ride from Shirokane to Ginza or Roppongi lands roughly in the ¥2,000–3,000 range. Doors open and close themselves, so don't touch them. Taxi ranks sit outside every department store and big hotel.
For the day trips, Hakone is the gentle one: a reserved seat from Shinjuku, no changes, then the Open-Air Museum, which has slopes but paths everywhere and places to sit. Skip the ropeway queue. Nikko's shrines are steep stone steps; Kamakura's Great Buddha is flat and the tram is fun.

Eating with a group

Restaurants are the weak point: many sit up or down a narrow stair with no accessible toilet, so favour ground-floor and department-store dining when a chair or a bad hip is along.
Use the Seating filter under Where to eat: every restaurant row now carries its seat count, whether it has tables, a counter, a sunken floor or tatami, private rooms, and whether it lists wheelchair access, all from the restaurant's own Tabelog entry.
Pick table restaurants, not counters. From the list in this guide: the yakiniku places (Ushimatsu, Kiraku Tei, Yakiniku Jumbo, Niku Yakiya D-29, KABUN), the shabu-shabu and sukiyaki places (Kotakino, Sukiyaki Juniten, Sugino, Kabuto), the set-meal lunches and the "familiar" group (Azabu Kogaiken, Edoya, AMANOYA). Omakase sushi and the tasting-menu yakitori are eight-seat counters with fixed courses, which is a lot to ask of someone who doesn't love raw fish.
Book for five or more, even at lunch. Say the number and the time; the Airbnb host can call.
Shabu-shabu and sukiyaki are the crowd-pleasers: cooked at the table, mild, and everyone chooses what to eat. Kotakino is a short walk from the Airbnb.
Chairs, not floor seating. Some traditional rooms are tatami with low tables. Ask for a table seat, tēburu seki, when booking.

Practical

Toilets are everywhere and clean: every station, convenience store, department store and park. Western-style with heated seats is the norm.
Luggage goes by courier, not by hand. Any convenience store or the Airbnb host can send bags to the airport or a hotel by takkyubin for a modest fee; allow two days for Narita. Station lockers big enough for a suitcase are scarce.
Pharmacies with a green cross sign are on most streets, and see the Help section for the hospital nearest the Airbnb with English-speaking staff.
Bring prescriptions in their original packaging with a copy of the script. Some common US medicines, including pseudoephedrine decongestants and ADHD stimulants, are restricted in Japan.

礼Manners that matter

No phone calls on trains, and keep your voice low.
Eating while walking is frowned upon in most places. Market streets are the exception.
Trash cans are rare. Carry a small bag for rubbish.
Wear slip-on shoes and decent socks. Temples, traditional inns and some restaurants ask you to take shoes off.
Ignore street touts in Roppongi and Kabukicho. Some bars they lead you to run up huge bills.

Late October is usually mild and good for walking. It is also the tail of typhoon season, so check train status before a day trip.

SOSIf something goes wrong

110Police

119Ambulance or fire

050-3816-2787Japan Visitor Hotline, 24 hours, English. Tourist help and emergencies.

03-3224-5000US Embassy, 1-10-5 Akasaka. Same number after hours.

Nearest big hospital with English-speaking staff: Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, 4-1-22 Hiroo, 03-3400-1311, Maps ↗ a short taxi ride from the Airbnb. St. Luke's International Hospital in Tsukiji and the Tokyo Medical and Surgical Clinic near Shiba Park are the other two foreigners use. Hospitals want payment up front; cards work at the big ones, and your travel insurance reimburses.
Pharmacies: Matsumoto Kiyoshi, Welcia and Sundrug are the chains. Over-the-counter medicine is behind the counter; staff help with a translation app. Prescriptions need a Japanese doctor.
Earthquakes. Phones blare an alert a few seconds ahead. Stay where you are, away from glass and shelves; don't run outside. Trains stop and restart on their own. The JNTO Safety Tips app gives alerts in English.
Lost something? Ask station staff, or go to the nearest police box, a kōban, which also give directions. Things come back here.
Lost card or cash. 7-Eleven and post office ATMs take foreign cards. Call your bank's number on the card; Japan's country code is +81.
Typhoon. Late October is the tail of the season. If one is forecast, operators announce suspensions a day ahead; check the status links under Getting around and don't plan a day trip for that day.