Luxury things to do in Tokyo
Mitsukoshi, SÉZANNE, Myojaku, RyuGin, and L'Effervescence over three days
No compromises: the grandest department store, tasting menus two nights running, and a tasting-menu lunch before a last evening in Azabu. Tokyo at this level asks nothing of you except appetite.
Day 1: Omotesando: coffee, couture, and Den
Fuglen coffee, Meiji Jingu, teppanyaki at Ukai Tei, Daikanyama T-Site's shelves, then Den's playful dinner and The Bellwood.
- 9:30 AM
Fuglen Tokyo
Cult Oslo-born café steps from Yoyogi Park, the flat white is the talk of the neighbourhood.
Map - 10:30 AM
Meiji Jingu
Cross Jingu Bridge into the shrine forest; the gravel walk to the main hall takes about fifteen minutes.
Map - 12:30 PM
Omotesando Ukai Tei
Omotesando Ukai Tei, famous teppanyaki institution, one of Tokyo's most celebrated and theatrical lunch experiences.
Map - 2:30 PM
Daikanyama T-Site
Daikanyama T-Site, pinners call the magazine floor heaven; a beautifully curated luxury book-and-lifestyle flagship unlike anything else.
Map - 7:30 PM
Den
Zaiyu Hasegawa's playful kaiseki in Jingumae, from the 'Dentucky' fried chicken to the salad from the garden.
Map - 9:30 PM
The Bellwood
The Bellwood, polished, top-rated cocktail bar; the kind of serious, dimly lit room that earns a nightcap after a fine-dining dinner.
Map
Day 2: Mitsukoshi, SÉZANNE, RyuGin
Tokyo's most storied department store, a Four Seasons lunch that everyone is talking about, and RyuGin at night: this is the kind of day that defines what the city does at its highest register.
- 10:00 AM
The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace 皇居東御苑
Free walk through the old Edo Castle grounds, stone walls and keep base; closed Mondays and Fridays.
Map - 10:30 AM
Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store 日本橋三越本店
Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi is Tokyo's grandest department store, the luxury flagship browse a bougie traveller demands, from art to couture to basement food hall.
Map - 12:30 PM
SÉZANNE
Daniel Calvert's French menu on the Four Seasons Marunouchi's seventh floor; lunch is the easier booking.
Map - 7:30 PM
- 10:45 PM
Bar Lupin
Basement bar from 1928 where Dazai Osamu drank; a short walk from RyuGin for one classic cocktail.
Map
Day 3: Azabu: Myojaku, then L'Effervescence
Myojaku on your doorstep for the city's most famous lunch, then an afternoon drifting through Roppongi Hills before L'Effervescence closes the trip at its most pedigreed.
- 10:30 AM
Roppongi Hills 六本木ヒルズ
Explore contemporary Japanese design in this iconic art and shopping complex.
Map - 12:30 PM
Myojaku
Kaiseki in a hushed Azabu room, built around dashi and the season; book the lunch course well ahead.
Map - 2:30 PM
Tokyo Tower 東京タワー
The 1958 red-and-white tower; pay for the Top Deck tour if the sky is clear enough to see Fuji.
Map - 7:30 PM
L'Effervescence
Shinobu Namae's French menu in Nishi-Azabu, ending with tea poured at the table; give it the whole evening.
Map
Where to stay
JANU Tokyo
At Azabudai Hills, walking distance to Tokyo Tower and Roppongi; a big spa and calm rooms.
Bulgari Hotel Tokyo
Bulgari Hotel Tokyo sits atop Tokyo Midtown Yaesu by Tokyo Station, a short ride to Ginza and Azabu.
Make Tokyo your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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Book ahead
- teamLab Planets TOKYO: weeks ahead
- Shibuya Sky: weeks ahead
- Ghibli Museum: weeks ahead
- Ryōgoku Kokugikan: weeks ahead
- Tokyo DisneySea: weeks ahead
- Nikkō: a few days ahead
Skip these
- Takeshita Street in Harajuku is a shoulder to shoulder tourist funnel, walk parallel Ura-Harajuku instead.
- The Ichiran queue is not worth 60 to 90 minutes when Fuunji, Hayashi and Shima exist.
- Pick one viewpoint, Shibuya Sky or the free Metropolitan Government Building decks, not three paid towers.
- There is no wholesale inner market left at Tsukiji, it moved to Toyosu in 2018.
The full Tokyo travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around