Things to do in Tokyo, splurging
Three days of fine-dining dinners, design shopping, and serious cocktails in Tokyo.
This is Tokyo for people who want to eat well every single night and spend the days in spaces that have been thought about. You'll move between Omotesando, Azabu, and Ginza, which together cover the city's most design-conscious, chef-driven corridor. It suits anyone happy to book ahead, spend freely, and skip the tourist checklist in favour of a really good room and an even better reservation.
Day 1: Omotesando and Shibuya, slowly
The day opens with Oslo beans at Fuglen, moves through a forested shrine and a soba lunch, then ends with French cooking at MONOLITH and a cocktail at The Bellwood.
- 9:30 AM
Fuglen Tokyo
Oslo-roasted beans, legendary pour-overs, the Tomigaya original that put Tokyo specialty coffee on the map.
Map - 10:30 AM
Meiji Jingu
Forested shrine with century-old canopy and gravel paths, a serene contrast to the neon city you'll hit.
Map - 12:30 PM
Tamawarai
Acclaimed handmade soba in a quietly elegant Omotesando room, a perfect unhurried lunch.
Map - 2:30 PM
Shibuya Scramble Square
Book a timed slot for Shibuya Sky's open roof deck, then browse the design floors on the way down.
Map - 7:30 PM
- 9:30 PM
The Bellwood
Wood-panelled Shibuya cocktail bar with a long bar and a seasonal list; ask for something with Japanese whisky.
Map
Day 2: Azabu towers and a long dinner
Tokyo Tower and Roppongi Hills in the morning, a long hibachi lunch at Sekishin Tei, then the evening belongs to le pristine and a classic nightcap at Bar Lupin.
- 9:30 AM
- 11:00 AM
Roppongi Hills 六本木ヒルズ
Start the morning with a stroll through Roppongi Hills, grab a coffee from one of its cafés inside this iconic complex before the crowds arrive.
Map - 12:30 PM
Sekishin Tei
Teppanyaki lunch in Akasaka: wagyu and seafood cooked on the griddle in front of you.
Map - 7:30 PM
le pristine restaurant tokyo
Acclaimed destination dinner at le pristine, contemporary cooking that punches hard; a proper splurge table.
Map - 9:30 PM
Bar Lupin
Basement bar from 1928 where Dazai Osamu drank; order a classic cocktail and keep your voice low.
Map
Day 3: Ginza: shops, wagyu, ZURRIOLA
Work through the floors of Mitsukoshi, eat wagyu sukiyaki at lunch, walk Hamarikyu's tidal garden, then Spanish cooking at Zurriola and a last cocktail at Star Bar.
- 10:30 AM
Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store 日本橋三越本店
Tokyo's grandest department store for design, fashion and curated Japanese goods across multiple floors.
Map - 12:30 PM
GOKU Wagyu Sukiyaki Higashi-Ginza Tsukiji WAGYU SUKIYAKI 極〜GOKU〜 Ginza Tsukiji
Wagyu sukiyaki cooked at the table and dipped in raw egg; the lunch set is the best value.
Map - 2:15 PM
Hamarikyu Gardens
Shogun-era garden with a seawater pond under the Shiodome towers; take matcha at the island teahouse.
Map - 7:30 PM
ZURRIOLA
Seiichi Honda's modern Spanish in Ginza, named for a San Sebastián beach; wood and charcoal cooking.
Map - 9:30 PM
Star Bar Ginza
Hisashi Kishi's basement bar in Ginza 1-chome, ten minutes on foot from Zurriola; order a sidecar.
Map
Where to stay
Grand Hyatt Tokyo
Grand Hyatt sits inside Roppongi Hills, putting Day 2 on your doorstep and keeping Omotesando and Ginza both within easy reach.
JANU Tokyo
JANU Tokyo is the highest-spec option in the cluster: a proper destination hotel with spa weight behind it, right for a trip built around splurge dinners and deliberate days.
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.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
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