How to do Tokyo

Accommodation in Tokyo

Tokyo will host the Olympic Games in 2020, and in part as a result, luxury hotel options are fast expanding. This year, the main building of the iconic Hotel Okura will be demolished to allow the owners to rebuild in time for the Olympics, but the South Wing remains open. Other five-star options include the Peninsula, Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons, Conrad and Park Hyatt (made famous by the Bill Murray-Scarlett Johansson film Lost in Translation). Showing its age a bit, but nonetheless extremely stylish is Hotel Claska, which features an eclectic range of spacious (and in some cases, enormous) designer rooms. For budgets that don’t run to that sort of luxury, Tokyo offers plenty of choice among “business hotel” chains such as Sunroute, Villa Fontaine, Tokyu, APA and Toyoko Inn. Many business hotel rooms can be had for under €75/night, including breakfast and in-room Wi-Fi.

Hotel Okura 
‪2-10-4 Toranomon, Minato 105-0001

The Peninsula Tokyo
‪1-8-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda 100-0006

Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo
‪2-1-1 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo

Four Seasons at Marunouchi
1-11-1 Marunouchi Pacific Century Place, Chiyoda

Conrad Tokyo
‪1-9-1 Higashi-Shimbashi, Minato

Park Hyatt Tokyo
‪3-7-1-2 Nishi Shinjuku, Shinjuku

Hotel Claska
‪2-3-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya

Sightseeing and museums in Tokyo

Tokyo is not the temples, shrines and Zen gardens destination Kyoto is, but there’s still plenty to see and do. Meiji Shrine, Senso-ji, Shinjuku Gyoen and Hamarikyu Gardens are cultural attractions well worth the time, and if you haven’t been to Tokyo for a few years, you’ll notice a new addition to the skyline, the Tokyo Skytree. The Tokyo Skytree is the tallest structure in Japan (and the second-tallest on earth), and the view from the observation deck, especially on a clear day in winter, is extraordinary. 

Museum lovers will appreciate the Tokyo National Museum, National Art Center, and Ghibli Museum (for fans of Hayao Miyazaki’s animated films). And of course, there’s Disneyland. But one of the best activities, of course, is people watching. The Shibuya and Harajuku districts are the mecca for urban (and suburban) youth, and on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, the high-end Ginza shopping street is pedestrianized and a great place to see Tokyo’s rich and famous walking their miniature poodles.

‪Tokyo Skytree
1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida

Tokyo National Museum
‪13 - 9 Ueno Park, Taito

Tokyo National Art Center
7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato

Ghibli Museum
‪‪1-1-83 Shimorenjaku, Mitaka

Tokyo Disneyland
1-1 Maihama, Urayasu

By: Roberto De Vido