"Tokyo is the city that has more Michelin stars than Paris — and where the best meal you'll eat costs ¥800 at a standing ramen bar."
Tokyo is the world's greatest food city — a metropolis of 14 million people that has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city on earth, a street food culture of extraordinary depth and variety, and a culinary philosophy built on the relentless pursuit of perfection. It is also one of the world's safest, cleanest, and most efficiently organised cities — a place where the trains run to the second, the convenience stores sell better food than most restaurants in other countries, and the concept of omotenashi (selfless hospitality) permeates every interaction. Tokyo rewards the traveller who arrives with no fixed plan and simply walks.
The city is best understood as a collection of villages — each neighbourhood with its own character, its own restaurants, its own rhythm. A week is the minimum; two weeks is better. The JR Yamanote Line loops around the city's core neighbourhoods; the subway reaches everywhere else. The best Tokyo experience is built around eating — breakfast at Tsukiji, lunch at a standing soba bar, afternoon coffee in a Shimokitazawa kissaten, dinner at a Ginza counter, and a late-night bowl of ramen in Shinjuku.
"Aman Tokyo — 33 floors above the Imperial Palace, with hinoki wood and washi paper and the finest spa in the city."
TastesOf Editorial
At a Glance
What Not to Miss
The Michelin Dining Scene
Tokyo has more Michelin stars than any city in the world — 226 starred restaurants at last count, including 12 with three stars. Sukiyabashi Jiro (the subject of Jiro Dreams of Sushi), Ryugin, and Quintessence are the three-star benchmarks; but the most extraordinary meals in Tokyo are often found in the 12-seat counters of Ginza and Azabu-Juban, where a single chef has spent decades perfecting a single cuisine. Book three to six months in advance for the best restaurants.
Tsukiji Outer Market
The world's most famous fish market moved its wholesale operations to Toyosu in 2018, but the Tsukiji Outer Market — the surrounding streets of fishmongers, knife shops, and breakfast restaurants — remains one of the great food experiences in the world. Arrive before 8am for the freshest tuna sashimi and the finest tamagoyaki in Tokyo.
The Neighbourhoods
Tokyo is a city of neighbourhoods, each with its own distinct character. Shinjuku for the neon and the izakayas; Shibuya for the crossing and the department stores; Harajuku for the fashion and the Meiji Shrine; Yanaka for the old Tokyo atmosphere; Shimokitazawa for the vintage shops and the live music; Ginza for the luxury and the sushi. The best Tokyo experience is built by walking between them.
Senso-ji Temple at Dawn
Tokyo's oldest temple — founded in 628 AD in the Asakusa district — is one of the most visited religious sites in the world. At dawn, before the crowds arrive, the Nakamise shopping street is quiet and the incense smoke drifts through the Kaminarimon gate in the early light. One of the great urban experiences in Asia.
The Ramen Pilgrimage
Tokyo ramen is a world unto itself — tonkotsu, shoyu, shio, and miso broths, each with its own regional tradition and its own obsessive practitioners. Fuunji in Shinjuku (tsukemen), Ichiran (solo booth tonkotsu), and the ramen street at Tokyo Station are the essential stops. The standing ramen bars of Shinjuku at midnight are a separate, essential category.
teamLab Borderless
The world's most visited digital art museum — a 10,000-square-metre labyrinth of immersive, interactive digital art installations in Odaiba. The experience is unlike anything else in the world, and the queues are long; book in advance and go on a weekday morning.
Where to Stay
Aman Tokyo
Ultra-LuxuryThe finest hotel in Tokyo — 33 floors above the Imperial Palace gardens, with rooms that combine traditional Japanese materials (washi paper, hinoki wood) with extraordinary scale. The spa, with its 30-metre pool and onsen, is the finest in the city. The most coveted address in Tokyo.
The Peninsula Tokyo
LuxuryA beautifully positioned hotel at the intersection of Hibiya and Ginza — with extraordinary views of the Imperial Palace moat, a rooftop bar that is one of the finest in the city, and service that is the standard against which all other Tokyo hotels are measured.
Hoshinoya Tokyo
Urban RyokanA vertical ryokan in the heart of Tokyo — 17 floors of traditional Japanese hospitality in the Otemachi financial district. Tatami floors, yukata robes, a rooftop onsen, and a kaiseki restaurant make this the most distinctive hotel experience in the city.
The Verdict
The world's greatest food city — stay at Aman Tokyo, eat everything, and walk every neighbourhood.