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Bars and cafés
Exploring Tokyo can be exhausting. Fortunately, numerous hip cafés and bars provide the perfect place to recharge batteries, while indulging in a spot of people watching.
Some of the best can be stumbled across by simply wandering into the maze of tiny streets that lies off both sides of Omotesando. Take a stroll down Cat Street, past stylish fashion and design boutiques, before joining local hipsters over lunch at the Bape Café (3-27-22 Jingumae), set up by the DJ designer behind cult Japanese label A Bathing Ape.
Head towards the Prada building north of Omotesando and tuck into a virtuous herb tea and grain salad at the Pure Café (5-5-21 Minami-Aoyama), a serene eco-haven attached to the Aveda spa.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Omotesando is the recently renovatedKurkuu (2-18-21 Jingumae), a sleek wood and glass architect-designed haven for style-conscious eco-lovers, complete with organic café, restaurant, bar and workshop.
Art lovers should walk five minutes down the road to the hip basement café in the Mario Botta-designed Watari-Um Museum of Contemporary Art (3-7-6 Jingumae), checking out the current exhibition and its classy shop en route.
A short stroll away – just next to exit three of Gaienmae metro station - isSign (Yamakazi Building, 2-7-18 Kita-Aoyama), a vibrant cafe with bright graphic murals that attracts creatives by day and is home to a DJ and cocktail-sipping crowd by night.
Those with quirkier tastes might wish to visit Office (Kita-Aoyama 2-7-18 Yamazaki Bridge 5F), a DJ bar decorated in the style of a conventional workplace, complete with filing cabinets, photocopying machine and bookshelves.
Nightlife
There is no better way to kick-start an evening in Tokyo than with a sunset cocktail at a cloud-brushing skyscraper. For a personal Lost on Translation moment, head to the window-fronted New York Bar at the Park Hyatt Hotel (3-7-1-2 Nishi Shinjuku, 0081 3 5322 1234;www.tokyo.park.hyatt.com) where the film was shot. As the sun sets, sip a cocktail while drinking in the views of the neon-lit city below.
Dance music fans keen to catch top DJs should head on to one of the city's most famously hip clubs such as Womb in Shibuya (2-16 Maruyama-cho, Shibuya, 0081 3 5459 0039 www.womb.co.jp), Air (BF Hikawa Building, 2-11 Sarugaku, Shibuya, 0081 3 5784 3386; www.air-tokyo.com), or Yellow (B1, B2F Cesaurus Nishiazabu, 1-10-11 Nishiazabu Minato-ku, 0081 3 3479 0690; www.club-yellow.com).
The Blue Note (6-3-16 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, 0081 3 5485 0088;www.bluenote.co.jp) offers first-rate live jazz, blues and world musicians from around the world, ranging from Charles Lloyd to Omar Sosa, in an atmospheric setting.
For a stylish venue that attracts a creative community of designers, architects, photographers and writers, and which hosts suitably hip evenings, head to Superdeluxe (B1F 3-1-25 Nishiazabu, Minato-ku, 0081 3 5412 0515; www.super-deluxe.com). One of the hippest venues, it easily stands out from the nearby mass of Roppongi's more garish all night bars and clubs, hosting an array of imaginative events.
Shopping
No self-respecting international designer is without a multi-million pound flagship architect-designed fashion tower in Tokyo these days. For a taste of luxury, head to Ginza, home of the gleaming new Armani/Ginza Tower (5-5-4 Ginza, Chuo-ku, 0081 3 6274 7000;www.armaniginzatower.com), complete with spa and restaurant as well as men and women's collections. Nearby, there is the equally new flagship ten-storey Bulgari Ginza Tower (2-7—12 Ginza, Chuo-ku,www.bulgari.com), the world's largest store devoted to the Italian jewellers. Other designers in the area range from Versace and Luis Vuitton to Prada and Chanel.
A more down-to-earth fashion fix involves taking a stroll down Takeshita Dori in Harajuku (Harajuku Station, JR Yamanote Line). Gaggles of young Japanese tribes throng the colourful clothes, shoes, accessories and secondhand stores that line the street, making the people-watching as much fun as the shopping.
For the latest techno-gadget, head to Akihabara – the name may translate as "field of autumn leaves" but it is better known as Electric Town as it is home to the largest concentration of electrical stores in the world. It is here - alongside manga stores - that visitors will find the most cutting-edge gadgets, from singing toilets and house-cleaning robots to the latest cameras and computers. Head to one of the massive one-stop shops with Duty Free departments such as Laox: Duty Free Akihabara(1-15-3 Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, 0081 3 3255 5301; www.laox.co.jp) orYodobashi Akiba (1-1- Kanda Hanaoka-cho, Chiyoda-ku, 0081 3 5209 1010; www.yodobashi.com).
For quirky holiday souvenirs, head to Kappabashi Dori (Asakusa station, TOEI Asakusa line and Ginza line), near Asakusa's famous Senso-ji temple. The street is famous not only for selling every kitchen utensil imaginable but also for its stores dedicated to the plastic and waxwork food dishes and drinks that take pride of place outside Japanese restaurants.
Exploring Tokyo can be exhausting. Fortunately, numerous hip cafés and bars provide the perfect place to recharge batteries, while indulging in a spot of people watching.
Some of the best can be stumbled across by simply wandering into the maze of tiny streets that lies off both sides of Omotesando. Take a stroll down Cat Street, past stylish fashion and design boutiques, before joining local hipsters over lunch at the the Bape Café (3-27-22 Jingumae), set up by the DJ designer behind cult Japanese label A Bathing Ape.
Head towards the Prada building north of Omotesando and tuck into a virtuous herb tea and grain salad at the Pure Café (5-5-21 Minami-Aoyama), a serene eco-haven attached to the Aveda spa.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Omotesando is the recently renovated Kurkuu (2-18-21 Jingumae), a sleek wood and glass architect-designed haven for style-conscious eco-lovers, complete with organic café, restaurant, bar and workshop.
Art lovers should walk five minutes down the road to the hip basement café in the Mario Botta-designed Watari-Um Museum of Contemporary Art (3-7-6 Jingumae), checking out the current exhibition and its classy shop en route.
A short stroll away – just next to exit three of Gaienmae metro station - is Sign (Yamakazi Building, 2-7-18 Kita-Aoyama), a vibrant cafe with bright graphic murals that attracts creatives by day and is home to a DJ and cocktail-sipping crowd by night.
Those with quirkier tastes might wish to visit Office (Kita-Aoyama 2-7-18 Yamazaki Bridge 5F), a DJ bar decorated in the style of a conventional workplace, complete with filing cabinets, photocopying machine and bookshelves.
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