Search results for

No crowds. No cosplay. Just temples, trees, and a warm bath at the end of the day on the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route.

You might go for the temples. They’ll go for the video games, giant toy stores, and bizarre candy.

Fried cilantro. That’s really all you need to know.

Wandering Chef: Andrew Zimmerman in Tokyo

Food Experiences Worth the Trip from Five Well-Traveled Chefs

A famed food critic follows the legendary xiao long bao on its global route from Taiwan to California.

In Japan’s capital, youth dress up—and let loose—in over-the-top themed establishments.

The Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is a gorgeous park that’s just a short walk from Shinjuku Station. There are several gardens within the space, including a formal French one, an English landscape garden, and a traditional Japanese design. While the admission fee is nominal (about $2), it helps assure that it is surprisingly quiet, with fewer visitors than parks open to the public for free. If the weather is good, consider picking up a bento from nearby Takashimaya’s depachika. Convenience stores sell plastic “blue sheets” for impromptu picnics. The only downside to this park is that it is alcohol-free; if you want to drink sake at your picnic, head down the road to Yoyogi Park.

I had one free night in Tokyo—only one chance to connect with a Japanese acquaintance from a dive trip on Midway Atoll 10 years earlier. Our mutual friend, Shintaido master Haruyoshi Fugaku Ito, suggested we meet at the Shinjuku rail station and walk around the corner to Fukuhachi (“Happy Eight”) in the district’s legendary yakitori alley (“Omoide Yokocho,” which apparently translates as something less savory). Operated for decades by Ito’s old friends Kazuko and Hatsumi Muraoka, Fukuhachi is a classic, serving grilled skewers of various meats, organs, and vegetables to mostly locals. Because of the connection through friendship, we were able to slip down a sub-alley and enter through the rear, squeeze ourselves into the back corner, and eat round after round of yakitori, washed down with lots of cold beer, and lots of laughs—a world apart from the supermodern high-rise glitz of the neighborhood beyond the alley.

Overview

View of Tokyo at dusk as seen from the 54th floor observation deck of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Nishi-shinjuku. Admission to the observatory is free and well worth it for a fantastic, sweeping view of the Tokyo skyline.

The Japanese love fried chicken (and really, who doesn’t?), and Tokyo offers any number of variations of this deliciously crunchy, batter-dipped staple of comfort food, from home-grown karaage and chicken tatsuta to KFC (which the locals associate strongly with Christmas dinner, interestingly enough—but that’s a story for a different Highlight). Despite the dish’s popularity, however, one has to be somewhat diligent to find variations originating from countries other than Japan, the US and China, and being a fan of Korean-style spicy wings I was fortunate enough recently to stumble upon a little place near the backside of Shinjuku that serves excellent specimens thereof. Located on the second-floor of a non-descript building in Shin-Okubo, Kaya Chicken offers up several different kinds of yangnyeom (as the Koreans call it), fried twice to give the skin an amazing crispiness while imparting a level of tenderness to the meat that’s difficult to recreate with other styles of fried chicken. You can get your chicken (fried whole and available as is or in half-sized portions) done up with Korean spicy miso paste (kochujan in Japanese), soy sauce and garlic or honey and toasted sesame seeds—personally I ordered a mix plate of all three to enjoy the incomparable satisfaction that comes from the combination of spicy and sweet. Wash it all down with a cold beer or soju (Korean rice wine) and you have yourself an authentic taste of Seoul food in Tokyo.

Since its founding in 1985, Studio Ghibli has become one of the world’s preeminent masters of film animation. The Ghibli Museum, opened in 2001, is nested within one of Tokyo’s most beloved parks, Inokashira Park—just 20 minutes by train from Shinjuku to either Mitaka or Kichijōji. Take time before or after your museum visit to stroll through the park or to rent a paddle boat. Included with the price of admission is one viewing in the Saturn Theater, where Ghibli’s short films—made exclusively for the museum—are screened. The tickets themselves are precious as well—each one is made of original 35mm film print. On the second floor, the permanent exhibits are set up as an animator’s workshop and display the many steps of the animation process. Tubes of paint, pencils, and figurines sit scattered across a desk alongside paint palettes and works in progress. A stack of books about World War II aircraft sits in the corner, while model airplanes dangle from the rafters. Visitors can see original concept sketches, storyboards, background matte paintings, and animation cels—a rare treat for fans. Other exhibits demonstrate the science of animation, including the “Bouncing Totoro” zoetrope. When illuminated by strobe lights, the figurines on the turntables spring to life. Admission is by advance purchase only. While it is possible to buy tickets in Japan at most Lawson locations, visitors outside Japan can buy tickets through an authorized travel agency. Photo: Grace Lingad

Immortalized on celluloid in the film Lost in Translation, the modernist Park Hyatt may have the sexiest cocktail bar in all of Tokyo. The rest of the property—set on the upper floors of the three connecting columns of the 770-foot Shinjuku Park Tower—is just as attractive, with a bamboo garden, swimming pool, and restaurant seated high in the sky. The interiors are the work of Pritzker Prize–winning architect Kenzo Tange and designer John Morford, ornamented with wood, woven abaca, and granite to add warmth to the hotel’s sleek glass surfaces. Starting at just under 600 square feet, guest rooms are practically palatial and include glass knobs that let you control everything from the lights to the curtains right from your bed, as well as walls paneled with rare water elm from Hokkaido, some sourced from trees that were submerged in lakes for up to 2,000 years.

Sembikiya is Japan’s oldest fruit parlor. It is located in Nihonbashi. Come here for a slice of the juiciest muskmelon you’ll ever encounter or freshly squeezed juice. Tokyo, Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Muromachi 2-1-2