Show me something I haven’t seen before!
Tokyo is a sumptuous buffet of innovation, where edgy meets quirky meets esoteric meets sublime meets OMG, served up with passion, creativity and humor. Here is a selection of options, with links and a map.
Craving something digital?
Must-see multi-sensory immersive experiences
TeamLab Borderless (Kamiyacho Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line)
TeamLab Planets (Shin-Toyosu Station on the New Transit Yurikamome Line or Toyosu Station on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line)
Large digital theme park for motor sports and “mind sports”, directly under Tokyo Tower
Red Tokyo Tower (Akabanebashi Station on the Toei Oedo Line)
Cafe/restaurant staffed by multiple robots
Pepper Parlor (Shibuya Station on the JR Yamanote, Saikyo and Rinkai Lines or Narita Express, Tokyo Metro Ginza, Hanzomon, and Fukutoshin Lines, Tokyu Toyoko and Denentoshi Lines, Keio Inokashira Line)
Projection mapping on the Tokyo government building (at night, Shinjuku Station on the JR Yamanote, Chuo, Sobu, Saikyo, Shonan-Shinjuku and Rinkai Lines or Narita Express, Odakyu Odawara Line, Keio Line, Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line, Toei Oedo and Shinjuku Lines,) Tokyo Metroplitan Government building
Itching for eating/drinking experiences with a twist?
Smoothie machine at 7-11
Grab your preferred flavor from the freezer, pay at the register, follow the instructions on the machine and voila! Many branches around the city.
Bar for train otaku with model trains running through it
Ginza Panorama Bar (Shibuya Station, not Ginza Station)
Curry restaurant for train otaku
Niagara Curry, where your curry is served in a bullet train-shaped dish and choo-choos out of the kitchen on train tracks. (Yutenji Station on the Tokyu Toyoko Line)
Catch-your-fish-in-the-restaurant chain of restaurants
Zauo (various locations)
Cocktails concocted around films
"Whales of August” bar, with no relation to catching fish… (Shibuya Station)
Culinary entertainment with extra bite
Vampire Cafe (Ginza Station on the Ginza, Marunouchi and Hibiya Lines)
Most, Moster, Mostest:
200+ bento varieties in one shop
Ekiben Matsuri (Tokyo Station on the JR Yamanote, Keihin Tohoku, Tokaido, Chuo, Sobu, Yokosuka, Keiyo Lines, Shinkansen or Narita Express, Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line)
800+ types of knives
Kamata Hakensha (Tawaramachi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line)
1000+ cat statues
Gotokuji Temple (Gotokuji Station on the Odakyu Odawara Line)
1,700 varieties of cookie cutters
Majimaya (Tawaramachi Station)
3,000+ capsule toys
Bandai Gashapon Department Store (Ikebukuro Station on the JR Yamanote, Saikyo and Shonan-Shinjuku Lines, Seibu Ikebukuro Line, Tobu Tojo Line, and Tokyo Metro Marunouchi, Yurakucho and Fukutoshin Lines)
4,500+ pigments
Find your true colors at Pigment Tokyo, an art materials shop (Tennozu Isle Station)
7,000+ types of paper
Takeo paper company (Jimbocho Station)
7,500+ convenience stores
Have a look inside a FamilyMart, Lawson or 7-11. Tokyo’s convenience stores are humming hubs of instant joy. They deliver the goods with a huge range of products, and new ones popping up every week. There are even annual competitions of sweets developed by each chain, judged by award-winning patissiers.
8,500+ cooking utensils
Iidaya (Tawaramachi Station)
3.5+ million humans everyday
Shinjuku Station (busiest in the world)
Other only-Tokyo treats
Sumo wrestling match and sumo museum (Ryogoku Station on the JR Chuo and Sobu Lines, and Tokyo Metro Oedo Line)
https://www.sumo.or.jp/EnTicket/year_schedule/
World’s only sake brewery inside a train station (Tokyo Station)
Hasegawa Saketen
Onsen (hot spring) with views of Tokyo Bay, next to a collection of traditional shops (Shijomae Station on the Yurikamome Line)
Tokyo Toyosu Manyo
Prefer to explore a neighborhood? Match your mood with these:
Nature and culture with a side of retail therapy: Meiji Shrine, Harajuku & Omotesando
Culture and retail therapy with a side of nature: Asakusa & Kappabashi
Retail therapy and culture, with extra concrete: Ginza
Pulse of the city: Shibuya
At/near Haneda Airport: Haneda & Tennozu Isle