Asakusa & Sumida River
Worth searching out is this quirky 40-sq-metre exhibition space in an unmarked old house, hiding down a narrow alley. It's run by contemporary art curator…
Must-see attractions in Tokyo
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
This gallery hosts interesting exhibitions around various themes but usually involving graphic design. Some exhibitions tackle social issues, while others…
Asakusa & Sumida River
Senso-ji's eastern gate is one of the temple complex's rare, Edo-era buildings: it's been standing since 1618. Though it appears minor today, this gate…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Reiyukai is a spin-off Buddhism-based sect started in 1930 and this unmissable, monolithic building is its headquarters. The enormous stepped pyramid roof…
Harajuku & Aoyama
A painter and sculptor, Okamoto Tarō was Japan's most recognised artist from the post-WWII period, a rare avant-garde figure with mass appeal. His works…
Asakusa & Sumida River
This jet-black, inverted obelisk, part of Asahi Beer's headquarters, was designed by Philippe Starck and completed in 1989; atop it sits a 'golden flame'…
Ginza & Tsukiji
Built around the turn of the 20th century at the height of the Meiji era, this leafy block was Tokyo’s first European-style park complete with fountains…
Ginza & Tsukiji
Mitsubishi Electric showcases some of its latest technologies, including robotics, in inventive collaborations with artists at this showroom on one corner…
Harajuku & Aoyama
This early masterpiece by architect Tange Kenzō was built for the 1964 Olympics (and will be used again in the 2020 games for the handball event). The…
Asakusa & Sumida River
There are hundreds of drums from around the world here, including several traditional Japanese taiko. The best part is that you can actually play most of…
Tokyo
This keep, constructed in 1559, once stood on the grounds of Kyoto's since-destroyed Fushimi Castle. It was dismantled and reassembled at Edo-jō by…
Asakusa & Sumida River
On the grounds of Sensō-ji, this 53m-high, five-storey pagoda is a 1973 reconstruction of a pagoda built by Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1648. The current…
Ginza & Tsukiji
This gallery features monthly changing exhibits of graphic arts – focusing on advertising and poster art – from mostly Japanese artists but with the…
Ueno & Yanesen
This small museum recreates life in the plebeian quarters of Tokyo during the Meiji and Taishō periods (1868–1926), before the city was twice destroyed by…
Ginza & Tsukiji
The cosmetics company Shiseido runs its experimental art space out of the basement of its Shiseido Parlour complex of cafes and restaurants. An ever…
Harajuku & Aoyama
Of course you could shop here, but pretty much everyone comes just to ogle the curvaceous glass bubbles of the boutique's exterior, designed by Herzog &…
Tokyo
Meaning 'northern drawbridge gate' this was the principal entrance to the north side of Edo-jō and now provides access to the Imperial Palace East Garden…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
The impressive main gate of the temple Zōjō-ji was built in 1605. Its three sections are designed to symbolise the three stages one must pass through to…
Tokyo
Kikyō-mon is one of the main original gates to Edo-jō. This is the departure point for official tours of parts of the Imperial Palace grounds.
Ueno & Yanesen
This century-old liquor shop (which operated until 1986) has been returned to its original state, but as a museum of bygone Tokyo, with old sake barrels,…
Tokyo
Dating from 1635, the northern gate to Kitanomaru-kōen was once part of Edo-jō and is designated as a national important cultural asset.
Odaiba & Tokyo Bay
Archi-Depot curates changing exhibitions of the models architects make to conceptualise buildings, some of which have gone on to be built; others remain…
Tokyo
This side gate to the San-no-maru (third compound) of the castle was used mainly by maidservants.
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Free one-hour tours of parts of Japan's parliament building and grounds are available when the Diet is not in session (ring the day before to confirm)…
Ebisu, Meguro & Around
This shopping and cultural centre was built on the site of the original Yebisu Beer Brewery (1889) that gave the neighbourhood its name. Unlike most…
Harajuku & Aoyama
This five-storey glass building (2003) uses clever lighting and acrylic screens to pull off the effortlessly chic look of a breezy tiered skirt. Pritzker…
Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku
Harajuku & Aoyama
The entrance to this castle-like structure by Nakamura Hiroshi is a dizzying hall of mirrors (which makes for a great photo); there’s a roof garden on top.
Ueno & Yanesen
Tokyo University (commonly called Tōdai) was founded in 1877 and is Japan's top university. The attractive and leafy campus occupies what was once the…
Ebisu, Meguro & Around
Get a feel for wabi-sabi – the aesthetic of perfect imperfections that guides the tea ceremony – at this museum specialising in the pottery and art…
Tokyo
This small museum, designed mostly for kids (and rather dry considering its subject), covers the history of animation in Japan and its digital future…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
Merchants from nearby Kabukichō come to this Shintō shrine to pray for the solvency of their business ventures. Founded in the 17th century, the shrine is…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
The prime reason to visit Honda's showroom is not so much to admire its range of cars and motorbikes but to be wowed by the company's robot technology. At…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Opened in June 2014, the 52-storey, 247m Toranomon Hills mixed-use complex is crowned by the sleek hotel, Andaz, with panoramic views from its bars and…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
This strolling garden was once the estate of a Meiji-era statesman and is now the grounds of a luxury hotel, though it's open to the public. The shaded…
Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Deep underground, Tadao Ando's design for the Shibuya terminus of the city's newest subway line, the Fukutoshin Line, resembles a concrete space ship, or…
Ebisu, Meguro & Around
Here’s one for fans of the grotesque: this small museum was established in 1953 by a local doctor concerned by the increasing number of parasites he was…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Mohri Garden is an Edo-style strolling garden, on the grounds of the Roppongi Hills mall, complete with meandering paths and a central pond. When…
Tokyo
Just to the northeast corner of Kōkyo-gaien Plaza, this small park has two fountains that were built to commemorate the weddings of past Emperor Akihito…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
On the outskirts of Ikebukuro and opened in 1875, Zōshigaya-reien is the final resting place of many influential writers and artists of the modern era …
Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
How did baseball come to be a Japanese obsession? This museum chronicles baseball’s rise from a hobby imported by an American teacher in 1872 to the…
