Ebisu, Meguro & Around
Three centuries ago this garden, with strolling paths around a large pond (home to many carp), was the backyard of a vassal to the shogun. Today its the grounds of a swank banquet hall, but usually anyone can enter (some areas are occasionally roped off for weddings). Pick up the Garden Walk brochure at the entrance and don't miss the display of bonsai (there's a 520-year-old pine!).
One of the teahouses, Mu-an, serves matcha (powdered green tea) along with a Japanese sweet.
6.13 MILES
If you visit only one museum in Tokyo, make it the Tokyo National Museum. Here you'll find the world's largest collection of Japanese art, including…
9.81 MILES
This museum is the heart of the Studio Ghibli world, a beloved (even 'adored') film studio responsible for classic, critically-acclaimed animated titles…
4.09 MILES
Golden Gai – a Shinjuku institution for over half a century – is a collection of tiny bars, often literally no bigger than a closet and seating maybe a…
3.11 MILES
Digital-art collective teamLab has created 60 artworks for this museum, open in 2018, that tests the border between art and the viewer: many are…
2.19 MILES
Rumoured to be the busiest intersection in the world (and definitely in Japan), Shibuya Crossing is like a giant beating heart, sending people in all…
13.61 MILES
This impressively slick attraction is dedicated to, you guessed it, cup noodles. But in reality, its focus is more broad, with numerous exhibitions…
3.32 MILES
The Imperial Palace occupies the site of the original Edo-jō, the Tokugawa shogunate's castle. In its heyday this was the largest fortress in the world,…
6.47 MILES
Tokyo’s most visited temple enshrines a golden image of Kannon (the Buddhist goddess of mercy), which, according to legend, was miraculously pulled out of…
0.36 MILES
The story of the 47 rōnin (masterless samurai) who (cleverly, murderously) avenged their master, Lord Asano – put to death after being tricked into…
0.41 MILES
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…
0.48 MILES
What would Tokyo look like were it left to its own natural devices? Since 1949 this park, affiliated with the Tokyo National Museum, has let the local…
4. Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum
0.64 MILES
Although the Teien museum often hosts excellent exhibitions – usually of decorative arts – its chief appeal lies in the building itself: it's an art deco…
0.92 MILES
Photos, vintage bottles and posters document the rise of Yebisu, and beer in general, in Japan at this small museum located where the actual Yebisu…
0.94 MILES
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…
0.95 MILES
Tokyo's principal photography museum usually holds three different exhibitions at once, drawing on both its extensive collection of Japanese artists and…
1.05 MILES
Tokyo's most over-the-top wedding venue is resplendent with indoor waterfalls and gilded friezes (which speaks to the fashion in Tokyo during the height…