Prices in the Japanese capital may be sky high but it needn’t cost the earth, says Kate Graham.
Hotels
Hotel Metropolitan Marunouchi
If you’re focused on location and price, this hotel is a great choice. Actually connected to Tokyo station, you step off the Narita Express from the airport (about an hour away) and within minutes arrive at your room. Ideally placed for getting around by metro, bullet train or taxi, you are also close to the green space of the Imperial Palace Gardens. Bedrooms are small and simple, but Marunouchi is one of the city’s newest regeneration hubs, with sleek shopping and eating centres springing up all around.
1-7-12 Marunouchi Chiyoda-ku; tel +81 3 3211 2233; jrhotelgroup.com
Rooms from £90
Park Hotel, Shiodome
Sleek and stylish, this perfectly placed hotel proves that a business bed doesn’t have to cost the earth. Rooms and suites come in soothing neutral shades, and guests have access to several bars, restaurants and private dining rooms. Staff are eager to help, even providing specialist pillow-fitters to help guests get a great night’s sleep. Set among the skyscrapers of Shiodome, it’s an excellent location for business, close to the station from which Shinkansen bullet trains can whisk you across the country.
Shiodome Media Tower, 1-7-1 Higashi Shimbashi, Minato-ku; tel +81 3 6252 1111; parkhoteltokyo.com
Rooms from £107
Mitsui Garden Hotel, Ginza
Set in the newly hip Ginza shopping district, this hotel is still close to Shiodome and Shinbashi business districts, but benefits from the buzz of the fabulous and fashionable locals. Bedrooms are not cavernous but make the most of what they offer, with oversized windows facing the bright lights below and simple earth-tone interiors. There’s a fully equipped business centre and a 24-hour Kinkos internet café one minute’s walk away. Follow the locals’ lead by beginning your evening out at the hotel’s Restaurant Sky and Karin bar.
8-13-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku; tel +81 3 3543 1131; gardenhotels.co.jp
Rooms from £92
Hotel Villa Fontaine, Roppongi
One of the hottest budget business chains to spring up in recent years, the various Villa Fontaines have proved a big hit. The recipe is simple – the rooms are small but functional, the facilities are focused on the business traveller, and the prices are kept low. It may not have the bells and whistles of Tokyo’s traditional monoliths but its appeal has led to rapid expansion. The latest property has just opened in Shinjuku but Roppongi has good business facilities and is in the hub of one of Tokyo’s most bustling locations.
1-6-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku; tel +81 3 3560 1110; hvf.jp
Rooms from £60
The Prince Park Tower
This 33-storey tower may not be the newest kid on the block, but for business on a budget it ticks all the right boxes. Its 14 restaurants and lounges make meeting clients easy, and if you’re looking for a more formal setting there are also 17 meeting rooms available for hire. Located next to Tokyo Tower, the hotel is built inside Shiba park, offering a rare green oasis in this neon-lit concrete city.
4-8-1 Shiba Koen, Minato-ku; tel +81 3 5400 1111; princejapan.com
Rooms from £85
Restaurants
Daidaiya
This trendy chain of restaurants takes the izakaya concept – a drinking establishment serving simple dishes of sushi, sashimi, kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage) and yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) – and gives it a thoroughly modern twist. The theatrics go far beyond the plate – each restaurant has dramatic décor and the Ginza branch is no exception, with polished wood surfaces and atmospheric up-lighting. Diners choose between the open areas and private rooms, where horiko-tatsu (drop-leg seating) allows everyone to sit on tatami mats.
Ginza Nine 1-gokan 2F, 8-5 Ginza Chuo-ku; tel +81 3 5537 3566; r.gnavi.co.jp
Lunch sets from ¥1,500 (£7.50); Dinner sets from ¥5,000 (£25)
Shunju
This restaurant is a perennial favourite with the business community, who demand great service and delicious food. Each of the six branches blends open kitchens with airy interiors, staff speak excellent English, and the Akasaka branch offers stunning views of the city below. The good-value course menus are a mix of Japanese classics such as nabe stews, melt-in-the-mouth sushi, miso soups and tasty tofu.
27F Sanno Park Tower, 2-11-1 Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku; tel +81 3 3592 5288; shunju.com/ja
Lunch sets from ¥1,200 (£6.50); Dinner sets from ¥6,800 (£36)
Nobu
In most cities, this big-name Japanese chef comes with a big price tag. But in Tokyo, his lunch menu begins at a very reasonable price, making it the perfect place
to wine and dine important contacts. Nobu, with help from business partner Robert De Niro, relocated the Tokyo branch to Toranomon in 2007, creating a sushi counter and waiting bar in the move. The food is an exquisite fusion of South American and Western styles (try the wagu beef with Peruvian anticucho and teriyaki balsamic sauce, salad and miso soup), and with simple but sophisticated décor, it’s little wonder celebrities love to flock here.
? 1F Toranomon Tower Office, 4-1-28 Toranomon, Minato-ku
Tel +81 3 5733 0070, nobutokyo.com
Lunch sets from ¥1,800 (£10); Dinner from ¥1,500 (£8)
Pintokona
Visitors to Roppongi Hills are spoilt for eating options. One of the best is Pintokona, a conveyor-belt sushi bar tucked in the lower-ground level of this sprawling shopping and dining complex. Pull up a seat at the counter and take your pick of fresh fish as it revolves before your eyes. One of the city’s best selections of vegetarian sushi is also available, as is a handy English menu.
B2, 6-4-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku; tel +81 3 5771 1133; roppongihills.com
Sushi from ¥150 (£0.80) a piece
Gonpatchi
Of the four branches scattered throughout Tokyo, the cavernous Nishi Azabu restaurant is the most dramatic. Externally designed to look like a kura or treasure house, diners enter through a low door into a recreation of an open-air street scene, said to have inspired the “massacre scene” film set in Tarantino’s Kill Bill. Food is well-priced izakaya fare – a mix of sumiyaki charcoal-grilled sirloin, seabass and chicken, seasonal and Edo-style sushi, international rolls, salads and miso soup. There is also an exotic selection of cocktails such as umeshu sour (¥630/£3.50) made from unripe green Japanese plums steeped in alcohol and sugar.
1-13-11 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku; tel +81 3 5771 0170; sushi.gonpachi.jp
Lunch (not open); Sushi from ¥200 (£1); Dinner sets from ¥7,000 (£38.50)
KARAOKE
If you’re in Tokyo on business you’ll be lucky to escape a session of karaoke, a hugely popular form of entertainment and relaxation for funky teenagers and salarymen alike. The cash-conscious, however, can take comfort in the fact that it makes for a very cheap night out, with unlimited booze and your own private room.
The best places for karaoke are in the rainbow-bling districts of Shibuya and Shinjuku. If you can read katakana then you’ll see the glowing signs from a mile off, but if not there are often people outside shouting into microphones trying to entice you in.
Look out for chains such as Karaoke Kan (for a glimpse of what to expect watch Lost in Translation, which was filmed in one of the Shibuya branches – see below), where you can hire a room in a skyscraper kitted out with widescreen TVs, state-of-the-art sound systems, mics, colourful lighting, and a phone to call down for Shochu cocktails and Asahi Super Dry beer.
The venue is usually hired for three hours and, for a fixed price of around ¥3,000 (£15) per head, you get a constant supply of drinks and a chance to duet with your all-important Japanese client. And don’t think you’ll get away with it – as a foreigner you’ll be the first on stage.
Karaoke Kan, K&F Building, 30-8 Utagawacho. Visit karaokekan.jp.
Ten Tokyo treats that don’t cost a yen
1 Sensoji Shrine
In the old-fashioned Asakusa district you enter this dramatic shrine under an enormous red lantern.
2 Odaiba
Wander through the ultimate bubble-era project – reclaimed land turned into a beach with a psychedelic neon big wheel.
3 Ueno Koen
If you’re lucky enough to visit in spring, you will enjoy the explosion of cherry blossom in this park. If not, then visit the frenetic Ameyoko street market opposite Ueno station.
4 Shibuya Crossing
Made famous by Lost in Translation, this crazy crossroad is used by hundreds of people every few minutes. Stand back and enjoy the spectacle.
5 Yanaka
A little-visited area with old-fashioned winding streets and interesting art galleries.
6 Omotesando
This upmarket shopping district is filled with amazing architecture, like the bulbous yet beautiful Prada building.
7 Tsukiji fish market
Rise at dawn to watch the sushi chefs battle over the best tuna. Pure drama for free – just don’t wear your best shoes.
8 Yasukuni shrine
A controversial shrine dedicated to those who died fighting for the Emperor, 1,068 of whom are convicted war criminals.
9 View from Tokyo Metropolitan government building
Rise to the 45th floor here and see Tokyo spread out far below for free.
10 Sunday in Harajuku
Gawp at the teens in outlandish outfits who parade for tourists to photograph.
Travel tips
- The metro is safe, efficient and excellent value. Unlike many cities it works best to buy a ticket for each individual journey. If you are unsure of the price, buy the cheapest (starting at ¥160/£0.85) and top it up at the other end.
- If you are planning to travel long-distance, purchase a Japan Rail Pass before you arrive. A seven-day pass costs £152, roughly the same as a return from Tokyo to Kyoto on the bullet train, and can be used on JR trains, metros and the Shinkansen. Visit japanrailpass.net.
- When taking a taxi, carry a map as streets don’t always have names.
