Guidebook for Minato-ku
Arts & Culture
Great place to experience Japanese art, National Treasures, Cultural Properties.
144 Einheimische empfehlen
Nezu-Museum
6-chōme-5-1 MinamiaoyamaGreat place to experience Japanese art, National Treasures, Cultural Properties.
Ota Memorial Museum of Art
1-chōme-10-10 JingūmaeBeautiful ukiyo-e paintings are exhibited
Shopping
Latest fashion, cafes, restaurants. Good place to know the trends.
90 Einheimische empfehlen
表参道ヒルズゼルコバテラス
4-chōme-12-5 JingūmaeLatest fashion, cafes, restaurants. Good place to know the trends.
Lined by many trendy shops, fashion boutiques, used clothes stores, crepe stands and fast food outlets geared towards the fashion and trend conscious teens.
9 Einheimische empfehlen
Takeshita Dori Entrance
1-chōme-6 JingūmaeLined by many trendy shops, fashion boutiques, used clothes stores, crepe stands and fast food outlets geared towards the fashion and trend conscious teens.
A broad, tree lined avenue sometimes referred to as Tokyo's Champs-Elysees. Here you can find famous brand name shops, cafes and restaurants for a more adult clientele.
201 Einheimische empfehlen
Omote-Sando Station
3-chōme-6-12 KitaaoyamaA broad, tree lined avenue sometimes referred to as Tokyo's Champs-Elysees. Here you can find famous brand name shops, cafes and restaurants for a more adult clientele.
Sightseeing
Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine. Shinto is called Japan's ancient original religion, and it is deeply rooted in the way of Japanese life. This shrine was established on November 1, 1920.
1219 Einheimische empfehlen
Meiji-Schrein Schatzhaus
1-1 YoyogikamizonochōMeiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine. Shinto is called Japan's ancient original religion, and it is deeply rooted in the way of Japanese life. This shrine was established on November 1, 1920.
Tokyo Tower
4-chōme-2-8 ShibakōenSymbol of Tokyo since 1958
It would be a shame to come to Tokyo and not take a walk across the famous intersection outside Shibuya Station. On sunny afternoons or clear evenings, the surrounding area is packed with shoppers, students, young couples and commuters. When the lights turn red at this busy junction, they all turn red at the same time in every direction. Traffic stops completely and pedestrians surge into the intersection from all sides, like marbles spilling out of a box. You can observe this moment of organized chaos from the second-story window of the Starbucks in the Tsutaya building on the crossing's north side.
After experiencing the "scramble," follow the trendy teens into Shibuya 109, a big shiny mall with more than 100 boutiques, for a look at the latest in disposable fashion. Or duck back into Shibuya Station and down to the bustling Tokyu Food Show for an elegant array of gourmet eats and an education in local tastes: grilled eel, fried pork, tiny fish salad, octopus on a stick, seafood-and-rice seaweed wraps and much more. The prepared dishes and grocery items are all sold from immaculate counters amid a chorus of "Irashaimasen!" ("Welcome!"). There are aisles full of beautifully packaged treats — rice crackers, mochi cakes, jellied confections — but the pickle counter is my favorite.
Take the JR Yamanote line to Shibuya station, Hachiko exit.
248 Einheimische empfehlen
Shibuya Crossing
1-chōme-2-1 DōgenzakaIt would be a shame to come to Tokyo and not take a walk across the famous intersection outside Shibuya Station. On sunny afternoons or clear evenings, the surrounding area is packed with shoppers, students, young couples and commuters. When the lights turn red at this busy junction, they all turn red at the same time in every direction. Traffic stops completely and pedestrians surge into the intersection from all sides, like marbles spilling out of a box. You can observe this moment of organized chaos from the second-story window of the Starbucks in the Tsutaya building on the crossing's north side.
After experiencing the "scramble," follow the trendy teens into Shibuya 109, a big shiny mall with more than 100 boutiques, for a look at the latest in disposable fashion. Or duck back into Shibuya Station and down to the bustling Tokyu Food Show for an elegant array of gourmet eats and an education in local tastes: grilled eel, fried pork, tiny fish salad, octopus on a stick, seafood-and-rice seaweed wraps and much more. The prepared dishes and grocery items are all sold from immaculate counters amid a chorus of "Irashaimasen!" ("Welcome!"). There are aisles full of beautifully packaged treats — rice crackers, mochi cakes, jellied confections — but the pickle counter is my favorite.
Take the JR Yamanote line to Shibuya station, Hachiko exit.
Everything Else
Blue Note Tokyo
World famous Jazz Bar
Yoyogi Park in Shibuya-ku is the perfect comic relief after a low-key shrine stop. With living space so tight in this city, parks are the places for club meetings and practice sessions and even play rehearsals, and Yoyogi draws all sorts of talent, from horn players to hip-hop dancers to rockabilly gangs, complete with poodle skirts and Elvis-inspired pompadours, who usually gather by the park's east side entrance on Sundays to jam to American pop music from the '50s. Somehow this scene is more satisfying than the Gothic Lolitas and Cosplay kids, costumed fans of Japanese manga and anime characters hanging out on the Harajuku bridge, but I always take my friends to see them too.
Yoyogi Park has a mellower side that's also worth exploring — areas to the north and west, past the fountain pond and central field. There's a cycling center (81-(0)3-3465-6855) northwest of the central field that rents bikes, including tandems, for just a few hundred yen (you're not supposed to go off the path, which is long and lovely) and a snack hut with tables that sells ice cream and beer. There is also a little dog run, so you're bound to see at least a few terriers decked out in rhinestones and denim or chihuahuas dressed like cheerleaders.
Yoyogi Park is open from dawn to dusk. Admission is free. Take the JR Yamanote line to Harajuku, Omotesando exit, or the Chiyoda line to Yoyogi-koen, exit 4.
1380 Einheimische empfehlen
Yoyogi-Park
2-1 YoyogikamizonochōYoyogi Park in Shibuya-ku is the perfect comic relief after a low-key shrine stop. With living space so tight in this city, parks are the places for club meetings and practice sessions and even play rehearsals, and Yoyogi draws all sorts of talent, from horn players to hip-hop dancers to rockabilly gangs, complete with poodle skirts and Elvis-inspired pompadours, who usually gather by the park's east side entrance on Sundays to jam to American pop music from the '50s. Somehow this scene is more satisfying than the Gothic Lolitas and Cosplay kids, costumed fans of Japanese manga and anime characters hanging out on the Harajuku bridge, but I always take my friends to see them too.
Yoyogi Park has a mellower side that's also worth exploring — areas to the north and west, past the fountain pond and central field. There's a cycling center (81-(0)3-3465-6855) northwest of the central field that rents bikes, including tandems, for just a few hundred yen (you're not supposed to go off the path, which is long and lovely) and a snack hut with tables that sells ice cream and beer. There is also a little dog run, so you're bound to see at least a few terriers decked out in rhinestones and denim or chihuahuas dressed like cheerleaders.
Yoyogi Park is open from dawn to dusk. Admission is free. Take the JR Yamanote line to Harajuku, Omotesando exit, or the Chiyoda line to Yoyogi-koen, exit 4.
Drinks & Nightlife
Billboard Live Tokyo
9-chōme-7-4 AkasakaLive house
This three-level club features a stellar bar, cave-like areas, and billiards and ping-pong tables in the basement. So it’s a shame that it’s just a massive meat market. It’s located at the Nishi-Azabu crossing; walk past Hobson’s ice-cream parlour towards Hiroo on Gaien-Nishi Dori and look to your right. It’s also worth noting that there’s a ‘not too casual’ dress code.
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MUSE
4-chōme-1 NishiazabuThis three-level club features a stellar bar, cave-like areas, and billiards and ping-pong tables in the basement. So it’s a shame that it’s just a massive meat market. It’s located at the Nishi-Azabu crossing; walk past Hobson’s ice-cream parlour towards Hiroo on Gaien-Nishi Dori and look to your right. It’s also worth noting that there’s a ‘not too casual’ dress code.
クレア表参道
3-chōme-9-8 KitaaoyamaMagic bar
TAFIA
2-chōme-15-14 NishiazabuRum bar
ベランダ
3-chōme-24-20 NishiazabuDinning bar
Food Scene
Kawaii Monster Cafe
4-chōme-31-10 JingūmaeExperience Kawaii culture.
The Roastery is a fashionable coffee shop located in between Shibuya & Omotesando. It is on the first floor of T.Y Harbor's "The Smokehouse" and is run by the famous Nozy Coffee (which its original store can be found in Sangenjaya)
the Roastery by Nozy Coffee Cafe
5-chōme-17-13 JingūmaeThe Roastery is a fashionable coffee shop located in between Shibuya & Omotesando. It is on the first floor of T.Y Harbor's "The Smokehouse" and is run by the famous Nozy Coffee (which its original store can be found in Sangenjaya)
A must-visit for any tourist in Tokyo.
The food is great, very kind attendants and the Kill Bill's atmosphere, of course.
72 Einheimische empfehlen
Gonpachi Nishiazabu
1-chōme-13-11 NishiazabuA must-visit for any tourist in Tokyo.
The food is great, very kind attendants and the Kill Bill's atmosphere, of course.
Kikuchi
2-chōme-17-17 NishiazabuMichelin two star Japanese restaurant in the same block.
てやん亭゛おも家 西麻布店
Japanese restaurant right across the street.
伊勢 すえよし
4-chōme-2-15 NishiazabuJapanese restaurant
ＴｅＴｅＳ
2-chōme-13-12 NishiazabuGood food, good drink and good atomosphere
Oriental Cafe
2 Chome-16 NishiazabuThai food restaurant. Open until midnight.
plate tokyo
2-chōme-10-1 NishiazabuFrench restaurant
Rainy Day Bookstore & Cafe
2-chōme-21-28 NishiazabuBook store and cafe
Getting Around
Omote-Sando Station
3-chōme-6-12 KitaaoyamaMetro station, less than 10 mins walk away.
Nogizaka Station
1-chōme-26 MinamiaoyamaMetro station, less than 8 mins walk away.
Roppongi Sta. station
9-chōme-7-39 AkasakaMetro station, less than 15 mins walk away.
Hiro-o Station
5-chōme-4 HirooMetro station, less than 15 mins walk away.