Top choice in Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Narukiyo is many people's favourite 'secret' izakaya, serving all the classics (sashimi, charcoal grilled chicken, etc) with a low-key attitude that bellies the excellence of the food. It also comes with a side order of punk-rock cheek (the Pogues' Shane MacGowan is a regular). The menu, which changes daily, is handwritten on a scroll and undecipherable.
Sit at the counter (the best spot, anyway) and point, or leave the ordering up to chef Narukiyo Yoshida. Reservations recommended.
5.57 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…
8.12 MILES
This museum is the heart of the Studio Ghibli world, a beloved (even 'adored') film studio responsible for classic, critically-acclaimed animated titles…
2.32 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…
0.42 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…
14.66 MILES
This impressively slick attraction is dedicated to, you guessed it, cup noodles. But in reality, its focus is more broad, with numerous exhibitions…
1.93 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…
2.97 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,…
6.24 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…
0.27 MILES
This is a branch of one of Tokyo's more influential contemporary-art galleries, which shows both Japanese and international artists.
0.28 MILES
Lifestyle brand D&Department combs the country for the platonic ideals of the utterly ordinary: the perfect broom, bottle opener or salt shaker (to name a…
0.31 MILES
The asymmetrical, geometric shape of architect Maki Fumihiko's Spiral Building (1985) may not look very sinuous on the outside, but the name will make…
0.32 MILES
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…
0.34 MILES
It's hard to imagine, but Shibuya Crossing actually sits on the confluence of two rivers: the Shibuya-gawa and the Uda-gawa, which were diverted…
0.34 MILES
From below, Shibuya Sky, the rooftop observatory atop Shibuya's newest tower, Shibuya Scramble Square, looks like one of those harrowing infinity pools –…
0.36 MILES
Okamoto Tarō's mural, Myth of Tomorrow (1967), was commissioned by a Mexican luxury hotel but went missing two years later. It finally turned up in 2003…
0.4 MILES
Pritzker Prize–winner Itō Toyō designed the Tod's boutique (2004). The criss-crossing strips of concrete take their inspiration from the zelkova trees…