Three Perfect Days, Tokyo

Author Andrew Bender Photography Joshua Paul

DAY TWO / Fix a cup of tea (or coffee if you must) in your room; then take a subway ride and plunge into Tsukiji Fish Market, the world’s largest. The auctions of human-size tuna will have already finished (they start before dawn), but there’s still plenty to see as you walk among some 900 wholesalers (a few have been in business for 20 generations).

Sushi is breakfast food in Tsukiji, and the Outer Market’s dozens of busy sushiya (sushi bars) won’t break the bank. If sushi’s not your thing, there are plenty of kissaten (coffee shops).

Hop back on the subway across town to the Asakusa (ah-SAHK-sah) neighborhood, the traditional shitamachi (downtown) of Edo, as Tokyo was known until 1868. Asakusa’s heart is the colorful precincts of the Buddhist temple Senso-ji (Asakusa Kannon Temple), which dates from the seventh century, although current buildings are post World War II. Follow centuries of wayfarers beneath the giant lantern of Kaminari-mon (Thunder Gate) and along the pedestrian shopping street Nakamise-dori. Outside the temple’s main hall, waft incense over yourself from the giant incense burner and wash your hands in the water font (both rituals of purification). Inside, ¥100 (about a dollar) buys an omikuji (fortune), here printed in English. A few minutes’ walk away, the compact Edo Shitamachi Traditional Crafts Museum exhibits works in wood, glass, ceramic, bamboo, and steel by neighborhood artisans working in age-old methods.

Lunchtime brings another Asakusa art form: tempura. Daikokuya, off Nakamise-dori, has been serving it since the Meiji Period (1868–1912). The de rigueur dish is ten-don (tempura over rice) including shrimp, kisu (whiting), and more. There’s often a line outside, but staff members expertly cycle diners in and out.

Board the subway again to the city’s most storied shopping district, Ginza. The name refers to the neighborhood’s former silver mint, and Ginza’s silver-painted main street runs past an alphabet soup of international boutiques and famed department stores including Wako, Matsuya, and Matsuzakaya.

Pride of place belongs to Mitsukoshi Department Store. What to expect of a store that dates back to 1673? Fabulous fashions? Check. Jewelry and housewares? Check. Attentive service? Double check. Mitsukoshi is equally famous for its depa-chika, basement-level food floors. Kerchiefed clerks clamor “Irrashaimase” (“Welcome”) and “Ikaga desu ka?” (“Care to try some?”), plying French chocolates, German deli meats, Japanese tea sweets, Chinese dumplings, and top-grade coffee.

Late afternoon is perfect for the city’s classic performance art, at the Kabuki-za Theater. Far from its reputation for being impenetrable, kabuki originated as entertainment for the masses; tales of bravery and intrigue, eye-catching costumes, and innovative stage-craft create a heady experience. Rent the “earphone guide” for detailed translation and commentary even if you stay for just one play.

Dinner is a 10-minute walk away, atop the Chanel Building at Alain Ducasse’s Michelin-starred Beige Tokyo, featuring contemporary French cuisine. Cooking is seasonal, but the Carré Chanel dessert is always on the menu, a chocolate praline flecked with gold leaf and served with hazelnut ice cream.

After a glittering dinner, stroll Ginza’s neon canyons to the courtyard of the Tokyo International Forum, architect Rafael Viñoly’s soaring convention/meeting center that’s been likened to a giant glass ship. The nearby Cotton Club, a perfect place to wrap up your day, tips its hat to the legendary New York stage of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. Since opening in late 2005, this intimate venue has hosted Ben E. King, En Vogue, members of the Alan Parsons Project and Manhattan Transfer, and leading Japanese acts in this jazz-loving nation.

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12 Responses to “Three Perfect Days, Tokyo”

  1. Julie Bartos Says:
    February 28th, 2009 at 7:22 pm

    would love to experience tokyo!

  2. Elisse J Goldstein Says:
    March 13th, 2009 at 6:51 pm

    Sushi Dai, one of the sushi bars in the Tokyo fish market, WAS great, and fun- for lunch. If you're a chef or gourmet cook or foodie, have a truly fine chef's knife made to order while you wait at one of the artisan carbon-steel knife-makers in the fish market, too (approx $180 and worth every dime!) I blogged about our 'foodie' trip to Japan (& Korea & Vietnam) with hot links to great food & fun on http://www.southernwestvirginia.blogspot.com, after April 2008.

  3. elisse Says:
    March 13th, 2009 at 11:51 pm

    Sushi Dai, one of the sushi bars in the Tokyo fish market, WAS great, and fun- for lunch. If you're a chef or gourmet cook or foodie, have a truly fine chef's knife made to order while you wait at one of the artisan carbon-steel knife-makers in the fish market, too (approx $180 and worth every dime!) I blogged about our 'foodie' trip to Japan (& Korea & Vietnam) with hot links to great food & fun on http://www.southernwestvirginia.blogspot.com, after April 2008.

  4. Vinduer og Døre Says:
    April 6th, 2009 at 7:48 am

    it is good to stay at Tokyo

  5. max191 Says:
    October 5th, 2009 at 12:58 am

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    October 14th, 2009 at 8:54 pm

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  7. eugene Says:
    March 21st, 2010 at 8:58 am

    enjoy the articles, they always invoke ritz-carltons.. kinda of a “cheap” way to facilitate 3 perfect days. wheres the work — planning in that?

  8. DanaC Says:
    April 18th, 2010 at 9:30 am

    As somebody who lived in Tokyo for more than 10years , I would NEVER EVER EVER take anybody visiting on a tour like the one suggested above. Total waste of time and money, not representative for what Tokyo really is.

  9. William B Says:
    June 21st, 2010 at 2:33 am

    I must agree with DanaC,
    This is not representative of Tokyo. It fully dismisses all of the great multi-layerisms and cross cultural absorptions and influences that make Tokyo the most fascinating city on the planet. One has to wonder if Mr. Bender was unwilling to stray to far from his hotel or comfortable settings in order to experience the real Tokyo. Even if his article is geared toward the ex-pat budget he has certainly robbed them of much that makes the former capital of Edo so very great. His writing is quite nice but the narrow scope of his focus eliminated nearly all of what should have been experienced.

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    July 1st, 2010 at 5:18 am

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  11. Crystal Meek Says:
    December 29th, 2010 at 2:15 am

    Japan the interesting country, as well as many other things it is interesting by the architecture, culture, cookery. As in it are interesting fighting art. There very friendly people, and their tradition to spend physical culture before the beginning of the working day to me very much were pleasant

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