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Tokyo calls for a plan. And comfy shoes. The city is simply too crowded, too stuffy and too gigantic to make setting out to explore at random an option. We prepare our day’s route in the comfortable beds of Hotel Niwa Tokyo. The rooms of this boutique hotel are not very big – of course not, we are in Tokyo, after all, where the use of every last square meter is carefully thought through. The decor takes its cue from traditional Japanese aesthetics: plenty of wood, light colors, everything very streamlined and purist, and windows with the typical Japanese wood-frame paper blinds.
The Niwa Tokyo is a gem with a small garden and roof terrace tucked away in a quiet street in the not so touristy and not so expensive north of the city, and just a three-minute walk from the central train line Chūō. We discover that a good connection is worth a great deal in the world’s largest metropolitan region.
Even if it can be a little difficult for tall Europeans to find their size in some of the clothes stores here, a visit to the world-famous shopping district is an absolute must. It is the beating heart of Japan’s trendy society with money to spend. It’s a good idea to plan this trip for the first half of the day when you still have enough energy reserves because once you exit Harajuku Station, there will be nothing for it but to let yourself be carried along by the crowds. All of the world’s luxury brands, from Comme des Garçons to Isabel Marant, appear to have at least one shop of their own on Omotesandō Street.
On a neighboring street, you will find nothing but sneaker stores, and on the next, one manga store after the next, regularly interspersed by imposing modern architecture, like The Gyre, a luxury mall designed by the Dutch company MVRDV, which is really worth seeing. There is one street definitely not to be missed, and that’s “Cat Street,” the pedestrian zone that doubles as a catwalk. This is where fans of extravagant fashions get together. The more eccentric the outfit, the better. We recommend you enjoy a cup of matcha tea on the terrace of The Roastery, an excellent coffee shop, from where you can survey the fashionable comings and goings.