A Weekend in Tokyo
My hit list guide for the design-minded traveler (take me back).
In mid-April, I spent a long weekend in Tokyo. Crazy as it sounds, the travel was manageable, the city is fabulous, and I got to spend the weekend with Peter (my husband!), amid his lengthy work travel in Asia.
Pro-tip: Peter pays for Time Shifter, an app that’s worth investing in if you’re flying across time zones often. I plugged in my journey, and it gave wake-up times (and no coffee times) for the few days leading up to my travel, and it really helped me beat jet lag!
There are so many excellent Japan guides (NYT & YOLO recently came out with great planners), and it’s a city that begs to be lost in. With that said, for a design-minded person on a short trip, here’s my recent hit list!
Also, if you missed it, on Sunday I shared a Tokyo-inspired roundup of finds influenced by my travels.
STAY
We stayed at The Grand Hyatt Roppongi Hills: A lovely hotel with a pool, sauna, and cold plunge (helps with the jet lag) that's centrally located. Also – Hyatt Points! Peter is also a fan of the Grand Hyatt Shibuya.
FOR COFFEE AND BREAKFAST NEARBY:
Bricolage Bread & Co.: I felt like I was upstate: branches on the tables, oat milk cortados, and a great sixties playlist.
Bricolage Bread Co. via Trip Advisor
Blue Bottle Coffee is a ten-minute walk away and has outdoor tables and free Wi-Fi.
A FEW FOOD & DRINK OPTIONS NEARBY (MORE EATS BELOW!):
Sushi Yuu is Peter's omakase must-stop every time he's in Tokyo. It was my first visit and was amazing with personalized attention at the very small sushi bar.
Sushi Yuu via Tokyo Weekender
Aria Cucina Italiana: Surprisingly, Tokyo has excellent Italian cuisine, and this cozy spot is a quick walk from the Grand Hyatt in Roppongi.
Gen Yamamoto: For the cocktail connoisseur: Eight seats and an omakase cocktail menu.
Gen Yamamato via peoplemakeplaces.com
THE QUICK TRIP HIT LIST:
ARRIVAL EVENING:
I landed at 4 pm on a Friday and rallied for dinner at Sushi Yuu. Each course is more mouthwatering than the last, and the fatty tuna is exceptional.
After dinner, we fought potential jet lag by heading to another of Peter’s mainstays: Bar Bumpkin in Shibuya. I don’t know how he discovered this unmarked spot, but he’s befriended the proprietor, Ryoka, a 35-year-old cocktail aficionado. I left wishing we had a Bumpkin in Brooklyn!
DAY 1:
I love Tokyo because they take coffee very seriously. We started a day of shopping & exploring at Café Müm and then took a short walk to Buy Me Stand – a cute diner with a vintage shop and lounge upstairs.
Bottom left image via https://www.instagram.com/buy_me_stand
After breakfast, we took a quick walk to Nakameguro, a beautiful neighborhood filled with great shopping; make sure you stop at:
Kodomo Beams: The children's version of the iconic department store. We found so many cool things for Ruby & Johnny.
1LDK for well-curated, sophisticated, cool girl (and boy) fashion.
Coverchord Nakameguro is another stop for chic fashion and excellent homewares. Pop into Sidewalk Stand next door for an espresso.
From Nakameguro, we wandered through Daikanyama, another super stylish neighborhood full of high-end shopping and coffee (and cocktail) bars, in Shibuya (which is huge).
For anyone seeking thoughtful, high-end Japanese basics and homewares, stop in Arts&Science Daikanyama, situated in a beautiful house.
For delicate, handmade porcelain, visit Yumiko Iihoshi a short walk away.
We stumbled upon Mary Al Terna,a Japanese brand I wasn't familiar with, and I came home with pieces for my mom, my sis, and myself. A highlight discovery of the trip!
Shibuya is huge, and we continued exploring (and shopping) on Day 3 (below!). We spent Saturday night dining with our friends Lauren Sherman and Dan Frommer at The Blind Donkey, upon Dan's suggestion. The chef used to helm Chez Panisse in Berkeley, and we loved the thoughtful plates and off-the-beaten-path location.
DAY 2:
We stopped at Blue Bottle Roppongi and set off for a day of shopping, starting in Aoyama, a neighborhood filled with luxury shopping in the Minato ward.
H Beauty & Youth - part of the much larger Japanese mainstay United Arrows - has a very cool selection of curated brands in a sprawling, contemporary space.
There are beautiful Pleats Please and Dries Van Noten locations nearby; both are worth a stop.
Next, it was off to Auralee, where we both scored. Good thing the pieces are so much more reasonably priced in Tokyo than in America. The sales staff was also amazing and let me try every version of the same pistachio shirt that they had.
We celebrated our purchases with lunch at Down The Stairs by Arts & Science, an intimate restaurant below the namesake store upstairs. This was one of my favorite meals of the trip: incredible food, orange wine, and a seat near the window for people watching.
If you're looking to balance shopping with some culture, the Nezu Art Museum is around the corner.
From here, we headed up into Shibuya, where there's a ton of great, name-brand shopping. A few lesser-known hits:
Vintage lovers, stop at Laila Vintage.
Menswear lovers, stop at Bryceland's and Maidens Shop. Peter has found a lot of great things at the former (and they even recognized him when he walked in).
I didn't make it to Shizen or Hoek, both are home goods stores nearby, but their ceramics look excellent!
We did get ourselves over to Front11201, a great vintage clothing and homewares shop by the owners of Front General (in Brooklyn). Peter found an amazing bright blue chore coat, which he's been sporting since our return.
Nearby, we stumbled upon the tiny 黄魚 pottery shop. According to Google, this translates to Yellow Fish, but it's hard to identify online. All I know is I left with a handful of great ceramics!
My other favorite pottery purchase of the day was at Utsua Marukaku, a total gem of a store. I came home with so many great items (this store was the reason I had to check a bag), and especially love my purchases from ceramicist Mika Sakai.
After many miles on our feet, we headed for dinner at Ginza's popular Tonkatsu restaurant, Ginza Bairin. But we missed the last seating, so we did a pivot and ate Italian (in Japan, I know!)
DAY 3:
It's Monday & Peter (aka my guide) is off to work, so I decided to do some work of my own and visit our retailers.
First stop: Tomorrowland, a beloved account that has been stocking us for over a decade. I love the Tomorrowland team, and the space is gorgeous. The buyer took me out for lunch, and I got to show recent lookbooks and press credits to the sales staff. It was such a treat to connect with the people representing us across the globe!ting us across the globe!
After lunch, I headed over to Estanation in Roppongi, a gorgeous, multi-level department store. Even though I hadn't announced my visit, I was delighted to see a great Lizzie spread and get a chance to connect with their team. The sales staff at these stores are so enthusiastic and polite (hallmarks of everyone I interacted with in Tokyo), and they received me so kindly.
I explored more stores (tried to do my homework on the landscape!) throughout the day and ended the evening at the truly excellent Pizza Marumo solo (I swear I didn't just eat Italian).
Image Via Pizza Marumo
DAY 4:
My departure day! But an evening flight allowed me to get some culture in before I left. I started with a cappuccino at Bricolage Bread & Co. right next to our hotel and then headed to the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, which is dedicated to the collection and celebration of the hand-crafted art of ordinary people.
Situated in a quiet residential neighborhood, I loved getting there (walking through beautiful tree-lined streets) as well as the subject matter. This quaint museum should not be missed if you're a craft fan.
I'm so lucky that Loewe's "Crafted World" Exhibition was taking place during my visit. The Spanish-based luxury house hosted the immersive exhibition in Tokyo to celebrate their heritage and commitment to the handmade. It was fabulous: BTS of the production line, ceramic plates by Picasso collected by the house, artwork designed by the Loewe craft prize recipients, and many of Jonathan Anderson's most notable designs.
From Loewe, it was off to the airport. There are so many more stops on my saved Tokyo map that I'm dying to visit, so another trip is in order. Till next time!
xx,
Lizzie