THE COMPACT GUIDE
HOW TO GET THERE
Andrew Tuck visited Tokyo as a guest of Virgin Atlantic and the Conrad Tokyo.
Virgin Atlantic (08705-747 747; virginatlantic.com) offers return fares from London Heathrow to Tokyo from £820. The Conrad Tokyo (00 81 3 6388 8000; conradhotels1.hilton.com), 1-9-1 Higashi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, offers double rooms from £240 per night.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Japan National Tourist Organization (020-7734 9638; seejapan.co.uk).
OUR TOP FIVE TOKYO SHOPS
Where can you find this city's best shops and what are the essential items to buy? Take some tips from the experts...
Tyler Brûlée
Chairman and creative director of Wink and founder of 'Wallpaper*' magazine
Maisen, 4-8-5 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku (00 81 3 3470 0071). Pork tonkatsu and corporate identity doesn't get better than at this culinary institution. Ideal after an afternoon spent in Harajuku and Aoyama.
Amadana, 3F Main Building, B Omotesando Hills, 4-12-10 Jingumae, Shibuya (00 81 3 3408 2018). Tucked away in the bottom of Omotesando Hills, this electronics brand has picked up where Bang & Olufsen left off. They also do a mean-looking fan, toaster and juicer.
Tomorrowland, 1-23-16 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku (00 81 3 5774 1711). The best in accessories on the ground floor, and in the basement, a delicious mix of modern classics tailored in Japan and Italy - for both men and women.
Bonjour Records, 24-1 Sarugakucho, Shibuya-ku, (00 81 3 5458 6020). If you have the time, spend an hour in the Daikanyama branch but if your shopping hours are limited, go for the express version in the basement of fashion store Isetan.
Bals Tokyo, 1-10-21 Nakameguro, Meguro-ku, (00 81 3 5773 5500). A good one-stop for dog outfits, coffee, Japanese modern design classics and also the T-shirts from Graniph.
Simon Turnbull
MD of IndustrieFutura, business advisers to creative companies, who regularly works in Tokyo
Bunkaya Zakkaten, 3-28-9 Jingumae, Harajuku, (00 81 3 3423 8980). This is the best shop in Tokyo - it feels like the whole of Portobello Road Market has been crammed in here. It sells T-shirts, bags and ephemera.
Tokyo Hipsters Club, 6-16-23 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, (00 81 3 5778 2081). Shop, exhibition space and restaurant designed by Tom Dixon (British designer for Habitat). Theme is apparently Aristocracy Gone Wrong, all set in a brutalist concrete environment.
Reed Space, 6-4-6 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, (00 81 3 6804 6973). Sister gallery-shop to Reed Space New York. Designed to be a "learning experience" - even if you are only here to buy a cool book or T-shirt.
Hysteric Glamour, 6-23-2 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, (00 81 3 3409 7227). Behind the Dior shop is the store for the label loved by the Harajuku teen set (the look is a bit like US skate brand Stüssy).
Tokyu Hands, 12-18 Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku, (00 81 3 5489 5111). I love this store that sells everything you can imagine for the home, DIY and hobbies. Great for Japanese cookery tools, stationery, toys ... you name it.
Timothy Everest
Tailor, with 16 shops in Japan
Isetan, 3-14-1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku (00 81 3 3352 1111). This is the best menswear store in the world. The selection is amazing - there are always lots of surprises. We have a department on the fourth floor.
Gift shop at the top of Mori Tower, Roppongi Hills. Great choice of gifts but I really like the painted postcards and spectacular views.
Celux, at the top of the Louis Vuitton store, One Omotesando, 3-5-29 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, (00 81 3 5410 8131). Members only, it's for Tokyo's most discerning consumers.
Laox, 1-15-3 Soto Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Akihabara (00 81 3 3255 5301). I love this place in Electric Town for buying gadgets. You can get everything from iPods to cameras.
Ginza Motoji, branches throughout Ginza, visit motoji.co.jp for full details. I had a man's bespoke kimono made at this specialist store, which was an amazing experience: drinking green tea and selecting silk, which all happened around the table they were then cutting the fabric at.
Polly Dickens
Creative director of the Conran shops and curator of Wa-Japanese Style, which runs at the shops until the end of October
Idée (00 81 3 5797 3023), 3-17-1 Patamatamagawa, Setagaya-ku. A one-stop shop for designer furniture that also has a bookshop, gallery and café. Wonderfully quirky.
60 Vision, 8-3-2 Okusawa, Setagaya-ku, (00 81 3 5758 3851). Has a great collection of products - furniture, glassware, luggage - revived from the 1960s, and a café to match, which sells unhealthy 1960s food.
Omotesando Hills, Shibuya. This new shopping centre has an amazing collection of shops. For a full list of the stylish residents, visit omotesandohills.com.
100% Chocolate Café, 4-16 Kyobashi 2-chome, Chuo-ku (00 81 3 3273 3184). Everything here is chocolate themed, from the ceiling - like a giant chocolate bar - to the waitresses' outfits. Sells 56 varieties from around the globe.
Ito-ya, 2-7-15 Ginza, Chuo-ku, (00 81 3 3561 8311). This company has set the global benchmark in unique and class-leading stationery products. It offers the most innovative, distinctive and quality crafted office, art and school supplies available.
posted by Ronnie Rocket @ 4:39 AM
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