Image Courtesy of info.aia.org
I’m not a huge fan of Ginza (too many chain stores and tourists) but it is worth a visit for the new Lanvin store, which has two floors of magic.

Time your visit around lunch or afternoon tea at the Gucci Café. You don’t have to be into the brand to enjoy this [...]

When you’re in Japan, eat Japanese and only Japanese. And for the real deal the best place I’ve ever been in Japan is Toufuya Ukai. Traditional private dining rooms all open up onto beautiful gardens that are quite magical to walk through before and after dinner. It’s a sensational place for lunch or [...]

Photo by Mikhail Gherman
Shibuya is an easy area to spend a day. Start the day with an early lunch and some great retail at my favourite spot: Margaret Howell (1-13-8 Jinnin-Shibuya-Ku) for great clothes and home wear put together in a lovely way. The café serves wonderful light lunches outside on the terrace.
Allow a few [...]

After a few days in the metropolis it can be nice to escape. A perfect day trip is the Kamakura area an hour’s drive or train ride south west of Tokyo. The series of 5 or 6 beaches lining the coast from this point are refreshing after the heat and intensity of the city. [...]

Gas masks. Ex-American Army clothes. Life jackets. Tutus. Helmets. Victorian corsetry and bonnets. Dominatrix gear. All this and more can be found at Dog in Harajuku, and they encourage wearing it all together.
Harajuku remains the favourite playground for cool kids in Tokyo. Everyone there is about seeing and being seen and this culture of voyeurism [...]

Visiting Tokyo for my first time I was expecting my head to be filled with ‘Geisha’ or ‘Tokyo Pop’ imagery, for everything to be either super modern or super traditional. I loved these garage doors in Asakusa - Tokyo’s traditional market area as they are practical, beautiful, traditional, modern and unexpected all at the [...]

Words Adam Blakey
Photo Keith Ng

Not that it was a big secret or anything, but you just know Gwen Stefani Harajuku’d the fruit out of all of us by getting on her knees and shamelessly licking the place clean on her last album. Regardless, style messiahs will still head straight for Cat Street, a mecca for [...]

For such a huge city that’s so driven by aesthetic Tokyo has very few chic boutique hotels. In fact, I’ve only ever been able to find one, The Claska. But then, one is all you need and when it’s as good as The Claska. It’s a little bit away from the traditionally groovy areas but [...]

Tips by Hideki Iida
Must Visit Stores
Adelaide 3-6-7 b-town, Minamiaoyama Minato-ku, Tokyo. + 81 03 5474 0157;
http://www.adelaide-addition.com
One of the most artistic shops in Tokyo.
Midwest 1-6-1 Jinnan Shibuya-ku (4th floor), Shibuya ku, Tokyo. + 81 03 5428 3171;
Select store – you can find many high end as well as young edgy designers.
Best [...]

Tokyo, Japan
Feature courtesy of Paperplane Magazine
Words Wildred Brandt, Photos Chris Searl
The city of Tokyo is home to 12 million people, but the population of greater Tokyo is 30 million. That means, not only are Tokyo’s streets themselves packed with residents, but every weekday, the city actually swells to nearly three times its size, only [...]