Lilly's Highlights & Recommendations # 9 (Tokyo, Japan)

Currently on a (fast, on time and spacious!) train to Hiroshima (via a half day stop at Himeji castle) following 4 days in Tokyo. We are back to Tokyo (hooray!) for a couple of days after a bit more travelling on fast trains so there may be stuff to add to this top 5 but here is the list so far:

1. Clothes Shopping! Tokyo is truly the best city I have ever been to for the amount and quality of boutique clothing stores (and that does include Paris and New York!) Of course it has all the main chain stores through the whole spectrum but every other shop is a little boutique selling stuff by obscure designers from all over the world (although they are obsessed by US and English 'style' in a lot of shops - you can buy more clothes with Union

Jacks on them here than in the UK!)

The best areas are Harajuku and Shibuya (La Foret is the best boutique mall). You can be so creative and unique with clothes here. No wonder the Japanese look so quirky and cool!

There are also 2 great department stores (worth looking for the original branches in Ginza) - Mitsukoshi and Takashimaya. Shame about the prices though (that applies to everything - more expensive than London!)

2. Views - one of the world's best cityscapes, and so many ways to take it in. We did it on a river boat, in the World Trade Centre, the Top of Ebisu (great views of Mount Fuji) and the Mori Tower. Always different and always stunning!

And now we have just passed a beautiful view of Mt. Fuji on the train!

3. Subway - this may seem like a ridiculous thing to have in a top 5 but Tokyo is enormous and it is great to have such an easy (PASMO - their version of oyster, simple!) way of getting around. It is quick, safe, quiet and clean (could be a description of Tokyo - such a polite and quiet city!) with stops *everywhere*. Signs are in English as well as Japanese so it is easy to navigate. We had a glimpse of it in rush hour and despite its reputation it was better than Kings X on a bad day!

While I'm (sort of) on the subject of cleanliness, I must say that Tokyo is the cleanest large city I have ever been to (Singapore maybe excepted). Not a piece of litter to be seen.

4. Architecture - as you can probably tell from 2 above there are plenty of skyscrapers to enjoy and many world class architects represented (Kohn Pedersen Fox, Vinoly, Le Corbusier etc.) Although, in my opinion the city is exceptional for its modern architecture there is also a lot for the fans of the old including the Imperial palace and the Yasukini-jinga (my favourite), Kiyomizu Kannon-do and Senso-ji temples (disappointingly covered up for restoration).

Note: it is very complex to get a permit to go on a tour inside the Imperial Palace and not worth the hassle. Apart from the 2 keeps the rest of the buildings inside the complex are undistinguished. The Eastern Gardens are free and easy to enter and are pretty. Ueno park is nice too - they love a park in Tokyo!

It is also worth saying that the urban planning in Tokyo is also excellent. There are a lot of enormous new skyscraper complexes which usually comprise of offices, hotels, shops, restaurants and museums but yet they always fit neatly in their location (even if they can be a maze inside). Dubai could learn a lot from the Tokyo urban planners! (The Dubai comparison is quite apt in many ways - Tokyo is a city designed for the rich, but it is much more organised, better planned and hasn't forgotten about the importance of cultural heritage. It is less bling too, the Tokyo Tower being the exception (a 1950s red and white striped copy of the Eiffel Tower - but taller of course - full of amusement arcade attractions!)).

5. Museums - there are more museums in Tokyo than I could believe (even in department stores!) most with such large collections that only a few pieces are on show at any one time (which is a shame because it is not always the famous items on display). We only did a fraction of the museums on offer but a few are worth a special mention:

- Ghibli - a quirky and fun museum celebrating the animation of the Ghibli Studio (makers of the Oscar winning 'Spirited Away'). Has its own little cinema which was showing a great short film about sumo mice!
- Mori Museum of Art - beautiful KPF building with great views, an awesome Louise Bourgois sculpture outside and a lovely exhibition space. We saw a very good Medicine and Art exhibition, which, ironically, was visiting from The Wellcome Centre on the Euston Rd (20 mins from our house!) Lots of very interesting old and new pieces (lots of British representation).

- Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography - in the Ebisu Garden Place complex (a good example of the neat urban planning I talked about). A really good exhibition comparing Eastern and Western perspectives through the photos of Cartier-Bresson and a Japanese photographer whose name I will have to Google!

- Bridgestone - private collection with some good Western art including some Impressionist pieces.

Surprisingly, we haven't yet seen any outstanding museums of Japanese art despite having been to the Tokyo National Museum and a woodcuts exhibition (good) in a small gallery behind La Foret. We will try again when we are back next week. The new year closure of lots of museums should also have finished.

Note: it is worth buying a GRUTT pass upfront. Will save you money if you plan to do a lot of museums.

Quick PS - best meals - Shibuya Rice (fried rice with a meat patty and a fried egg) in Respekt cafe in Shibuya and the gyoza at a Japenese restaurant with no English name or menu also in Shibuya. This is a real problem in Tokyo - not a lot of English speakers and very few English menus - you never know what you are ordering (apart from in US style burger places of which there are lots).

So that's Tokyo for now. My new favourite city, after London of course!