National_Geographic_Traveller_India-May_2018

MAY 2018 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA 69

JAPAN

WHERE TO SLEEP Palace Hotel Overlooking the Imperial Palace, this contemporary luxe hotel (reopened in 2012) offers 290 rooms, stellar city views, and a Michelin-starred sushi chef (palacehoteltokyo.com).

Hoshinoya This upscale ryokan sched- ules a daily tea ceremony at 10.30 a.m. Each floor houses six rooms plus an ochanoma (the Japanese word for “tea- room within a living room”), where you can eat rice crackers and meet your neighbours (hoshinoyatokyo.com).¾

shiso flower and eel soup and a plate of bite-size morsels (egg- plant, crab, fish eggs, jellyfish, squash), all chased with the most delicious mochi dessert (a gelatinous rice cake). The chef’s father was an art director, which makes sense—each dish is Instagram ready. The chef also hand-paints the drinks menu on a washi paper scroll, which you should take home and frame.

DEN Zaiyu Hasegawa is the Michelin- starred chef behind the modern kaiseki fusion spot DEN, which was named one of the top 50 restaurants in the coveted Asia’s 50 Best list, thanks to standout dishes like a whole freshwater smelt deep-fried in tempura batter and balanced on its back fins so it looks like it’s walking across the plate. When I asked Chef Hasegawa where he likes to eat in Tokyo when he isn’t working, he doesn’t hesitate: “Shake Shack

WHERE TO DINE
Ichirin
Shibuya Crossing at sundown
is a juiced-up, neon party.
But nearby, on the second
floor of a residential build-
ing in Jingumae, lies Ichirin, a
kaiseki ryori (or Japanese fine
dining) restaurant, where Chef
Mikizo Hashimoto changes the
seasonal menu every 10 days.
Chef Hashimoto was raised in
Kyoto, the birthplace of kaiseki.
The meal involves a parade of
nine or 10 small plates, which
always include a simmered
fish, a sashimi dish, hassun (an
expression of the season), and
a grilled course. Here at Ichirin,
the chef follows tradition but
also breaks the rules. Yuzu
shrimp is followed by a zucchini
spiral, then squid and edible

in Aoyama, as it is close to our restaurant. I order a triple burger, and I can go with my dog, Puchi, Jr., as he can eat his dog biscuits too!” He isn’t joking. In 2017 he collaborated with Shake Shack in New York’s Madison Square Park on a one-day-only signature burger, the DEN Shack, which featured miso Shack sauce, sansho peppers, and house-pickled cucumbers.

Ts uta There are a whopping 227 Michelin-starred restaurants in Tokyo alone. But Tsuta was the first ever ramen shop to earn that honour. Up early? Head over and take a number. In response to five-hour wait times and an avalanche of foot traffic (upsetting the previously discreet “love hotel” operating across the street), Tsuta now hands out tickets beginning at 7 a.m. Simply return at the appointed time for the best $9 lunch you’ll ever have.

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Hyatt Tokyo

ParkPark

injuku Omoide Yokocho

SHSH

YOYO

Hoshinoya Tokyo

Bar Five K.Itoya

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5

Ooedo-Onsen onog

Science and Innovation

To National Museum

Asakusa Shr

SHISHIMO MO TAZA TAZAWWAA

FlFlower Bar Gardenaower Bar Gardena

HarutakaHarutaka Ginza NooGinza Noodlesdles

To Tsuta Soba No 1 mile

odlodl

JapaJapa

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Shake ShackShake Shack

TokyuTokyuPlazaPlaza

al t’s st

EE GUMAEGUMAE

aa

AKIHABAAKIHABARARA

To Tsuta Japanese Soba Noodles 1 mile

To National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation and Ooedo-Onsen Monogatari 0.5 mile

Su

mi

da

Yoyogi Park

Star Bar GinzaStar Bar Ginza

Shimokita Chaen Oyama

Club SegaClub Sega

Shinjuku Omoide Yokocho

Meiji Jingu

Asakusa Shrine

Palace Hotel Tokyo

Hoshinoya Park Hyatt Tokyo Tokyo

IchirinIchirin Shake Shack Bar High Five

Bar Martha

Daikanyama T-site

Harutaka Tsukiji Market

Tsukiji Market

MandarakeMandarake Nezu Museum

Nezu Museum

Golden GaiGolden Gai

Shibuya Crossing

KakimoriKakimori

KikanboKikanbo

Tokyo Skytree

Tokyu Plaza

Bengal Cat’s Forest

Daiwa Sushi

Gen Yamamoto

K.Itoya

Ginza Noodles

Ikkyu Donut

Flower Bar Gardena

DEN

SHIMOKITAZAWA

EBISUEBISU

JINGUMAEJINGUMAE HARAJUKUHARAJUKU

AKIHABARA

CHIYODA

SUMIDASUMIDA

KOTO

CHUOCHUO

TAITOTAITO

SHIBUYA

MINATOMINATO SETAGAYASETAGAYA

SUGINAMISUGINAMI

NAKANONAKANO SHINJUKU

MEGUROMEGURO

BUNKYBUNKYOO

TOKYOTOKYO

11 mi mi 11 km km

Special ward of Tokyo Shades of pink show special ward limits.

KOTO ma

HANEDA AIRPORT

AREA ENLARGED

AREA ENLARGED TokyoTokyo

YokohamaYokohama

ChibaChiba

NARITA AIRPORT

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1515 mi mi 1515 km km

National_Geographic_Traveller_India-May_2018

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