The ritual: Sakurai Tea Experience

The art of sipping a cuppa is elevated to near spiritual heights at Sakurai Tea Experience, an exquisitely designed contemporary space in the Aoyama area. Owner and tea guru Sakurai-san (dressed in doctor-like whites) presents a modern take on the traditional tea ceremony, serving Japanese teas using volcanic spring water from southern Japan – from green tea blended with seasonal persimmon fruit to teas roasted on site – alongside haiku-inspiringly perfect Japanese sweets. The tea theme continues after dark with artfully mixed tea cocktails.
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The most instagrammable toilet: Yayoi Kusama Museum

The new museum, which opened last October in the Shinjuku district, is a minimal white tower devoted to the eye-popping work of the octogenarian Japanese artist. Highlights include a pumpkin on the roof; a mirrored installation room – and, of course, the selfie-friendly loos: jewellery-box-like enclaves of mirrors covered in signature red polka dots.
yayoikusamamuseum.jp

The hotel: One@Tokyo

As Tokyo races towards its 2020 Olympic reinvention, countless new hotels are springing up across the city – and one of the most recent is One@Tokyo, designed by cult architect Kengo Kuma, who is also currently building the new Olympic Stadium. The 10-storey property – not far from Tokyo SkyTree – has a wooden Jenga-like facade, a spacious lounge and industrial-style guestrooms.
onetokyo.com

The space: Yagicho Honten

A bag of dried seaweed may not be the most enticing souvenir. But Yagicho Honten – a dried food shop dating back nearly three centuries in historic Nihonbashi – not only sells some of the best ingredients in the city for making Japanese dashi (fish broth), it’s also worth a visit for its sleek design (all clean-lined red boxes and raw concrete) after a recent renovation by Jo Nagasaka of Schemata Architects.
yagicho-honten.tokyo

The coffee break: Sidewalk Stand

It’s all about coffee at Sidewalk Stand, a small concrete corner cafe overlooking the cherry-tree-lined river in the creative neighbourhood of Nakameguro. It’s worth visiting for its famously tasty espressos, hot sandwiches, craft beers – and, of course, hipster-watching Tokyo style.
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