Two nights to wrap up — and a very different Tokyo from the first time around. Hoshinoya in Otemachi is a luxury ryokan vertical inside a glass tower: shoes off at the lift, tatami floors, an open-air hot spring on the 17th floor that looks at the skyscrapers above and the stars beyond.
You'll know Tokyo well enough by now to go back to the favourites you didn't have time for, hit the corners you missed, and load suitcases with last-minute gifts. Akihabara, Ginza, the basement food halls of Shibuya — all within twenty minutes by metro.
Shoes off at the door. Tatami floors, shoji screens, and the city’s only natural hot spring on the roof. The perfect farewell to Japan.
teamLab, Ghibli, museums, light and big ideas.
Different show from Borderless — you walk barefoot through water and forests of mirrored flowers. Open until 2027 only. Worth doing both.
Top of Roppongi Hills, 52 floors up. The art rotates; the view is permanent. Open until 10pm, perfect for the last evening.
Character stores, vintage finds, stationery, gifts.
Underground at Tokyo Station — every Japanese character brand has a shop here: Pokémon, Hello Kitty, Studio Ghibli, Rilakkuma, Crayon Shin-chan, plus all the broadcasters. Perfect for last-minute gifts on the way to the airport.
Eight-storey arcades, Mandarake (used manga across multiple floors), the Yodobashi Camera megastore, and Gachapon Hall with hundreds of capsule machines.
Tokyo's coolest neighbourhood for vintage clothing — narrow lanes, cheap thrift shops, independent record stores. Allow a half-day.
Twelve floors of stationery and design objects. The handmade-paper floor and the writing-instrument floor are essential. Even the lift is beautiful.
Animal cafés, photo booths, things that make no sense anywhere else.
A small indoor theme park entirely about Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll and friends. 45 minutes out at Tama Center. Heaven for one of you, possibly therapy for another.
Cat Café Mocha or Calico Cat Café — book a 30-minute slot. Less stressful than the animal cafés in Harajuku; just lots of warm, sleepy cats.
Tower Records, Disk Union, vinyl basements, jazz cafés.
If there's one record you wanted from Japan and didn't find on the first leg — it'll be here. Specific branches for J-pop, idol, rock, soul.
Takoyaki, matcha, ramen, parfaits, market breakfasts.
Take the lift to B1 of Isetan Shinjuku or Mitsukoshi Ginza for the most beautiful supermarkets you'll ever see. Buy bento, mochi, tea-ceremony sweets, gifts to take home.
Out of reach for most of us, but Numazuko in Shinjuku and Sushiro have conveyor sushi that is genuinely excellent and almost free.
Temples, gardens, viewpoints, neighbourhoods to wander.
The hotel's own onsen on the 17th floor — the only natural hot spring in central Tokyo. Open to the sky. Go just before bed on the last night.