The ultimate Tokyo Sunday

As there's no picture which can capture it all, I'll leave you with our main tip... WALK THE CITY!

This map shows the first phase of our favourite Sunday walk ever  (avoid weekdays if possible):

1. Start from Ebisu West exit where the statue is
2. Find Ebisu Ichiban aka the street lined up with steel flowers
3. Walk all the way up - reaching near to our former home, Park Axis Daikanyama
4. Walk downhill and explore Daikanyama log road - brunch here is amazing.
5. Then left, till you get to Daikanyama T-site and its lovely Tsutaya Book shop branch
6. Walk along the main street, passing by Junie Moon aka Blythe heaven
7. Continue straight and under so you reach the street that goes parallel to the train tracks
8. Follow all the way till Shibuya station (West exit), reaching Hachiko and the crossing
9. Then comes teen shopping at Shibuya 109 and the craze of Shibuya's Center Gai - best manicure in esNail if you are up for a beauty souvenir
10. Remember the Katumidori Sushi branch located on the top floor of Seibu - best sushi ever
11. With full tummy, it's turn for the cool Harajuku Cat Street - plenty of shops and an interesting atmosphere, much more welcoming that the usual glassy Asian mall

(1) Ebisu is the god of fishermen and luck, besides of the star of the beer brand brewed nearby.

(2) This is the street

(3) Continue straight and up, you'll probably pass by Blacows, just keep going.

(4) Once you come down, Daikanyama log road is to your right and many other streets to explore are well... Pretty much everywhere.

(5) Continue randomly till Daikanyama T-Site

(6) Back through the main street, passing by Junie Moon

(7) Pass Urth Caffé, followed by a luxury vintage shop and continue all the way down, so you reach the street that lines up the train tracks.

(8) This way has such an edgy - unexpected side of Shibuya which I fell in love with...

(9) Hachiko and the crossing are impossible to miss - which one wins, Times Square or this one? - anyway here comes a picture of 109 instead - where you go crazy after 2min of continuous IRASHAIMASEEEEEE

(10) If you are feeling peckish, Katumidori is the answer - also delivering some IRASHAIMASEEEE

(11) Keep walking and enter the ultimate cool world of Harajuku Cat Street


This map shows the second part of the walk:

1. Exit the Harajuku Cat Street to enter the fancy Omotesando, with a potential stop at Kiddy's Land, the funniest toy shop ever (featuring Rilakkuma dedicated floor!)
2. As it is the first one to close, next comes the impressive Meiji-Jingu shrine
3. After getting your blessings and cleaning all bad luck, walk your steps backwards and into the local-cool nature of Yoyogi-koen with our favourite attraction - the Rockabilly!
4. Walk back towards Omotensando but this time take a left into he teen craze of Takeshita-dori
5. If you are still on time, walk all the way to the Sendagaya entrance of Shinjuku-gyoen, this park is one of the finest nature spots in Tokyo regardless of season and delivers great views of the empire-state like NTT DoCoMo skyscraper
6. Exit through the main entrance (Shinjuku gate) and walk the crazy glitzy streets of Shinjuku, featuring teeny tiny bars at the Golden Gai, lots of shopping, skyscrapers and the largest train station on Earth
7. Wrap up the day with breathtaking city views (for free!) by climbing up one of the Tokyo Government towers - open till 11PM. Tourists always go for drinks to New York Grill aka the bar from Lost in Translation, but frankly I favor other places such as Two Rooms if you are feeling that extra...

(1) Thanks to the huge torii it's nearly impossible to miss the entrance of Meiji Jingu. Take a picture with the sake barrels at the entrance, it is mandatory.


(2) Thanks to the Rockabilly, always there on Sunday morning, the entrance to Yoyogi-koen is also quite easy to find.

(2) Yoyogi is that place where we always felt calm and happy.

(3) It seems crazy in picture? Takeshita reality is way worse (or better, depends how you look at it...)

(4) Gorgeous Shinjuku Gyoen, an all-season natural beauty.

(5) Crazy-glitzy Shinjuku streets and my favourite skyscraper ever, the cocooon.


PS: Tokyo is pretty during daytime, but its full charm truly flourishes at night.