A TASTE OF JAPAN
New drama Tokyo Vice focuses on the city’s gritty past in the 1990s — but visitors today will enjoy a much more pleasant stay…
‘Today’s Toyko is super-safe, welcoming and accessible’
Tokyo Vice Tuesday 9.10pm, 10.50pm (11.20pm N Ireland) BBC1
Neon-laced arcades. Buzzy karaoke bars. Soaring skyscrapers. The Japanese capital is an intoxicating experience, right? Well, it’s not quite so simple if you’re young American journalist Jake Adelstein.
New BBC1 drama Tokyo Vice – starring Ansel Elgort (as Adelstein), Ken Watanabe and Academy Award nominee Rinko Kikuchi – is based on the real-life reporter’s first-hand experience covering the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat in the 1990s. As you’ll see on screen, Adelstein’s Tokyo was a gritty whirlwind of seedy hostess clubs, brushes with yakuza mafia, and systemic corruption. Thankfully for visitors, modern Tokyo puts on an equally exciting, but much less dangerous, face. You’ll still find plenty of drama, but of a much more enticing kind…
TOKYO BY NIGHT
Far from Adelstein’s version of Tokyo, your afterdark experience will be all about fun and glamour. As this hard-working capital hits clock-off hour, rather than winding down it thrums with excitement.
Half an hour before sunset, take the elevator up the Tokyo Skytree tower, where viewing decks peak at 450m above the ground. As the sun slips down and the city flickers into action in a sea of sparkling lights, watch the golden sky backlight distant Mount Fuji.
You could sip fizz here if you’re feeling flash – there’s a restaurant a few floors down – but given cocktail bars are a Tokyo specialty, better to head elsewhere. The New York Bar in the Park Hyatt hotel holds cult status for its appearance in 2003’s Lost in Translation (and great jazz) but it’s far from the only option. Bar Oak in the Tokyo Station Hotel has the kind of moody atmosphere made for savouring fine Japanese whiskey, while at intimate Gen Yamamoto you can enjoy an innovative cocktail-tasting flight.
Looking for a dash of Tokyo Vice-style grit? Shinjuku’s Golden Gai was once a red-light district, but these days it’s a tourist-friendly grid of hundreds of tiny drinking holes, many only large enough to host a few customers at a time.
Of course, there’s more to Tokyo nights than booze. You can shop till late in retail district Shibuya – home to the famous, frenetic Shibuya Crossing. Fashion megashop Shibuya 109 is open until 9pm, music and book store Tsutaya until 10pm, and eclectic Don Quijote hawks everything from fancy dress outfits to beauty products 24/7.
Nearby, spa Thermae-Yu is open around the clock, too, so you can ease yourself into a traditional Japanese onsen hot spring as midnight strikes. Or sign up for one of Tokyo’s most traditional night-time pursuits: karaoke. Bars with private singing booths can be found around the city, but late-night venues are especially prolific in electric night-life hub Kabukicho (an area featured in Tokyo Vice). Sign up for as little as an hour, or all night long, at chains such as Uta Hiroba; song options are bountiful, and food and drink is free-flowing.
Kabukicho also happens to be one of Tokyo’s prime spots for late-night cheap eats. Choose from the range of smoky izakaya (bars), okonomiyaki (savoury pancake) grills, ramen joints and barbecue restaurants to fuel you for an evening of singalongs.
Or, should budgets allow, strike out to elegant Ginza or Otemachi. Tokyo is one of the world’s most Michelin-awarded cities, with everything from intimate £300-a-head sushi bars to elegant French fine-dining. Of the ten restaurants and bars found in the elegant Palace Hotel Tokyo, overlooking the city’s imperial gardens, two have Michelin star ratings. And if
you’re willing to splash out on a stay in a crisp contemporary suite (rates start upwards of £500 per night), gourmet room service runs all through the night.
TOKYO BY DAY
You don’t need to stay up late to channel Tokyo thrills – this 24/7 city has every kind of daytime excitement under the sun, too. Channel retro 90s vibes à la Tokyo Vice by exploring the multi-storeyed gaming arcades of otaku (geek) district Akihabara, where seasoned pros perform elaborate routines on the Dance Dance Revolution machines. Neighbouring superstores Bic Camera and Yodobashi Camera sell quirky gadgets as well as big-brand tech; and themed cafes – maid, cat and anime – abound. Tokyo isn’t overly sentimental about its architecture (landscapes change rapidly) and there’s always a new cutting-edge development vying for your attention. In spring 2023 that’ll be ToranomonAzabudai, a new “modern urban village” in the south of the city centre with Japan’s tallest skyscraper. But until then you can get your fix of “trendy” at at Red° Tokyo Tower, Japan’s largest e-sports park, full of computer games and virtual-reality simulators. Or visit Shimokitazawa, a cool district neighbouring Shibuya. Like many corners of this non-stop city, it’s been totally transformed in recent years, in an extensive, costly renovation. The grit from Adelstein’s days is long gone, but thanks to its cool vintage shops, artisan cafes and affordable-chic hotels such as Mustard Hotel, the thrills most definitely remain. And don’t be nervous. Whatever you see on screen, today’s Tokyo is safe, welcoming and accessible. Book with a specialist tour operator such as Inside Japan (insidejapantours. com) and it gets even easier, with English-speaking guides, rail travel and accommodation all included in the deal.