Enjoy a fresh sushi breakfast at the restaurants surrounding Tokyo's historical fish market, Tsukiji. Slurp noodles with the lunchtime workforce in Ginza, and eat a rowdy dinner of yakitori sticks of bite-size chicken at an izakaya bar in Tokyo's centre. Savour sake in frenetic Roppongi or sample cocktails in west Tokyo.
Dine on the cheap with salarymen under the train tracks at Yurakucho's izakaya snack bars in central Tokyo. Funky Naka-Meguro in west Tokyo has restaurants galore dishing out Indian, Italian and, of course, Japanese food. In Nishi-Azabu and on swanky Korida Dori in Ginza, you'll find affordable sushi bars next to sleek shabu shabu restaurants serving wafer-thin strips of beef and vegetables cooked in a giant bubbling hotpot.
Tokyo's restaurants tend to close around 11pm. Little English is spoken in many Tokyo restaurants. Ask your hotel concierge to book, and check whether a restaurant or bar has an English menu. If communication proves difficult, many Tokyo restaurants have plastic food models that you can point at when ordering. For midnight snacks, head to party districts Shibuya or Roppongi's backstreets for all-night spicy ramen noodle restaurants and sushi bars. Remember, when eating noodles in soup, it's perfectly acceptable to slurp in Tokyo restaurants!
Experience cutting-edge, designer Tokyo at bars in Minami-Aoyama. Check out Stair Lounge's snake-like graffiti or rub shoulders with Tokyo's fashion set in DJ bars. Tokyo sparkles at night from Shinjuku's high-rise bars. In Roppongi you'll find everything from glamorous cocktail lounges to down-to-earth karaoke and beers.
