Tokyo

Shinjuku is Tokyo at its most intense — a district of department stores, entertainment venues, and neon-lit streets that never fully quiets. The east side of Shinjuku Station is the commercial heart: Kabukicho is the famous entertainment district, a dense grid of bars, restaurants, and clubs that operates around the clock. The Golden Gai — a cluster of around 200 tiny bars, each seating six to eight people — is one of the great drinking experiences in Tokyo: choose a bar by its handwritten sign, squeeze in, and talk to whoever is next to you. The west side of Shinjuku has the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, with free observation decks on the 45th floor offering panoramic views of the city and, on clear days, Mount Fuji. Open until 10:30pm and completely free.

Asakusa is the oldest district in Tokyo and the most atmospheric — a neighbourhood of narrow lanes, traditional craft shops, and the great Senso-ji temple complex, the oldest and most visited temple in Japan. Arrive before 8am to experience the temple without the crowds: the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) with its enormous red lantern, the Nakamise-dori shopping street leading to the main hall, and the five-storey pagoda are all extraordinary in the early morning light. The surrounding streets of Asakusa are lined with shops selling traditional crafts — folding fans, lacquerware, tenugui cotton towels, and ningyo dolls — many of which have been in the same family for generations.

The Shibuya Scramble Crossing is the most famous intersection in the world — a five-way crossing that releases pedestrians in all directions simultaneously, with up to 3,000 people crossing at once during peak hours. The best view is from the Starbucks on the second floor of the Tsutaya building on the corner, or from the Shibuya Sky observation deck on top of Shibuya Scramble Square (ticketed, book in advance). From Shibuya, walk north to Harajuku: Takeshita Street is the epicentre of youth fashion culture, while the parallel Omotesando boulevard is Tokyo's most elegant shopping street, lined with flagship stores by the world's major fashion houses. The Meiji Shrine, a 15-minute walk from Harajuku Station through a forested path, is the most important Shinto shrine in Tokyo.

The Tsukiji Outer Market — the retail and restaurant section of the former Tsukiji fish market — remains one of the great food experiences in Tokyo. Arrive between 6am and 8am when the market is at its most active: stalls selling fresh seafood, tamagoyaki (sweet rolled omelette), pickles, dried goods, and kitchen equipment line the narrow lanes. The sushi restaurants and seafood stalls that open from 5am serve some of the freshest fish in the city. The famous tuna auction moved to the new Toyosu Market in 2018, but the outer market retains its character and is still the best place in Tokyo for an early morning food walk.

Akihabara is Tokyo's electronics and otaku (anime and manga fan culture) district — a neighbourhood of multi-storey electronics stores, anime merchandise shops, maid cafes, and retro game arcades that is unlike anywhere else in the world. Yodobashi Camera and Bic Camera are the largest electronics retailers, with floors dedicated to cameras, computers, audio equipment, and home appliances at competitive prices. The side streets are lined with specialist shops selling vintage electronics, rare anime figures, and second-hand video games. The Yodobashi Akiba building alone is worth an hour of exploration regardless of whether you intend to buy anything.

teamLab's immersive digital art installations are among the most extraordinary contemporary art experiences in the world — vast, walk-through environments where light, sound, and motion combine into something that is genuinely difficult to describe and impossible to photograph adequately. teamLab Planets in Toyosu is the more intimate of the two Tokyo venues: four large-scale works including a room of floating flowers, a mirrored infinity space, and a room where you wade through knee-deep water reflecting a sky of light. Book tickets online well in advance — both venues sell out weeks ahead, especially on weekends.

Nikko, 130 kilometres north of Tokyo, is one of the most ornate and spectacular shrine complexes in Japan — a UNESCO World Heritage Site set in a forested mountain valley where the Tosho-gu shrine of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo shogunate, is decorated with extraordinary carved and gilded detail. The famous Yomeimon Gate — covered in over 500 carvings of animals, flowers, and mythological figures — is considered one of the finest examples of decorative architecture in Japan. Nikko is easily reached from Tokyo by the Tobu Nikko Line from Asakusa Station (approximately 2 hours, no Shinkansen required) and makes an excellent full-day excursion.

Tokyo's food culture is the deepest and most varied of any city in the world. The essential experiences: a bowl of ramen at Fuunji in Shinjuku (tsukemen — thick noodles for dipping — queue from 11am); a sushi breakfast at Tsukiji Outer Market or Toyosu; yakitori at any of the tiny grill restaurants under the Yurakucho train tracks; an izakaya (Japanese pub) evening with grilled skewers, edamame, and cold Sapporo beer; and at least one convenience store meal — 7-Eleven and Lawson in Japan are genuinely excellent, with fresh onigiri, hot foods, and desserts that bear no resemblance to their equivalents elsewhere. For Malaysian travellers seeking halal options, the Asakusa area has several halal-certified restaurants, and the Japan Muslim Guide app lists verified options throughout the city.