Lost in Tokyo (On Purpose): One Night to Remember

A trip to Tokyo is incomplete without a night out in this capital city. The city’s nightlife is legendary and varied. While it is possible to explore a gastronomic experience in one of its many venerated fine dining restaurants and bars, it is equally possible to live it up in one of its izakayas and karaokes, where the local population loves to unwind, or head to its shopping district that stays open till late and night or indulge in a bar crawl.  

For our first night in Tokyo, we preferred a night in. We were staying at the Four Seasons Tokyo at Otemachi, which had recently been renovated in 2022. The hotel is strategically located at Otemachi, within walking distance of The Imperial Palace. Our room looked out to the famous Mt Fuji, which we had spent half of our shinkansen journey from Kyoto to Tokyo trying to spot. Since we reached only around 3 pm, by 5 the whole room was bathed in golden light, as the sun was setting over Mount Fuji and the Imperial Palace, the best view in all of Tokyo, I can safely claim. I quickly changed and headed to Virtu, in the hotel itself, for the very special night that was planned ahead.  

Virtu is the hotel’s chic bar, facing the towering skyscrapers of several Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the district. The concept of Virtu, in Asia’s 50 Best Bars list, is a Contemporary Tokyo-meets old-world Paris destination. Japanese and French spirits take centre-stage at the bar, and the menu concept revolves around a melange of the two varied cultures. Designed by Tokyo based designer studio Design Studio Spin, the art deco inspired bar marries Parisian and Japanese sensibilities. The entrance itself is stunning, with two walls housing over 2,000 books on modern gastronomy and mixology, along with delicate curios from the east, opening onto the stunning Tokyo view. 

After sipping a couple of cocktails here (in my yuzu-obsession, I tried a yuzu version of the martini) and then headed to est, their signature restaurant by French chef Guillaume Bravacal. The cuisine at est is elegant and contemporary, focusing on sustainability and centred around the seasonality of ingredients.  

A note from the chef set the tone for the evening: “With a deep respect for Japanese traditions, my team and I find endless inspiration in the relationships between people, nature, culture, family, customs, artisans, seasons and produce.” Our eight-course menu included absolute delights such as a dessert based on the Vincent Van Gogh painting Sunflowers, a whipped tofu cheese topped with yuzu served on a crisp, pumpkin pie paired with caviar, and the softest mochi shaped like a flower as part of petit fours with coffee in the end.  

Night 2 

Unlike our previous night, this one began very differently. The day was spent away in the quiet regal part of town, where we had spent the morning, exploring The Imperial Palace, followed by a spa at the Four Seasons, before we got ready to take on the city. We spent the twilight hours in Shiboya, where the legendary Hachiko statue is installed. A statue of a dog, Hachiko, made famous worldwide by a film with the same name, he was honoured with a statue to celebrate his loyalty to his owner. Legend goes that Hachiko would wait for his pet parent at Shiboya station every day. Long after his death, the dog would be found waiting at the same station on the dot. The statue has become a shrine for all dog lovers and is revered in Japanese culture as a symbol of loyalty and companionship.  

The Shibuya crossing is one of the busiest crossings in the world, and experiencing it during rush hour is an exhilarating feeling. As Japan’s organised chaos unfolds, it is a microcosm of how Japan operates. It is a joy to see how everyone seems to follow an invisible symphony as they cross paths, like a swollen river with many cross-streams.  

Vintage shopping 

The roads are bordered by all manners of shops on both sides. Everything, from Chinese medicines, to 100 Yen shops, to vintage Hermes and Chanels can be seen on either side. Japan is a great place for purchasing luxury vintage items, especially bags, other accessories and watches. We found a cool Patek Phillipe at one of the stores for a cool INR 2.5 lakh, a true deal. Similarly the classic Chanel flap bags began at a mere 50,000 INR.  

 Kit Kat, called ‘Kittokatto’ in Japanese, sounds similar to Kitto Katsu, meaning, ‘You will surely win’. Hence the wild popularity of Kit Kats in Japan, and the proliferation of flavours, as it is used as a good luck charm in the country. We tried the dark chocolate, matcha, strawberry cheesecake and Mount Fuji blueberry flavours, matcha remained a favourite.  

Speaking of charms, bag charms and customisation of handbags have taken over the country, and street shopping can also include gathering an inappropriate amount of the cute bag charms that can be found in every corner with the ‘kawaii’ charm that is irresistible.  

For dinner that night, we headed to Sezanne at Four Seasons Marounochi, known for its innovative French menu that has earned its three Michelin stars.  

Awarded the third star in 2024, it is one of only 12 restaurants in Tokyo with that honour. The Michelin guide describes its food as such: “With a refined, borderless sensibility, the restaurant blends French ingredients with Japanese influences, resulting in exceptional, sophisticated, and emotionally resonant creations.” 

We ended up dining at Maison Marunouchi, overseen by the chef of Sezanne Daniel himself. The casual Parisian style bistro is an intimate space, overlooking the busy railway tracks of the Shinkansen and other office buildings. Marunouchi is the heart centre of Tokyo, where 30 Fortune 500 buildings are headquartered, and it makes for a great location for business dining, the atmosphere almost theatrical with the gorgeous view it affords.  The food itself was simple, with clean ingredients and simple cooking techniques, just what we needed before heading out for a night of fun. I opted for a cocktail before the meal – called a Corpse Reviver – a citrusy cocktail made with absinthe, Lillet Blanc and lemon juice – followed by a chickpea falafel and cucumber salad plated on Greek yoghurt. The next course was a caprese salad, followed by a New York inspired fried chicken that did the job of lining the stomach before heading out.  

Grabbing our coats, we headed to Shinjuku in black cabs, a very Tokyo scenario playing out in my head. When we stopped I was quite shocked by how well-lit Tokyo’s bar central really was. It reminded me more of the fluorescent lights Yodobashi supermarkets (for everything electronics) in Japan than anything related to ‘downtown’. However enter the three lanes – also known as ‘The Golden Alley’ in Japan and you get a flavour of what the hype is about. 

Bar crawl in Shinjuku district  

Any district with the name ‘Shin’ is related to the Shinkansen, or the bullet train. Does it then take on the character of its namesake? For Shinjuku, which started out as a sleepy old residence for immigrants from neighbouring countries, it truly has become the fast-paced nerve centre of town, just like the Shinkansen. And we were equally grateful when Sushant and Uday, from the Four Seasons Tokyo, who decided to show us around the fast-paced life of Tokyo that we were curious about.  

 A far cry from the fancy bars at Otemachi and Marunouchi, the Shinjuku bars at best fit eight people. We tried a yuzu-based sake at one of them, the cosy bar the perfect setting for everyone to wind down, as the bar owner belted out rock classics from the ’80s. It felt like a Delhi house-party, with the atmosphere of Tokyo’s downtown. This was full circle, a perfect end to a 48 hour trip to Tokyo, which I bid sayonara to with a heavy heart, promising to be back very soon.  

Travel Tips:  

1. Be careful of your belongings in the Shinjuku district. Avoid guides who may lure you into Host and hostess clubs. 

1. Cabs can be hailed everywhere at the taxi stops. Otherwise, opt for the Tokyo metro rail network. 

1.  While everyone speaks Japanese, it is helpful to know a few Japanese words such as arigato gosaimasu (thank you very much), konnichiwa (hello), hai (yes), sayonara (goodbye), excuse me (sumimasen).