Ebisu
[Open noon-8pm daily.]
A well-stocked bookstore specializing in contemporary art, photography, architecture and design. After you're done browsing here you can drop in to three or four small contemporary-art galleries that share the building with the bookstore.
Mostly a concert venue, Liquid Room also hosts some club events. The Time Out Cafe on the second floor regularly hosts DJ events of its own.
[Open noon-8pm (Fri, Sat -9pm) daily.]
Whoever was responsible for the interior design for "Nyafe Melange" has clearly discovered the secret to a successful cat cafe - providing lots and lots of different places to sit, perch, and nap. At first glance it looks like an ordinary living...
[Open 11am-7pm. Closed Mondays.]
[Update: the Museum of Yebisu Beer is scheduled to reopen in April 2024.] Devoted to the proud history of the Yebisu beer brand, this renovated facility is built on the site of Tokyo's original Sapporo Brewery. It includes a spacious restaurant, a...
[Open 10am-6pm (entry until 5:30pm). Closed Mondays.]
Run by the Tokyo metropolitan government, this first-rate museum showcases both Japanese and international photographers. Around twenty exhibitions a year are held in the museum's three gallery spaces. A branch of Nadiff bookstore, located on the...
Daikanyama
[Open 7am-2am daily.]
This tasteful, low-rise specialty shopping complex is anchored by a large branch of Tsutaya bookstore, and it also features boutique-style shops specializing in cameras, bicycles, toys and pet supplies. The Ivy Place restaurant offers all-day cafe...
[Open 7am-2am daily.]
Run by the video-rental chain Tsutaya, this very large, impressively well-stocked book and music store serves as the anchor for the upscale Daikanyama T-Site shopping complex. The centerpiece of the shop is a luxuriously appointed lounge-bar area...
This huge club hosts some famous visiting musicians and DJs; there's also a smaller venue called Saloon on the lowest floor.
Naka-Meguro
[Open 7am-11pm daily.]
Visiting Starbucks Reserve Roastery is a far more interactive and immersive experience than simply going to a coffee shop - it feels more like a trip to a coffee-themed amusement park, with different attractions on each of the building's four...
[Open 10am-6pm (last entry 5:30pm). Closed Mondays.]
The museum specializes in contemporary Nihonga - Japanese-style painting using traditional techniques and materials. There are four or five exhibitions held each year and there's also a permanent collection, which consists of several large-scale...
[Open 10am-5pm. Closed Mondays.]
The work of 56 contemporary Japanese artists is presented on two indoor floors and four spacious outdoor areas, with over 200 pieces in all. There's a small tearoom inside the museum, although it isn't always open. Admission is free - just sign...
Meguro
[Open 10am-6pm. Closed Mondays.]
This small local museum is run by Meguro Ward, and focuses on modern Japanese and contemporary foreign artists, with frequently changing temporary exhibitions.
[Open 10am-8pm daily.]
Mipig is a cafe where you can hang out with cute baby pigs. They're friendly and curious, and they wag their tails just like puppies. You can pet them when they sit in your lap and they make cute snorting noises. Really, what more do you need to...
[Open 10am-5pm. Closed Mondays, Tuesdays.]
Forget the usual superlatives for Tokyo - the highest concentration of pachinko balls in the world, the greatest number of geographically challenged taxi drivers anywhere, etc. - what really makes me want to punch the air in civic pride is knowing...
[Open 11:30am-11pm Tuesday-Friday. Closed Mondays.]
A supper club with live blues and jazz (mostly from local groups) and French and Italian food. At dinnertime main courses start at around Y2,000, but lunchtime is more competitive, with a Y1,200 Ladies' Lunch. Reserved for parties on weekends.
Shirokanedai
[Open 10am-5pm (last entry 4:30pm). Closed Mondays.]
Seijiro Matsuoka was an art collector with many and varied interests, and these are reflected in the museum that houses his collection. The three main permanent galleries are devoted to ancient Egyptian art and artifacts, ancient Buddha statues...
[Open 9am-4:30pm (enter by 4pm). Closed Mondays.]
Enjoy hiking through 20 hectares (49 acres) of densely wooded grounds at this nature-education park just a few minutes from Shirokanedai station. Unlike most of Tokyo's well-manicured parks and gardens, the goal of this park was to recreate the...
[Open 10am-6pm (last entry 5:30pm). Closed second and fourth Wednesdays.]
The lovely Art Deco building that houses the Teien Museum was completed in 1933, with interiors designed by Henri Rapin and decorative glass work by Rene Lalique. The beautifully decorated and well-preserved rooms serve as a unique backdrop for the...
Gotanda
[Most shops open 10am-6pm; closed Wednesdays.]
Designed by Italian architect Mario Bellini, the Tokyo Design Center was completed in 1991. The most prominent feature is a galleria passageway that cuts upward through the building diagonally, leading to a garden area sitting on a steep hill behind...