Looking to stay on the cutting edge of food, drink and shopping trends in Tokyo? Sure, keeping track of all the new restaurants, bars, shops and stands opening across the city every month can feel exhausting and almost hopeless – but that's where we come in. Sparing you the trouble of wading through long lists of shiny promotional pics and hollow praise, we've again compiled a handy list of the top five spots to start business this month. Check out our editorial team's picks below, and make sure to leave a comment if you think we missed something.
1) Dominique Ansel Bakery Ginza
Dominique Ansel is bringing even more joy in the shape of pastries to Japan, this time landing inside Ginza Mitsukoshi. Known for his trademarked Cronut, Ansel conjures up unique and innovative sweets that have legions of fans in Japan, many of them willing to queue for hours to get their hands on these treats. This latest outpost, however, is set to have about half of its menu exclusive to this shop; look out for creations like the Pull-a-Part Flower Cookie, made from individual petal-shaped cookies, the Zero Gravity Cake, which sees a cake suspended inside a balloon (!), and the Square Watermelon. Read more
2) The Counter Roppongi
Hailing from Santa Monica, The Counter boasts that it's made over a million custom burgers since its founding in 2003, and is now set to add to that tally by opening their its branch in Japan. The Counter Roppongi is set to open on the basement floor of Midtown, offering relief to local patty-munchers hard hit by the 2016 closing of Baker Bounce. The ordering system at Counter is a long, long list of choices: you'll be able to pick exactly what type of patty, cheese, sauce and topping you'd like from a myriad of options. Read more
3) Hen-na Hotel Maihama Tokyo Bay
If you’re into robots, you've probably 'dined' at Shinjuku's wacky Robot Restaurant or seen the countless robot displays at the National Museum of Emerging Science & Innovation. But no amount of android affinity can prepare you for Henn na Hotel ('strange hotel'), staffed by robots of all shapes and sizes (with a handful of human staff ready to intervene in case the bots decide to take over the world). Yes, that T-rex you see wearing a lobby boy hat is actually the resident concierge. Robot-loving Tokyoites rejoice, for the mecha-hotel is opening a new location in Chiba's Maihama later this month. Read more
4) Cedar The Chop House
Roppongi is getting a new 'chop-style dining bar', and yes, we're still a bit confused as to what that actually entails. Everything served in bite-sized pieces perhaps? Cedar promises to take chopping to a whole new level, bringing out the best in fresh ingredients through a different slicing, gutting, carving and, well, chopping method for each one, whether from sea or land. The open kitchen means you'll be able to see the chefs in action too, so you can soak up knowledge and try all those knife skills at home later on. Read more
5) Egg Stand
The reopening of Le Coq Sportif Avant's Harajuku store led the health-conscious lifestyle brand to broaden their spectrum by adding in this egg-themed stall – the very active rooster meets the egg, if you will. Try the donuts, egg salad sandwiches and brioches from Daikanyama's popular Garden House Crafts, overseen by pâtissier Yuichi Goto. You'll be sure to get your protein for the day here. Read more
Catching up? Check out the hottest openings in February here