15 best off-the-radar gems in Tokyo

One of Tokyo’s most exciting new openings of 2024 is the multi- purpose complex next to the world’s largest seafood wholesale market, Toyosu Market. Designed to evoke an Edo-period streetscape, the expansive Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai is divided into two main areas: the Toyosu Edo-mae Market, featuring a variety of shops selling Japanese foodstuffs and restaurants offering Japanese cuisine and seafood, and the Tokyo Toyosu Manyo Club, a multi-level, 24-hour onsen that also offers accommodation. On the eighth floor you’ll find an impressive ashiyu (foot bath), where you can soak your tired toes while enjoying the mighty impressive views of Tokyo Bay. After all the walking around Tokyo, it’s the perfect way to unwind.

You get dinner and a show when you spend an evening at MoonFlower Sagaya Ginza. This unique dining space run by digital art collective teamLab seats just eight and combines seasonal dishes with a feast for the eyes. When a course is served, digital flowers, trees and vines appear to sprout from the plates and grow across the table, even climbing the walls. The playful, if enigmatic, menu (intriguing descriptions include simply “fishes are playing” and “river flows”) changes with the seasons, but features high quality ingredients such as Saga wagyu and Seiko crab. It is not cheap – expect to pay around ¥40,000 per person – and you’ll need to book months in advance, but it is certainly memorable.

The red run of torii gates at Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Shrine is one of the most photographed spots in the country, but Tokyo’s equivalent is thankfully yet to flood Instagram. Nestled among the bustling skyscrapers of Akasaka, the traditional shinto Hie Shrine dates back some 800 years and boasts its own striking gate-lined staircase.

Once you’ve selfied your way to the top, you’ll discover the shrine’s tranquil grounds and ‘Treasure House’ with its sprinkling of relics including ancient letters and an ornate samurai sword. While Hie-jinja is best known for its annual Sanno Festival, one of Tokyo’s grandest, visiting during quieter times reveals its charm as a locals-only haven. Keep an eye out for the guardian monkey statues — an unusual sight in Japanese shrines — symbolising the shrine’s ties to eternal love (the spot is a popular spot for wedding photos).

Whether you’re looking to change your romantic fortunes, chasing the perfect photo op or seeking a soulful retreat, Hie-jinja Shrine proves that sometimes the best treasures are the ones hiding in plain sight.

First imported from America in 1965, capsule toys – or gachapon – really caught the Japanese imagination in the 1970s. Machines dispensing these treats-in-a-pod were initially set up in front of sweet shops, with toys intended primarily for kids, but in recent years they have grown up – with everything from cheeky treats for adults to scale models inside. The very embodiment of an unexpected pleasure, the joy of capsule toys is that you don’t know what you’re going to get until you crack that ‘egg’.

You can spin for a surprise across the city. At art supplies store Sekaido you could be rewarded with miniature replications of artworks including the Venus de Milo while handicraft shop Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten produces miniatures of traditional Japanese toys. If you don’t have time to dart around town collecting them all, head to #C-pla in the famous Shibuya 109 mall. Here you’ll find a wealth of machines offering everything from Hello Kitty minis to disturbingly detailed models of toilets (complete with flushable contents).

A sento is an essential part of the Japan experience, but these communal bath houses are on the decline across the country – which makes Kosugi-yu Harajuku, an authentic ‘Showa retro’-style public bath hidden in the basement of a mall, a particularly unexpected pleasure. An outpost of long-established Koenji neighbourhood bath house Kosugi-yu, the basement branch features a ‘widescreen’ mural of majestic Mt Fuji (a staple of traditional sento) which flanks several baths. The traditional ‘hot water’ bath is a toasty 42-43°C, but there’s also a moderate ‘milk bath’ and a cold water option for those who don’t like it hot. Tradition has it that you end your session with a glass or milk, but for those who prefer something a little stronger there’s a stand-up bar from iconic brewer Sapporo on hand.

The suave A10 has all the hallmarks of a classic Prohibition-era American speakeasy – low lighting, misty-eyed music, killer cocktails and, of course, secret entrance – without the downside of turning its patrons into criminals. Finding it is half the fun. To the untrained eye, the set of lockers across from Ebisu Park is just another streetside storage unit, but tug on the right box and the whole wall swings open to reveal a set of stairs leading down to the basement.

Beyond them you’ll find a suave record bar filled with vintage vinyl, from which a revolving band of curators plucks the soundtrack for the evening. A10 has a near endless selection of classic cocktails, but there are also house specials by the head bartender. There is a cover charge of ¥1,320 per person but, like the bar itself, the funds are worth finding.

A jungle retreat is one of the last things you’d expect from Tokyo, but at Satologue on the outskirts of the city you can find just that. Launched in May 2024, this unique combination of sauna, restaurant and greenery is nestled deep among the trees near Okutama.

Visitors can participate in guided nature walks – exploring the on-site vegetable gardens, wasabi fields and gardens. The initiative is housed in a previously abandoned farmhouse, revitalised by architect Yasushi Horibe, renowned for projects like the floating hotel Guntû. The lunchtime-only restaurant offers a seasonal French-inspired menu crafted from local ingredients, while the sauna, which utilises local timber and spring waters, is a work of art. Those wishing to explore the area further can rent electric bikes and tuk-tuks, and accommodation options are set to be added in 2025. If you’re feeling really adventurous, local tour operator Tokyo Mountain Tours offers a unique River Clean experience, which combines thrilling whitewater rafting with litter-picking stops helping you to play your part in preserving this very special place. 

Tokyo is not short of museums that will guide you through Japan’s fascinating history - but how many of them let you actually live it? Enter Samurai Ninja Museum Tokyo With Experience which, as the name suggests, has a range of action-packed activities to accompany its exhibits.

Opened in December 2023, the place focuses on Japan’s ancient iconic warriors, with English-language tours through its astounding array of samurai and ninja gear. After this things get up close and personal.

Experiences included in the entry fee include wearing a samurai armour replica and learning how to throw shuriken ninja stars. Those who want to fully immerse themselves can upgrade to the ninja training course, which features a lesson on stealth, dodging swords and using a blowgun. On the calmer end of the spectrum, a tea ceremony experience at the nearby ‘Maikoya’ offers offers relaxation without all the sneaking and star-throwing.

What surprises could possibly be found in a konbini, Japan’s ubiquitous convenience stores which are seemingly on every corner? The answer lies in the food aisles. In recent times FamilyMart, 7-Eleven and the like have been upping their snack game by offering exclusive collaborations with local restaurants, including pizzas created by two-time World Pizza Champion Chef Yamamoto from Da Isa restaurant and instant noodles from upscale ramen-chain Afuri.

The real fun, however, is the new trend of Tokyoites mixing together what’s on offer to create something unique. For example, create a cut-price chicken burger to rival the work of the Colonel by grabbing a piece of Family Mart’s famichiki (fried chicken), one of the ready-sauced buns from the bakery section and a potato hash from the hot box which sits next to the registers. Alternatively create your own sangria by picking up one of the fresh smoothie packs from the freezer and instead of blending it in the in-store machine pouring over one of the bottles of sparkling wine from the fridge. A taste sensation.

It’s no secret that Japan loves an action figure, and now you can get in on the act by creating your own micro doppelgänger at Small Worlds. The miniature museum’s unique 3D scanning technology allows you to create 1:80, 1:35 or 1:24 scale figures of yourself in your most heroic pose. It can also immortalise groups of friends and even pets. Colourful clothes, the more outlandish the better, are recommended to add vibrancy to mini-you and the tech can also capture most props you care to bring along. Prices start at ¥6,600 and figures are usually posted out a month after scanning (although you can spring for the express service if you really cannot wait).

As well as allowing you to shrink yourself, the museum is also home to one of the largest collections of miniatures in the world, with real-life locations such as NASA’s space centre in the 1960s and fictional scenes from animes including Sailor Moon getting the titchy treatment. If you’re particularly proud of your own mini me, you can join them by becoming a ‘resident’ and having your figure placed in one of the museum’s exhibits for a year.