Tokyo, Japan

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While the people (and clothes) are size negative petite, Tokyo itself is an XXL; so, spend your days exploring the neighborhoods.

***KNOW***

• There is no English here.  And I mean NO. ENGLISH. HERE.  

• Tokyo is the one Asian city that hands out free packs of tissue (with advertising) on every corner. It is also the one city with nice bathrooms (with toilet paper) everywhere you turn. Let’s teach China a thing or two about this brilliant little advertising concept, shall we?

• Mochi isn’t good here unless you have a secret love of red bean paste as the filling. Stick to Trader Joe's.

• 7-11′s food selection puts Whole Foods to shame. 

•  7-11′s sake selection is a hangover waiting to happen. You’ve been warned. 

• Actually, anyone’s sake selection is a hangover waiting to happen. Just because it comes in these cute little cups that the top pops off of does not mean it’s good for you. 

• ALL bars have a cover charge (some restaurants, too) … and some wait to tell you until you are leaving.

• The Sony showroom isn't cool unless you've never been to Best Buy.

• Denki Bran is considered “poor man’s whiskey."  Just say no.

***THE HOODS***

• SHIBUYA 

• Stop by one of the Udon places – the menus (with pictures, thank goodness) are out front along with a vending machine of tickets. Wait in line, make your purchase from the vending machine, go inside, turn in your ticket and, poof!, your selection is handed over. 

• Visit the quite & peaceful Meiji Shrine

• Sushi No Midori – sushi spot in the Shibuya Metro station (yes!) with a guaranteed 30+ minute wait … worth the wait if it's 300 minutes.

• Buri – cool sake bar in the metro station by Yogogi park 

• HARAJUKU (holla back girl!)

•  Explore the area's fab boutiques with a quaint feel

• Walk along Takeshita Dori, where all the “Harajuku Girls” hang out 

• Use the vending machines that put ice in your soda (once you find a local to show you how to use it)

• Kyusha Jangara Ramen – line spilling out the door for the most delicious ramen on earth

• GINZA - This is the area you see on TV, with the high-rises and neon signs. GLAM!

• Go to a "magic bar," where the bartenders are magicians (most are 'hidden' in high-rise buildings).  Prepare for a $60+/hour cover charge, and lots of cigarette smoke.

• On that note, the fact that a bar is on the fifth floor of a dark apartment-like building, inside one of the ‘apartments’ … and every other ‘apartment’ is also a 3-6 seat  bar, and every building in the area is an ‘apartment building’ … Well, you get the point. 

• Andy’s Shinhinomoto – Izakaya (Japanese restaurant/pub) under the train tracks, fun and rowdy spot for dinner … Sake to me!

• TSUKIJI (the world famous fish market) - Walk around the stalls and check out all the 4-seater sushi joints. Sushizanmai is a great place to enjoy some.

• OMOTESANDO (neighborhood) - Fabulous area! Big, main road with lots of little alleyways full of great shops and cool architecture. 

• NAKA MAGURO - area surrounding a canal with little shops and restaurants, a nice stroll in a sleepy area

• SHINJUKU (red light-ish area, good to see but that’s about it)

• Isetan – famous department store … Hello cool fashion, hello high prices.  Fun to browse. The market in the basement is just plain incredible

• AZABU JUBAN in ROPPONGI - area where many expats live, nothing too exciting but possibly the world’s greatest grocery stores

• EBISU

•  Il Boccalone – Italian restaurant that's delicious and quaint, like the neighborhood

New York City (Manhattan)

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[B] = Bar / [R] = Restaurant


**** COCKTAILS ****

• 2nd Floor on Clinton - To get to this swanky lounge, walk straight to the back of LES tavern Barramundi and push the buzzer next to the door marked "private." Once you're buzzed up, order a classic cocktail or sample something from their top-notch brandy list. <eater>

• Apotheke - Spiffy barkeeps in white lab coats shake cocktails in pharmaceutical beakers at this apothecary-themed barroom set in a hard-to-find former opium den in Chinatown <zagat>

• Bathtub Gin - Speakeasy hidden behind a dummy wall in the back of Stone Street Coffee Company. The facade is marked by a red light, so just push that wall back and you'll get to the bar. <eater>

• Breslin @ Ace Hotel -  Hipsterific hotel lobby bar. Chesterfield sofas, photo booths & such. Go to John Dory first (in hotel) for drinks/oysters.

• Dream New York - find the area next to the hotel that looks like 18-wheelers would pull in to drop off food and laundry for the hotel (maybe they do, during the day?).  Walk down it past the "fancy" graffiti-covered walls (think images of Kate Moss) and try your best at getting past the velvet rope.  This is definitely a BNO (big night out).

• Elsa - Good for pre-dinner cocktails, this is a speakyeasy with a Fitzgerald-era feel.

• Experimental Cocktail Club - The NYC outpost of this Paris original is big on infusions and tries to stay clear of liqueurs. The vibe is comfortable and cozy on weekdays, rowdy (and very French) on weekends. 

• Jimmy @ The James Hotel - A lounge on the roof, with a pool! (it's even good in the winter, as the indoor section has just as cool of a view).  Good tunes as well.

• La Piscine @ Hotel Americano - Grupo Habita's (Mexico) first NY project.  Beautiful restaurant/bar on ground floor as well as a sleek rooftop bar "La Piscine," which looks to duplicate the magic of Mexico City's famed Condesa bar in the middle of Manhattan.

• Little Branch - Subterranean mixology hot spot.

• Madam Geneva -  Gin was once known as Madam Geneva & this lounge focuses on it (and vodka). There are 3 homeade jams at the bar each day, which are scooped into your cocktail upon request. Don’t think about it; just do it.  Good for early-evening cocktails as well.

• Mother's Ruin - Unique cocktails, gourmet bar snacks and simple interior design keep the hipster traffic plentiful at this NoLita bar named after the 18th-century Brit slang for gin.

• Mulberry Project – mixology bar; accessible via a subterranean door beneath a Little Italy souvenir shop <eater>

• Pouring Ribbons - 88-seat cocktail den from award-winning mixologist; deco-rec-room clubhouse boasting arched windows <thrillist>

• PYT - Known as PDT, a sexy speakeasy; the cocktail-lounge accessed through a vintage phone booth within Crif (hot) Dogs.  Good classic cocktails. <ny mag>

• Raines Law Room - Past a door buzzer and a discerning host is the windowless space, which just about nails a sumptuous twenties vibe <ny mag>; cool bar, like a kitchen in a home

• Smith & Mills - Set in a teeny-tiny converted carriage house, this signless TriBeCa barroom draws arty types with fantastic cocktails, vintage decor, lighting that ensures everyone looks good and an antique elevator-cab bathroom that’s a sight to see; alas, it’s developed a hip reputation so space constraints make it tough to get in. <zagat>

• Tiny's & The Bar Upstairs -  As the name would imply, this trendy TriBeCan from nightlife czar Matt Abramcyk and former NY Ranger Sean Avery is indeed tiny, though the “rustic, bohemian” decor tilts more cute than cramped; the American menu is likewise small, but showcases an awesome burger served late. <zagat>

**** DINNER ****
It's best to call for reservations at 9am one month in advance for these spots.  Can't get a table? Google "eater new york last minute reservation guide."

• ABC Kitchen - Located in the renown ABC Carpet & Home department store. Fab decor (think varying vintage china throughout) - a hip country house with Jean-Georges' creations on the table. 

• Acme - A split-level dinner club for locavores.  Trendy with hordes of fashionable downtowners. DJ in basement until the wee hours.

• Babbo - Mario Batali's super-famous Italian joint

• Bobo - This intimate two-story French restaurant looks and feels like (is?) a townhome; wonderful, cozy, romantic decor (check out the bathrooms!).

• Buvette - Really cute, French, affordable, marble bar, reclaimed-white-oak flooring, and a chandelier custom-made, plus pinhole photography and hand-crafted leather baskets for bar snacks.

• Carbone - Cool, funky interiors at this Italian joint by the Torrisi guys.  Servers in tuxedos.  Solid Italian food.

• Cole's - Beautiful interiors (featured in Architectural Digest), classic cocktails, meat & fish from a strong crew of restauranteurs.

• Contra

• The Fat Radish - Hipsterific LES 'seasonal British' joint with a beautiful interior that brings the outside in.

• Feast - Cozy, simple layout of exposed brick & dangling light bulbs.  Coffee & pastries by day ... seasonal 'greenmarket-driven American fare' by night <eater>

• Fedora - Casual cool, great vibe.  They even make their own bitters in several flavors (beef jerky, hella citrus).

• Freemans - (no reservations) This hipsterific spot materialized at the end of a nondescript LES alley unknown even to the most intrepid hipster.  A taxidermist's dream of a dining room with incredible cocktails and an American menu. <ny mag>

• Joseph Leonard - Tiny restaurant from the Little Own guy on a prime corner space lot with a standard American bistro menu.  Light, airy, small.

• L'Apicio - East Village Italian housed in airy Bowery digs boasting soaring latticed ceilings, an energetic cocktail lounge and banquettes flanking an open kitchen; menu-wise it follows the familiar, crowd-pleasing formula of umpteen pastas and polentas priced under $20, but it adds salads and earthy entrees to the mix. <google+>

• The Lion - Fabulous, cozy interiors; great scene, chef came from Waverly Inn.

• Little Owl - Cute and quaint, reasonable prices.  Neighborly little place where the high quality of the cooking is out of all proportion to the restaurant’s unassuming size. Ceiling made from antique stamped tin and painted gold. Thirteen dollars buys several plump grilled scallops served over a green, cheesy risotto mixed with fresh spinach and nuggets of lobster. <ny mag>

• Minetta Tavern - Vibe is buzzy, exclusive, and properly chaotic; menu a carefully edited compendium of practiced brasserie favorites, and, to amazement of hipsters, everything on it tastes good. <ny mag>

• Momofuku Ssam Bar - The buzzy, long lines are worth it for the steamed pork buns and crispy rice cakes.

• Monkey Bar - Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, whose ownership turned the quiet Waverly Inn into one of the city's most sought-after reservations, continues to dabble in the restaurant business with this second venture. <ny mag>

• Osteria Morini - Raucous (in a good way), rustic Italian tavern

• Pearl & Ash - (no reservations) Affordable, globally-inspired small plates. Trendy.

• Peasant - Simple, rustic Italian fare.  Concrete floor, beautiful backlit brick-walled kitchen.

• Perla - The guy from Fedora and Joseph Leonard opened this hearty Italian joint with red banquets for a traditional feel with an updated twist (that's still rustic).

• Piora

• Rosemary's - (no reservations) Fab trattoria with fab open/light/airy decor, herbs in pots and hanging mirrors, exposed ceiling ... lively & bustling. And delicious.

• Schiller's Liquor Bar - Fun, bustling restaurant with the feel of NYC (white subway tiles included).  Hipsterific!

• Standard Grill - The place for anybody who needs to recharge by plugging straight into the abundant, renewable energy source that is downtown Manhattan. Windows in the dining room look north and south, taking in the steel underbelly of the High Line and the endless human circus of the walkers drawn to it. <nyt>

• Tertulia - A snug, beautifully realized Spanish (tapas) taverna in the West Village <ny mag>

• Torissi Italian Specialities - Ridiculously delicious seven-course prix fixe menu ($75) in a quaint room.

• Toro

• Willow Road - Housed in a former Nabisco factory, the space was built out by the designers of ABC Kitchen.  A top-chef alum serves up American fare.

• ZZ' Clam Bar

**** LUNCH ****

• Bread - Small. Bustling.  Delicious.  Lovable. (and yes, they serve more than bread ... way more)

• Pearl Oyster Bar - Think clam chowder, lobster rolls, etc. in a jam-packed setting.

**** BRUNCH ****

• Freemans - see 'dinner'

• Standard Grill - see 'dinner'; plenty of seating & nice bar for a cappuccino or mimosa if there's a wait

• Pearl & Ash - see 'dinner'

• Willow Road - see 'dinner'

• The Dutch - comfort (hangover) food in a large, fabulously designed space

**** HAPPY HOUR ****

• Barrio 47 - Trendy space with $1 oyster happy hour daily 5-7pm

• The Mermaid Oyster Bar - 4-7pm Fri & Sat.  5-7pm all other days.  Oysters for $1 east coast, $1.75 west coast, $5 beers, $6 wine, $7 cocktails

**** OTHER ****

• Momofuku Milk Bar - This tiny space (wait in line outside, order at counter inside, eat on curb) serves up dessert so interesting and delicious it warranted its own cookbook.

**** CLUBS ****

Sorry peeps, but I appreciate a $26 hand-crafted Pisco Sour more than a $2600 bottle of Absolut Vodka. Maybe I'm getting old. Sorry the EE is of no help on this front!