Page 128 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - Tokyo

126 ❯❯ Streetsmart

Shopping sell women’s clothing are counters where one
and accessories, with can expect to find dishes
In Tokyo, consumer menswear on the floor such as sushi and tonkatsu
culture options are every- above. Stores are life style (deep-fried pork cutlets).
where, and the city excels complexes, places where Mitsukoshi (see p66) is
at both fashion and food. people stop for coffee or known for the quality and
Consumption tax, lunch, to relax in a rooftop selection of food items in
currently 8 percent, will beer garden, to take in an the basement.
rise to 10 percent in April exhibition, or join a culture Japanese food is
2017. Many department class. The stores also available across the city,
stores and electrical sell tickets for concerts and it’s usually easy to
goods stores in places and exhibitions. find restaurants offering
such as Akihabara offer For English-language all the major European
tax exemptions for books and magazines, the and Asian cuisines too.
purchases over ¥10,000. main bookshops to head One of the city’s best areas
After paying, take the to are Maruzen in the Oazu to sample ethnic food is
goods, your receipts, and complex in Marunouchi Shin-Okubo, which serves
passport to the tax-refund and Kinokuniya’s two Burmese, Indonesian,
counter for reimburse- stores in Shinjuku. Korean, and Malaysian, as
ment. JNTO has a page Tokyo has countless well as Nepalese dishes.
on tax-free shopping on new and used record Make reservations at
its website. stores. The Tower Records top-end restaurants.
Tokyo’s fashion districts Shibuya store has six Those that require advance
tend to be generational. floors of music. Nearby, booking on the phone
Ginza and Aoyama attract a HMV is massive. If there usually have English-
middle-aged, well-heeled is something you missed speaking staff. If not, your
crowd, though some stores the first time round, hotel may be able to help.
such as Uniqlo have been Shibuya and Shinjuku’s In most places, the waiter
making a bid for the youth used CD and vinyl stores, will automatically come
market. Harajuku appeals which includes Recofan for your order. Many
to mid-teens, Shibuya to and Disk Union, may be restaurants have photo
high-teens to those in their the place to find it. menus and often plastic
early 20s, Shimokitazawa food displays in the
to the college crowd, Where to Eat window. Waiters come to
and Naka-Meguro and your table with the bill,
Daikanyama to 20- Every style of Japanese which you then take to the
and 30-somethings. cuisine is available in cash register to pay. You
Akihabara, or “Akiba” as Tokyo – from prime Kobe can place your money on
it is called, is the world’s steaks and top-class a small dish and the
largest electronic center, sushi to Buddhist change will be put back
stocking everything from vegetarian cuisine and on the dish with the
portable music units to all kinds of tofu. There receipt. There is no need
robot pets and toys, all at are tens of thousands of to leave a tip; a few high-
very competitive prices. restaurants and cafés end restaurants may
It’s also the main area to catering to hungry diners: include a service charge.
shop for items related you can stand up and Useful listings websites
to anime and manga, slurp ramen noodles at a include Tokyo Food Page
along with Ikebukuro and hole-in-the-wall bar, or and Gurunavi.
Nakano. Large electronics sit down to a splendid
stores such as Bic Camera multi-course kaiseki Where to Stay
and Yodobashi Camera (Japanese haute cuisine)
can be found close to menu. Tokyo’s choice of
other major Yamanote Department stores offer accommodations ranges
line stations. a wide range of pastries, from five-star luxury
Tokyo’s department Japanese sweets, cured hotels to capsule hotels.
stores (depato) are a great and dried seafood, and Tokyo is a busy city, so
shopping experience. wines in their basements. it’s always wise to book
Typically, the first floors In addition to these, there well ahead if there’s

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