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Feels like it was the year of travel to Japan. There were openings like The Tokyo EDITION, Ginza, the yen at an all-time low, Noma with their second residency at The Ace, and the weather at 40+ degrees in September (which of course isn’t entirely a good thing, though at least it wasn’t wet), the list goes on. That said, no matter the year, no matter the weather, Japan will always be on our travel list. And as we’d never been, our recent runaround trip ticked a long-time wishbox.
If you’re planning a trip to Japan, or are looking for some travel inspiration, we hope you like this issue. Please do drop us a line if you have any feedback, and, as always, thank you for reading UJ.
xx Taryn and Team UJ xx
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 | |  | | | Japan Inspired | | Fun fun fun | | Some things to wear, some things to buy there, some things (Tamagochi) to dig out.
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|  | |  | | | Siblings | | Zen and energetic | | When news came out that Janu, the new brand from Aman, were launching their first property in Tokyo, we knew we had to see it. And we can now report that it’s incredible. With eight restaurants, stunning views of Tokyo Tower, innovative, modern design and a great vibe throughout, it’s definitely worth a visit. The Aman Tokyo, as expected, is also a complete showstopper, with 30-metre-high ceilings and incredible views. These two really act as yin to the other’s yang. Read our reviews for more.
READ OUR REVIEWS
AMAN TOKYO | JANU TOKYO
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|  | |  | | | DSM Bags | | Souvenirs | | | Unfortunately, they don’t say Tokyo on them (like their Singapore totes do), but never mind: we’d like one in every colour please.
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|  | |  | | | Palace, Issey Miyake, DSM Ginza | | Take Three | | Skate, pleat, run around | | | There are so many shop options, of course, but three recommendations include Palace’s tucked-away boutique (check hours before you go), the Issey Miyake row (we coined that, but it’s because they have several different shops on one street) in Shibuya, and of course, the multi-story Dover Street Market mothership in Ginza.
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| | |  | | | Nike x Nigo | | And New Balance | | | Nigo for Nike (DSM Exclusive), plus an ode to New Balance – as nearly every second shoe we saw in Tokyo was a NB.
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|  | |  | | | Stüssy, Kyoto | | Hitlist | | Sleep, shop, dine | | The Ace often hosts collaborations (there are a few dates left for their Noma dine-and-stay packages in Nov and Dec; check here), and has a selection of well-known shops like Maison Kitsuné and Le Labo attached to the hotel. The Park Hyatt Kyoto was just named a 50 Best; there’s a secluded, ryokan-inspired Aman; and Six Senses Kyoto launched last year, with its usual forward-thinking spa, a Sushi Oga Higashiyama restaurant from Osaka, and a Nine Tails hidden bar.
For shops, there’s a slick Stüssy and a Comme des Garçons (both have sleek black facades). And for something touristy, there’s the excellent Nishiki food market and the outstanding Fushimi Inari Shrine, which is an absolute must to do irl (and we don’t say that often when it comes to tourist attractions).
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|  | |  | | | Japanese Listening Bar Vibes via MAV | | Celebrating their 20th year in business, music curators MAV, who have created soundtracks for well-known brands from London to Ibiza, Mallorca to Osaka, have made a playlist for this Japan issue for us. Enjoy!
MORE ON MAV | LISTEN TO PLAYLIST
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|  | |  | | | DisneySea | | Only one in the world | | | Aimed at a more grown-up audience, Tokyo DisneySea has eight themed ports including the Mediterranean Harbour with Venice-style canals and gondolas, and Fantasy Springs (inspired by Peter Pan’s Neverland), plus extensive restaurant and bar options. Many say it’s in line with Disney’s Epcot and that this is their best park (and less expensive than most of the others), so, if you’re into Disney, this could be worth a visit – but you definitely have to get organised to have any chance of fun. Go early, go mid-week, and learn to use the app to pre-book whatever you can. Oh, and it’s apparently customary for everyone in your group to dress the same-ish…
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|  | |  | | | Tokyo and LDN | | Launches | | In Tokyo, Uniqlo opened a new three-floor flagship store in Shinjuku at the end of October, complete with a coffee shop, flower kiosk, and other brands (like GU, Theory, Comptoir des Cotonniers) from their Fast Retailing Group.
In London, tomorrow sees the new Muji Labo collection launch in the Muji Covent Garden shop, a premium collection that acts as a type of showcase for the MUJI design lab, using exceptional materials like washi paper and Bishu wool and cashmere.
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|  | |  | | | Dean & Deluca | | NY >< Tokyo | | Transfers | | | So, we know about NyLon, but we’re seeing a lot of New York >< Tokyo, too. To name a few: spotted in Tokyo were Dean & Deluca, Barneys New York (which is now only in Tokyo, not NYC), the New York Joe Exchange vintage shop, an excellent MoMA Design Store, Buvette, and Café Gitane. Also, in the samurai town of Kanazawa (a three hour train from Tokyo), was a hip, hidden NY hot dog spot, Street Vendor, with American sports memorabilia.
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|  | |  | | | Sowado | | GoogleMaps | | A few for you | | It can be overwhelming, figuring out where to start when planning a trip. So we have a few insider Tokyo guides for you. James @food_feels is a restaurant/hotel photographer and content creator based between London and Sydney and is a Japan frequent flier, and Yasu is an entrepreneur and music lover who’s from and lives in Tokyo. Enjoy!
Food_Feels LIST | YASU’s List
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|  | |  | | | Borderless, Planets | | Borderless and Planets | | Lights and action | | | You’ve seen the photos on friends’ Instagrams, but it really is different going. TeamLab have two exhibitions, Borderless and Planets in Tokyo – book a slot and go! From the research we did, Borderless is more ‘developed’ (e.g. a bit bigger/it’s been around longer), so if you only do one, do that first – though Planets has two new areas coming in 2025. And bring your creative juices, as there’s a very fun room, where your drawing becomes part of the exhibition, that you shouldn’t miss (though you do need to look for it, as there’s no signage in the exhibition: the ‘seek and explore’ vibe is part of the experience); truly unique.
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|  | |  | | | Naoshima, Yayoi Kusama | | Japan: What we’d do next time | | Nature and art | | Some of our favourite moments in Japan were in the mountains: we loved Takayama, located in the Hida mountain region (known as the northern Japanese Alps), which had hiking, rafting, an historic old town, lots of expensive local Hida beef, and one of the best, classic sushi restaurants we’ve ever been to, Matsuki. We’d fly back just to dine there again.
Next time, we’d like to:
Trek with Walk Japan
Walk Japan has a variety of different guided and self-guided tours of varying difficulty. We have our eyes on the eight night Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage, which goes on the UNESCO pilgrimage route through forested valleys and the countryside. They seem to sell out well in advance, so pre-planning is needed.
Island Arting
As you might have seen in Dua’s Service 95, she highlighted the ‘arty-pelegos’ on Japan’s art islands: Naoshima, Inujima and Teshima – we’d like to do that, art-around. Read her picks of where to go.
Island Chilling
Spend some time in the crystal blue waters of Okinawa – maybe in Miyako or Ishigaki. There are over 150 islands in Okinawa, so there’s a lot to explore.
Bike
Try some of the Shimanami Kaido cycling route, which is 70 km between Onomuchi and Imbari, and stay here.
Ski
Ski in Niseko. There’s a Ritz-Carlton Reserve there, and an Aman is en route; start saving.
Hike Mt. Fuji
We missed this by a few days! The mountain is only open to hikers from early July to early September, as after that, there’s snow and it’s closed, so plan accordingly.
Go Off-Grid
There’s something about this rather remote Relais & Châteax property in Kirishima, Tenku no Mori, that looks perfect.
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|  | |  | | | Endo at the Rotunda | | Japan in London | | News | | Following the re-opening of his Michelin-star Endo at the Rotunda (with updates that include discouraging the use of phones during dinner, bravo), renowned chef Endo Kazutoshi has created a modern new ‘Katei Ryōri’ menu at Mayfair’s NIJŪ, reimagining traditional Japanese dishes into something sophisticated and completely new. Start there for lobster Gohan with bottarga and bisque, and sashimi from the raw bar and then head down to Nipperkin for haute cocktails and vinyl.
Also in Mayfair, ABar, which opened yesterday at the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, is a new 50-seater rooftop bar with great views; this joins Akira Back’s restaurant, bar and chef’s table at the hotel. At Mandarin Hyde Park, a second volume of The Aubrey’s Yellow Book was recently released, showcasing innovative cocktails made with Japanese spirits – they’re also running two The Art of Japanese Whisky masterclasses, November 27 and December 11; and close by, Sachi at Belgravia’s multi-story Pantechnicon is re-opening soon after a refurbishment.
In Notting Hill, the Notting Hill Fish Shop gang have been busy; they’ve updated the décor for their izakaya nights at Supermarket of Dreams, which is where Urchin, their new cooked Japanese concept, will be for five months (apart from Saturdays, which is their Tuna Fight Club; keep up). In Covent Garden, the Yari Club has the UK’s first robotic machine-operated yakitori (the robot does the cooking); opening in Holborn next week is a new ‘beak-to-tail’ yakitori spot called Hotori; and for Asian-inspired tacos, TA-KO has just opened in E8.
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|  | |  | | | Shinkansen! | | Mindtrip | | AI assisted | | | Mindtrip helps you plan travel. Again, with all AI, we definitely wouldn’t use their itinerary as a plan, but it does help to point you in the right direction; e.g., we asked it for a road trip route with luxury hotels, and it came back with the route, distances between stops, and hotel recommendations that you can book immediately. It will also rejig its answer according to your chat feedback, and it keeps all bookings/receipts in one place, too. They’ve recently received additional funding from Amex Ventures, so let’s see where it goes!
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|  | |  | | | Photo by Jezael Melgoza | | Tokyo Tips and Findings | | Round up | | | For those who are frequent Japan travellers, skip this! But for those of you who have never been, or only been quickly, here are a few of our findings for you – we hope you find them useful.
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|  | |  | | | Car Partner | | Is this you? | | | We are looking for a relevant car partner to work with for road trips and more in Europe and North America. If you work with a brand that you think would be a good fit, please get in touch!
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Reproductions of any portion of this website only with our express permission. Urban Junkies is a free weekly mailer. All listings and features are editorial: We do not receive any payment from venues, artists or promoters. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information listed but we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.
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