Tokyo: The City I Called Home
There are places you visit and places that somehow become part of who you are. For me, Tokyo is the latter.
I first moved to Tokyo in the 1990s to be part of the opening of the now iconic Park Hyatt Tokyo. What began as an extraordinary professional opportunity became nearly 20 years of calling Japan home. I lived in the Meguro area and spent those years working in hotels, restaurants and private clubs, but more importantly, I became part of a city and culture that I grew to love deeply.
Even after years away, when I returned to Tokyo recently, something surprised me. I didn't feel as though I was visiting.
I felt like I had come home.
A City of Contrasts
One of the things I have always loved most about Tokyo is its energy. There are few cities in the world that feel as alive. Walk through Shibuya or Shinjuku and you are surrounded by people, lights, restaurants, shops and movement in every direction.
And then, almost without warning, everything can change.
Turn down a quiet street, walk through the gates of a temple or enter one of the city's beautiful green spaces and the noise seems to disappear. Suddenly you are somewhere peaceful and contemplative, even though one of the world's largest cities is still right outside.
That contrast is part of what makes Tokyo so special to me. The city never forces you to choose between excitement and tranquility. Somehow, it gives you both.
The Tokyo Beyond the Guidebooks
I know Tokyo's major sights exceptionally well, and there is a reason people want to see them. But some of my favorite experiences in the city have always been the ones I discovered without a plan.
One of my favorite things to do is simply get on the subway, choose an area and spend a few hours walking.
Tokyo rewards curiosity.
Some of the most memorable restaurants, shops, bars, gardens and little neighborhood discoveries I have made over the years came from turning down a street simply because I wondered what was there. No guidebook could have led me to many of them.
I especially love Nakameguro, Aoyama and Ebisu, along with the back streets around Asakusa. Each has its own personality, and each offers a very different way to experience the city.
The People and the Culture of Service
For someone visiting Japan for the first time, one of the things I hope they notice is the extraordinary culture of politeness and service.
Hospitality in Japan is not limited to five star hotels and expensive restaurants. You experience it everywhere. It can be the person helping you in a department store, someone serving you a bowl of ramen or a stranger taking the time to help when you are trying to find your way.
Having spent my career in hospitality, I have always been fascinated by that culture of service. There is an attention to detail and genuine consideration for others that becomes part of everyday life.
And after living there for so many years, it is the people I miss most.
Eating My Way Through Tokyo
Tokyo is one of the world's great food cities, but when I think about eating there, my mind doesn't immediately go to elaborate dining rooms.
I think about the little places.
The tiny mom and pop restaurants hidden on side streets. A favorite ramen shop. Tonkatsu. A restaurant you might walk past a dozen times without realizing that something wonderful is happening behind the door.
Those are the places I love.
Of course, Tokyo's fine dining is extraordinary as well. Two restaurants that remain particularly special to me are Les Chanterelles and Higashi Yama in Nakameguro. They represent another side of Tokyo dining: sophisticated and beautifully executed, but still deeply connected to the city's sense of place.
Food in Tokyo can be extraordinarily refined or wonderfully simple. Some of my most memorable meals have been both.
Where I Would Stay
Tokyo has an extraordinary collection of luxury hotels. Having spent my career in hospitality, I probably look at hotels differently than most travelers, and Tokyo continues to set an incredibly high standard.
The Park Hyatt Tokyo will always have a special place in my heart. Being part of its opening was what first brought me to Japan, and it became the beginning of an enormous chapter of my life.
Today, I also particularly love Aman Tokyo and the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo. All three offer very different experiences, but each demonstrates the extraordinary level of hospitality for which Tokyo is known.
At the same time, experiencing Tokyo doesn't require staying in a five star hotel. The city has excellent options at virtually every price point, and I have plenty of mainstream and more budget friendly favorites as well.
The important thing is finding the place that fits the way you want to experience Tokyo.
When I Need to Escape the City
As much as I love Tokyo's energy, one of the pleasures of living there is how easily you can leave it behind.
My favorite escape has always been the mountains of Nikko.
After the lights, movement and intensity of Tokyo, heading into the mountains feels like entering another world. The forests, temples, fresh air and quiet offer exactly the kind of contrast that makes Japan so fascinating.
It is also a reminder that experiencing Tokyo doesn't have to mean spending every day in Tokyo.
The Tokyo I Miss
After being away for many years, I wondered what returning would feel like.
Cities change. People change. We change.
But when I went back, Tokyo still felt completely familiar. I could navigate the trains, walk through neighborhoods I remembered and fall naturally back into the rhythm of the city.
It felt as though I had never left.
Of course, there are things I miss. I miss my friends. I miss my favorite ramen shop. I miss tonkatsu. I miss wandering without knowing exactly where I am going.
But perhaps what I miss most is the feeling of Tokyo itself.
It is one of the most exciting and diverse cities in the world, yet somehow it can also feel deeply personal. After nearly 20 years of living there, there are still streets I haven't walked, restaurants I haven't discovered and experiences I haven't had.
And maybe that is what I love most about it.
Tokyo never feels finished. There is always another street to turn down, another meal to discover and another side of the city waiting to surprise you.
Brian Marcus
Founder, Orchestrated Journeys