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From the moment you remove your shoes to walk on the tatami mats to the moment you eat your final morsel of supple crabmeat, Kitafuku is an exhilarating experience. A meal lasts at least two hours, which is the minimum time necessary for a live king crab to be deshelled, systematically dismantled ‒ leg by leg, claw by claw ‒ and feasted upon boiled, charcoal-grilled and raw.

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Hotel bars usually aren’t very inspiring places, but the Tokyo Station Hotel’s version isn’t like most hotel bars. Master Hisashi Sugimoto mixes up his signature Tokyo Station cocktails in a room that incorporates red bricks and wood in the décor, matching perfectly with the newly renovated station’s exterior.

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This tea salon puts a fresh twist on traditional Japanese confectionery. As well as the typical combination of green tea and sweets like cold kuzu noodles, the salon also serves alcohol ‒ ask the staff which beer, shochu or wine goes best with your sweets. It’s a spot relaxing enough for hours of lingering in busy Ginza.

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Arguably the trendiest department store in Japan, Isetan Shinjuku is renowned for having its window displays created by leading artists and offers only the finest in food, clothing and homewares.

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Knocking out simple, attractive bicycles since 2002, Tokyobike adheres to a simple concept: comfort above speed, ideally put together for the local life. The minimalist brand has been such a success in its home city, in fact, that they now have outlets as far afield as New York, London and Melbourne.

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A walk around the legendary Tsukiji truly is an essential Tokyo experience – especially now, as the market is set to relocate to Toyosu as early as next year. When visiting, we suggest you head over at 9am, which is when the Inner Market opens to the public and you get to stroll its narrow alleys in search of superb seafood, street snacks and a taste of old Tokyo in action.

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Looking for the best view in town? Located on the 52nd floor of the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, this observatory provides an impressive 360-degree bird’s-eye view of Tokyo, including landmarks like Shinjuku Gyoen, the National Diet Building, Tokyo Tower and the Skytree. The open-air Sky Deck on the roof is accessible on fine days and offers even more stunning vistas.

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Taking part in a matsuri (traditional festival) lets you experience a living tradition that often goes back centuries. In addition to the spectacle of mikoshi (portable shrines) being carried by eagerly chanting festival-goers, you can look forward to plenty of stalls selling delectable street food, plus anything from dance shows to free sake service.

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Finding tickets to see a Grand Sumo tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan can be a bit of a wrestle. But don’t worry: instead, you can visit a sumo stable to watch an early-morning practice for free. The catch is that you have to wake up at the crack of dawn, as practice usually starts around 6.30am in the stable.

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Hidden in between and behind shiny high-rises, massive station complexes and other architectural monsters, Tokyo's old-school alleyways are treasure troves for anyone looking to experience the city's less sterile side. Found all over town, they host thousands of tiny eateries, pubs and shops, some of them dating way back to the early postwar years.

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Eccentric artist extraordinaire Takashi Murakami had his hands full in 2016, and not just with a paintbrush: his critically acclaimed ‘The 500 Arhats’ show attracted over 300,000 visitors during its run at the Mori Museum, while an exhibition at the Yokohama Museum of Art showcased the ‘Superflat’ progenitor’s highly eclectic collection of art.

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The CEO of Hoshino Resorts, a leading operator of opulent resorts and hotels, Yoshiharu Hoshino oversaw the opening of Hoshinoya Tokyo in July. This luxurious traditional-style inn sits right in the heart of Tokyo, boasts its own natural hot spring and successfully brings the onsen ryokan experience to the capital.

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Kris Yoshie is the director of the Slow Label collective, which works to empower people with disabilities and advance their integration into society. Their art project, ‘Slow Movement’, was a surprise hit at this year’s Roppongi Art Night, while Kris herself also had a hand in Japan’s refreshingly diverse ‘handover’ show performed at the Rio Paralympics closing ceremony.

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Although singer and songwriter Sheena Ringo has evolved from teenage pop starlet to cultural icon during a career that now spans almost two decades, her influence has been largely restricted to Japan ‒ until this year, that is. Having juggled the roles of creative supervisor and music producer for the flag handover segments of both the Rio Olympics and Paralympics closing ceremonies, the capital’s very own musical misfit has well and truly arrived on the world stage.

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2016 finally saw the overturning of Japan’s antiquated ‘no dancing’ law ‒ a potentially farreaching change that came about largely thanks to the efforts of lawyer Takahiro Saito. Having lobbied for reform since 2012, Saito won over an impressive cast of entrepreneurs, artists and politicians, initiating a movement that eventually became too funky for the authorities to resist.

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Makoto Shinkai was already an established name in the anime world before August, when his new film ‘Your Name’ hit theatres, but the record-breaking success of this fantasy-tinged teen romance saw the 43-year-old director catapulted into the mainstream spotlight and praised for spreading the gospel of anime to completely new audiences.