Marunouchi and Otemachi mean business—suits, skyscrapers, and serious architecture. Between the banks and offices are pockets of calm: sleek museums, curated shops, tree-lined promenades, and rooftop gardens.
Parks & Historic Sites
Tokyo Station. The red-brick Marunouchi facade is a restored 1914 original. Inside, there’s a maze of underground malls, bento shops, and the Tokyo Ramen Street.
The Imperial Palace. See writeup about Imperial Palace. The grounds are a rare open space in central Tokyo, with moats, stone walls, and broad gravel paths. The East Gardens are—free and quiet, good for a slow walk. If the weather is nice, you can also go for a run.
Hibiya Park. One of Tokyo’s oldest Western-style parks, situated next to the Imperial Palace. It has fountains, rose beds, and old trees.
Shopping & Lifestyle
Kitte Marunouchi. I love shopping here. The name (stamp) references the Old Post Office, preserved 1930s architecture with modern interiors. Lots of great homeware and lifestyle shops, including a great incense shop. The rooftop garden overlooks the station and is a quiet spot to pause.
Marunouchi Naka-dori. A tree-lined street with design stores, cafes, and brand flagships, connecting Tokyo Station to the Imperial Palace. Everything here is polished but not pushy—good for window shopping or people watching. Lights up at night, especially in winter.
Momota Touen Tokyo Showroom. Modern porcelain rooted in 400 years of Arita tradition. The pieces are minimalist—thin, light, often matte or pale-glazed—designed for daily use but with sharp silhouettes. It’s pottery stripped down to function and form, merging craft with industrial design.
Échiré Marunouchi. Pastry shop devoted to French Échiré butter. The croissants—half butter by weight—sell out fast, with a six-per-person limit. Worth the detour.
Museums & Culture
Intermediatheque. Free museum inside Kitte, run by Tokyo University of. It’s part science lab, part cabinet of curiosities—taxidermy, fossils, old medical tools. Lots of cool stuff in an old-timey natural history approach to curation. A good detour if you need a breather from the crowd.
Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum. A red-brick museum, built as a replica of a 19th-century office. Shows focus on late 1800s European art—think Lautrec, Vallotton. Quiet, well-designed, never too crowded. Café 1894 inside is worth a stop.
Tokyo International Forum. A striking glass-and-steel structure designed by Rafael Viñoly, resembling a ship's hull, and a modern architectural landmark. The building hosts a variety of events, including concerts, exhibitions, and cultural activities.
Books & Stationery
Maruzen. In Tokyo Oazo, a massive, multi-floor bookstore, one of the best spots in the city for English-language books on Japan—history, fiction, culture, food. The stationery section is solid, and there’s a café that serves old-school hayashi rice.
Food & Drink
Manten Sushi. This sushi spot runs on efficiency and precision. Fixed-course meals, reasonably priced, with quality well above what you’d expect from the setting. Tourists come for the value, locals for the consistency.
Bar Oak. Inside Tokyo Station Hotel. Classy, wood and brick interior. Known for the “Tokyo Station” cocktail—red like the building. Good whisky list. No reservations, just walk in.
Matsumotoro Café. An old café inside Hibiya Park, open since the Meiji era. Known for retro dishes like hayashi rice and custard pudding.
Ryukyu Chinese Dining Tama. Creative blend of Okinawan and Chinese flavors into inventive, health-conscious dishes like goat mapo tofu and goya chanpuru.
Ninja Tokyo. A theatrical, ninja-themed restaurant. Staff dressed as ninjas serve multi-course meals featuring playful presentations while performing sleight-of-hand magic at your table. The food leans upscale, and the experience is immersive, quirky, and surprisingly polished.