A custom Tokyo tour for Mom
It’s Saturday midday in Zürich and it’s snowy, blustery and comfortably cosy. My mother and I just boarded the Swiss LX 160 to Tokyo Narita, mom is across the aisle and I’m looking forward to a few days of work mixed with mama-son time. Mom hasn’t been to Japan for about 10 years so it’s going to be a few action-packed days of good bites, shopping, coffees, sunny days on the terrace at the Palace Hotel and late nights at private restaurants. If you want to do something similar with your mama, here’s my top ten for Tokyo:
1.
Use up all your points and treat mom by flying first class. If you’re not hooked up with a carrier that still has first-class cabins, then the lady deserves business at the very least.
2.
It’s always good to start with a little surprise on arrival. I have my dear friend Noriko picking us up at Narita.
3.
We’re doing two nights at the Palace to start. Since the Park Hyatt closed for renovations, this has been my new address. To spread the love, we’ll do two nights there and two nights at the recently reopened Park Hyatt. Stay tuned for the review.
4.
Winter is the best time to hit Tokyo. Forget sakura season and autumn leaves as Tokyo is rammed with muppets in polar fleeces and bad trainers. January is good but February is great as spring/summer collections start hitting the rails, so you get big sunny skies, fewer tourists and the best shopping.
5.
Lunch at Shiseido Parlour is a mama pleaser. I grew up going to department stores where an elegant lunch was part of the Saturday programme and Shiseido Parlour still captures this with its calm dining room, perfect dishes, fine wine list and generally Japanese clientele. Most visitors wouldn’t get it but that’s the whole point. It’s from another time, has a menu of classic yoshoku dishes and perhaps the best Caesar salad in the world.
6.
Who doesn’t like going a bit Wako? In a similar spirit to Shiseido Parlour, Wako has become my favourite department store in the world. An anchor in the heart of Ginza and part of the extended Seiko family, it has shades of old school Henri Bendel and Montreal’s Ogilvy from its golden years. The store has many things that you might need and zero tat. Indeed, it’s like a very good magazine – exquisitely edited, beautifully presented and there’s always something to discover. Sound familiar?
7.
And who doesn’t like a second surprise, all in the same day? Noriko is well sorted with a group of private restaurants and it’s always a treat to visit one of her establishments and be treated to pretty much whatever you fancy. Fancy a tiny filet made with the finest beef from Hokkaido? Tick. A crab croquette with a tangy sauce? Tick. A plump tomato from Kyushu with the skin removed and soaked in a delicate vinaigrette? Double tick.
8.
Mom loves a well-assembled burger and she still remembers our trip to Golden Brown all those years ago. This will be repeated. For sure there are many places with a better burger in Tokyo but the location in Omotesando Hills is hard to improve on, so that’s on the cards for Tuesday or Wednesday.
9.
After burgers there will most definitely be a little Aoyama tour and this will include a trip through the Nezu Museum, some grocery shopping at Kinokuniya and hitting a few bookshops as well. Dinner at Appia Alta is also in the diary.
10.
I am looking forward to my return to the Park Hyatt on Tuesday. The withdrawal during the Covid years was bad enough (can we pause for a moment and reflect on how ridiculous that period was?) but the closure for renovation has been agonising. Anyway, I cannot wait to sample room 4701 again and treat mom to a dazzling eve at the New York Grill on Wednesday. Tune in to Monocle on Sunday and I’ll let you know how we’re getting on.
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