A bowl of whisked green tea in the teahouse of Hama Rikyu Onshi-teien is about as Japanese as it gets. The garden was once a pleasure dome for the shogun, but now you too can pause and savour the moment, as ducks glide by in the pond at your feet and precision-plucked pines pose like puffed clouds. But cross the narrow wooden bridge over the pond and look backwards: framing the teahouse, the pond and the pines are the skyscapers of Shiodome, gleaming glass and granite and all built since the turn of the millennium. If that's not an only-in-Tokyo moment, then nothing is.

o SLEEP IN STYLE - informative reviews of the best luxury hotels, traditional ryokan and top-value budget options make the decisions easy

o NAVIGATE WITH EASE - clear and detailed maps with Japanese script take you where you want to go

o TREAT YOURSELF - our authors have hand-picked the best designer wares, specialist music stores, tucked-away shopping streets and more

o FEAST LIKE A LOCAL - discerning reviews deliver the gems, from decadent kaiseki to mouth-watering sashimi

o ESCAPE FOR A DAY - head for the traditional temples of Nikko and Kamakura, or soak your bones in an onsen; our Excursions chapter has all the best tips