I had seen the TikToks of the Tokyo subway at rush hour — commuters’ faces squished against windows, professional “pushers” propelling passengers onto busy trains — so it’s with some trepidation that I descend the shiny escalator to the city’s fabled underground. It is uncrowded, undaunting and the first of many preconceptions I unpack during my week in Japan. I’d long been curious to visit but always felt a little shy — my inability to master the language, the sheer urban scale and potential Lost in Translation jet lag had held me back. How wrong I was. I loved it.
The plan was to spend a couple of days in the capital before heading to Nagoya, the country’s fourth largest metropolis — one that’s less celebrated but has its own cultural currency.
Keen to swerve fomo in Tokyo, I squeeze a lot into those first 48 hours; the streets are very walkable with Google Maps as my friend.
It helps that I am staying centrally, at The Peninsula Tokyo (from £679, peninsula.com), my suite overlooking the Imperial Palace gardens and Hibiya Park, with the districts of Ginza (shopping, art), Aoyama (more shopping) and Otemachi (financial) all accessible by foot. Being a first-timer, I tick off the tourist checklist — the observation deck at Tokyo City View; Shibuya Crossing selfies; cosplay and a micropig café on Takeshita Street; the digital art museum; a visit to a Don Quijote store for skincare. But for all its megacity vibes, tradition is still deeply valued, as evidenced on a food tour I join as part of The Peninsula Academy programme, which offers destination-led immersive experiences.
After a lesson in chopstick etiquette — “Don’t stand them upright in a bowl of rice, it symbolises death” — our guide leads us along lantern-lit yokocho alleys, past Shinto shrines and a sriracha vending machine (yes, really) to izakayas, subterranean sake bars and teeny takeaway joints. These are all local spots I’d never have unearthed among Tokyo’s 160,000 restaurants, where we eat gyoza, wagyu sushi torched at our table and candied sweet potato for dessert. The following morning I do a masterclass in kintsugi, the centuries-old meditative practice of mending pottery.
And when the time difference tiredness takes hold, The Peninsula comes to my rescue: a deep tissue massage with hot stones; cocktails in the atmospheric Peter bar; and Ippudo ramen delivered directly to my room.
Next stop, Nagoya. The bullet train does the 342km journey in just 90 minutes, so smoothly I almost doze off and miss Mount Fuji. I knew of the city as a hub of industry rather than a holiday destination, but that’s changing with the arrival of Espacio Nagoya Castle (from £939, espacionagoya.com), which opened last October and is already a Leading Hotel of the World. It was designed as a 21st-century reflection of the Edo castle across the moat. The hotel’s owners, Kowa Company, have dug deep, literally and metaphorically. They excavated down to 1,000m, accessing mineral-rich spring water that’s piped to baths in rooms, as well as the onsen in the spa.
Though it feels no expense was spared on the interiors — gold leaf, marble, kumiko latticework, rich fabrics, deep carpets — the art is the star, with more than 400 works by 50 mostly Japanese artists on display, including life-size suits of samurai armour in the lobby. I’m captivated by a painting framed in the floor-to-ceiling windows in my suite, of the castle cloaked in forest, mountains beyond.
During my stay I take part in a matcha tea ceremony, eat exquisite raw fish and drink chardonnay from a vineyard in the Yamanashi prefecture. I try jellyfish head, swim bladder and milt (an acquired taste — look it up), and breakfast kappo-style. It’s ample fortification for exploring the real castle and viewing kimonos at the Tokugawa Art Museum.
By the end of my trip, I feel I’ve embraced the spirit of nagomi, the Japanese philosophy of finding balance and harmony. While many go to Kyoto or the Ogasawara Islands for a contrast to Tokyo’s big, bold energy, I found my equilibrium in Nagoya, a city that is rightly nudging its way onto the travel map (Finnair flies there in the summer via Helsinki). Sayonara Japan — until next time.
