Legacy” exhibition, until March 1. Admission is ¥900 (US$7.60) per person.
In the modern part of the station,
retail and yet more dining are on the agenda. Other than being home to Daimaru department store, it is also linked to the labyrinth that is the underground Yaesu Shopping Mall. There are 180 outlets here, including 60 restaurants. A confluence of noodle joints form what the locals call “Ramen Street”, and many of them are packed with customers throughout the day, especially on the weekend.
The first thing to do when visiting this place is to find the customer- service centre and pick up a map, which has information in English. Trust us, you’ll need it. We visited one afternoon on a long weekend when the place was heaving. But even among the constant stream of shoppers, one place stood out: Rokurinsha (
rokurinsha.com, Japanese only). While nearby ramen shops were all moderately busy – it was mid afternoon – this place had at least 30 people waiting outside and we decided to join them. If it’s
TOKYO STATION CITY AT A GLANCE
Marunouchi Station Building Area Tokyo Station Gallery The Tokyo Station Hotel The Jexter Tokyo fitness club: offering wellness services and amenities including pressurised oxygen capsules Spa Tokione: managed by high-end brand Terraké, from France JR East Travel Service Center (7.30am- 8.30pm)
Ekinaka Area (inside the station) North Court: Gransta Dining highlighting Japanese culinary culture Central Street: speciality stores featuring Japanese products South Court: high-end, contemporary department store Keiyo Street: 25 richly individualistic stores selling sweets, lunch boxes, accessories and sundry items Gransta: passage between Marunouchi and Yaesu, with more shops and restaurants, as
Visit
www.businesstraveller.asia well as concierge and currency exchange
Nihombashi Gate Area Sapia Tower: a research and education centre
Hotel Metropolitan Marunouchi: four stars,
hotelmetropolitanmarunouchi.jp Station Conference: offering 26 large and small rooms Gran Gourmet: three foodie zones for casual dining, including specialised Japanese eateries in “Kitchen Street”
Yaesu Area Gran Tokyo North Tower and South Tower: Home to 14-storey Daimaru Department Store, and offices Gran Roof Front: a structure that looks like a “sail of light” linking the two towers with a pedestrian deck and yet more shops and another department store Gran Age: another restaurant zone, catering to business people
that popular, it has to be good, right? The signature dish here is tsukumen, thick ramen served alongside a bowl of thick soup, eaten by dipping the first into the second. You are required to purchase a ticket from a vending machine before getting your seat. Everything was in Japanese and kanji (Chinese characters), but the buttons were also illustrated with pictures of the dishes. It was a good 45 minutes’ wait before we were given a seat – and you have to share tables with strangers – and served our food. The signature tsukumen, with pork and a soy-marinated egg, turned out to be slightly disappointing: while the soup was hearty and delicious, it wasn’t very hot and the noodles were lukewarm – hardly a ramen affair to remember. After some browsing, I also tried Karin City Beer Hall (
kirincity.co.jp; in Japanese only, branch located on Sotobori Chika 2nd Street). Half a pint cost ¥480 (US$4) – slightly more expensive than a glass of wine at ¥470. If you’re after a truly local experience, there are little shops outside, underneath the train tracks. One of them I happened upon was Lad’s Dining (about three minutes’ walk from the Marunouchi North Exit; tel +81 3 6269 9315). It is part of a chain. Not surprisingly, all the customers were men, who were enjoying its pub grub with a Japanese twist. The signature dish is homemade glutinous rice flour fried chicken (¥490/US$4), and there are several pizza choices starting from ¥690 (US$6), as well as seafood paella (¥990/US$8 for a small one). We spent half a day at the Tokyo Station and only scratched the surface. Inside there are yet more flashy shops, restaurants, the Hotel Metropolitan Marunouchi and a conference centre. Even figuring out where our hotel shuttle pick-up point was – a completely different side from that of the drop-off – took almost half an hour (the lack of English information didn’t help). But that just means we’ll have to come back for more. n
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 61
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76