Tokyo, even for the most bizarre tastes

We all learned about Japanese Shinto, about Buddhism, we heard about Zen philosophy ... and imagined the Japanese as a nation of disciplined samurai and in modern times hard workers who blindly obey the orders of the emperor and superiors.

When visiting the Japanese capital, it soon becomes clear to us that they too have valves, with the help of which they get rid of stress and trauma. In most cases, these valves have little to do with religion and philosophy.

The costumes are sexy
A society that has admired the beauty and grace of women for centuries by dressing geisha and their assistants, called maiko, in kimonos and painting their faces white, has found new expression in the bars and streets of modern Tokyo. The youth, who spend their weekdays in strict uniforms, usually dark blue, dress according to the latest fashion trends in their free time, and the shopping streets are always full of fashion-conscious people. Near one of the most fashionable streets of Omotesanda, in the area Harajuku or rather, on the bridge that leads to the Meiji Shrine and the park around the shrine, every weekend the crème de la crème gathers, expressing their imagination through wardrobe. Girls who look like a mix of Hello Kitty and Barbie dolls, and boys who pull on pajamas and adorn themselves with glitter, stand near the so-called 'goths', the kind of darkers Morticia Adams herself would envy. Japanese copies of John Travolta are being collected on the adjacent green to the music from the film Brilljantina. The weekend masquerade has become a real tourist attraction, and the most original ones happily pose for tourists' cameras.

A subculture of animation obsessives
Businessmen, who are exemplary family men and fathers on weekends, release their stress during the week in themed bars and by playing video games. The Japanese are obsessed with the artificial world. From bonsai, through stone gardens, talking and heated toilet bowls, to comics (manga) and animations (anime). The artificial world and the artificial heroes who live in it represent an escape from everyday life for the average overburdened Japanese. The most loyal fans of anime and manga heroes buy them in life size or go to bars in the Tokyo area Akihabara, which in the late 1990s went from being an 'electronics quarter' to a magnet for men in their 20s and 40s who are relaxing playing video games or looking for the latest releases of comic books and animation DVDs. To make the absurdity even greater, in many bars they are served by waitresses dressed as comic book characters, and waitresses dressed as French maids are particularly popular. Animation obsessives have made a name for themselves otaku, which could be translated as "nerds", and enjoy night after night in bars where they are served, massaged and entertained by schoolgirls, secretaries, nurses and even nuns. Bari as Hiyokoya, @home Café, Cos-Cha they offer food and drinks served by female teachers or French waitresses, naturally in a typical environment, for example in a school classroom.

The kingdom of shopping and food
Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world, but despite this, it is famous as a shopping paradise and one of the most gourmet cities in the world. If we want to combine both passions, it is best to visit Ginzo and Aoyama. Even if we can't afford extravagance, it's worth walking through both Tokyo districts, because in addition to the shop windows, we can also admire the architectural 'creations' of the most famous architects. Mainly fashion and jewelry houses built their office buildings in Ginza and Aoyama, designed by Toyo Ito (Tod's), Herzog and de Meuron (Prada), Sanaa (Dior), who are also winners of this year's Pritzker Prize, which in the world of architecture means the same as an Oscar in the film industry. Aoyama is the most important center of high fashion in the metropolis. The main street along which all the big names of fashion that can be seen all over the world are arranged is called Omotesando. In addition to local celebrities such as Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto, we must also take time to visit the mall Omotesando Hills, where Yves Saint Laurent, Dolce & Gabbana, Jimmy Choo and also surprising brands such as SJX (fashion accessories) or Tabio with an interesting range of socks welcome us along the ramp that winds from one floor to the next. In order to create a definitive picture of the latest fashion trends, we must at least visit the boutiques Comme des Garçons, Hanae Mori, Original Fake and A Bathing Ape, which is the extremely popular brand of the Japanese DJ Nig. In addition to endless splurges on clothing and electronics, Tokyo boasts the highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants; to be precise, with as many as 261 such restaurants, and among them there are eleven that boast as many as three stars. In addition to unbelievably expensive restaurants, where we will see the stars especially when looking at the price list, we can find excellent restaurants around Omotesando Street that serve food that is affordable even for ordinary mortals. One of them is Torimasa, where we will be served delicious donburi - rice with five bamboo skewers and the obligatory miso soup, but we can also have lunch in the restaurant Maisen Tonkatsu, we get to know the seafood dishes from the Izu Peninsula, which are prepared in the restaurant Yanmo, or we order teppanyaki in the restaurant Omotesando Ukai-tei. In the last few decades, Japanese cuisine has become one of the most popular in the world, and all of us who enjoy sushi and similar dishes from this far Asian country must not miss a visit to the fish market. Tsukiji. The famous morning tuna auction was closed to the public due to too many tourists, but breakfast at the market, where chefs prepare sushi and other specialties from the freshest fish from all the world's seas, is a special experience, even if we are not fans of raw fish.

Movie hotel
In order to literally feel like movie stars in the city, we must at least visit the bar on the top floor of the building Shinjuku Park Tower. If our finances permit, let's book one of the 178 rooms in at the Park Hyatt Hotel, which occupies the 14 highest floors of the building. Because of the height, almost every room offers a great view of the business center that lies around the tower block or the thousands of neon signs nearby that invite shopping and entertainment. Most of the scenes from director Sofia Coppola's film Lost in Translation took place in the hotel bar on the top floor and by the pool on the 47th floor. Of course, a whiskey or a cocktail at the bar where Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray met will remind us that, like most things in Tokyo, the amazing view and intimate atmosphere are outrageously expensive.

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