Shinjuku-ku
A beautiful tea room is on the top of the Park Hyatt Hotel, and you can have the view of Shinjuku from there. It is very popular so it is better to make reservation.
Shinjuku-ku ("ku" means ward) covers quite big area, and you can find anything you need to purchase.
Kagurazaka is also part of Shinjuku-ku, and this is my favourite spot because of its traditional ambience. There are very old houses and authentic restaurants, not necessarily Japanese, and nice cafes.
Shibuya-ku
Shibuya, Aoyama, and Harajuku
Aoyama is the famous shopping delta made by Omotesando station, Harajuku station and Shibuya station.
Full of nice cafes, restaurants, high-end shops, and fashion events.
Seasons in Tokyo
Winter
New year is celebrated probably with the most importance.
It snows in Tokyo, only a fews days a year though, and it is very cold inside the house.
Summer
In summer, people are crazy about beers, because it is so humid and hot.
Somen is typical cold noodle traditionally eaten in summer. Eel, Unagi, is eaten on the particular day of summer for nutritional fortification, but the price of juvenile eels is increasing so much that many Unagi restaurants are closing down.
Not everyone follows the tradition these days, but my friend's family is one of the rare case; they perform the Obon ritual in the mid-July every year, to welcome the dead family member's spirits.
Shonan is one of the popular beaches for young people in Tokyo. It is 1-2 hours by train distance, depending on where you live. The sea is very calm most of time, so it is not very good for surfing, however there are so many surfers waiting for big waves. The beach is almost black, because the sand here is not from corals but volcanos. This sand is not even from here; it was brought from other places and each year being eroded by sea water.
Autumn
Autumn is very beautiful with red leaves. These photos were taken in Atago Shrine in Kamiyacho.
There is, or at least there has been, a clear distinction between seasons in Japan, and each season has its own beauty and harmony of colors.
Mt. Takao
Mt. Takao is an easy access trekking spot for Tokyo residents, especially to those who live on the west part of Tokyo.
Because of that, Mt. Takao is always full of people. You don't even have to trek; there is a cable car!
It is a sacred mountain, like any other mountains in Japan, and there are so many shrines and temples to prove that.
Mt. Fuji
I lived in the town called Fujimachi. The clear view from of Mt. Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan, was seen from the livingroom window.
There are many spots in Tokyo where you can see Mt. Fuji.