24 Hours In Tokyo

Learn the tricks of the trade and tools for life to making artisan-quality sushi, which contrary to popular opinion does not mean raw fish but vinegared rice.

The HIS Experience Japan sushi-making excursion forges friendships for a lifetime. This is international relations at their diplomatic best. The boutique tour company is tailor made for rare or unique experiences with soul.

Tsukiji Market is just above Tsukiji Shijo Sta-tion on the Oedo Sub-way Line. Alternatively, it can be reached in a five minute walk from Tsukiji Station on the Hibiya Subway Line. Numbers at the tuna auction (between 5am and 6:15am) are limited to 140 visitors. The mar-ket is closed Sundays, national holidays and some Wednesdays. Entry to the market is free.

HIS Experience Japan (hisexperience.jp) and food co-ordinator Kikuchi Kuniko of the Institute for Japanese Cultural Exchange and Experience (ijcee.com) run the sushi-making experience. Phone 080-3313-1107.

11am

Tokyo has plenty of tall buildings that allow you to take in a spectacular view of the city skyline, but one of the best places to do this is absolutely free. Tokyo Metropolitan Goverment Offices are twin towers in the Shinjuku district. Both offer observation decks on the 45th floor, at a height 202 metres. The north tower observation deck features a cafe.

North tower observation deck open 9.30am to 11pm. South tower open 9.30am to 5.30pm. 2-8-1, Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo.

2pm

Head to Zen of Meiji-jingu Shrine and visual overload of Takeshita Street, Harajuku, on any given Sunday.

Where else but one of the world's most populous cities do you find 700,000 square metres of forest in the centre of town? Tokyo is nothing if not a city of contrast, with the futuristic structure of the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower hovering above the Shinto shrine.

Wide pebbled boulevards leading to the shrine provide a peaceful retreat for the faithful. Some 3 million of them crowd the gateways for the three-day New Year's celebration from January 3. Deeply embedded coin rivets in the wooden pillars of the temple, thrown from afar, denote the visible level of beneficiary worship.

If you're in luck you may spot a traditional wedding ceremony in the gyoen or garden, the Emperor Meiji's gift to Empress Shoken, complete with oversized bridal headwear, designed to cover the bride's "horns" from her adoring groom.

Follow up with a shuffle down nearby Takeshita Street for a visual onslaught of kitsch-inspired cos-play at its most eyecatching.

Harajuku is a station on the JR Yamanote Line, two stations south of Shinjuku and one station north of Shibuya (130 yen from either sta-tion). The Meiji Shrine is just west of the railway tracks.

2:30pm

Leafy Omotesando and the Prada building in fashionable Minami-Aoyama:

Literally meaning 'frontal approach', the upscale shopping district of Omotesando Street was developed in the 1920s as the gateway to Meiji-jingu Shrine.

Worship of a high-end consumerist nature also reigns supreme, including the iconic Louis Vuitton and Tod's stores and the play-based mecca, Kiddy Land.

Archi-retail therapy: View Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron's boutique architectural marvel, the Prada building, which, when illuminated, is akin to a tower of glass honeycomb. Built in 2003 it continues to attract international design students, who also stop to admire the juxtaposing organic wood structure of the neighbouring Cartier building. Herzog likens the glass panes in his structural feast for the eye as "an interactive optical device". The cool-blue, swimming pool-esque Comme des Garcons' flagship store, on the same side of the street, is also worth the plunge.

Referred to as Tokyo's Champs-Elysees, Omotesando Street is a kilometre-long tree-lined avenue, serving as the main approach to Meiji Shrine.

3pm

Anchovy-stuffed Spanish olives and verdant Sicilian varieties from the Olive Market at Matsuya Ginza's awe-inspiring food hall.

3-6-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-8130/Telephone +81-3-3567-1211. Open 10am to 8pm. Direct access from Exit A12 of Ginza Station on Tokyo Metro subway Ginza, Marunouchi and Hibiya lines.

While in the neighbourhood, sample top-grade sashimi and sushi at Sushiko Honten. A favourite of uber-chef Tetsuya Wakuda, the pricey but artisan fare is the pinnacle in quality produce and masterly execution.

6-3-8 Ginza (+81-3-3571-1968), licensed only, open daily from 11:30am to 10:30pm.

For fast food, Tokyo style, slurp a 440JPY bowl of soba noodles in dashi broth with seaweed and edible plants at the 24-hour Yoshi Soba. Who said dining in Ginza is prohibitive?

Ginza 3-9-2, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. Telephone 03-3545-3039 03-3545-3039 (open 24 hours).

4:30pm

Get a taste for cultural appreciation at Roppongi Hills:

Art as the great cultural unifier is exemplified by my Japanese goodwill guide, Aya, exclaiming equal delight at a Man Ray poster in the Metro. The Unconcerned But Not Indifferent photographic exhibition appears at the wave-like structure of the National Art Centre, Tokyo, a picture in sea green, along with the Musee d'Orsay's Post-Impressionist extravaganza, fresh from its record-busting show at the National Gallery of Australia.

For the pick of Japan's contemporary exhibitions, and a view to match, you can't top the Mori Art Museum and Tower. (ital)Sensing Nature(endital), a stunning interpretation of surprising natural elements from the cream of contemporary Japanese artists, is unsurpassed in form and originality.

7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8558. Telephone 03-5777-8600 (Hello Dial). National Art Centre, Tokyo, is open 10am to 6pm, except on Friday (10am to 8pm). Closed Tuesdays.

6-10-1 Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Minato-ku, Tokyo. Tele-phone 03-5777-8600. Mori Art Museum is open daily 10am to 10pm except on Tues-days (10am to 5pm).

7pm

Hit the heights at the Park Hyatt, Shinjuku-ku, the luxe setting for Lost in Translation.

Enduring pop cultural reference numero uno. Visit the New York Bar and Grill on the 41st floor, which even New Yorkers pronounce as more New York than New York, as nightfall descends and the neon-generated light show begins. Sip the signature L.I.T. cocktail, sake, sakura (cherry blossom liqueur) and peach liqueur (1700JPY) and sup on the Iwate cheeseburger with hand-cut bacon and potato fries (4800JPY).

Then indulge in the cliche, watching Lost in Translation on the plane ride home, to soak up the rarefied ambience on screen if not Bill Murray's quaffing perch at the bar.

3-7-1-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 163-1055. Telephone 03-5322-1234.

Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Air China, Qantas, Thai Airways, Vietnam Airlines and Eva Airways, to name a handful, fly to Narita from Melbourne. Return fares start from about $1260 (try jetlo.com.au). The airport limousine bus (3000 JPY one way) takes about 45 minutes to reach Tokyo CBD, depending on traffic. Tickets can be purchased from terminals 1 and 2 at Narita Airport.