Tokyo's youth and design centre, where 24-hour ramen shops, chef-led modern Japanese rooms and standing izakaya cluster around the scramble crossing.
Zaiyu Hasegawa's Den in Tokyo is the modern kaiseki room that put playful home cooking on Asia's 50 Best, ranked No. 1 in 2022 and No. 22 in 2025.
Signature: DFC fried chicken, Den garden salad, Donabe gohan claypot rice
Order: The DFC fried chicken parcel and whatever donabe rice closes the menu.
Tip: Closed Sundays. Reservations are taken by phone only and fill the day the line opens.
Tonkatsu Maisen's 1965 Aoyama main shop occupies a former public bathhouse off Omotesando. The kurobuta cutlets are the room's signature, sliceable with chopsticks.
Signature: Kurobuta hire katsu, Amai Yuwaku rosu, Katsu sando
Order: Kurobuta hire (lean) set with shredded cabbage refills; the katsu sando is the takeaway hero.
Tip: Open 11:00 to 22:45 daily. Long lunch lines; arrive before 12:00 or after 14:00 for a counter seat.
Tonkatsu Maisen's 1965 Aoyama main shop occupies a former public bathhouse off Omotesando. The kurobuta cutlets are the room's signature, sliceable with chopsticks.
Signature: Kurobuta hire katsu, Amai Yuwaku rosu set, Katsu sando
Order: Kurobuta hire (lean) set with shredded cabbage refills; the katsu sando is the takeaway hero.
Tip: Open daily 11:00 to 22:45. Long lunch lines from 12:00; counter seating turns faster than tables.