You’re late and you’re lost. You took the Shinjuku line when you should have taken the Marunouchi line, and now you’re somewhere in Akihabara (or is it Asakusa?), scratching your head as you ponder the comically complex map of Tokyo’s subway system — 274 stations, 13 lines, roughly 8.7 million daily riders — and wonder how you’ll ever make it to Takadanobaba by 9.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Tokyo is immense — with a population just under 35 million, the capital of Japan is by far the largest metropolitan area in the world, dwarfing second-place Seoul — and moves at a frenetic pace. Yet it’s also surprisingly navigable. The public transport system is comprehensive and convenient, if overburdened, with metro lines close to major sites and one-day passes allowing for unlimited rides available at Narita International Airport for about $7.50. Taxis aren’t cheap — fares start at $9 — but they do take credit cards.

And while it’s true many streets have no names and buildings are seldom numbered sequentially, you needn’t be fluent in Japanese to find your way around. Just learn a few phrases, pick up that map (or download it for free from the Tourist Information Center website) and, most importantly, plan wisely.

For in Tokyo, as in life, timing is everything. If, for example, you can avoid venturing out during the morning rush hour when the streets are filled with frenzied commuters and people cram into subway cars like sardines, you’ll be far more likely to make that breakfast meeting. Of course, you’ll be even more likely to make it if it’s in your hotel; and if that hotel happens to be the Park Hyatt Tokyo, then you have planned wisely indeed.

Perhaps best known as Bill Murray’s crash pad in the 2003 film Lost in Translation, the 5-star Park Hyatt boasts large, plushly appointed guestrooms with sweeping city views — Mount Fuji is visible on clear days — and what is widely considered Tokyo’s premier breakfast place in its restaurant Girandole, which serves up both Japanese and Western dishes. Housed in Kenzo Tange’s soaring, granite and glass Shinjuku Park Tower — floors 39 to 52 — the hotel is located outside the Central Business District but close enough that it’s still convenient for anyone coming from the office.

In the months following the earthquake and tsunami that struck northeast Japan in March 2011, the number of foreign visitors to the country plunged by 50 percent, and tourism in Tokyo dropped off sharply, mostly over concerns about the dangers of radiation from the damaged Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Power Plant 160 miles away. But with those fears largely put to rest — according to the U.S. State Department, the health and safety risks to land areas outside a 50-mile radius of the plant are low — that picture has begun to improve.

Last May, as if in defiance of the tectonic forces that wreaked such havoc only months before, the 2,080-foot Tokyo Skytree, the world’s tallest free-standing broadcast tower and now the tallest structure in the country, opened to the general public after four years under construction, giving the city its latest landmark and tourists yet another reason to return. And return they have.

In July, the Japan National Tourism Organization reported the number of foreign visitors to the country for the first time reached pre-disaster levels, with June numbers hitting an all-time high. As World Travel and Tourism Council Chairman Michael Frenzel put it in a speech at the organization’s Global Summit last April, “Japan is well and truly open for business.” And Tokyo, as ever, is leading the way.

Indeed, according to Japanese officials, the Skytree alone is expected to attract some 32 million visitors a year to its aquarium, dome theater, two observatories (at 1,150 feet and 1,480 feet) and massive new shopping mall. Tokyo’s largest, that mall boasts more than 300 shops and restaurants, among them a lunch spot that can’t fail to impress: Along with French-Japanese fusion cuisine, the Sky Restaurant 634, a tranquil, somber-hued space, serves up vertiginous views from the tower’s 1,150- foot Tembo Deck.

Yet in Tokyo, with its veritable galaxy of Michelin stars — more than Paris and New York combined — not even the most elevated address is enough to ensure a spot stands out. Confronted with so many superb choices, including everything from traditional and contemporary Japanese to Chinese, French, Italian, Korean and Spanish, the business traveler can hardly go wrong. But that doesn’t make the decision any easier.

Fans of sushi — fans flush with yen — would do well to seek out Sukiyabashi Jiro, a recipient of three Michelin stars. Though tiny and subterranean — 10 seats, sans toilet, in the cellar of a non-descript office building in Ginza — the restaurant has been hailed by critics as the finest sushi bar in the world and its owner/chef, Jiro Ono, as “a living national treasure” by the Japanese government. Not surprisingly, reservations are difficult to get, but if you can pull it off, be sure to arrive hungry; portions are generous.

Of course, in the event you don’t score a seat at Sukiyabashi, alternatives abound, many of them right there in Ginza, the city’s swankiest district, alongside brand-named boutiques, upscale bars, luxury hotels and high-end art galleries.

Tucked away in another hard-to-find basement, for example, is the equally diminutive (and expensive) Sushi Kanesaka, a winner of two Michelin stars renowned for its caringly prepared albeit no-frills fare. For something a bit more eclectic — and a lot bigger — head to Kihachi, a serene space featuring Art Nouveau décor and a menu combining French and Japanese ingredients to marvelous effect.

However, if the aim is to impress, look no further than Yakumo Saryo. Situated in a traditional Japanese villa on a quiet, tree-lined lane in Tokyo’s Meguro district, the residence-turned-restaurant features two small, private dining rooms looking out on a lovely green garden. Hushed, hidden away and with a minimalist design, it feels as though you’ve been let in on a wonderful secret. The hard part, after a multicourse kaiseki-style meal and ample servings of sake, will be keeping it.

Weblinks

Japan National Tourism Organization
Park Hyatt Tokyo
Sukiyabashi Jiro
Tokyo Skytree
Tokyo Tourist Information Center