• Feasting on a Kaiseki Meal: Although expensive, a kaiseki feast, consisting of dish after dish of artfully displayed delectables, may well be the most beautiful and memorable meal you'll ever have. Splurge at least once on the most expensive kaiseki meal you can afford, and you'll feel like royalty.
  • Dining with a View: There's no way you can forget you're in Tokyo when you're dining with views of the city as far as you can see. This category has many options, not all of them expensive. However, the very top splurge has long been the New York Grill, located on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel) Surrounded by glass, it offers great American cuisine, live jazz, and breathtaking views of the endless city. On clear days, you can see Mount Fuji, making this the closest you can get to dining on a cloud.
  • Eating Sushi and Sashimi: Sushi restaurants have spread to the four corners of the earth, but they're rarely as good — or authentic — as those in Japan. Not only do Japanese sushi chefs train for years, but also the variety of fresh fish is astounding. For an especially unique experience, eat at Toyoso Fish Market. And for what's considered the finest sushi counter in town, you can't do better than Sushi Sugita.
  • Rubbing Elbows in a Yakitori-Ya: There's no better place to observe Tokyo's army of office workers at play than at a yakitori-ya, a drinking man's pub that also sells skewered grilled chicken and bar snacks. It's fun, noisy, and boisterous.
  • Best Spot for a Romantic Dinner: Great Pacific Rim fusion cuisine, attentive yet unobtrusive service, dim lighting in a comfortable setting, a year-round open deck for after-dinner drinks, and a row of massage chairs make Casita a perfect rendezvous for a romantic evening.
  • Best Spot for a Business Lunch: Join the other movers and shakers at Nobu Tokyo, located near the U.S. embassy and offering something for everyone with its Pacific Rim fusion cuisine.
  • Best Spot for a Celebration: Peter has all the makings of a joyous occasion: great food, a theatrical setting, excellent service, and views of surrounding Hibiya.
  • Best Late-Night Dining: Gonpachi, with several convenient locations around Tokyo, has made a name for itself by offering inexpensive Japanese fare daily until 3:30 or 5am, depending on the location. Ditto for La Boheme serving Italian food; Zest Cantina, which serves Mexican food; and Monsoon, offering Asian dishes, all under the same ownership and with the same hours.
  • Best Theatrics: There's never a dull moment at Inakaya, with waiters shouting out orders, U-shaped counter seating, mountains of food, and kneeling cooks laboring over charcoal grills.
  • Best Weekend Brunch: The weekend brunch at New York Grill, where you'll be treated to breathtaking views, is so popular there's practically a waiting list.
  • Best Buffets: The Imperial Viking Sal, on the 17th floor of the Imperial Hotel, with views of the Ginza and Hibiya, was a pioneer of all-you-can-eat buffets in Japan. After 40-some years, it still offers great lunch and dinner buffets with international selections.
  • Best Vegetarian: Everything I've had at Yasaiya Mei, which specializes in fresh, seasonal vegetables, has been delicious, but the wild plant tempura is my absolute favorite.
  • Best Traditional Decor: With its beautifully landscaped Japanese garden and 200-year-old farmhouse imported from the Japanese Alps, Tokyo Shiba Toufuya Ukai, specializing in classic tofu cuisine, seems like it's in the countryside rather than the middle of Tokyo.
  • Best Traditional Music: Located in the traditional Asakusa neighborhood in a Japanese-style wooden house, Waentei-Kikko offers obento lunchboxes and kaiseki meals, along with shamisen and other traditional music performances.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.