Experience the best of Japan without leaving NYC

Following similar concepts like the eel-only midtown restaurant and a catch-what-you-eat Flatiron spot, Unagi boasts a 1,000-gallon, 500-Japanese eel tank in the middle of its dining room. As you watch, the chefs catch and grill the snakelike fish, serving them with eel liver, nori (seaweed), sansho pepper, fermented pickle and other fixins.  

The translation of this bar’s moniker is “samurai sword” kitten, but let us be the first to warn you: There are no samurai, swords, kittens or (unfortunately) cute memes of sword-wielding samurai kittens at this Japanese-American cocktail bar. Instead, you’ll step right into B-roll footage of a Master of None date scene. On a recent Friday night, the buzzy bi-level space was comfortably crowded with hip twentysomethings chattering under noirish red lights and sipping from some exceptionally purr-ty (sorry!) Japanese riffs on classic cocktails. 

You’ll have to work to find this midtown sake den, but the reward is worth the effort. First, go through the unmarked lobby of an office building (211 E 43rd Street), then down some stairs and along a basement corridor. There you’ll find a quiet room done up in understated bamboo and blond wood where 250 types of sake, categorized by grade, await.

This franchise has established strongholds from Sydney to Dubai and for good reason. It sells super-cool goods—Japanese-centric stuff for the most part. If cartoon characters are your bag, it has the right notebook for you. There's also a cafe upstairs that sells bubble tea and matcha. Order a drink, read a book and enjoy the lovely views of Bryant Park while you unwind. 

Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival is one of the city’s prettiest spring festivals, and highlights some of the most beautiful elements of Japanese culture. At the cherry blossom festival, NYC-folks and tourists can watch and take part in a bunch of activities while being surrounded by gorgeous, pink-petal trees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. As one of the top Brooklyn attractions, the must-visit site hosts the beloved tradition every year, and the event is usually always bustling with visitors. 

Ramen master Shigetoshi Nakamura built a loyal following at his eponymous Lower East Side restaurant. Now he's opened Niche next door to introduce noodle-slurping New Yorkers to a less common style of ramen called mazeman. A brothless bowl of noodles may be topped with steak, smoked salmon or even clams.

Straight from Japan, this too-cute loungewear brand hawks the softest and coziest apparel and accessories for women, men and children. The merchandise runs the gamut from striped hoodies and sweatshirts, colorblock long-sleeve shirts and animal eye mask slippers. Shop here to find your at-home uniform, although you’ll certainly be tempted to sport transitional pieces like spring-ready yellow satin dresses in public. 

New York has killer street style, but the fashion in Tokyo is next-level. If you can’t go on a shopping spree in Japan, head to Orchard Street to shop at SNIDEL: a Japanese clothing brand boasting trendy and cool-girl threads. From flirty and girly dresses and tops to edgy, streetwear jackets and pants, Snidel is where fashion-loving New Yorkers should go to add some much-needed color to their all-black wardrobe.

If you think the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is the only place you can see those beautiful, pink-petal trees, guess again! There are a handful of spots in the city where you can see them, and one of our favorites is Central Park. Hundreds of cherry trees (many of which were gifts from the Japanese Government) bloom along the Reservoir starting in April. 

While there are dozens of ramen spots in New York, none have as unusual of a creation story as Hanon. From the team behind Rock'n'Roll Japan (a film production company) and Sagami Rubber (which invented the world's thinnest condoms), Hanon is the team's second venture into noodles. Their first was in Kamakura, a city in Japan known for their soba. Now, they've taken their food to New York, collaborating with Yudai Kanayama, a Japanese food expert who helped to open Davelle and Izakaya. Their Williamsburg spot serves 20-plus ramen dishes and, in warmer weather, there's a backyard for slurping al fresco.