Looking to stay on the cutting edge of food, drink and shopping trends in Tokyo? Sure, keeping track of all the new restaurants, bars, shops and stands opening across the city every month can feel exhausting and almost hopeless – but that's where we come in. Sparing you the trouble of wading through long lists of shiny promotional pics and hollow praise, we've again compiled a handy list of the top five spots to start business this month. Check out our editorial team's picks below, and make sure to leave a comment if you think we missed something.
Over the past year, Tokyo has seen several notable re-development efforts focused on making good (read: profitable) use of the space beneath the city's many elevated railway tracks. Next in line after Shimokitazawa Cage and Nakameguro's Koukashita is this Shinjuku establishment, a combination of a food court-like area with four different stalls, a gallery and a lounge designed by stylist Miki Aizawa.
All you train aficionados out there are sure to sleep well at this one-of-a-kind hostel, accessible directly from JR Bakurocho Station. Named after the defunct Hokutosei sleeper train, which operated between Tokyo and Sapporo for 27 years before being retired in 2015, it boasts an interior that faithfully recreates the train's cabins – think bunk beds, aluminium ladders and dark curtains – made entirely with materials from the Hokutosei carriages.
Opened four years ago around the corner from the NHK building, Shibuya's Cheese Stand has proved a hit in the neighbourhood. In fact, it's apparently doing so well that the fromage fiends behind this local favourite have been able to plot an expansion: opened near Yoyogi-Koen Station, & Cheese Stand is their second shop and offers more of the same – cheese in a variety of forms, that is – plus a little something extra.
4) Hitachino Brewing Lab Tokyo Station
As if an entire bar dedicated to one of Japan's very best lines of craft beers wasn't enough in itself, Ibaraki's Kiuchi Brewery, famed for its Hitachino Nest beers that have been instrumental in spreading the gospel of Japanese craft abroad, offers adventurous patrons an opportunity to study the art of homebrewing at their second 'brewing lab'. Located up on the pedestrian deck on the east (Yaesu) side of Tokyo Station, this newcomer features ten taps and an innovative food menu listing delicacies like the excellent Hitachi mackerel sandwich.
5) Lapoppo Farm
Definitely not your average sweets dealers, the folks behind Lapoppo Farm recently set up shop just outside the Seibu Shinjuku Station ticket gates. Focused on vegetable-based sweets, they serve up creations like Yaki-imo Custard Millefeuille, made from a combination of satsuma-imo custard and layers of roasted sweet potatoes; Yaki-imo Brule, a Kirishima beni-kagura sweet potato slathered in cream and caramelised; and Farm Cookies that come in six different flavours such as lotus root, pumpkin, burdock and carrot.
Catching up? Check out the hottest openings in November here