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Tokyo top 10

• Asakusa, Taito-ku
  The main focus of Asakusa is Senso-ji temple (see Top 10 shrines & temples), but there's plenty else to occupy a happy, half-day's wanderings. The streets around offer an absorbing mix of old and new, from discount stores, souvenir tat and fast-food joints to traditional crafts shops and restaurants.
  
  
• Sumo at Yasukuni-jinja, Chiyoda-ku
  As part of its spring festival (April 21-32), this shrine holds an open-air sumo tournament featuring some of the top names. It's now a hugely popular event, but in the early 1990s it was fairly easy to get in (places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis). We sat on stone terraces in the spring sunshine, surrounded by clouds of cherry blossom, while Konishiki, Akebono and the like battled it out in the ring below.
  
  
• Tokyo International Forum (TIF), Yuraku-cho, Chiyoda-ku
  Tokyo boasts some stunning modern architecture, but TIF (designed by Raphael Vinoly) is my personal favourite. The focus is a 60m-high glass atrium, where the rib-like steel superstructure contrasts with the warm expanse of a wood-panelled wall. It positively glows at night.
  
  
• Omotesando & Harajuku, Shibuya-ku
  To indulge my love of people-watching, I usually stroll down elegant Omotesando to teen-fashion alley, Takeshita-dori. Japan's indie designers are beginning to get noticed on the international circuits - you can catch them here first.
  
  
• Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku
  Shinjuku is a non-stop mini-city in its own right. Sleek tower blocks dominate west Shinjuku, while the east side is home to one of Tokyo's liveliest entertainment districts - Kabuki-cho. This is a great area to wander, especially the bar-filled grid of streets known as Golden Gai. It's nicely sleazy, but perfectly safe.
  
  
• Rikugi-en, Bunkyo-ku
  It's a difficult choice, but on balance, Rikugi-en is my favourite garden in Tokyo. This is partly because it's very classical in design, full of poetic allusions, and partly because it receives relatively few visitors. (See also Top 10 gardens)
  
  
• Yakitori stalls, Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku
  Follow your nose along the train tracks south from Yurakucho Station and you'll eventually find a clutch of yakitori stalls nestled in an underpass. These convivial places are patronised mostly by local office workers. In cold weather each stall becomes a steamy, inviting cocoon inside its plastic wrapping.
  
  
• Baseball batting cages
  Tokyo, like many Japanese cities, has a number of batting cages. These are a bit like golf-driving ranges, and can be spotted by the vault of protective netting. You pay your money, choose a bat and stand in front of machine that hurls balls at ridiculously fast speeds straight at you (it's wise to start with the slowest). An excellent way to work up a thirst.
  
  
• Shimo-Kitazawa, Setagaya-ku
  It's surprising to find that much of Tokyo consists of attractive, village-like neighbourhoods. One I particularly like is Shimo-Kitazawa, on the Inokashira line just west of Shibuya. It's full of small boutiques and somewhat studenty restaurants - a world away from the frenetic streets of central Tokyo.
  
  
• Ameyoko-cho, Ueno, Taito-ku
  South of Ueno Park lies another surprise - Ameyoko-cho street market. In the post-war period this was Tokyo's most famous black market, and there's still a hint of its shady past, though the yakuza are less obvious these days. It's fun to browse among the stalls selling a jumble of cheap clothes, tea, discount goods and fish.