Right on Sukiyabashi Crossing is the Sony building, which attracts gadget hounds in search of gizmos that have yet to be released. Although there's often a wait, kids love the free video and virtual reality games on the 6th floor. If nothing else, you can put your feet up and relax for a while in one of the building's two Hi-Vision theatres.

Peek inside the world of Studio Ghibli, with its hands-on exhibits, short screenings, gallery and healthy dose of whimsy. It's a showcase and playhouse for fans who fell in love with Miyazaki Hayao's Spirited Away or his other otherworldly anime gems. Even the museum's cartoony architecture almost makes the visitor feel like a character in some lovely animated world.

Visit the website for info on booking a ticket at least a month before your trip.

This is a magnificent, unmissable museum, and by far the best rainy-day option in the megalopolis. The Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, to give it its Sunday name, has recently been renovated and is an awe-inspiring collection of 89,000 examples of Japanese and Asian art as well as a number of fine sculptures, variously donated and plundered from across the region.

The area of Ueno was the Alamo of the last shogunate - the site of his futile last-ditch effort to prevent a takeover by the imperial army. The park is more than just the museums and temples with which it is well endowed; it's also famous as Tokyo's most popular site for hanami (blossom viewing).

Once a shōgunal palace extending into the area now occupied by the fish market, this garden is one of Tokyo's finest. It features a large duck pond with an island that's home to a charming tea pavilion, and wonderful manicured trees (black pine, Japanese apricot, hydrangeas, camellias etc), some of them hundreds of years old.

Besides visiting the park as a side trip from Ginza or Tsukiji, consider arriving by boat from Asakusa via the Sumida-gawa cruise aboard the Suijō Bus.

From the rustic, weathered exterior to the ceramic bowls along the counter inside, Robata's looks are well-matched to the Japanese country-style food served here. Though the chef doesn't speak English, requesting omakase (chef's suggestion) will put your course choices in his capable hands; less hearty appetites should opt for the point-and-eat method.

The long line snaking around the building should tell you something about this much-loved tempura place, even before you catch the unmistakable fragrance of it. Sneak off to the other branch around the corner if the line seems to put too much distance between you and your ebi tendon (shrimp tempura over rice). It has an English menu.

To enter this kushiage (fried meat, fish and vegetables) specialist is to enter a world of wood, bamboo and turn-of-the century aesthetics. Dishes come six or seven at a time, after which you can order another wave. Because of its cosy traditional interior, this spot has become a favourite among nostalgia-crazed expats, who often arrive with a gang.

Kabuki (traditional theatre) performances can be quite a marathon, lasting from four to five hours and going well into the night. Sounds too much? Earphone guides providing 'comments and explanations' in English are available, or you can get tickets for the 4th floor and watch only part of the show (ask for hitomakumi) - but then you'll be sans earphones.

An all-female revue with a bloodline running back to 1914, Takarazuka Gekijō is one of those things that exposes Tokyo's knack for complexity. Though the performances of these musicals are in Japanese, English synopses are available. These days, performances are taken in by a mostly female audience that swoons over actresses dressed in drag.

You may not be lodging at the Park Hyatt, but that doesn't mean you can't ascend to the 52nd floor to swoon over stunning views of Mt Fuji and the city below. This is a splendid, civilised cocktail bar up in the higher stratosphere, literally and socially, with magnificent live jazz playing every night and amazing bird's-eye views of Tokyo.