Roppongi

This area of Tokyo is where the embassies are, and naturally it's least Japanese at all. There are more white people and Indians here than anywhere else in Japan, and everything is as English-friendly as possible: the menus, the ads, the staff. The cafes and shops are all western chains, and for the first time in Japan, there are enough places to sit! Yaay!

This area has two important parts: Roppongi Crossing and Roppongi Hills. The first is a nasty traffic-congested area with hotels, bars, clubs, and cheap restaurants - all sorts of jam-packed entertainment layered from 2 basements to 7th floor. At night it's full of black people (all from Ghana for some reason) agressively promoting strip clubs to the lonely businessmen and programmers who came here for work.


The Roppongi Hills area is something I couldn't really find at first, until I realized it is not a topological landmark with hills & meadows, but instead a name of a huge shopping complex. The complex is centered around a skyscraper with a great observation deck, and is surrounded by a convoluted web of annexes with escalators left and right.


There is a lot of (good) modern art around and ultra-expensive shops selling shiny things and clothes you'd only wear once. Good for all sorts of uppidy-yuppidies - really reminds me of Beverly Hills, except better architecture and better taste. It's a good place to wind down, find a bench and chill with some air conditioning & nice fountains.

Overall if you're in Tokyo for 2-3 days, i'd skip Roppongi altogether, and get a taste of real Japan instead. But now i'm tired of all the sightseeing and Japanese-ness, and find it a good place to spend my last few days.