Where we'd eat, sleep, and walk if we landed at Haneda tomorrow (always land at Haneda - where possible). Map at the bottom.

Forget whatever TikTok told you about Tokyo. Shibuya crossing, a photo of a vending machine, a bowl of ramen from a chain with a queue around the block. That isn't Tokyo. That's a scavenger hunt.

Tokyo is a city of counters. The best meals in the world are eaten at ten or twelve seats in front of a chef who does one thing better than anyone else. The best bars hold six people. The best coffee comes from one person and a single pour-over. The job here isn't to see Tokyo. It's to sit down in it.

Here's how we'd actually spend five days.

Things to do

Walk the neighborhoods back to back. Start a morning at an old-school coffee house like Cafe de l'ambre in Ginza, where the same roaster has been working the same beans for decades. Finish the night at a tiny Nakameguro bar with a turntable, four seats, and a whisky list that rewards patience.

Pick one thing and do it properly. Toyosu if fish is the point. Yanaka if you want the Tokyo that survived. The Meguro River and the backstreets of Daikanyama if you want to understand why locals actually live where they live.

And go to a counter. Not a rooftop, not an observation deck. A counter. That's the city.

Where to stay

Park Hyatt Tokyo is still the reference point. The New York Bar, the pool on the 47th floor, and right in the heart of Shinjuku. Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo is the newer arrival that finally got Tokyo luxury right, with a bar and a spa worth the room rate on their own. JANU if you want the best hotel gym.

Where to eat

Sushi. Too many good ones to list, so start with ours - while most are invite only Mr Katz can help. Namba in Ginza, Sushi Take, Sushi Yukinari, Sushi Yoshikawa, Sushi Shinsuke - just to name a few.

Ramen and noodles. Ramen Hayashida is the current one to beat. Ginza Kagari for chicken-paitan, Kameya Shinjuku for soba done right, Nara Seimen for somen, and Onigiri Bongo in Otsuka for the other Japanese carb everyone forgets about.

Grills and everything else. Jambo Hanare and Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara for wagyu the way it should be. Yakitori Eiki for a smoke-filled counter night. Nodaiwa Azabu Iikura Honten for unagi, Tempura Fukamachi for tempura, Torikatsu Shibuya for the best fried chicken in the city. Narukiyo for the classic Shibuya izakaya. PST higashiazabu for some of the best Pizza for the rare night when you don't want Japanese food. Locale in Meguro when you want wine and a plate.

Coffee and bars. Fuglen, Glitch Ginza, Single O Hamacho, Woodberry Shibuya, Switch Meguro, and February Coffee for the mornings. Bar TRACK and Sakebaro Nakameguro for the nights that go late.

Need to know

Reserve the counters two to three months out. The best ones don't take walk-ins, and some don't have websites.

Be respectiful - learn the culture and etiquitte- this will go a long way to making your expereince authetic. Remember you know as much Japanese as the person you are interacting with knows English.

Tokyo is a train city. Get your Suica card on Apple Wallet and stop looking at taxis.

And don't try to cover it all. One neighborhood a day, two meals at counters, one long walk.

The Mr Katz Shortlist