Tokyo is quite simply an astonishing city. Easily the greatest assault on the senses I’ve experienced in twenty years of global adventures. People keep asking me what I liked best about the Japanese capital. It’s a tough question to answer, as every one of my thirteen days here was packed with highlight after highlight. A dizzying experience of colourful, bucket-list-ticking mania.

Tokyo’s seemingly endless array of themed cafes, bars and restaurants plays a huge part in its unique appeal. Dream up a crazy theme and chances are someone here has already thought of it. From retro video games and battling dinosaurs to rare owls, dancing monsters and pizza-serving vampires. Moreover, throw in some snakes, robots, penguins, ninjas and French maids. If only I’d had time to see it all.

Nevertheless, I managed to experience a very decent chunk of what was on offer. So why not dive into my location reports from:

8bit Café

Akiba Base Shooting Café & Bar

Akiba Fukurou Owl Café

Gundam Café

Harry Zoo Café Harajuku

Kawaii Monster Café

Maidreamin Maid Café Akihabara

Polka Dots Bob Dylan Café Bar

The Ninja Restaurant

The Robot Restaurant

The Vampire Café

Check out the Leighton Travels interview on Ericotrips.