Lost and found in Tokyo

The face of a small girl looks out at me from a slightly worn wooden photo frame.

She is barefoot, wearing a kimono, and has a large fringe framing her tiny face.

It’s hard to tell from her expression if she is happy, sad, lost, or confused.

Placing the framed Takaki Sugawara illustration on the wall, I burst into tears.

I’ve spent five days exploring Osaka and Tokyo at a frantic pace with my son and daughter. Now they are on the plane back to Perth, and I need to figure out how to catch a train by myself.

LOOKING BACK ON THE DAYS TOGETHER...

We have been staying at the Mimaru Suites Tokyo Nihonbashi. Each Mimaru apartment hotel has a distinguishing feature or theme. This one has a selection of art and pottery pieces to help guests feel more at home.

In addition to the small girl in the kimono, I have picked out a boy with an owl on his head, and a girl wrapped in a rug. I also borrow some gold and silver plates to “elevate” my cakes and snacks.

Before this trip, I joined a few “Japlanning” pages where travellers post questions and share answers and itineraries. A common frustration faced by families is that many Tokyo hotel rooms are too small to comfortably fit two adults and two children, and the bedding configuration is often confusing.

Mimaru apartment hotels are found in 27 locations across Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. They’re always close to a train station and convenience stores, and rooms vary in size from 40sqm to 100sqm. Many standard hotel rooms are just 15sqm.

Our two-bedroom apartment sleeps six and has a spacious kitchen and dining area with a full-sized fridge, electric hotplate, flat-screen TV, and plenty of room to eat or relax. There’s also a washer-dryer that gets a solid workout each night.

I have a double bedroom with two adjacent slightly bigger-than-single beds with ensuite bathroom and shower, as well as a TV.

My kids occupy the second bedroom with two single beds below, and a double bunk above. There’s even a sticker in English noting the correct use, weight and suggested age limits for the upper bunks.

The main bathroom has a deep freestanding bath with shower over it, with a separate vanity and toilet.

Neither TV has any English channels, so we have random game shows on in the background. There is an abundance of USB and power points in convenient spots, including the bedheads.

While the apartment and bathrooms are pristine, one thing lacking is storage space. There are hangers galore, but not a single drawer for clothing.

I’m later told by Mimaru’s public relations representative cleaning standards are so high, Japanese guests would just put clothes on the floor.

This Mimaru has a cafe called Passage, operated by 2014 World AeroPress champion Shuichi Sasaki. His motto is “specialty coffee for the everyday, not just special occasions”. It’s a good place to start the morning.

The lobby also has an activity corner where guests can paint masks, fold origami, or create charms and wind chimes.

IMMERSED IN THE MOMENT...

With my son and daughter on the plane back to Perth, I head out for my first solo lunch.

The convenient close station has a direct train line to the Tsukiji Outer Market, where I wander back and forth Googling where to find the best sashimi.

I buy some candies and ask the vendor where he’d suggest. He promptly leaves his stand to escort me down an alley to the place he recommends. It’s these little acts of kindness that can make your day when you’re on your own in a big city.

This restaurant has apparently been on a TV show. My lunch set is $35 for 10 pieces. I have no idea what the restaurant is named in English.

Even using Google Maps, I manage to get lost between platforms and gates on the way back to the hotel. An attendant gives me a card to show at the gate, and I manage to make it back to the right station and exit.

That night, I successfully catch the Yurikamome line, an elevated driverless train that runs from Shimbashi to Tosoyu with dazzling views of skyscrapers and Tokyo Bay. When I arrive back at the hotel, a free sake tasting is under way.

This part of Nihonbashi is a quiet mix of residential, business, cafes, fabric shops, even a five-storey building stacked with restaurants such as the curiously named Meat Bank. Nihonbashi was part of the original downtown centre of Edo-Tokyo and is named after a bridge dating back to the 1600s.

Koami Shrine is a short walk. Here, residents have been seeking financial blessings and protection against misfortune since 1466. It is smaller than I imagined, and there are no English signs. Remembering what I had seen at other shrines and following the lead of other visitors, I wash some money and buy some amulets for luck and good health.

Having snacked on multiple onigiri from Lawson and Family Mart stores, stumbling on Taro Tokyo Onigiri is my first chance to eat them freshly prepared. Soy sauce doesn’t usually come with takeaway in Japan, so I choose a flavour-packed cod and miso.

On the way back, the queue has subsided at popular cafe Unison Tailor Coffee and Beer, so I settle inside for coffee and a half-serve of French toast.

I’m only a few stops from Ginza, so on my final morning at this Mimaru, I venture in to pick up stationery and socks from the flagship Muji store. It also has a bakery and a restaurant, and is topped by the Muji Hotel.

A LITTLE LOST, A LITTLE MORE FOUND

Checking out of Mimaru, it’s time to return my crockery and art.

But the little girl in the kimono isn’t going back on display. Sensing my attachment to the piece (we investigated ways to buy one online and ship it to Australia or the hotel to no avail), staff have bubble-wrapped it for me as a gift.

She’s watching over me at home, a reminder of Tokyo, where every day I got a little lost, but also a little more found.

+ Sue Yeap was a guest of Mimaru Suites Tokyo Nihonbashi. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication.

fact file

Rates at Mimaru start from $500 depending on which property, room size and season. mimaruhotels.com

gotokyo.org