Halp! Restaurant in Tokyo

$100 for 2 isn't much in tokyo. It's comparable to a $50 US dinner. you sure you don't want to go nicer?

How about spend a little more (like 20,000-30,000YEN TOTAL including wine) at some place like Il Molino?

It is an American style Italian place in the Roppongi Hills complex. The food is OK and the ambience (candle lit dinner type place) would be better in comparison to most other restaurants. The service is excellent.

You can't go wrong with L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon at the ground floor of Mori Tower. Not exactly an original idea, but the food, service, and atmosphere are superb and the cheap course is only JPY6300, which x2 at recent FX rates should be around USD100. I would personally recommend a mid-range champagne and the creme brulee as well.

http://www.robuchon.jp/roppongi/lateier.html
http://www.robuchon.com/concept/menu/menu.html

If you by some chance need something fancier and much more expensive...

http://www.robuchon.jp/ebisu/robuchon.html

Just a second opinion, I think Mori Tower is a little too 'commerical' for a proposal. Even a "traditional" locale like inside Tokyo Tower is a little more romantic IMO. Something fun and personal might be at the peak of the Odaiba ferris wheel, very Japanese cliche I know, but the tension builds up very nicely. Either way if there's a nice rock involved, I doubt she'll care.

Good luck!

Or you can go all out and go to the New York Grill on top of the Park Hyatt in Shinjuku!




Jon.

You can get a whole cooked Peking duck, soup, stir fry, and all the usual accouterments for four for under $25 right across the street from Roppongi Hills 24 hours a day at Chinese Cafe Eight. And there is a fantastic Doner Kebab place just one block up the street from Almond in a little red train car looking thing built into the sidewalk. Best Kebab I've ever had, also moderately pricey at around $6 I know its pretty much the opposite of what you asked for, but hey, I generally eat on the cheap in TKO unless someone else is paying for it. If you really want to spend $100 you can always order four ducks or 17 Kebabs, or you know, try them some other night.

Ratboycom, I second the Robuchon suggestion - the food was very good. However, the time that I was there, you couldn't make a booking - you just had to turn up and wait for a table. Admittedly, this was shortly after the place opened, but the line was virtually around the block. I'd certainly be checking to see if they take reservations now (and perhaps it was also as I was there for lunch, rather than dinner), as I don't think that it would be so romantic to end up wandering the streets of Roppongi looking for a place to eat. Mori Tower is a nice location, although perhaps a bit cliched. The Ferris wheel at Odaiba is a fantastic location, albeit also cliched. However, a big advantage of the ferris wheel is that it's private - you have the car to yourself - so you needn't be wary of others listening in when you pop the question. However, it's up to you whether you think it's worthwhile moving from a dinner location to a proposal location. Another way of proposing might be to take an entirely different approach and see if you can head away somewhere for a weekend - go and stay in a ryokan, visit Kamakura, Nikko, Hakone or another popular spot. Particularly if you head out to near Hakone, you could find a lovely ryokan with an onsen attached to it and pop the question in lovely surroundings. Whichever way you choose, best of luck! Cheers, JH

I don't know if I'm typical, but I asked my wife to marry me first, and then asked her father for permission when I later visited them in Tokyo. I had cooked dinner for the entire family that evening. Everyone clearly knew that something was in the air, as the rest of the family cleared out of the dining room. I was standing in the kitchen with my heart racing at about 180 beats a minute whilst my (now-)wife pushed my back and whispered, "Gambare!" in my ear. I walked into the dining room with great trepidation, asked in as polite Japanese as I could sum up in my extremely nervous state, and my (now-)father-in-law responded with a big smile and a hearty, "Dozo, dozo!".

I didn't do anything fancy when I proposed to my wife. We were in a long-distance relationship at the time and she was visiting me in a brief break from her work in Japan. I had cooked a nice dinner and we were sitting out on the balcony enjoying a glass of wine when I simply told her that I loved her, that I would like to spend the rest of my life with her, and that I would be very happy if she would do me the honour of marrying me. She wasn't surprised at all, as she'd been hinting to me that I should think about going shopping for a ring for a few months before her visit to Australia!

My wife's family is quite conservative - a family of lawyers and civil servants who have lived in Tokyo for about ten generations. I was actually a bit worried about whether they would accept me, but I think that the fact that I spoke Japanese, and am both a lawyer and a civil servant, helped them to accept me (that and the fact that their daughter loved me, of course).

Whichever way you choose, I hope that it works out well for you.

Cheers,
JH

I agree with Journeyman. Ask your girlfriend first, then she can give you advice on how to approach the parents. In my case I had already lived with my girlfriend for a few years (in Canada and Japan) including some time living together with her parents, so it was no surprise when we got engaged. I proposed to my wife while on holiday with her in Canada and I don't remember ever asking her father very formally. I think I got a similar "dozo, dozo" as Journeyman. Ratboycom, very serious best wishes to you, Man. Whatever you decide, I hope you have a very special day. I like the onsen idea best though. Great location to celebrate your engagement

I'm at Roppongi Hills a lot and have been to the observation deck of Mori Tower numerous times (and will be going there with my gf on Sunday). I agree with the others that it's a bit commercial with all the museum merchandise and the Roppongi Hills mascot stuffed animals for sale in the shops.

There are a lot of good restaurants, but you're not going to get anything with a stunning night view, which would probably be optimum.

You can eat very reasonably in Tokyo.

Here's a good guide to Roppongi Hills:

http://www.roppongihills.com/en/

My personal favorite restaurant is Half Moon across the highway from Roppongi Hills tucked away in a back street. It's small, but intimate and warm, with lots of natural wood. The cuisine is top notch and the service is discreet. It's staffed by only the maitre d'/sommelier and chef and is a strictly Japanese language environment. Not sure it would be perfect for the occasion, but definitely worth keeping in mind for another time.

http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g858100/

The New York Grill suggestion is also very good. I would really want a night view restaurant for the occasion rather than having them separately.

I'd also highly recommend A Bientot in Shibuya. This is very good French with an excellent 25th floor view of Shibuya/Shinjuku on one side and a rather quieter view toward Yokohama on the other side. It's quite reasonable for the quality and the view.

http://www.shibuya-e.tokyuhotels.co...._01/index.html

That's my two cents. Good luck, not that you'll need it.

Ask her to marry first, then go and meet the parents.

A friend just put this place on my radar.

http://www.tyharborbrewing.co.jp/restaurants/wl_e.html