I'm a huge Japanophile: if there's one other place I'd like to live, it's Tokyo. I must have been there seven or eight times, most recently just after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Anyway, EN is a gem on Hudson Street, serving real Japanese cuisine. It turns out that EN is a chain in Japan; there are a lot of branches making lovely bosky food in cosy neighbourhood locations. But their New York incarnation is grand in scale and ambition, with solid, warm interiors (not unlike if the Whitney were a Japanese restaurant, oddly) - a remarkable hybrid of this city, and the other one that I'd love to live in.

Yossi Milo is, in my opinion, the most dynamic and eclectic of the photography galleries in NYC. From portaiture to architecture to experimental digital sculptural giant animals to street photography, they show an endlessly exciting range of work. Some of my favorite recent shows include Simen Johan's mythical beasts, Ezra Stoller's architectural photographs of the TWA terminal, and Sze Tsung Leong's huge cityscapes.

A street party/DJ sound system built out of a shipping container. A little slab of hungover berlin/pregaming Berlin in Brooklyn. Whomever the great DJs in town are you will find them playing a low-key set here for a crowd of less than 50 people. Sunset is magic as there's a straight shot through to Manhattan and the light is perfection.

Founded and designed by Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988), The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum preserves the working atmosphere of the artist's former studio in New York.

Little skips is my place when I need to refill my energy with some morning sunlight. The big windows facing the street let all the light in while you can drink some coffee. My favorite thing to eat is the grilled cheese sandwich with some avocado. Out of rush hours or weekend mornings, it's a pretty good space to take your laptop and get some work done.