Tokyo is like my second home after Reims. It’s where I started my career in champagne in the early 1990s. Japan was a very small market for champagne then. Today it is by far our biggest market, and I feel very attached to Tokyo as a city. It is a fantastic, multi-layered place. You have to be patient and learn how to reveal each of the layers. If you are not open-minded, you probably won’t get there, but as soon as you understand, it’s completely endless. Life can go from ultimate refinement to crazy moments.
— My local friends tell me where to meet. Tokyo is very much about having a good Japanese friend to show you the unexpected places. I love eating a bowl of ramen noodles with them late at night, sometimes at just a hole in the wall. Ippudo Ginza, in the heart of the city, is open until 3am.
— In the Imperial Hotel, I love Kitcho (pictured above), which is a branch of the original Kitcho in Osaka. Very traditional but brilliant.