Tokyo layers a two-century-old shogunate capital under skyscrapers and elevated train lines, with some of the world's best food available at every price point. It rewards wandering between wildly different neighborhoods — Asakusa's temples one morning, Shibuya's chaos and Shinjuku's bars the same evening.
Good to know
- Get a Suica or Pasmo IC card on arrival — it works on nearly every train, bus and convenience store.
- Carry cash; many small restaurants and shrines still don't take cards.
- Trains are silent by custom — calls are for platforms, not carriages.
Eat this
Places the planner can use
Mark places as a must or something to skip. The itinerary is built only from this list; ★ marks the destination’s highlights.
Forest shrine to Emperor Meiji reached through a towering torii gate, a quiet contrast to Harajuku's crowds next door.
Crepe stands and pastel fashion boutiques packed into one pedestrian lane — the loudest 300 metres in Tokyo.
Tokyo's oldest temple, its thunder gate hung with a giant red lantern, fronted by a market lane of senbei and souvenirs.
The world's busiest pedestrian crossing — watch from the Starbucks above or join the flow, then browse Shibuya 109.
Barefoot, immersive digital-art museum where you wade through mirrored water rooms — book a timed slot weeks ahead.
Narrow lanes of knife shops, tamagoyaki stalls and sushi counters around the old fish market — go hungry, go early.
Tallest structure in Japan with two observation decks over the Sumida River and, on clear days, Mount Fuji.
Two hundred tiny bars stacked into alleyways barely wide enough to pass — pick one with an open stool and a menu you recognize.
Multi-storey arcades, anime shops and maid cafés — the capital of otaku culture.
Cherry-blossom park anchoring Japan's largest collection of samurai armor, scrolls and ceramics.
Grill your own monjayaki — Tokyo's gooier cousin of okonomiyaki — at a hole-in-the-wall on this dedicated street.
Two hours north to the gilded Tosho-gu shrine in cedar forest and the waterfalls of Kegon — a full day away from the city.