Tokyo is enormous, overwhelming at first glance, and completely addictive once you settle in. It’s one of those cities where you could stay for two weeks and still feel like you’ve barely scratched the surface.
Here’s where to start.
Get Your Bearings in Shinjuku
Shinjuku is the beating heart of modern Tokyo: skyscrapers, department stores, neon signs, and one of the busiest train stations in the world. It can feel like sensory overload for the first hour, but give it a day and it starts to make sense.
Head to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for free panoramic views from the observation deck. On a clear day, you can see Mount Fuji from here, and you can’t beat the price.
Spend a Morning at Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa
Senso-ji is Tokyo’s oldest and most visited temple, and it earns every visitor it gets. The Nakamise shopping street leading up to the main gate is lined with stalls selling souvenirs and traditional snacks, and the temple grounds themselves are genuinely impressive even when busy.
Go early. By mid-morning the crowds build quickly, and the atmosphere is far better with fewer people around.
Explore Harajuku and Takeshita Street
Harajuku is where Tokyo’s most expressive fashion culture lives. Takeshita Street is the main drag: narrow, colourful, and packed with boutiques selling styles you won’t find anywhere else.
Right next to Harajuku is Yoyogi Park, one of the best places in the city to see cherry blossoms in spring or just take a quiet walk on any other day of the year.
Shibuya Crossing Is Worth Seeing in Person
You’ve seen Shibuya Crossing in a hundred films and travel photos. Seeing it in real life, with hundreds of people crossing from every direction simultaneously, is still somehow surprising.
Stand above it at the Starbucks or the Mag’s Park viewing point if you want the overhead shot everyone takes. Or just walk through it a few times and feel what it’s like to be part of it.
Visit Akihabara for Electronics and Anime Culture
Akihabara is Tokyo’s electronics and anime district, and it’s an experience whether you’re into either of those things or not. Multi-story stores selling everything from retro game cartridges to the latest gadgets, maid cafes on every floor, and a general atmosphere of enthusiastic nerdiness that’s completely its own thing.
You don’t have to buy anything. Just wandering through the district is entertainment enough.
Try Everything at Tsukiji Outer Market
The main wholesale market moved to Toyosu, but Tsukiji’s outer market is still very much open and absolutely worth visiting for breakfast or brunch. Fresh sushi, grilled scallops, tamagoyaki (Japanese egg rolls), matcha soft serve.
Go hungry. There’s no other way to do it properly.
Day Trip to Nikko or Kamakura
Tokyo is an excellent base for day trips. Nikko, about two hours north by train, has one of Japan’s most elaborate shrine complexes surrounded by cedar forest. Kamakura, about an hour south, has the famous Great Buddha and a string of temples you can walk between in a day.
Both are very manageable as day trips from central Tokyo, and both give you a sense of Japan beyond the megacity.
Things to Know Before You Go
Get a Suica or Pasmo IC card at any major station. It works on trains, buses, and even in most convenience stores. Hunting for exact change or buying individual tickets is the hard way to do it.
Japan is still more cash-friendly than you might expect, especially outside central Tokyo. Carry some yen for smaller restaurants, vending machines, and rural areas.
The subway map looks intimidating. It isn’t that bad once you’ve used it a few times. Google Maps handles Tokyo transit extremely well, so trust the directions and don’t stress it.
Tokyo rewards the curious. The more you’re willing to wander down a side street or try something unfamiliar, the better the city gets. Go in with an open schedule and let the city do its thing.