Tokyo Japan Travel Guide

Top things to do in Tokyo

Start with the free icons. Senso-ji in Asakusa, Tokyo's oldest temple, costs nothing; arrive before 9 am for near-empty photos of the Kaminarimon gate, then snack your way down Nakamise shopping street. Meiji Shrine is a genuine forest in the middle of the city, two minutes from Harajuku station and free (the Inner Garden adds ¥500); on weekend mornings you can often catch a traditional wedding procession. Shibuya Crossing itself is free too, best watched over a few light cycles from a window seat above.

For paid views, choose your tower deliberately. Tokyo Skytree, at 634 meters the world's tallest tower, charges ¥2,100-3,400 (about $14-23) depending on deck and combo, with advance online tickets around ¥300 cheaper; on clear winter mornings you can spot Mt. Fuji. Shibuya Sky's open-air rooftop runs ¥2,200-2,700 and sells out, so book the sunset slot a week ahead. Retro-red Tokyo Tower is the value pick at ¥1,500 for the main deck or ¥3,300 for the top deck tour, and your photos from it include Skytree.

We budgeted $40-80 total for Tokyo sightseeing, which comfortably covered one or two paid decks plus every free classic. Round it out with teamLab's digital art museums if you book weeks ahead, the free Metropolitan Government Building observatory in Shinjuku as a zero-yen skyline backup, and an evening wander through Golden Gai's lantern-lit alleys, which costs only whatever you drink.

Food in Tokyo: what to eat and what it costs

Tokyo has more restaurants than any city on earth, and eating well is cheaper than its reputation suggests. A superb bowl of ramen runs ¥900-1,300, standing-room soba costs ¥400-600, and conveyor-belt sushi plates start around ¥120-300 each. Set-lunch teishoku menus are the great hack: restaurants that charge ¥4,000 at dinner often serve a full lunch set for ¥1,000-1,500. Konbini convenience stores are legitimately good for ¥500 breakfasts of onigiri and coffee.

Tsukiji Outer Market deserves a hungry morning. The inner wholesale market moved to Toyosu, but the outer lanes still have the tamagoyaki stands, tuna bowls, and knife shops; entry is free and ¥2,000-4,000 (about $13-27) lets you eat extremely well, ideally before 10 am. In the evenings, squeeze into an izakaya alley like Shinjuku's Omoide Yokocho, where yakitori skewers cost ¥150-300 each and a beer-and-skewers dinner lands around ¥2,500-3,500 per person.

Neighborhood deep-dive: Asakusa and the east side

Asakusa became our favorite base for its old-Tokyo texture. Beyond Senso-ji, the surrounding shitamachi blocks hide century-old craft shops, kimono rental studios at ¥3,000-5,000 per day, and Kappabashi Kitchen Town, where restaurant-supply stores sell beautiful knives and the plastic food models you see in every window. Walk the Sumida River terrace for a straight-shot view of Tokyo Skytree, fifteen minutes away across the water on foot.

The east side rewards a full day. Ride two stops to Ueno for its park, pandas, and the excellent Tokyo National Museum at ¥1,000, then browse Ameyoko market's cheap snacks and street stalls beneath the train tracks. Loop back through Yanaka, one of the few districts that survived the war, where old wooden houses, temple lanes, and the Yanaka Ginza shopping street feel like a small town hiding inside the megacity. The whole day cost us less than ¥2,000 beyond food.

Getting around Tokyo and where to stay

Trains are the city, so get a Suica or Pasmo card (physical or in your phone wallet) on day one; most rides cost ¥180-280 and the JR Yamanote loop line links nearly every district you will visit. From the airports, Haneda is closer, about 30 minutes and ¥500-700 by train to central Tokyo, while from Narita the Keisei Skyliner takes about 41 minutes at around ¥2,570 and cheaper Access Express or bus options run ¥1,300-1,500. Avoid rush hour trains from 7:30-9 am with luggage.

For a base, Shinjuku and Shibuya put nightlife and every train line at your door, Asakusa offers a traditional vibe at lower prices, and anywhere on the Yamanote loop works. Hostels and capsule hotels run ¥3,500-6,000 (about $23-40) per night, reliable business hotels like Dormy Inn or APA ¥10,000-18,000, and international five-stars from ¥60,000 up. Book six to eight weeks ahead for cherry blossom season, when the whole city sells out.

Best time to visit Tokyo and practical tips

Late March to early April brings the cherry blossoms and the biggest crowds; late October to November delivers crisp air, autumn color, and the clearest skyline views. Both are ideal. June is rainy season, July and August are hot and sticky at 33-35 Celsius, and winter is cold but dry with the best odds of seeing Mt. Fuji from the observation decks. We would pick November for value and visibility.

Practical notes from our trips: carry some cash, since smaller ramen shops and shrines remain cash-only, though cards and IC-card payments now work most places. Buy tickets for Shibuya Sky, teamLab, and the Ghibli Museum online well in advance; they do not sell out of politeness. Airport eSIMs with unlimited data cost about ¥1,000-1,500 per week. Trash cans are rare, so pocket your wrappers, and remember the last trains run around midnight, after which it is taxis at ¥500 flagfall plus distance.

How much does a Tokyo trip cost?

Tokyo can be done on far less than people fear. Budget travelers manage on $70-100 per day: a capsule or hostel bed at $25-40, konbini breakfasts, ¥1,000 ramen lunches, free shrines and crossings, and one paid deck spread across the trip. Mid-range travelers should plan $150-250 per day with a business hotel, restaurant meals, and paid attractions daily. Luxury starts around $400 per day and has no ceiling in this city.

Our five-day breakdown looked like this: about ¥6,000 per person on attractions (Shibuya Sky plus Tokyo Tower and a museum), ¥4,000-5,000 per day on genuinely great food, ¥800-1,000 per day on trains, and a mid-range hotel at ¥14,000 per night split two ways. That totaled roughly $130 per person per day. The best news is that Tokyo's most memorable moments, the dawn temple, the crossing, the market grazing, cost almost nothing.