Things to Do in Tokyo

Things to do · By Frank Adam Burns · Updated 5 September 2026

Tokyo is the largest city on earth and the easiest to enjoy, because it is a ring of cities joined by a railway and each stop is a district with its own reason. This page is the city district by district, then the day trips, then the practical layer.

Tokyo is the largest city on earth and the easiest to enjoy, and the reason is that it is not one city but a ring of them joined by a railway. Each stop on the Yamanote loop is a district with its own centre, its own crowd and its own reason: Shinjuku for the towers and the bar alleys, Shibuya for the crossing and the youth, Harajuku for the fashion and the shrine forest, Asakusa for the temple and the old town, Ginza for the department stores and the sushi counters, Ueno for the museums and the park. First-timers give it two nights and regret it; four is the minimum and a week is not too many. This page is the city district by district, then the day trips, then by interest, then the practical layer of getting around, sleeping and what a Tokyo day should look like.

Tokyo at a glance: the districts

Shinjuku

The busiest station on earth and the district most first-timers should sleep in. West of the tracks are the skyscrapers, with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building’s free observation decks at 202 metres and Fuji on a clear winter morning; south is Shinjuku Gyoen, the finest garden in the city, with its 65 cherry varieties and its English, French and Japanese sections, AUD 5 and no alcohol; east is Kabukicho’s neon, the Golden Gai warren of two hundred six-seat bars, and Omoide Yokocho (“Memory Lane”), the alley of yakitori stalls under the tracks that has been smoking since 1945. Isetan’s depachika is the best food hall in the city; the Robot Restaurant is closed and its imitators are not worth it. Shinjuku is where the trains go everywhere and where the evening begins.

Shibuya, Harajuku and Omotesando

Shibuya’s scramble crossing sends three thousand people across at once and is best watched from the Starbucks window above it and then walked; Shibuya Sky is the 229-metre open deck for sunset, booked ahead; Center Gai is the youth-fashion strip; Nonbei Yokocho is the two-alley izakaya warren by the tracks; and the Hachiko statue is the meeting point. A fifteen-minute walk north, Harajuku is two things: the forest of Meiji Shrine, 100,000 trees planted by hand in 1920 around the shrine to the emperor who opened Japan, silent at nine on a weekday; and Takeshita Street, the teenage fashion crush of crepe stands and pastel. Omotesando is the tree-lined avenue of flagship architecture and the Nezu Museum’s garden at the far end; Cat Street is the lane between them with the cafes. A morning at the shrine, lunch on Cat Street, the afternoon in Shibuya, the crossing at dusk.

Asakusa, the Skytree and the river

Senso-ji is Tokyo’s oldest temple and its most-visited, with the great lantern at the Kaminarimon gate, the Nakamise arcade of snack stalls, the incense cauldron and the five-storey pagoda; at eight it is a temple, at eleven a market. Around it the old Edo town survives in Asakusa’s backstreets, the rickshaw runners, the Hoppy Street izakaya and Kappabashi, the kitchen-supply street of knives and plastic food. Across the river the Skytree’s 350- and 450-metre decks show Fuji on a clear morning and the whole city on any; below it the Sumida is the water bus to Hamarikyu Gardens and the Odaiba waterfront, which is the pleasant way south. A morning at the temple, the tower before lunch, the river in the afternoon.

Ueno, Yanaka and the museums

Ueno Park holds the Tokyo National Museum (the finest collection of Japanese art in the world, a morning at least), the National Museum of Western Art in a Le Corbusier building, the science museum, the zoo with its pandas, the Shinobazu pond and the great hanami party under the cherries in April; Ameyoko, the market street under the tracks, is the lunch. Yanaka, ten minutes north, is the Tokyo that the earthquake and the war left: temples and their cats, a cemetery of cherry trees, bathhouses, and Yanaka Ginza, a shopping street that has sold one thing per shop for a century. An afternoon of the old city after a morning of its art.

Ginza, Marunouchi and the palace

Ginza is the department stores — Mitsukoshi, Matsuya, Ginza Six — and their depachika basements, which at seven in the evening mark down the sushi and the strawberries; the sushi counters of the back streets, where a lunch omakase is half the dinner price; the Kabuki-za theatre, with single-act tickets for an hour of kabuki without the day; and the Sunday pedestrian closure of Chuo-dori. Marunouchi is the business district between Tokyo Station’s restored red-brick front and the Imperial Palace, whose East Garden is open and free and whose moat at Chidorigafuchi is the city’s blossom rowboat. An afternoon of shopping, an evening of sushi, and the station’s Ramen Street underneath for the alternative.

Tsukiji, Toyosu and the fish

The wholesale fish market moved from Tsukiji to Toyosu in 2018 and took the tuna auction with it — viewing from 5.30 am by ballot, the sushi counters on the fourth floor open from five — but the outer market at Tsukiji stayed: the stalls of tamagoyaki, tuna skewers, sea urchin and knives, the breakfast crowds, and the shops that supplied the market for eighty years. A dawn at Toyosu for the committed, a breakfast at Tsukiji for everyone, and Hamarikyu Gardens next door for the tea house on the pond and the river bus north to Asakusa.

Roppongi, teamLab and the art

Roppongi Hills’ Mori Art Museum and its Tokyo City View on the 52nd floor, the National Art Center’s glass wave, the Suntory Museum, and the 21_21 Design Sight are the art triangle; teamLab Borderless reopened at Azabudai Hills in 2024 and teamLab Planets in Toyosu is the wading version, and both are booked weeks ahead and are the hour that children and grandparents refuse to leave. Roppongi at night is the international bar district, and Akasaka next door is the quieter dinner.

The neighbourhoods

Akihabara for the electronics, the anime and the maid cafes, and the retro game floors; Kagurazaka for a former geisha district of stone lanes that became the French quarter, with the best dinner street in the city; Shimokitazawa for the vintage shops, the record stores and the small theatres; Kichijoji for Inokashira Park, the Harmonica Yokocho alleys and the Ghibli Museum (tickets on the 10th of the month before, sold out in hours); Daikanyama and Nakameguro for the boutiques, the Tsutaya bookshop and the Meguro River’s blossom; Koenji for the punk and the secondhand; Ryogoku for the sumo stadium and the Edo-Tokyo Museum. Each is half a day and the half-days are the Tokyo people come back for.

Day trips

Nikko, two hours north by the Tobu express: the shogun’s gilded mausoleum at Toshogu under 400-year-old cedars, the sleeping cat and the three monkeys, Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls up the hairpin road; early November for the colour. Kamakura, an hour south: the Great Buddha, Hase-dera’s hydrangeas, the Zen temples of the northern hills, the beach at Yuigahama, and Enoshima island at the end of the tram line. Hakone, 85 minutes by the Romancecar: the mountain loop and Fuji over the lake, best as an overnight in a ryokan. Kawaguchiko, two hours: the Fuji Five Lakes and the Chureito Pagoda. Yokohama, thirty minutes: the harbour, Chinatown and the Cup Noodle museum. Mount Takao, an hour: the mountain temple and the beer garden. The things to do in Japan page has the country beyond.

By interest

Food

The greatest food city on earth, at every price: a Tsukiji breakfast, Tokyo Ramen Street, yakitori under the Yurakucho arches, tempura at a Ginza counter, tonkatsu at Maisen, monjayaki in Tsukishima, unagi in Asakusa, soba in Kanda, a Ginza omakase at lunch, the Isetan depachika for a picnic in the Gyoen, and more Michelin stars than Paris. The Japan food guide has the Tokyo section in full.

Families

Disneyland and DisneySea (a weekday, an express pass, a full day each), teamLab Planets, the Ghibli Museum if the tickets land, the Pokemon Center in Ikebukuro, Ueno Zoo and the science museum, the Skytree, the river bus, a Kidzania morning, the Shibuya crossing, and the trains themselves, which are the attraction for most children. Apartment hotels for the room problem; under-sixes ride free.

Culture and the arts

The Tokyo National Museum, the Nezu, the Mori, the National Art Center, the Edo-Tokyo Museum; the Kabuki-za’s single-act tickets; the sumo tournaments in January, May and September at Ryogoku (fifteen days each, tickets on release) and the morning practice at a stable by arrangement; a tea ceremony; a sake tasting; the Yanaka temples; Meiji Shrine on a weekend morning for a wedding procession.

Nightlife

Golden Gai’s six-seat bars, Omoide Yokocho’s yakitori, Nonbei Yokocho, Ebisu’s izakaya, Kagurazaka’s lanes, Roppongi’s bars, Shimokitazawa’s live houses, the Ginza cocktail bars, a rooftop in Shibuya, and the Yurakucho arches; the last trains leave around midnight and the taxis are honest after.

The seasons

Blossom in the last days of March and the first of April (the Gyoen, Chidorigafuchi, the Meguro River at night, Ueno); colour in mid-to-late November (Rikugien lit, the Icho Namiki ginkgo avenue); the clear blue winter with Fuji from the towers; the summer festivals and fireworks (Sumida River, last Saturday of July). The month-by-month guide has the calendar.

Markets and shopping

Tsukiji outer market at dawn; Ameyoko under the Ueno tracks for the bargains and the lunch; Nakamise at Senso-ji for the snacks and the souvenirs; Kappabashi for the knives and the plastic food; Akihabara for the electronics and the tax-free floors; Ginza for the department stores; Omotesando for the flagships; Harajuku for the fashion; Shimokitazawa and Koenji for the vintage; Daikanyama for the boutiques; the Oedo antique market at the Tokyo International Forum on the first and third Sundays; and the depachika of Isetan, Mitsukoshi and Takashimaya for the food to take home. Tax-free shopping is ten per cent off purchases over ¥5,000 with a passport at the till, moving to a refund-at-departure model in November 2026; the tax-free floors at Bic Camera, Yodobashi and Don Quijote are where Australians buy the cameras, the skincare and the things they did not know they needed.

Tokyo for older travellers

The easiest megacity on earth to travel slowly in: lifts at every Yamanote and subway station, seats reserved for the elderly that younger passengers leave empty, taxis whose doors open themselves, and a culture of attention toward older guests. The adjustments are the ones on our unhurried Japan route: a hotel with a lift from the platform, one district a morning and the afternoon free, a private car for Nikko or Hakone, the Skytree and the government building by lift rather than the Fuji viewpoints by foot, and a guide for the first morning who chooses the gate with the shortest path. Tokyo has been seen properly by people who did two districts a day and enjoyed it more than those who did five.

Manners that matter in Tokyo

Quiet on the trains — no calls, low voices, no eating on the local lines; queue on the marked lines and let passengers off first; stand left on escalators (Osaka stands right); no eating while walking, and no rubbish bins, so the wrapper goes home; cash on the tray at the register; shoes off where there is a step up; no tipping anywhere. Photograph the crossing, not the people crossing. Tattoos are a non-issue in the city and an issue at some bathhouses. Sumimasen and arigatou gozaimasu cover almost everything, and a bow of the head covers the rest.

Costs and timings

Most sights are cheap or free: the government-building view, Meiji Shrine, Senso-ji and the Imperial Palace garden are free; the Gyoen is AUD 5; the national museums AUD 8–20; the Skytree AUD 22–35; teamLab AUD 40–50; a sumo seat AUD 40–150; Disney AUD 85–110; the Ghibli Museum AUD 10. A convenience-store breakfast is AUD 5, ramen AUD 12, an izakaya dinner AUD 45, a Ginza omakase lunch AUD 80–150, and a Tokyo day costs AUD 70–100 on the ground for a mid-range traveller before the hotel. Temples open at six or seven, museums at nine or ten, department stores at ten, the depachika markdowns at seven, the yokocho from five, the last trains at midnight. The Japan costs guide has the full budget.

Tokyo in the rain, the heat and the cold

A wet day in Tokyo is a museum day — the National Museum, the Mori, the Nezu — or a depachika day, or a Kabuki-za matinee, or an Akihabara afternoon, and the underground passages at Tokyo Station and Shinjuku cross the districts dry. July and August are 30°C and humid and the day is early temples, a midday museum and the yokocho after six, with the Sumida fireworks and the Bon Odori dances as the reward. December to February are the sunniest months of the year, cold and dry, with Fuji visible from the towers most mornings, the winter illuminations at Marunouchi and Roppongi, and the New Year crowds at Meiji Shrine in the first three days of January. The city works in every month and the sights change shape.

Getting around

The Yamanote loop line reaches almost everywhere a visitor goes and the Tokyo Metro and Toei subways fill the middle; a Suica card in the phone wallet covers all of them at AUD 2–5 a ride and works at every convenience store; Google Maps is accurate to the platform and the exit number. Trains run from five to midnight and the rush hour, 7.30–9, is worth avoiding with luggage. Taxis are clean, honest and AUD 25–40 across town; four people sharing a short hop can beat the train. Haneda is 30 minutes by monorail or Keikyu; Narita is an hour by the N’EX or the Skyliner. Luggage forwarding to the next city is the norm.

Where to stay

Shinjuku for the trains and the evenings (the Keio Plaza, Hotel Gracery, the Park Hyatt for the view); Tokyo Station and Marunouchi for the Shinkansen and the Hokuriku line (the Marunouchi Hotel, the Tokyo Station Hotel); Shibuya and Ebisu for the food and the younger city; Asakusa for the atmosphere and the value; Ginza for the counters; Shinagawa for the airport and the Shinkansen both. Business hotels are the value; apartment hotels (Mimaru) solve the family room; the rooms are 14–18 square metres and the larger types are requested. The where to stay in Asia page has the tiers.

What a Tokyo day looks like

One district in the morning, at opening, before the crowd; lunch at the place with the queue of office workers; a second district in the early afternoon; a pause — a kissaten, a depachika, an hour in the hotel; and the evening from five, which is when Tokyo is at its best, in the yokocho alleys of whichever district the day ended in. Two districts a day, one day trip in four, and one loose afternoon in three. Four nights is the minimum; a week is the number people wish they had. The Classic Japan itinerary gives it four and the first-time guide gives it a day by day.

Tokyo in four days, day by day

Day one: arrive, Shinjuku Gyoen, the government-building view, Omoide Yokocho for dinner. Day two: Senso-ji at eight, the Skytree, Ueno’s museum and market, the river bus to Hamarikyu, the Ginza depachika at seven. Day three: Meiji Shrine at nine, Harajuku and Omotesando, lunch on Cat Street, Shibuya from three, the crossing at dusk, teamLab at seven. Day four: Nikko or Kamakura, or a Tsukiji breakfast and a Ginza sushi lunch, Yanaka in the afternoon, Golden Gai at night. With more: Kichijoji and the Ghibli, Kagurazaka, a sumo morning, Roppongi’s art, Akihabara, Shimokitazawa, and a Hakone ryokan night to finish.

The second visit

The neighbourhoods are the second trip: Kagurazaka’s lanes, Yanaka’s bathhouses, Kichijoji’s park, Shimokitazawa’s records, Koenji, Daikanyama, the Tokyo islands by ferry, a sumo stable at 7 am, the Kabuki-za for a whole play, the Nezu’s garden in iris season, and the city in a month you have not seen it in. Tokyo absorbs visitors without noticing and rewards the fourth visit as much as the first.

Frequently asked questions