Tokyo

Best for

Food, neighbourhoods, pop culture

Days to allow

3–5

Where to stay

Shinjuku, Shibuya or Tokyo Station

From London

Non-stop to Haneda, ~14 h

Why go

Tokyo is where almost every trip to Japan begins, and it rewards a few unhurried days. In one afternoon you can move from an incense-filled temple to a ten-storey electronics store to a forest shrine, then end the night in a bar with six seats. It is one of the most Michelin-starred cities on earth — and has some of the best cheap food anywhere, in station basements, ramen counters and department-store food halls.

Top sights

• Senso-ji, AsakusaTokyo's oldest temple, reached through the Kaminarimon gate and a lane of snack stalls. Go before 9am or after dark, when it's lit up and quiet.
• Meiji JinguA shrine to Emperor Meiji set in a planted forest of 100,000 trees, a few steps from the teenage fashion of Harajuku's Takeshita Street.
• Shibuya Crossing and Shibuya SkyThe famous scramble crossing, best seen from above. Shibuya Sky's open-air rooftop is about 230 m up; sunset slots sell out first.
• ShinjukuSkyscrapers, Shinjuku Gyoen's gardens by day, the lanterns of Omoide Yokocho and the tiny bars of Golden Gai by night. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building has a free observation deck.
• Ueno Park and the Tokyo National MuseumJapan's oldest and largest collection of Japanese art, plus zoo, shrines and cherry trees in spring.
• teamLab Planets and teamLab BorderlessImmersive digital-art museums in Toyosu and Azabudai Hills. Planets has you wading barefoot through water; both use timed tickets.
• Tokyo SkytreeAt 634 m, the tallest tower in the world, with views to Mt Fuji on clear winter mornings.
• AkihabaraElectronics, anime, manga and multi-storey game arcades.
• Ghibli Museum, MitakaA small, magical museum for fans of Studio Ghibli's films. Advance tickets only — see below.
• Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySeaDisneySea, with its Fantasy Springs area, is the one to choose if you only do one park.

Neighbourhoods to explore

• Yanaka: old wooden houses, temples and cats — Tokyo before the skyscrapers.
• Shimokitazawa: vintage clothes, record shops and small cafés.
• Ginza and Nihonbashi: department stores, galleries and the best food halls.
• Omotesando: architecture-lovers' high street, with buildings by Japan's leading architects.
• Toyosu and Tsukiji: the wholesale fish market moved to Toyosu, but Tsukiji's outer market still has the breakfast stalls.

Where to stay

• Shinjuku — the busiest transport hub, with buses and trains to Hakone, Mt Fuji and the Alps. Lively and convenient; light sleepers should avoid the streets around Kabukicho.
• Shibuya — younger, trendier and well connected, with many new hotels.
• Tokyo Station, Ginza or Nihonbashi — quieter at night and the best base if you'll catch early Shinkansen trains.
• Asakusa or Ueno — cheaper, more traditional, with a direct train to Narita.

Stay near a station on the JR Yamanote loop line and you can reach almost everything without changing trains.

What to book ahead

Day trips

• Hakone or Mt Fuji — better with an overnight stay, but doable in a long day.
• Nikko — lavishly decorated shrines and mountain waterfalls, about two hours north.
• Kamakura — the Great Buddha, Zen temples and a beach town, an hour south.
• Yokohama — Chinatown, the waterfront and the Cup Noodles Museum, 30 minutes away. In 2027 it hosts the GREEN×EXPO horticultural expo (19 March–26 September).

Getting there and around

Non-stop flights from Heathrow land at Haneda, 15–30 minutes from the centre by train. Inside the city, an IC card (Suica or PASMO) covers JR, subway and buses; the Tokyo Subway Ticket (from ¥1,000 for 24 hours) adds unlimited subway rides. More in our getting around guide.

Hotel tax in Tokyo is ¥100–200 per person per night on rooms over ¥10,000, due to change to a 3% rate from April 2027.