Tokyo travel guide
Where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Things to do in Tokyo, planned over three days
Best time to visit Tokyo
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Cheapest and quietest months, with the clearest skies, best Fuji views and easiest restaurant bookings.
Cherry blossom season, first bloom typically mid to late March and full bloom about a week later.
Mid May after Golden Week is a sweet spot, warm and green before the rainy season, crowds gone.
Rainy season from early June to mid or late July, grey and humid, best for indoor weighted trips.
Genuinely harsh heat and humidity, plus the Obon domestic travel peak in mid August.
A hinge month, still hot early, with peak typhoon risk and the September sumo tournament.
The best all round season, mild October weather and autumn leaves from late November.
Cold, dry and clear, but many places close around New Year from about Dec 29 to Jan 3.
What's on
- Grand Sumo Tournament mid to late January
Fifteen day Tokyo basho at Ryogoku Kokugikan, one of only three Tokyo tournaments a year.
- Grand Sumo Tournament mid May
Fifteen day Tokyo basho at Ryogoku Kokugikan, running in the post Golden Week sweet spot.
- Sanja Matsuri third weekend of May
Tokyo's biggest shrine festival in Asakusa, about 100 mikoshi carried around Senso-ji.
- Kanda Matsuri mid May
One of Tokyo's great festivals at Kanda Myojin, with the full grand procession only in odd numbered years.
- Sumida River Fireworks last Saturday of July
About a million spectators, book a spot or a river cruise early.
- Grand Sumo Tournament mid September
Fifteen day Tokyo basho at Ryogoku Kokugikan, the third and last Tokyo tournament of the year.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Tokyo
teamLab Planets TOKYO
Barefoot immersive art through water, mirrors, orchids and light, and the stronger first teamLab visit.
Sensō-ji
Tokyo's oldest temple, most atmospheric before 8am or after dark when the lit halls escape the midday crowds.
Meiji Jingū
A forested shrine of gravel paths and sake barrels, best paired with the back lanes of Harajuku after.
Shibuya Sky
The city's best paid viewpoint, an open air rooftop above Shibuya Crossing with Fuji views on clear days.
Tokyo National Museum
The one museum for Japanese art and history, from samurai armour to ukiyo-e, inside Ueno Park.
Ghibli Museum
A small handmade museum about how animation is made, transcendent for fans of the films.
Ryōgoku Kokugikan
Grand sumo in its Tokyo home, with the top division from mid afternoon and chanko stew nearby.
Shimokitazawa
Tokyo's vintage clothing capital, dense lanes of second hand shops, small theatres and live music venues.
Where to stay in Tokyo
West Shinjuku
first trip, all-round base
Tokyo's biggest transport hub with a quieter office tower character west and south of the station.
Ginza / Marunouchi
logistics, luxury and early trains
Steps from Tokyo Station, the Imperial Palace East Gardens and the densest fine dining, quieter at night.
Asakusa
character and budget
Old Tokyo streets and Senso-ji as your morning walk, with cheaper rooms but a long ride back from the west side.
Shibuya
under-35 energy and nightlife-first trips
Walkable, youthful and full of eating and bars, with smaller pricier rooms and a loud station area.
Ueno / Ikebukuro
value bases on the Yamanote loop
Big station connections and the cheapest respectable rooms in central Tokyo, less glamorous but practical.
Kanda / Tokyo Station east
central value
A quiet residential edge near Tokyo Station with repeat visitor favourite hotels above their price.
Think twice about
- Kabukicho
Tokyo's largest red light district and its documented scam centre, where touts lure visitors into bars ending in inflated bills.
- Roppongi around the crossing
The same tout and rip off bar pattern aimed at foreigners, concentrated around Roppongi Crossing at night.
- Narita Airport area
Sixty to ninety minutes each way and a different city in Chiba, only sensible for a late arrival or early flight.
- Maihama / Tokyo Bay
Pleasant but resort isolated for Tokyo sightseeing, adding a commute tax to every day of the trip.
Best restaurants in Tokyo
Den
Playful modern kaiseki with two stars, and the warmest fine dining room in Tokyo: expect the Dentucky fried chicken.
Narisawa
A cerebral two star tasting menu touring Japan's forests and coasts, with bread baked at the table.
Rāmenya Shima
Clear, layered shoyu and shio bowls at a near silent small counter, among the best ramen in Tokyo. Expect a long morning queue.
Fuunji
The tsukemen benchmark, thick noodles in rich gyokai tonkotsu broth, fast moving queue and out in 30 minutes.
Hayashi
A tiny Shibuya counter doing one balanced tonkotsu gyokai ramen at a very high level until it sells out.
Uogashi Nihon-Ichi
Standing sushi counters where nigiri made in front of you costs a few hundred yen a piece.
Tonkatsu.jp
Tonkatsu as a tasting exercise, cuts from named small farms across Japan, double fried.
Yakiniku Jumbo Shirokane
A5 wagyu grilled at your table at the Shirokane original, the group dinner priced like a treat.
Outdoor things to do in Tokyo
Mount Takao
Tokyo's favourite hike, an hour from Shinjuku, with trail choices, a summit view and a station onsen.
Kamakura
Hike the Daibutsu Trail from Kita-Kamakura's Zen temples to the Great Buddha and Hase-dera.
Nikkō
A long walking day pairing the lavish Toshogu shrine with Kegon Falls and Lake Chuzenji.
Lake Kawaguchiko
The non climbing Fuji day, lake north shore, Oishi Park and the Chureito Pagoda viewpoint.
Hakone
A transport loop of mountain railway, ropeway, volcanic valley and a Lake Ashi cruise on one pass.
Okutama
White water rafting and canyoning on the upper Tama River, still inside the Tokyo metropolis.
Tokyo Great Cycling Tour
Guided rides along the Sumida, the bay and backstreets, replacing train transfers with street level Tokyo.
Lotte Kasai Golf
A huge 300 bay driving range with a foreigner package of club rental and 90 minutes of unlimited balls.
Best hotels in Tokyo
Park Hyatt Tokyo
The Lost in Translation splurge, reopening after a full renovation that closed it from May 2025: big rooms, a serious pool and the New York Bar night view. Confirm it is taking guests for your dates.
Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku
The mid range workhorse near the station's south side, quiet for Shinjuku and fairly priced.
Aman Tokyo
Arguably the best city hotel in Japan, with ryokan calm and views over the Imperial Palace gardens.
The Tokyo Station Hotel
Inside the landmark red brick station building, unbeatable for early Shinkansen departures.
MIMARU Asakusa Station
Apartment style rooms with kitchens near the station and Senso-ji, built for families and groups.
Nui. Hostel & Bar Lounge
A former toy factory hostel with dorms and private rooms and a cafe bar locals use too.
Shibuya Excel Hotel Tokyu
Directly beside Shibuya Station in Mark City, you pay for the crossing adjacent location.
Hotel Niwa Tokyo
A calm garden feeling independent hotel that punches above its price near Kanda and Suidobashi.
Is Tokyo expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ¥16,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ¥32,000 a person |
| Splurge | ¥75,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- teamLab Planets TOKYO: weeks ahead
- Shibuya Sky: weeks ahead
- Ghibli Museum: weeks ahead
- Ryōgoku Kokugikan: weeks ahead
- Tokyo DisneySea: weeks ahead
- Nikkō: a few days ahead
- Lake Kawaguchiko: a few days ahead
- Okutama: a few days ahead
- Ghibli Museum tickets for the next month go on sale on the 10th at 10:00 JST and sell out in minutes, with no door sales.
- Shibuya Sky timed tickets open about two weeks ahead and sunset and weekend slots go first.
- teamLab Planets and Borderless should be booked as soon as dates are fixed, especially weekends and holidays.
- Sumo tournaments run in Tokyo only in January, May and September, with sales about a month before.
- Top restaurants like Den and Narisawa need 30 to 60 plus days, often via a concierge or specialist platform.
- Tokyo DisneySea tickets go on sale about a month ahead, and hotels in blossom and foliage peaks need three to six months.
Is Tokyo safe?
- Never follow a tout, never leave a drink unattended, and confirm cover charges before ordering in nightlife areas.
- Carry your passport, police may ask for it and it is needed for tax free shopping.
- Emergency numbers are 110 for police and 119 for fire and ambulance.
Tokyo travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Takeshita Street in Harajuku is a shoulder to shoulder tourist funnel, walk parallel Ura-Harajuku instead.
- The Ichiran queue is not worth 60 to 90 minutes when Fuunji, Hayashi and Shima exist.
- Pick one viewpoint, Shibuya Sky or the free Metropolitan Government Building decks, not three paid towers.
- There is no wholesale inner market left at Tsukiji, it moved to Toyosu in 2018.
- Animal cafes and street go-karts are flagged locally for welfare and safety problems, skip both.
- Sukiyabashi Jiro and Sushi Saito are effectively introduction only, booking sites implying easy seats are a red flag.
Getting around Tokyo: public transport and more
- Get a digital Suica or Pasmo on your phone before you land, it works on trains, subways, buses and convenience stores.
- Cluster each day in one quadrant and respect the last train around midnight to 12:30am.
- Forward luggage hotel to hotel by takkyubin courier for about 2,000 to 3,000 yen instead of dragging bags through stations.
- Carry 10,000 to 20,000 yen in cash for ramen ticket machines, shrines, markets and small bars.
Who Tokyo suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Tokyo your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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