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Tokyo skyline at night with Tokyo Tower glowing red

Japan · Itinerary

Tokyo 5-Day Itinerary

Five days to see Tokyo neighbourhood by neighbourhood, with one coastal day trip to Kamakura.

  • 5 days
  • Mid-range
  • Solo · Couple · Photography

Itinerary in progress — routes and timings are structurally complete; costs and hotel picks will be added from real trips.

Five days is enough to get properly under Tokyo's skin rather than just ticking off the famous crossing. This plan alternates deliberately: old town and museums first, then youth culture and skyline views, a food-and-art day, a coastal day trip to Kamakura, and a last easy morning in Shinjuku. It is built entirely around the Yamanote line and the metro, so you never need a taxi, and every day ends somewhere you can still eat well late.

  1. Day 1

    Day 1

    Old Tokyo: Asakusa, Ueno and Yanaka

    Start where the city is oldest and slowest. Temples, a great museum and a low-rise neighbourhood that survived the war — a gentle first day that still fills itself.

    Morning Asakusa

    Senso-ji and Nakamise

    • Walk in through the Kaminarimon gate
    • Senso-ji, Tokyo's oldest temple
    • Snack along Nakamise street
    Transport:
    Ginza or Asakusa line to Asakusa station.
    Food:
    Melonpan, ningyo-yaki and menchi-katsu from the Nakamise stalls make a decent second breakfast.

    Come before 09:00 or after 20:00. The temple grounds stay open and lit at night, and the difference in crowds is enormous.

    Google Maps
    Afternoon Ueno

    Ueno Park and the National Museum

    • Tokyo National Museum
    • Ueno Park and its shrines
    • Ameyoko market under the tracks
    Transport:
    Ginza line from Asakusa to Ueno, about five minutes.

    The Tokyo National Museum is the best single museum in Japan and needs at least two hours. If the weather is poor, give it three and skip the park.

    Google Maps
    Evening Yanaka

    Yanaka at sunset

    • Yanaka Ginza and the sunset steps
    • Backstreet temples and cat sightings
    • Old-town dinner
    Stay:
    Five nights near a Yamanote line station: Ueno or Asakusa for value, Shinjuku or Shibuya for nightlife.

    Yanaka is one of the few districts that escaped both the 1923 earthquake and the wartime bombing, which is why it still looks like this. Shops shut early — get there by 17:00.

    Google Maps
  2. Day 2

    Day 2

    Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, Shibuya and Shimokitazawa

    The Tokyo people picture: a forest shrine in the morning, teenage Harajuku, the world's busiest crossing, and a scruffier neighbourhood to finish.

    Morning Harajuku

    Meiji Shrine and Omotesando

    • The forested approach to Meiji Jingu
    • Takeshita Street if you want the chaos
    • Omotesando for the architecture
    Transport:
    JR Yamanote line to Harajuku.

    The shrine forest is entirely man-made — about 100,000 trees donated from across Japan a century ago. Go early and it is genuinely quiet ten minutes from Harajuku station.

    Google Maps
    Afternoon Shibuya

    Shibuya and Shibuya Sky

    • The Scramble Crossing
    • Miyashita Park
    • Shibuya Sky rooftop observatory

    Book Shibuya Sky in advance for a slot about an hour before sunset — you get the city in daylight, at golden hour and lit up, all on one ticket. The free view from the Starbucks over the crossing is the other classic angle.

    Google Maps
    Evening Shimokitazawa

    Shimokitazawa

    • Vintage and second-hand shops
    • Tiny bars and live music
    • Dinner somewhere with eight seats
    Transport:
    Keio Inokashira line from Shibuya, about five minutes.
    Food:
    Shimokitazawa is curry country — the district has an annual curry festival and dozens of specialists.
  3. Day 3

    Day 3

    Tsukiji, Ginza and teamLab

    Eat first, shop second, and finish inside a digital art installation. A day that needs one advance booking and rewards an early alarm.

    Morning Tsukiji

    Tsukiji Outer Market

    • Sushi breakfast
    • Tamagoyaki on a stick
    • Knife and dried-goods shops

    The wholesale market and its tuna auction moved to Toyosu in 2018, but the Outer Market — the part visitors actually want, with hundreds of stalls and restaurants — never left Tsukiji. Just turn up and eat; no ticket, no reservation. Go by 09:00 and note many stalls close early afternoon.

    Google Maps
    Afternoon Ginza

    Ginza

    • Department-store depachika food halls
    • Ginza Six rooftop garden
    • Itoya stationery

    On weekend afternoons the main street closes to cars and becomes a pedestrian promenade. The depachika basements are worth visiting even if you buy nothing.

    Google Maps
    Evening Toyosu or Azabudai Hills

    teamLab

    • Digital art rooms
    • Allow about two hours

    There are two different teamLab museums and they are not interchangeable. Planets in Toyosu is barefoot and water-based on a fixed route, and is scheduled to close at the end of 2027. Borderless at Azabudai Hills is dry, has no map and asks you to wander. Both are timed-entry and must be booked ahead on the official site.

    Google Maps
  4. Day 4

    Day 4

    Day trip: Kamakura and Enoshima

    An hour out of the city and it turns into temples, a bronze Buddha and a tram that runs along the sea. The best single day trip from Tokyo.

    Morning Kamakura

    The Great Buddha and Hase-dera

    • Kotoku-in and the Great Buddha
    • Hase-dera and its hillside views
    • Komachi-dori for lunch
    Transport:
    JR Yokosuka line from Tokyo station, about an hour. Your IC card works the whole way.

    You can pay a little extra to go inside the Great Buddha, which is hollow. Kamakura is packed on weekends — go on a weekday if you can.

    Google Maps
    Afternoon Enoshima

    The Enoden line to Enoshima

    • Ride the Enoden coastal tram
    • Cross the bridge to Enoshima island
    • Shrine climb and sea caves
    Transport:
    The Enoden runs from Kamakura to Enoshima in about 25 minutes, squeezing between houses and then along the shoreline.

    Sit on the right-hand side heading to Enoshima for the sea views. On a clear winter day you can see Mount Fuji across the bay from the island.

    Google Maps
    Evening Shinjuku

    Back to Tokyo

    • Return by Odakyu or JR
    • Izakaya dinner in Omoide Yokocho
    Transport:
    Odakyu line from Katase-Enoshima back to Shinjuku, about 70 minutes direct.
    Food:
    Omoide Yokocho — the narrow alley of yakitori counters by Shinjuku station — is touristy now but still delivers.
  5. Day 5

    Day 5

    Shinjuku, one last view, and departure

    A garden, a free skyline view and whatever shopping you have been putting off — sized so you are never rushing for the airport.

    Morning Shinjuku

    Shinjuku Gyoen and the free observatory

    • Shinjuku Gyoen national garden
    • Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatory

    The government building observatory is free and open to the public — on a clear morning you can see Mount Fuji from it. Shinjuku Gyoen charges a small entry fee and is the best park in central Tokyo.

    Google Maps
    Afternoon Shinjuku

    Last shopping

    • Don Quijote for chaos and souvenirs
    • Bic Camera or Yodobashi for electronics
    • Isetan depachika for edible gifts

    Tax-free shopping rules changed on 1 November 2026 — you now pay the full price in store and claim the refund at the airport on departure, so keep your passport and receipts together.

    Evening Narita or Haneda

    To the airport

    • Collect luggage from your coin locker or hotel
    • Train to the airport
    Transport:
    Narita Express or Keisei Skyliner for Narita (about 40 to 60 minutes); Tokyo Monorail or the Keikyu line for Haneda (about 30 minutes). Haneda is far closer to the city — worth paying for on the flight home.

Tips for this itinerary

  • Put Suica or PASMO in your phone wallet before you land. Apple and Google wallets both support it, it tops up instantly with a card, and it saves queueing for a physical Welcome Suica on arrival.
  • Skip the Japan Rail Pass for a Tokyo-only trip. It is a national pass and never pays for itself inside the city — pay as you go with an IC card instead.
  • Book Shibuya Sky, teamLab and the Ghibli Museum the moment tickets are released. All are timed-entry and sell out weeks ahead.
  • Stay near a Yamanote line station. Shinjuku, Shibuya, Tokyo and Ueno all put you within about 30 minutes of everything in this plan.
  • Tokyo is a walking city joined up by trains, not a taxi city. Expect 15,000 steps a day and pack shoes accordingly.
  • Trains stop around midnight and restart around 05:00. Missing the last train means a night-rate taxi or waiting until dawn, so plan the evening backwards from it.
  • Use station coin lockers on your first and last days. They take IC cards and let you explore hands-free between check-out and your flight.
  • Carry some cash. Small restaurants, shrines and older shops are still cash-only, and 7-Eleven ATMs reliably accept foreign cards.
  • The etiquette that actually matters: no phone calls on trains, queue on the platform markings, and do not eat while walking in crowded areas.
  • The best view in Shinjuku is free — the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatory costs nothing and looks straight at the skyline.

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