Japan
Tokyo
Tokyo is the biggest city on earth that still runs like a Swiss watch, and the rare megacity where a seventh-century temple, a forest shrine and a digital-art universe sit a few subway stops apart. Senso-ji's red Thunder Gate and incense smoke open old Asakusa; Meiji Jingu's cedar forest swallows the noise of Harajuku; the Shibuya Scramble pours thousands across the road at every green light while SHIBUYA SKY watches from the rooftop; Tokyo Skytree rises 634 meters over the Sumida River; and teamLab's barefoot water rooms and borderless light worlds are the most-photographed museums of the decade. This guide books the city properly — timed sunset slots at SHIBUYA SKY, the Ghibli Museum's monthly ticket drop on the 10th, teamLab tickets by date, the right DisneySea day under dynamic pricing, and the closing days that catch first-timers (Tsukiji's Wednesdays and Sundays, the Imperial gardens on Mondays and Fridays) — and pairs it with the free Tokyo locals love: yakitori smoke under the tracks of Omoide Yokocho, Golden Gai's matchbox bars, Akihabara's arcades and the Edo Castle walls at dawn. Then it matches you to the right hotel, from the newly restored Park Hyatt's sky-high bars and Aman's stone-and-washi calm to a tatami tower ryokan with a rooftop onsen, a Godzilla-guarded base in Shinjuku and a temple-view stay in Asakusa, because in a city this vast where you sleep decides which Tokyo you see.
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Hotels
Where to Stay
Park Hyatt Tokyo
Nishi-Shinjuku
The Lost in Translation hotel, reborn — 171 redesigned rooms on the top floors of Kenzo Tange's Shinjuku tower, the New York Bar restored to its black-and-chrome glory, a glass-roofed pool in the sky, and Mount Fuji from the windows on clear days.
Aman Tokyo
Otemachi / Imperial Palace
A soaring stone-and-washi atrium at the top of Otemachi Tower, rooms among the largest in the city with deep furo baths, a 30-meter pool facing the skyline and a spa with onsen-style baths — Zen calm a short walk from the Imperial Palace.
HOSHINOYA Tokyo
Otemachi
A 17-story tower ryokan in the financial district — shoes off at the door, tatami everywhere, a tea lounge on every floor, kimono and tea ceremony, and a rooftop open-air onsen fed by hot spring water from 1,500 meters below the city.
TRUNK(HOTEL) CAT STREET
Shibuya / Jingumae (Cat Street)
A tiny, very cool boutique hotel on Cat Street between Shibuya and Harajuku — upcycled design, Japanese-made furnishings, a buzzing lobby bar where Tokyo's creative crowd hangs out, and SHIBUYA SKY and Meiji Jingu on foot.
Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza Premier
Ginza / Shimbashi
Smart, good-value rooms that all start on the 17th floor or higher, with views of Tokyo Tower, Skytree or Rainbow Bridge, a sky-high lobby and Italian restaurant, and Ginza, Tsukiji and Shimbashi Station on foot.
OMO3 Asakusa by Hoshino Resorts
Asakusa
A playful, good-value Hoshino Resorts hotel a minute from Senso-ji, with a 13th-floor lounge framing the temple and Skytree, a rooftop terrace, Edo-themed rooms and free dawn walks with local guides before the crowds arrive.
Hotel Gracery Shinjuku
Shinjuku / Kabukicho
The Godzilla hotel — a giant head roars over Kabukicho from the 8th-floor terrace, with themed rooms where a claw reaches through the wall. Clean, efficient, affordable rooms in the heart of Shinjuku, five minutes from the station.
MIMARU Tokyo Ueno Okachimachi
Ueno
An apartment hotel built for families and groups: every unit has a full kitchen and dining table, rooms run from 35 to 75 square meters and sleep up to eight, and Ueno Park, Ameyoko and the Skyliner to Narita are minutes away.
Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo
West Shinjuku
West Shinjuku's landmark full-service hotel since 1971: more than 1,400 rooms including four-bed family rooms, a summer outdoor pool, a big buffet, a tea-ceremony room with English sessions, and the free city-hall observatories next door.
Hilton Tokyo Bay
Maihama (Tokyo Disney Resort)
An official Tokyo Disney Resort hotel on the bayfront at Maihama, with themed and bunk-bed family rooms, a free shuttle to the Disney Resort Line and the parks a few minutes away. The practical choice for a two-park Disney stay.
Shinagawa Prince Hotel
Shinagawa
A huge, good-value hotel complex two minutes from Shinagawa Station, with an aquarium, cinema, bowling alley and pool on site, Shinkansen and Haneda Airport on the doorstep, and three towers from functional to upscale.
Hotel Ryumeikan Tokyo
Yaesu (Tokyo Station)
A calm, Japanese-styled hotel three minutes from Tokyo Station's Yaesu North Exit, run by a family that has kept inns in Tokyo since the Meiji era. Ideal for Shinkansen days, with quiet, thoughtful service at mid-range prices.
Hotel Niwa Tokyo
Suidobashi
A modern Japanese hotel built around four small gardens, three minutes from Suidobashi Station, with a casual French restaurant, an authentic Japanese restaurant and Tokyo Dome City and the Koishikawa Korakuen garden nearby. Calm, stylish and fairly priced.
Tokyu Stay Nishi-Shinjuku
West Shinjuku
A practical budget hotel in West Shinjuku with a washer-dryer and microwave in every room, two minutes from the Oedo Line and a walk from the city-hall observatories. The smart choice for long stays and light packers.
The Millennials Shibuya
Shibuya
A design-led smart-pod hotel six minutes from Shibuya Station, with high-tech sleeping pods, a 24-hour coworking lounge with free coffee and a free beer hour every evening. The budget way to stay in the heart of Shibuya.
Attractions & Tours
What to Do
Senso-ji Temple & Asakusa
Tokyo's oldest temple and its most atmospheric neighborhood — the giant red lantern of the Thunder Gate, the snack stalls of Nakamise, incense smoke before the main hall, and a five-story pagoda lit gold after dark. Free, open around the clock, best at dawn or night.
SHIBUYA SKY & Shibuya Crossing
The open-air rooftop 229 meters above the world's most famous crossing — glass edges, hammocks on the turf, Mount Fuji on clear days and a sunset slot that sells out weeks ahead. Watch the Scramble from above, then walk it at street level.
Shinjuku After Dark: Omoide Yokocho & Golden Gai
Yakitori smoke under the train tracks, some two hundred matchbox bars in six tiny alleys, Godzilla roaring over Kabukicho, and a free 45th-floor night view from City Hall. The neon Tokyo of every film, and most of it free to wander.
Tokyo Disneyland
The first Disney park built outside the United States and still one of the best-run theme parks on earth: Cinderella Castle, the Beauty and the Beast ride, the Baymax teacups, nightly Electrical Parade Dreamlights and popcorn in a dozen flavors, fifteen minutes from Tokyo Station.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo – The Making of Harry Potter
The real sets, props and costumes of the Harry Potter films in a huge studio complex in Nerima: the Great Hall, Diagon Alley, the Hogwarts Express and a Ministry of Magic set found nowhere else. Timed tickets, no door sales, and plan on half a day.
Tokyo City View and Mori Art Museum
The 52nd-floor observation deck of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, with the best view of Tokyo Tower in the city, and the Mori Art Museum one floor up, Tokyo's leading showcase for contemporary art. Open late, and a superb pairing for an evening in Roppongi.
Edo-Tokyo Museum
Tokyo's history museum, reopened in March 2026 after four years of renovation: a full-scale replica of the Nihonbashi bridge, detailed models of Edo streets and samurai mansions, and four centuries from shogun's capital to modern metropolis. Next to the sumo hall in Ryogoku.
Kamakura and the Great Buddha
An hour south of Tokyo by train, the old samurai capital packs the open-air Great Buddha, the hillside temples of Hase-dera and Kita-Kamakura, the great shrine of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, a seaside tram and a surf beach into the best day trip from the city.
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
A former imperial garden ten minutes from Shinjuku Station, combining Japanese, French formal and English landscape gardens with around nine hundred cherry trees, a tropical greenhouse and a 1920s Taiwanese pavilion. Tokyo's best place to breathe, for a small fee.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observatories
Free observation decks 202 meters up the twin towers of Tokyo's city hall in Shinjuku, open until late evening, with Mount Fuji on clear days and a record-breaking projection-mapping show on the building's facade after dark.
Travel Guides
Plan It Properly
Tokyo in Three Days: Temples, Towers, teamLab & Neon Nights
A first-timer's three days that splits the city into east, west and the bay — Senso-ji at dawn and Skytree at sunset, Meiji Jingu and the Shibuya rooftop, teamLab and Tsukiji — with the bookings to make before you fly.
First Time in Tokyo: Essentials, Etiquette & What Changed in 2026
Arrival from Narita or Haneda, IC cards and cash, the 2026 tax changes, closing days that catch visitors out, and the etiquette that makes Tokyo run — everything a first-timer needs before landing.
Where to Stay in Tokyo: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, Asakusa & Beyond
Tokyo is a city of neighborhoods, and your base decides your trip. A district-by-district guide to the best areas for first-timers, couples, families and nightlife, with the hotels that make each work.
Eating Tokyo: Sushi, Ramen, Yakitori, Depachika & How to Order
The world's greatest food city decoded — what to eat, where locals actually eat it, how to order at a ticket machine or a counter, and how to eat superbly at every budget, from convenience stores to omakase.
When to Visit Tokyo: Cherry Blossoms, Autumn Leaves & Budget Seasons
Season by season — cherry-blossom crowds, the rainy season, summer heat and typhoons, crisp autumn and clear winter days with Mount Fuji views — plus the holidays to avoid and how to save money.
Getting Around Tokyo: Trains, Subways, IC Cards & the JR Pass Math
The world's best transit system, decoded — the Yamanote loop, subway lines and passes, IC cards, airport transfers, last trains, and whether the newly pricier Japan Rail Pass is still worth it.