Tokyo Travel Guide
Three Days in Tokyo
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.
Tokyo is too big to see in three days, and trying to see all of it is the classic first-timer mistake. The city is a constellation of neighborhoods connected by the best public transport on earth, and the trick is to group them so you spend your time in places, not on trains. This plan divides Tokyo into three worlds: the old east side around Asakusa and Ueno, the neon west around Shibuya, Harajuku and Shinjuku, and the bay and center around Tsukiji, Toyosu and the Imperial Palace. Each gets its own day, with one booked headline per day and plenty of free wandering in between.
Before you fly: the booking cascade. A handful of Tokyo's headliners need booking ahead, some of them well ahead. SHIBUYA SKY sells timed slots, and the sunset ones go first, often weeks out — book the moment your dates are fixed. teamLab Planets and teamLab Borderless sell tickets by date and time; weekends and holidays sell out. If you want the Ghibli Museum, be online at 10am Japan time on the 10th of the month before your visit, when the next month's tickets are released, and expect them to go within minutes for popular dates. Tokyo DisneySea and Disneyland need dated tickets from the official site. Everything else in this plan — temples, shrines, markets, neighborhoods — is free and needs no reservation.
Day one — the old east side. Jet lag is your friend: you will be awake early, so be at Senso-ji in Asakusa at dawn, when the Thunder Gate's lantern and the five-story pagoda are yours alone and monks are at morning prayers. Walk Nakamise-dori as the stalls open, try grilled rice crackers and ningyo-yaki, and explore the backstreets. Mid-morning, take the subway two stops to Ueno and spend a couple of hours in the Tokyo National Museum, Japan's greatest collection of art, samurai swords and Buddhist sculpture; under-18s enter free. Lunch on street food along Ameyoko market beneath the railway tracks. In the afternoon, head back east to Tokyo Skytree for the highest view in Japan, timing your visit to watch the city light up at dusk. Dinner in Asakusa — tempura or eel at a long-established counter — and a final walk past the illuminated temple.
Day two — the neon west. Begin early at Meiji Jingu, walking the gravel avenues of its hand-planted forest to the shrine; on weekends you may see a traditional wedding procession. Exit into Harajuku for the candy-colored chaos of Takeshita Street and then the designer boulevard of Omotesando, and follow Cat Street's boutiques down to Shibuya for lunch. In the late afternoon, ride up to SHIBUYA SKY for your sunset slot — the open-air rooftop, the Scramble below, and on clear days Mount Fuji on the horizon — then walk the crossing yourself. Take the Yamanote Line three stops north to Shinjuku for the evening: yakitori and a beer at a counter in Omoide Yokocho, the free night view from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building's observation deck, a walk beneath Godzilla in Kabukicho, and a nightcap in one of Golden Gai's tiny bars.
Day three — the bay and the center. Go early to Tsukiji Outer Market for a sushi breakfast and tamagoyaki on a stick — remember it is closed on Sundays, national holidays and most Wednesdays. Walk to the Imperial Palace East Gardens (closed Mondays and Fridays) to climb the ruins of Edo Castle's keep, or if the gardens are closed, follow the moat to the Nijubashi bridge view. In the afternoon, ride the driverless Yurikamome line to Toyosu for teamLab Planets, wading barefoot through its water rooms, then continue to Odaiba for the bayfront and the Rainbow Bridge at dusk. Finish in Ginza with dinner and a stroll along its illuminated main street.
If you have a fourth day. Choose your passion: a full day at Tokyo DisneySea, the most admired theme park in the world; the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka plus Inokashira Park and Kichijoji; an afternoon in Akihabara's anime and retro-game stores; teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills paired with Tokyo Tower at night; or a day trip to Kamakura's giant Buddha, Nikko's shrines or Hakone's hot springs and views of Mount Fuji.
Where to base yourself for this plan. Because the days pivot between east and west, a base near a Yamanote Line station with good subway links works best. Shinjuku and Shibuya are lively and convenient for the west; Ginza and the area around Tokyo Station are central and well connected for everything, including the Shinkansen; Asakusa is atmospheric and cheaper but farther from the west side. Wherever you stay, check the walk to the nearest station — it adds up over three days.
Saving money on this plan. Most of it is free: Senso-ji, Meiji Jingu, Shibuya Crossing, Tsukiji, the Imperial Palace gardens, the government building's night view and Akihabara cost nothing. The Tokyo National Museum is inexpensive. A visitor's 24-, 48- or 72-hour subway pass can be good value for days with many subway rides, but compare it with your actual plan, since it does not cover JR lines like the Yamanote. Convenience-store breakfasts and lunch sets at restaurants keep daily costs down, and water is safe to drink from the tap.
The honest adjustments. With children, swap Golden Gai for an evening at a game arcade or the Pokemon Center, and give teamLab and Skytree priority. In summer heat, do outdoor sights early and save museums and teamLab for the afternoon. In cherry-blossom season, add an hour for Ueno Park or the Chidorigafuchi moat and book everything earlier. Whatever the season, leave space each day for the unplanned — a side street, a tiny shrine, a ramen counter with a queue of locals. That is the Tokyo you will remember.