Tokyo — Travel Guide for Planning Your Trip
Tokyo is the world's largest metropolis, and a Tokyo eSIM keeps you online from the moment you land — for live maps in the metro maze, translation apps at menu-only ramen counters, and finding that tiny bar hidden down an unmarked alley. The city layers neon canyons over Edo-period temples, and every neighbourhood feels like a separate city: electric Shibuya, old-town Asakusa, polished Ginza. Trains run to the second, dinner ranges from a ¥300 onigiri to one of the world's densest clusters of Michelin stars, and it all works with a calm, quiet order that surprises first-time visitors. If Bangkok is also on your route, see our Bangkok travel guide.
Good to know
Discover Tokyo
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On the map
Where to stay in Tokyo
Shinjuku
The classic first-timer base: the world's busiest railway station, department stores, the Omoide Yokocho bar alleys and direct trains to almost everywhere. It is loud and dazzling at street level, yet hotels a few blocks back are surprisingly quiet.
Shibuya
Home of the famous scramble crossing and the city's youth-culture engine — fashion, nightlife, izakaya floors stacked ten storeys high. Choose it if you want Tokyo at maximum energy and easy walks to Harajuku and Omotesando.
Asakusa
Old Tokyo: the Senso-ji temple, craft shops, ryokan-style guesthouses and a slower morning rhythm. Prices are gentler than in the west of the city, and the Ginza subway line takes you straight into the centre.
Ginza & Tokyo Station (Marunouchi)
Polished, central and impeccably convenient: flagship shopping, high-end dining and the shinkansen under your feet at Tokyo Station. The best pick for comfort seekers and anyone planning day trips to Kyoto or Hakone.
Ueno
A budget-friendly base around a huge park, major museums and the raucous Ameyoko market street. The Keisei Skyliner from Narita arrives here directly, which makes it painless with luggage.
Top attractions in Tokyo
Senso-ji Temple (Asakusa)
Tokyo's oldest temple, entered through the giant red lantern of the Kaminarimon gate and the Nakamise-dori souvenir street. Come at dawn to see the courtyard nearly empty, or after dark when the pagoda is lit and the crowds are gone.
Shibuya Crossing & Shibuya Sky
The world's most famous pedestrian scramble, where up to a thousand people cross at once beneath wall-sized screens. For the full effect, ride up to the Shibuya Sky open-air deck and watch the choreography from 229 metres above.
Meiji Jingu Shrine
A serene Shinto shrine hidden inside a man-made forest of some 100,000 trees, right next to Harajuku's chaos. Watch for traditional weddings on weekend mornings and write a wish on a wooden ema tablet.
Tokyo Skytree
At 634 metres, Japan's tallest structure, with two observation decks that put the entire Kanto plain at your feet — on clear winter days you can see Mount Fuji. The Solamachi complex at its base is good for shopping and an aquarium.
Imperial Palace East Gardens
The former grounds of Edo Castle, now a free public garden of massive stone walls, moats and seasonal flowerbeds in the very centre of the city. A quiet counterweight to the skyscrapers of Marunouchi a few minutes away.
Tsukiji Outer Market
The wholesale fish auctions moved to Toyosu, but Tsukiji's outer market still packs some 400 stalls of knife shops, tamagoyaki stands and impossibly fresh seafood breakfasts. Go hungry and before 10am — much of it winds down by early afternoon.
teamLab Planets (Toyosu)
A barefoot, walk-through digital art museum where you wade through knee-deep water among projected koi and lose the horizon in mirrored infinity rooms. Book tickets online well ahead — slots sell out days in advance.
Akihabara Electric Town
The world capital of anime, manga, retro games and electronics, stacked into multi-floor emporiums like Yodobashi and Mandarake. Even non-fans should wander an evening here for the sheer sensory overload of it.
Where to eat
Ramen & noodles
- Ichiran (Shibuya)Famous solo-booth tonkotsu chain — order from a vending machine, eat in your own cubicle.
- Afuri (Ebisu)Light yuzu-citrus ramen that converts people who think they don't like ramen.
- Fuunji (Shinjuku)Legendary tsukemen (dipping noodles); the queue moves fast and is worth it.
- Rokurinsha (Tokyo Ramen Street)Thick-broth tsukemen icon in the basement of Tokyo Station — handy before a shinkansen.
Sushi & seafood
- Sushi Dai (Toyosu)The market's most famous omakase counter — arrive very early or accept the wait.
- Umegaoka Sushi no Midori (Shibuya)Generous, mid-priced sushi sets with a perpetual line — grab a ticket first.
- Uogashi Nihon-Ichi (standing sushi, Shinjuku)Stand-up sushi bar where quality nigiri starts around ¥100 a piece.
- Tsukiji Outer Market stallsUni bowls, grilled scallops and tuna skewers straight from the source at breakfast time.
Street food & yokocho alleys
- Omoide Yokocho (Shinjuku)Smoky lantern-lit alleys of tiny yakitori grills seating six people each.
- Ameyoko Market (Ueno)Post-war market street: kebab stands, fresh fruit skewers, seafood snacks and loud bargaining.
- Harmonica Yokocho (Kichijoji)A local, less touristy warren of micro-bars and standing counters near Inokashira Park.
- Marion Crepes (Takeshita Street, Harajuku)The original Harajuku crepe stand since 1976 — the queue is part of the ritual.
Shopping
Tokyo is arguably the best shopping city on earth because every niche gets a whole district: electronics in Akihabara, youth fashion in Harajuku, luxury flagships in Ginza, kitchenware on Kappabashi Street and books in Jimbocho. Department-store basements (depachika) are destinations in themselves — floor-wide food halls of immaculate bento and sweets.
Malls
What to buy
Japan-only Kit Kat flavours and matcha sweets, stationery from Itoya or Loft, kitchen knives from Kappabashi, ceramics, anime figures, and quirky treasures from Don Quijote's chaotic aisles.
For local flavour skip the malls: Nakamise-dori in Asakusa for crafts, Shimokitazawa for vintage clothing, Yanaka Ginza's old shotengai for snacks between wooden houses, and 100-yen chains like Daiso for absurdly good souvenirs.
Best time to visit
Late March to early April is cherry-blossom season — magical but the most crowded and priciest window, so book months ahead. October-November brings crisp air, clear skies and autumn colours, and is arguably the best all-round period. June is rainy season, July-August are hot and humid (32°C+) with typhoon risk lingering into September. Winter is cold but dry and sunny, with the clearest views of Mount Fuji and the thinnest crowds.
Parks & nature
Shinjuku Gyoen
The city's most beautiful garden: French, English and traditional Japanese landscapes in one vast park, and one of the top hanami spots in spring. Small entry fee, no alcohol — which keeps it calm even at peak season.
Yoyogi Park
Tokyo's free-spirited weekend living room next to Meiji Jingu: buskers, rockabilly dancers, picnics and jogging loops under huge zelkova trees.
Ueno Park
A culture campus as much as a park: the Tokyo National Museum, a zoo, temple halls and a lotus-covered pond, plus one of the city's most famous cherry-blossom promenades.
Hamarikyu Gardens
A former shogunal duck-hunting garden where a seawater tidal pond mirrors the Shiodome skyscrapers. Have matcha in the teahouse on the island, then catch a river bus up the Sumida to Asakusa.
Getting there
Tokyo has two airports. Narita (NRT) lies about 60 km east: the Narita Express train reaches Tokyo Station in ~55 minutes (~¥3,070), the Keisei Skyliner gets to Ueno in ~45 minutes (~¥2,570), and limousine buses run to major hotel districts (~¥3,600, 90-120 minutes depending on traffic). Haneda (HND) is far closer, about 15 km south of the centre: the Tokyo Monorail reaches Hamamatsucho in ~18 minutes (~¥520) and the Keikyu Line gets to Shinagawa in ~15 minutes (~¥330), both connecting straight into the JR network. Taxis from Haneda to central hotels run roughly ¥7,000-10,000; from Narita they are rarely worth it at ~¥25,000+.
Getting around Tokyo
Metro & subway (Tokyo Metro + Toei)
Thirteen colour-coded lines cover almost every sight; signs and announcements are in English. Trains run roughly 5:00-24:00 — plan your night around the last train. A Suica or Pasmo IC card (also available in Apple/Google Wallet) taps you through every gate.
- Metro single ride
- from ~¥180
- Tokyo Subway Ticket, 24h (visitors)
- ~¥800
- Tokyo Subway Ticket, 72h (visitors)
- ~¥1,500
- Suica/Pasmo card deposit
- ¥500
JR Yamanote Line
The famous green loop line circles central Tokyo in about an hour, linking Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku, Tokyo Station, Akihabara and Ueno. If you stay near a Yamanote stop, half the city is one seat away — and Japan Rail Pass holders ride free.
Taxis & ride-hailing
Immaculate, honest and pricey: the meter starts around ¥500 and doors open automatically — don't touch them. The GO app is the local standard and Uber also works. Best saved for after the last train or short hops with luggage.
Walking & cycling
Individual neighbourhoods are wonderfully walkable — Asakusa to Ueno or Harajuku to Shibuya are pleasant strolls — but don't try to walk between districts; the city is vast. Docomo Bike Share and LUUP e-scooters fill the short gaps, with day passes bookable in-app.
Internet & eSIM in Tokyo
Tokyo runs on three nationwide mobile networks — NTT Docomo, au (KDDI) and SoftBank — and all three blanket the capital with fast 4G LTE and dense 5G in the central wards. Coverage is remarkable where other cities fail: deep subway platforms, the tunnels between them, skyscraper basements, department-store food halls and even the Tokyo Skytree decks all keep a signal, so navigation keeps working underground on the metro.
Arrival is where planning pays off. After a 12-hour flight into Narita or Haneda, the last thing you want is the SIM-counter queue — at both airports the tourist SIM desks and vending machines cluster in the arrivals halls, lines build up when several long-haul flights land together, and physical tourist SIMs involve passport checks and paperwork at the counter. Airport Wi-Fi gets you through immigration formalities, but you will want real data the moment you step toward the Narita Express or the monorail.
A travel eSIM removes the whole problem: install it at home before you fly, and it connects to a local network as soon as the wheels touch down at NRT or HND — no kiosk, no paperwork, no roaming fees from your home operator. Your physical SIM stays in place, so you keep your usual number for banking codes and messages while the eSIM carries the data. For Tokyo specifically, where you will lean on transit apps, live train times and translation constantly, having data before you leave the arrivals hall is the single best upgrade to the trip. Browse current data packs on the Japan eSIM plans page before you fly.
Practical tips
- Add a Suica or Pasmo card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet before you arrive — you can top it up by card and skip ticket machines entirely.
- Carry some cash: cards work in most places now, but small ramen shops, shrines and old izakaya are often cash-only; 7-Eleven ATMs accept foreign cards.
- Never tip — it isn't done anywhere in Japan and staff may chase you down to return the money.
- Public bins are rare; carry a small bag for your rubbish like locals do.
- Keep quiet on trains and set your phone to silent — calls in the carriage are a serious faux pas.
- Stand on the left of escalators in Tokyo (the opposite of Osaka).
- The last trains leave around midnight and taxis after that are expensive — check your route home before the evening starts.
- Avoid the morning rush (7:30-9:00) with luggage; use a takkyubin courier service to send suitcases to your next hotel instead of dragging them through stations.
FAQ
Which eSIM works best in Tokyo?
A travel eSIM that connects to Japan's major networks — NTT Docomo, au (KDDI) or SoftBank — will perform excellently across Tokyo, including the subway. AviaeSIM's Japan plans install in minutes from a QR code before you fly and activate automatically on landing at Narita or Haneda, so you skip airport SIM queues and roaming charges entirely.
Does the eSIM work on the Tokyo metro?
Yes. Japanese networks provide mobile coverage on underground platforms and inside the tunnels between stations, which is rare worldwide. Google Maps navigation, transfer alerts and messaging keep working through most of your ride. Signal can dip briefly on a few older deep sections, but you will almost never lose connectivity for long on the Tokyo Metro, Toei or JR lines.
How do I get from Narita Airport to central Tokyo?
The Narita Express (N'EX) runs to Tokyo Station in about 55 minutes for ~¥3,070, continuing to Shibuya and Shinjuku. The Keisei Skyliner reaches Ueno in ~45 minutes for ~¥2,570. Budget options include the Keisei Access Express (~¥1,300) and airport buses to Tokyo/Ginza from ~¥1,500. Buy tickets with a card at machines, or tap through with Suica on the ordinary lines.
Can I pay by card or phone everywhere in Tokyo?
Mostly, but not everywhere. Convenience stores, chains, department stores and transit all take cards and contactless payment, and Suica in your phone wallet covers trains, buses, vending machines and many shops. However, small family restaurants, shrines, market stalls and some old izakaya remain cash-only, so keep ¥5,000-10,000 in cash. 7-Eleven ATMs reliably accept foreign cards.
Is Tokyo safe at night?
Tokyo is one of the safest major cities in the world; walking at night is normal even for solo travellers, and lost wallets famously come back via police boxes (koban). Use standard big-city sense in nightlife pockets like Kabukicho — ignore street touts inviting you into bars, as inflated-bill scams target tourists there. Trains stop around midnight, so plan your way back.
Do I need to tip in Tokyo?
No — tipping is not part of Japanese culture and can cause genuine confusion; staff may run after you to return the money. Excellent service is simply the standard, already included in the price. The polite way to show appreciation is a sincere thank-you (arigatou gozaimasu) and, at ryokan or for private guides, a small gift rather than cash.
How much mobile data do I need for a week in Tokyo?
Plan on 1-2 GB per day if you navigate, translate menus, use transit apps and post photos — so a 10 GB eSIM plan covers a comfortable week. Heavy video calls or streaming push that higher; hotel Wi-Fi can absorb the evening load. Free public Wi-Fi exists but is patchy and often requires registration, so don't build your trip around it.