Tokyo 4 Day Itinerary
Tokyo 4-Day Itinerary
The tuna auction moved out of Tsukiji in 2018, permanently, to a sterile new complex on a man-made island called Toyosu, and yet Tsukiji itself never actually closed. What tourists loved about the old market, the tamagoyaki stalls, the knife shops, the standing sushi counters, stayed exactly where it was. Anyone still writing about “Tsukiji Fish Market or the new Toyosu market” as if it’s one interchangeable choice hasn’t kept up.
Day 1: Central Tokyo
Land at Haneda if you have the choice; the Keikyu Line gets you to Shinagawa in about thirteen minutes for 310 yen, versus Narita’s cheapest option, the Keisei Limited Express, which takes ninety minutes to Ueno for 1,320 yen, or the faster Skyliner at 2,520 yen for forty-one minutes. Grab a Suica or Pasmo IC card at any airport ticket machine on arrival, 2,000 yen total with a refundable deposit, and you won’t touch a paper ticket again for the rest of the trip.
Start the morning at Meiji Shrine, whose forest feels startlingly quiet given it sits between Shibuya and Harajuku, two of the loudest districts in the city. Walk from there into Harajuku and Takeshita Street for the fashion chaos, then head to Tsukiji’s outer market, still open, still the better food stop, for lunch at one of the standing sushi counters rather than Toyosu, which is worth seeing for the tuna auction only if you win the reservation lottery and don’t mind a 4 a.m. wake-up. Evening belongs to Hama-Rikyu Gardens, a tidal pond garden that looks completely at odds with the skyscrapers ringing it, followed by dinner at a proper sushi omakase counter in Minato rather than a hotel restaurant.
Day 2: Shibuya, Odaiba, and Akihabara
Cross Shibuya Scramble at rush hour once, purely for the spectacle of a thousand people flowing in six directions at once without colliding, then get out before the crowds wear you down. If teamLab is on your list, note that Borderless relocated in 2024 from its old Odaiba home to Azabudai Hills near Kamiyacho Station, a two-minute walk from Exit 5; tickets run 3,800 to 4,800 yen for adults and sell out fast on weekends, so book online days ahead, not on arrival. That means an Odaiba afternoon now works better as a standalone waterfront stroll and shopping stop rather than a teamLab pairing.
Akihabara in the evening is still the country’s best concentration of anime, manga, and retro electronics shops stacked six floors high. My honest opinion: skip the maid cafes unless novelty alone is worth the inflated menu prices, and instead spend that hour in one of the used-game shops in the back streets off the main drag, where the real Akihabara culture lives.
Day 3: Asakusa and a corrected evening plan
Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa is Tokyo’s oldest temple and the Nakamise-dori approach leading up to it is genuinely worth the crowds, especially for fried manju and rice crackers sold along the way. From there the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line or the Yurikamome waterfront line both loop back toward central Tokyo efficiently. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower delivers one of the best panoramic views in the city, worth timing for late afternoon into blue hour so you get both daylight and skyline lights.
For dinner, a necessary correction: the original Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku that ran wild all-night robot shows closed in 2020 and, after reopening in 2023 under new ownership, now runs as a single daytime show roughly 2:30 to 5 p.m., not the late-night spectacle older guides describe. If you want that after-dark, over-the-top Shinjuku spectacle experience, look at Samurai Restaurant instead, opened by the same original producers as a direct successor in Kabukicho. Book whichever one fits your schedule, but don’t show up at 9 p.m. expecting the old format.
Day 4: Shopping and departure
Spend the morning in Ginza for polished department stores and flagship boutiques, or Omotesando for a more design-forward, tree-lined version of the same idea. For lunch, Ichiran’s private ramen booths are touristy but the tonkotsu broth genuinely earns the hype, and the solo booth setup is oddly perfect for a last quiet meal before a long flight. Use the afternoon for souvenirs, then head back to your departure airport with enough buffer for Tokyo’s often-slow airport security lines during peak season.
Cash still matters more here than in most developed cities; plenty of small izakayas and older shops do not take cards, so keep yen on hand even with a full IC card balance. Tipping is not expected anywhere, and offering it can actually cause an awkward moment as staff try to hand it back to you.