Tokyo: 9 Things Worth Doing
Most Tokyo lists run to forty items and exhaust you before you land. Cut it down and nine things earn a spot: a dawn temple, a free skyline, one paid digital-art ticket, a tiny-bar crawl, and a market breakfast that isn’t where you think it is. Everything else on the usual checklist is filler or, worse, outdated. If a guide is still sending you to Robot Restaurant, it closed in 2020 and never came back in its original form; the Samurai Restaurant in the same Kabukicho building runs an 18-and-over sword show that’s a different act under different owners, not a substitute.
| Essentials | |
|---|---|
| Days needed | 3-4 to cover this list without sprinting (see the 3-day itinerary ) |
| Best months | March for blossom (book early) or Oct-Nov for mild, thinner crowds |
| Daily budget | ¥8,000 tight, ¥15,000-20,000 mid-range, ¥30,000+ comfortable |
| Book ahead | teamLab and Shibuya Sky sell out days to weeks out, not same-day |
Things worth doing in Tokyo
1. Senso-ji and Nakamise-dori before 8am
Tokyo’s oldest temple is free and worth the fuss made over it, but only if you arrive before the tour buses. By 10am on a weekend it’s a queue with incense smoke. Walk Nakamise-dori for the food stalls, tamagoyaki and rice crackers, not the souvenir stands, which sell the same imported trinkets outside every temple gate in the country.
2. Meiji Shrine’s forest, not just the shrine
The shrine itself is plain by design. The point is the walk in: a century-old planted forest that mutes Harajuku’s noise almost instantly once you’re past the torii. Free, donation optional. Fifteen minutes later you’re back in Takeshita-dori’s crepe-and-fashion crush, which is either fun or exhausting depending on your tolerance for crowds.
3. Shibuya Scramble, once, on foot
Cross it, get the photo, move on. It’s the most photographed intersection in the world and it’s genuinely worth seeing once. It is not worth a second crossing or a long detour.
4. teamLab Planets at Toyosu
Book online before you fly. This is the wet, barefoot, wading version of teamLab, at Toyosu, not Odaiba (that original site closed in 2022; teamLab Borderless reopened at Azabudai Hills in 2024, a separate venue entirely). Planets runs ¥3,800 on weekdays and ¥4,200 on weekends and holidays. Give it a genuine two hours, not a rushed forty minutes, and book the ticket on GetYourGuide rather than gambling on a walk-up slot.
5. The free skyline everyone skips
Skip every paid observation deck in this city and ride the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building’s twin towers in Shinjuku instead. Both are free, according to the official Go Tokyo listing , the view rivals Skytree’s on a clear day, and the building runs a free nightly light-projection show on its east facade from sunset to around 9pm. Nobody markets this hard because nobody makes money off a free deck.
6. Tsukiji outer market, not Toyosu, for breakfast
The wholesale tuna auction moved to Toyosu in 2018 and isn’t coming back to Tsukiji. What’s left at the original site, the outer market’s grilled skewers, tamagoyaki and standing sushi counters, is still one of the best food crawls in the city. Arrive before 9am; the market closes some Sundays and Wednesdays, so check ahead.
7. Akihabara, wandered without a plan
Electronics, retro games and anime culture stacked six floors high. You don’t need an itinerary here, just an hour before the afternoon crowds thicken. Skip committing to a themed maid cafe unless the novelty alone is worth the inflated menu; the used-game shops on the back streets are the better hour.
8. Golden Gai, one bar, all night
Roughly 200 tiny bars in a cluster of alleys in Shinjuku, most seating six to ten people. Pick one, sit at the counter, order what the regulars are having. Some post a locals-only sign in Japanese; if you can’t read the door, look for an English menu taped up before you duck in.
9. Yanaka, for the version of Tokyo that isn’t rushing anywhere
Old shitamachi Tokyo, spared the WWII firebombing that flattened most of the rest of the city. Narrow lanes, a cemetery walk that’s contemplative rather than morbid, and more cat cafes than one neighbourhood needs. This is the quiet Tokyo people mean when they say it exists; you just have to walk past Ueno’s crowds to find it.
Skip these
Robot Restaurant (closed, see above), a rushed teamLab visit under 90 minutes, any “Tsukiji Fish Market” listing promising a tuna auction, and a formal omakase splurge on night one when a conveyor-belt or Toyosu-market sushi breakfast is better value for a first-timer. For a deeper neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood take on the same nine picks, see the Tokyo place profile .
When to go
Cherry blossom season is forecast-dependent; 2026 projections have Tokyo starting bloom around March 19 with full bloom around March 27-28, earlier than average, so check closer to your travel dates since weather shifts it. Autumn leaves peak in November, timing varies by park. Summer (June-September) is hot, humid, and rainy through early July, with typhoon season running August-October capable of disrupting trains and flights. Golden Week (2026: continuous holidays roughly April 29-May 6, the core crush May 2-6) and Obon (most of Japan August 13-16) bring domestic crowds and price spikes nationwide; book well ahead or avoid those windows. New Year (Jan 1-3) closes many shops and restaurants while shrines fill for the first visit of the year.
Where to stay in Tokyo
Shinjuku puts you on the Yamanote loop with hotels at every price point and easy reach of Golden Gai. Asakusa suits a slower, traditional trip near the old temples. Shibuya works if nightlife and youth culture are the priority, though it’s louder after dark. Ginza is the upscale base if budget isn’t the constraint. Compare rooms across all four on Agoda , which tends to have deeper Tokyo inventory than Western booking sites.
Is the JR Pass worth it for a Tokyo-only trip?
Usually not. The nationwide pass sits at ¥50,000 for seven days through September 2026, rising to roughly ¥53,000 via overseas agencies from October 1 (the official site may hold the lower price a bit longer, so check there first). It only pays for itself on long return trips like Tokyo to Hiroshima. For a city-only stay, an IC card covers every train, bus and vending machine for less.
Do I need to tip anywhere in Tokyo?
No. Tipping isn’t the custom and can genuinely confuse restaurant and hotel staff, some will chase you down to return money left on a table. Service is already built into the price everywhere from ramen counters to hotels, and IC cards or cash cover the rest.
FAQ
Which IC card should I get? Welcome Suica (physical, no deposit, 28-day validity) or the newer Tourist Pasmo, launched May 2026 at Narita and Haneda with the same no-deposit deal in a kanji-themed design. Both work identically on trains, buses and convenience stores.
Is Tsukiji still worth visiting? Yes, for the outer market’s food stalls, but not for a tuna auction; that moved to Toyosu in 2018 and isn’t returning.
How crowded is Shibuya Sky compared to the free alternative? Sunset slots sell out weeks ahead and the daytime ticket still costs ¥2,700-3,400; the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building’s twin decks are free with a comparable view, which is the better trade for most visitors.
One last tip: reserve what actually sells out, teamLab and any sumo tournament tickets, and let the free skyline and the outer market fill the rest of the itinerary without a booking in sight. Got more than four days? See Tokyo as a base for Japan day trips before you plan the rest of the week.