Tokyo Travel Guide 2026: Before You Go

Land at either airport, tap a Suica card at the gate, and Tokyo starts working for you immediately. Give the city itself 3-5 days minimum, budget somewhere between ¥8,000 and ¥15,000 a day once accommodation is sorted, and skip the nationwide JR Pass unless you’re bolting a long Shinkansen trip onto the end. Everything else in this guide is detail on top of that.

Tokyo essentials at a glance
Days needed 3-5 for the city alone
Best months March-April and October-November
Daily budget ¥6,000-9,000 budget, ¥12,000-18,000 mid-range, ¥25,000+ splurge
Book ahead teamLab, Shibuya Sky and the Ghibli Museum sell out days to weeks out

Getting around: the IC card is the whole trick

Get a Suica or PASMO IC card the moment you land, physical or mobile, and stop thinking about tickets for the rest of the trip. Welcome Suica (physical, no deposit, valid 28 days) and Welcome Suica Mobile (free, straight into Apple Wallet, valid 180 days) both cover trains, buses, vending machines and konbini registers on one tap. A newer option, Tourist Pasmo, launched in May 2026 with the same no-deposit 28-day deal in a souvenir-worthy design.

The JR Yamanote Line is the loop that matters most, a roughly 60-minute circuit connecting Tokyo Station, Ueno, Akihabara, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ikebukuro. Tokyo Metro’s nine lines and Toei Subway’s four fill in everywhere else, on the same tap-in-tap-out fare system as JR. Whichever hotel you book, check which line it sits on first, that decision saves more time over a week than a marginally cheaper room three transfers away.

What is actually worth paying for in Tokyo?

Not much, honestly. Senso-ji, Meiji Shrine, the Imperial Palace East Gardens and the free twin observatories at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku cost nothing and cover most of what people fly here for. The paid stuff worth the money: Shibuya Sky (¥2,700 booked before 3pm, ¥3,400 for the sunset-covering slots from 3pm onward, and the 3pm-onward tier sells out first) and teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills (¥3,600-5,600 depending on the slot). Tokyo Skytree, at ¥1,800-2,100 for the 350m deck, is fine but doesn’t beat the free government building view.

Book Shibuya Sky and teamLab through GetYourGuide or directly with the venues well before you land. Same-day walk-up tickets for either are a real gamble, not a backup plan.

Where to go: the neighborhoods, one line each

  • Shinjuku: skyscrapers, free observation decks, Kabukicho neon, Golden Gai’s shoebox bars.
  • Shibuya: the Scramble Crossing, youth fashion, Shibuya Sky.
  • Asakusa: Senso-ji, Nakamise shopping street, old-Tokyo pace.
  • Ginza: department stores, art galleries, polish.
  • Akihabara: electronics floors and anime/manga culture stacked six stories high.
  • Harajuku: Takeshita Street fashion crowds, Omotesando’s calmer upscale side.
  • Yanaka: shitamachi backstreets that survived WWII bombing, cat cafes.
  • Shimokitazawa: vintage shops and indie live-music bars, a slower gear.

For the full day-by-day version of this list, see the 3-day or 5-day Tokyo itinerary.

How many days do you actually need in Tokyo?

Three days covers the core loop of old Tokyo, youth culture and one paid attraction without rushing. Five days adds a backstreet neighborhood and a bay or sumo-culture day. Anything past five is genuinely worth it for a city this dense, but three is the honest minimum for a first look that doesn’t feel like a layover.

Eat like it’s a full-time hobby

Conveyor-belt sushi chains (Sushiro, Kura, Genki) run from ¥120 a plate, a full meal ¥1,500-2,500, which beats a formal omakase splurge for most first-timers. Ramen runs ¥800-1,200 a bowl, izakaya dinners with drinks ¥2,500-4,500 a person. Don’t skip konbini food, 7-Eleven and Lawson onigiri and fried chicken are genuinely good for ¥300-800 a meal, and depachika food halls under department stores like Isetan Shinjuku sell bento and desserts worth building a stop around. Tipping isn’t customary and can confuse staff, so don’t leave cash on the table.

When to go: Tokyo month by month

Cherry blossom season is forecast-dependent, typically late March into early April; 2026’s forecast has Tokyo starting around March 19 with full bloom near March 27-28, earlier than average, so check closer to your dates. Autumn colour peaks in November. Summer (June-September) is hot, humid and includes both the tsuyu rainy season (early June-mid July) and typhoon season (August-October) that can disrupt trains and flights. Golden Week (2026: continuous holidays roughly April 29-May 6) and Obon (most of Japan, August 13-16, 2026) bring domestic crowds and higher prices nationwide, book well ahead if your trip overlaps either. Shops and attractions largely close January 1-3 for New Year.

Is the JR Pass worth it for a Tokyo-only trip?

Usually not. The nationwide pass held at ¥50,000 for seven days through September 30, 2026, then rises to ¥53,000 (¥74,000 Green Car) for overseas-agency channels from October 1, though the official Japan Rail Pass website may hold the lower price a little longer, worth checking directly. Break-even needs a long round trip like Tokyo-Hiroshima within the week. For a Tokyo-only stay, pay per ride with your IC card instead.

Where to stay in Tokyo

Shinjuku and Shibuya are the easiest bases, both directly on the Yamanote loop, with budget business hotels from roughly ¥12,000-18,000 a night and hostels or capsule stays under ¥5,000. Asakusa runs quieter and often cheaper, a smart pick if you’re flying into Narita since the Keisei Skyliner drops you one stop away at Ueno. Ginza costs more but earns it with quiet nights close to Tokyo Station. Compare current rates across all four on Agoda , which tends to have the deeper Tokyo inventory of the major booking sites.

For more on the city itself, including a practical rundown of prices and booking lead times, see our Tokyo place guide . Planning to see more of Japan on the same trip, including Kamakura, Hakone and Nikko, works better as its own route: check the Tokyo and Beyond guide .

Official references worth bookmarking before you fly: Go Tokyo , the city’s own tourism site, Tokyo Metro for subway maps and fares, and JR East for the current Japan Rail Pass rules.

Book your first two or three nights before you land, then decide the rest once you’ve felt how the neighborhood actually sits on the Yamanote loop.