5 Days: Tokyo and Beyond
Five days is enough to actually stop counting neighborhoods and start feeling like you understand the place, and it leaves room for two proper day trips outside the city. This extends the 4-day itinerary with a Hakone day added on; go one further into Nikko territory with the 6-day version .
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Shinjuku and Shibuya: free observatories, the Scramble, Meiji Shrine |
| 2 | Asakusa, Ueno and Akihabara: Senso-ji, the National Museum, electronics |
| 3 | Harajuku, Omotesando and Ginza, plus teamLab Borderless in the evening |
| 4 | Day trip to Kamakura: the Great Buddha and a beach town |
| 5 | Day trip to Hakone: ropeway, Lake Ashi cruise, Mt Fuji views |
Book these before you go
- teamLab Borderless: book ahead on GetYourGuide , same-day slots are rare.
- A guided Kamakura day trip: browse options on GetYourGuide if you’d rather skip the solo navigation.
- A Hakone day tour or the Hakone Free Pass: check current tours on Viator , or buy the pass direct from Odakyu.
- Five nights on the Yamanote loop: compare rates on Agoda .
Land and tap in before day 1
Fly into Haneda over Narita if your itinerary allows it, the monorail or Keikyu Line puts you in the city center in under 20 minutes versus well over an hour from Narita. Load Welcome Suica Mobile onto your phone before departure (free, no counter line) or grab a physical Welcome Suica at arrivals. One card, every train and bus, for the whole trip.
Day 1: Shinjuku and Shibuya
Base yourself in Shinjuku or Shibuya, both sit on the Yamanote Line loop. Morning starts at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building’s free observatories, a view that rivals Skytree for zero yen, plus a nightly light show thrown in. Ride the loop to Shibuya, cross the Scramble , and grab lunch at a yakitori counter in Nonbei Yokocho. Afternoon belongs to Meiji Shrine ’s forest calm near Harajuku Station, and evening winds down in Golden Gai’s tiny bars back in Shinjuku.
Day 2: Asakusa, Ueno and Akihabara
Senso-ji Temple is free, and Nakamise shopping street on the approach earns the crowd for the snacks alone. Ueno Park follows, with the Tokyo National Museum and a walk around Shinobazu Pond filling the late morning. Spend the afternoon in Akihabara’s multi-floor arcades and electronics shops, then close with a conveyor-belt sushi dinner, ¥1,500 to 2,500 for a full meal.
Day 3: Harajuku, Omotesando and Ginza
Takeshita Street’s fashion and crepes fill the morning, then Omotesando’s calmer, upscale stretch takes over. The Imperial Palace East Garden is free and worth the walk in early afternoon. Book ahead for teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills in the evening, it reopened here in 2024 after Odaiba closed, tickets ¥3,600 to 5,600 and worth locking in before you land since same-day slots rarely exist.
Day 4: Day Trip to Kamakura
The JR Yokosuka Line gets you there in about an hour from Tokyo or Shinagawa. The open-air Great Buddha at Kotoku-in, hillside temples, and a genuine beach town make for an easy, unrushed day that feels nothing like the capital you just left.
Day 5: Day Trip to Hakone
The Odakyu Romancecar from Shinjuku covers the roughly 90-minute trip in comfort, and the Hakone Free Pass (around ¥7,100 for two days from Shinjuku) bundles the round-trip train, the Tozan railway and bus, the ropeway, and a pirate-ship cruise across Lake Ashi into one ticket. On a clear day, Mt Fuji shows up across the water from Owakudani or the lake itself, though it’s genuinely weather-dependent, so don’t bank the whole day on the view alone.
Here’s my one hard opinion for this trip: don’t try to squeeze Kamakura and Hakone into the same day. I’ve seen people attempt it and it turns into two rushed half-visits instead of two good ones. Hakone alone fills a day with the ropeway, the cruise, and the Fuji chase. Give each trip its own day and you’ll actually remember both of them.
Where to stay
Shinjuku or Shibuya still anchors this trip well, both sit on the Yamanote loop and both put you close to the Romancecar and Yokosuka Line departure points for your two day trips.
Do Kamakura and Hakone need separate days, or can you combine them?
Separate days, always. Kamakura is an hour south by JR train and Hakone is 90 minutes west by Odakyu Romancecar, in the opposite direction, so combining them into one day means two rushed half-visits and a lot of wasted transfer time. Give each its own full day and both are genuinely worth it.
Things to know before you land
Tipping isn’t customary here and can genuinely confuse staff if attempted. Keep some yen on hand regardless of how card-friendly the city feels, since smaller shops, older izakayas, and shrine stalls still want cash. And with the yen sitting weak against the dollar, near or above ¥160 lately, this is a genuinely good stretch to be spending here.
Five days, five distinct days, zero repeats. Book teamLab and your Hakone Free Pass ahead, and let the rest of the schedule breathe.
Official references: Go Tokyo , JR East , Kamakura’s official tourism site , and Hakone Navi for the Free Pass terms.