7 Days: Tokyo and Beyond
A full week in Tokyo is where the trip stops feeling like a checklist and starts feeling like a life you’re briefly living. Three days deep in the city, four day trips out of it, and enough breathing room that nothing gets rushed. This is the 6-day itinerary plus a closing day in Yokohama; if you’d rather spend that seventh day back inside Tokyo instead, see the plain 7-day Tokyo itinerary .
| 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 |
| 6 | Day trip to Nikko: the UNESCO-listed Toshogu Shrine |
| 7 | Yokohama: Minato Mirai and Chinatown, then departure prep |
Book these before you go
- teamLab Borderless: book ahead on GetYourGuide .
- A Hakone day tour or Free Pass: check current tours on Viator .
- A guided Nikko day trip: browse options on GetYourGuide .
- Seven 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 the hour-plus haul 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 entire week.
Day 1: Shinjuku and Shibuya
Base yourself in Shinjuku or Shibuya, both sit on the Yamanote Line loop. Start at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building’s free observatories, a skyline view that rivals Skytree for zero yen, plus a nightly light show on the east facade. Ride the loop to Shibuya, cross the Scramble , and grab lunch at a yakitori counter in Nonbei Yokocho. Afternoon is Meiji Shrine ’s forest calm near Harajuku Station, evening winds down through Golden Gai’s shoebox bars back in Shinjuku.
Day 2: Asakusa, Ueno and Akihabara
Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa is free, and Nakamise shopping street on the approach earns the crowd for the snacks alone. Ueno Park follows, the Tokyo National Museum and a walk around Shinobazu Pond filling the late morning. Spend the afternoon in Akihabara’s electronics shops and multi-floor arcades, 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 genuinely peaceful in early afternoon. Book ahead for teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills in the evening, it reopened here in 2024 after the original Odaiba site closed, tickets ¥3,600 to 5,600, and same-day slots basically don’t exist.
Day 4: Day Trip to Kamakura
The JR Yokosuka Line covers the roughly hour-long ride 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.
Day 5: Day Trip to Hakone
The Odakyu Romancecar from Shinjuku takes about 90 minutes, and the Hakone Free Pass, roughly ¥7,100 for two days or ¥7,500 for three, bundles the round-trip train, Tozan railway and bus, ropeway, and a pirate-ship cruise across Lake Ashi into one ticket. Owakudani and the lake both offer Mt Fuji views weather permitting.
Day 6: Day Trip to Nikko
The Tobu Limited Express from Asakusa runs about two hours, and Toshogu Shrine, UNESCO-listed and dense with ornate carvings, deserves the full day rather than a rushed pass-through. Give it the whole day and nothing else.
Day 7: Yokohama and Departure Prep
Save the last full day for Yokohama, just 30 minutes out from Tokyo or Shinagawa. Minato Mirai’s waterfront and one of the world’s larger Chinatowns make an easy, low-key half day, a deliberate gear-change after three straight days of train trips. Spend the afternoon back in Tokyo picking up last souvenirs, maybe a final depachika run through Isetan Shinjuku’s basement food hall for gifts that actually taste good, before a final dinner near your hotel.
Here’s the opinion this whole week backs up: even with four day trips stacked into seven days, the nationwide JR Pass still doesn’t pay for itself. At roughly ¥50,000 for seven days, it only makes sense if you’re doing a genuine long-haul round trip, something like Tokyo to Hiroshima and back. Kamakura, Hakone, Nikko, and Yokohama each cost a fraction of that individually, on top of your IC card covering every local ride. Pay as you go and you’ll spend less while keeping full flexibility over the schedule.
Where to stay
Shinjuku or Shibuya anchors the whole week well, both sit on the Yamanote loop and both put you close to every departure station for the four day trips above.
Why end the week in Yokohama instead of one more Tokyo day?
Because four straight day trips plus three city days needs a gear-change before the flight home, and Yokohama’s Minato Mirai waterfront is a genuinely easy, low-key half day rather than one more checklist stop. It’s also just 30 minutes from Tokyo or Shinagawa, so it costs almost nothing in transit time.
Things to know before you land
Tipping isn’t customary in Japan and can genuinely confuse staff if attempted, so skip it. Carry some yen regardless of how card-friendly the city feels, since smaller shops, older izakayas, and shrine stalls still prefer cash. And with the yen sitting weak against the dollar, near or above ¥160 lately, this stretch of travel costs noticeably less than it would have a few years ago.
Seven days, four day trips, one IC card that never leaves your pocket. Book teamLab and your Hakone Free Pass early, pace the week so Nikko gets its full day, and let Yokohama close things out gently instead of rushing straight to the airport.
Official references: Go Tokyo , JR East , Hakone Navi , Nikko’s official tourism site , and Yokohama’s official visitor site for Minato Mirai event listings.