Planned in Wanderjoy
Tokyo First-Timer Essentials 2026
Tokyo, Japan · May 12 – May 16 · 5 days · 15 stops
🚇 GETTING AROUND • Get a Suica or Pasmo in Apple Wallet before you land — it works on every train, bus and convenience store • The Yamanote loop line connects nearly everything on this plan • Trains stop around 00:30 and taxis after that are genuinely expensive • Google Maps is accurate to the platform and exit number here; trust the exit it gives you ______ 🍜 EATING • Ticket machines at the door are normal — pay first, hand the slip over, sit down • Lunch sets at the same restaurant run roughly half the dinner price • Convenience store food is a real option, not a compromise • Tipping does not exist and will be refused ______ 🗾 GOOD TO KNOW • Mid-May is 18–25°C and comfortable — a light layer for evenings • Carry some cash; small restaurants and shrines are still cash-only • Rubbish bins are rare — expect to carry your litter until you find a convenience store • Stand left on Tokyo escalators (right in Osaka)
Shibuya · Yoyogi · Jingumae
10:00 AM · Shibuya, Tokyo
Cross it once at street level, then watch from the free second-floor window at Shibuya Station's Mark City walkway. The paid Sky observation deck shows you the same thing for ¥2,500.
1:00 PM · Yoyogi, Shibuya
Free, and a 10-minute forest walk from the Harajuku gate drops the city noise almost completely. Bow once at the torii; rinse left hand, right hand, then mouth at the water pavilion.
4:00 PM · Jingumae, Shibuya
Ten minutes is enough for the main street. The better shops are one block over on Cat Street, which runs quietly back toward Shibuya.
Asakusa · Ueno
8:00 AM · Asakusa, Taito
Arrive by 8am and the approach is nearly empty — by 11 it is shoulder to shoulder. The grounds are open 24 hours even when the main hall is not.
10:00 AM · Asakusa, Taito
Buy the ningyo-yaki here and eat it warm; most stalls sell boxed versions that are days old. Eating while walking is mildly frowned on — step to the side.
2:00 PM · Ueno, Taito
The Tokyo National Museum is ¥1,000 and holds the best samurai and Buddhist collection in the country. Two hours covers the Honkan main hall without rushing.
Nishi-Shinjuku · Shinjuku
9:30 AM · Nishi-Shinjuku, Tokyo
Free, 202 metres up, and on a clear morning you can see Fuji to the southwest. Go at opening — the queue is 40 minutes by afternoon and costs nothing either way.
12:00 PM · Shinjuku, Tokyo
¥500 and the single best place in central Tokyo to sit down. Three garden styles in one park; the greenhouse is worth the detour if it rains.
6:30 PM · Nishi-Shinjuku, Tokyo
Six-seat yakitori counters in an alley under the tracks. Most have a ¥500–1,000 cover; point at what the person next to you is having and it works out.
Tsukiji · Chiyoda · Ginza
8:00 AM · Tsukiji, Chuo
The inner wholesale market moved to Toyosu, but the outer market is the part worth visiting and still opens at dawn. Come hungry and eat standing — tamagoyaki, uni, grilled scallop.
11:00 AM · Chiyoda, Tokyo
Free, and the old castle keep foundation is the one piece of Edo Tokyo still standing at scale. Closed Mondays and Fridays, which catches people out.
3:00 PM · Ginza, Chuo
On Saturday and Sunday afternoons Chuo-dori closes to cars and the whole avenue becomes a walkway. The depachika food halls under Mitsukoshi are free to wander and heavy on samples.
Toyosu · Sotokanda · Marunouchi
10:00 AM · Toyosu, Koto
Book ahead — ¥3,800 and weekend slots go a week out. You walk barefoot through ankle-deep water, so wear shorts or trousers that roll above the knee.
2:00 PM · Sotokanda, Chiyoda
Start at the top floor of a multi-storey shop and work down — that is how they are merchandised, rarest at the top. Sunday afternoon the main street goes car-free.
6:00 PM · Marunouchi, Chiyoda
Eight shops in the basement, each a different regional style, all around ¥1,000 on a ticket machine at the door. The queues move in about 15 minutes.
