One Week in Tokyo, Japan — First Timer Itinerary + Tips
For our 10 year anniversary this past fall, my partner, Jesse, and I decided to celebrate with a trip to Tokyo, Japan — one of our top bucket list destinations. Though Jesse has joined me on my travels as a destination wedding photographer in Switzerland, Mexico, and all around California, this was our first big international trip together that wasn’t an extended work trip or an excuse to location scout. We had a lot of fun planning what to do and where to stay and ultimately opted to spend our full time in Tokyo with just a loose itinerary with lots of room to go off plan and be spontaneous. We never felt rushed to go from one place to another or tied to any certain restaurant or viewpoint or like we were missing out on part of the experience because of a tight schedule. We truly lived in the moment and made the absolute best memories together!
In this blog, I share all the details from our trip — from where we stayed, how we got around, everything we did, and some tips for future trips and alternate itineraries. Photos are all taken by me and are a mix of Iphone shots, professional images from my Sony, and a few fun film snaps.
Travel Details
Flight info: We flew with American Airlines from LAX to Haneda International Airport. It was a nonstop flight and we got lucky with no delays or other travel mishaps, however we did end up upgrading our seats for the return trip because it was a pretty uncomfortable ride on the way there.
Haneda Airport: The Haneda Airport is about an hour from Shinjuku and pretty straightforward to navigate upon arrival. You’ll go through the usual customs checks, with signage leading you where to go. For our trip home, we took the earliest available limo bus and got to the airport about 2 hours before our flight departure time and still had plenty of time to browse the gift shops and sit down to eat a meal. There were plenty of food options to choose from and boarding our flight was an easy experience.
Getting around Tokyo:
From the airport, we took the Tokyo Limo Bus directly to our hotel. You can book your tickets and see the ride schedule directly on their website. When booking your hotel, see if it’s one of the stops on the bus route for the most convenient option. If your hotel is not a direct stop, you should be able to find directions on your hotel’s website. There’s usually a bus stop or train station within a short walk from any big hotel.
Throughout the rest of our stay, we either walked or took a train or subway to wherever we wanted to go. Google Maps is the biggest help here! For directions, just plug in the place you want to go and Maps will tell you which station to go to (and what entrance to go in), which line you’ll be riding on, what platform to go to, how many stops your ride will have, how much it will cost, and estimated times for arrival and departure. Inside the stations there are signs and floor markings that are helpful in finding the right place to go, but if you ever get lost, the employees will guide you!
To pay for your rides, you can either purchase individual tickets for every trip at the ticket booths in each station — or use a Suica Card, which is what I recommend! The Suica Card is basically just a digital prepaid card that you add to your Apple Wallet. (Wallet > (+) > Add to Wallet >Transit Card > search “Japan” or “Suica” > Finish setup by adding money). When you enter a station, there will be gates to pass through where you will scan your Suica card to pay, just like you would tap to pay with a credit card or when using Apple Pay. The Suica card will automatically pop up on your phone when you are near a gate so all you have to do is tap your phone and go through — if the gate barriers are down, make sure your transaction goes through (that you’re properly “scanned in”) or you’ll get an error when you scan to leave the station at your destination.
If you buy an individual ticket, you will need to know your exact destination, purchase a ticket from one of the ticket kiosks, scan your physical ticket at the entry gate, and then scan your ticket again at exit. This is easy enough if you’re not taking very many train/subway trips but the Suica Card was way more convenient and less confusing.
Where We Stayed
Hotel Century Southern Tower:
When we booked our accommodation, it was about 3 months out from our trip so options were pretty limited within our ideal budget but looking back on our stay, we are really happy with our pick! We booked the Hotel Century Southern Tower for 8 nights and it cost about $2800, which was our biggest expense of the whole trip. The biggest perk of this hotel is it’s location right between Shinjuku and Shibuya — just a 5 minute walk from Shinjuku Station and within walking distance of lots of restaurants and shopping centers. It’s also directly on the Limo Bus route so that heavily influenced our choice to book because we really didn’t want to navigate the train stations with our luggage. The limo bus picks you up right at the airport and has a direct route to certain hotels and stops throughout Tokyo. Hotel Century Southern Tower is on the route so we got dropped off right at the front doors. Aside from location, our room was very clean and spacious, had everything we needed, plus a great view (we booked a panoramic king room), and breakfast was included. Also the 7/11 on the first floor of the building was super convenient for snacks, beverages, and access to an ATM. I don’t really have any complaints other than the part of me that loves interior design and aesthetic spaces wishes the hotel had a little more to offer in that department
Shinjuku:
We came across Hotel Century Southern Tower after deciding that we wanted to base ourselves in Shinjuku or Shibuya. These areas are commonly recommended for first time visitors and the hotel is basically right between them. Aside from Disney, most of the places we went during our trip were less than 30 minutes away by train and after visiting other neighborhoods, we were glad to have stayed closer to Shinjuku. We had everything we needed around us within walking distance — so many food options and shops — but it wasn’t loud at night. We loved this area and would probably stay here again on future trips.
Our Itinerary
For our first trip to Japan, we decided to spend our entire time in Tokyo because we wanted a slower paced trip with lots of room for wandering around and going with the flow. For the most part, we only had one or two “planned” excursions or locations each day and left the rest up to how we felt in the moment. We really enjoyed doing our experience this way, but you could easily condense our itinerary into a shorter amount of days. After sharing more about everything we did, I’ll share my itinerary recommendations for shorter trips and what we’d prioritize on our next visit and what we’d probably skip.
Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo
Day 2: Yoyogi Park + Meiji Shrine + Takeshita Street
Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market + teamLab Borderless
Day 4: Udon Shin + shopping in Shinjuku
Day 5: Sensoji Temple + Asakusa + Hie Shrine
Day 6: Shibuya Scramble + Skytower
Day 7: Tokyo DisneySea (day trip)
Day 7: Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Day 8: Depart Tokyo
Note: Sunset was around 5pm during our trip and everything on our itinerary (aside from our Borderless visit) was done during the day. By the time it got dark, we were usually on our way back to or already in Shinjuku. We would walk around the city at night, go out for dinner, or browse shops after our daily excursions.
Yoyogi Park & Meiji Shrine
Yoyogi Park is one of Tokyo’s largest parks, featuring lakes, ponds, large lawns, and beautiful forested trails. This was the very first thing we did during our trip and is still one of our favorite memories. We walked from our hotel to the West Gate entrance in about 20 minutes. We stopped for coffee before going into the park, then found a spot to sit on a big lawn by a lake and just hung out in the sun for awhile. There were lots of families lounging around reading, kids rolling down the hills, people taking photos, and just enjoying the peaceful energy. It was a simple experience but we felt so happy being there.
Yoyogi park is adjacent to the Meiji Jingu Shrine so we eventually walked over there and stopped at a cafe along the way for matcha and pastries. Between Yoyogi and Meiji, we spent a good 3 hours walking around at a leisurely pace and even walked through the park again a few other times during our trip. There are multiple entrances so it’s pretty easy to access no matter which way you’re coming from. Admission is free and there are plenty of bathrooms.
Harajuku / Takeshita Street
Takeshita Street is a famous shopping street in Harajuku, known for its fashion, food, and for being a center of Japanese youth culture. It’s a short walk from Meiji Jingu so we headed here after visiting the gardens. The energy here is buzzing with excitement and while it was fun to see, it was a bit overstimulating with everything being so confined along one street. It’s very crowded and lines for some shops were pretty long but I think if your interests aligned with what’s offered here, you’d probably enjoy it! There were lots of anime shops, animal cafes, young adult clothing stores, and food places selling a variety of popular Japanese treats. I had Takeshita Street on my list specifically for crepes, but didn’t end up buying any since we ate somewhere else recently. They looked good though!
Along the main street perpendicular to Takeshita, you’ll find a lot of larger shoe and clothing stores (for common popular brands like New Balance, Ugg, Hoka, etc.) and restaurant options more suited for sitting down to eat. There are also some great vintage/second hand stores around Harajuku.
Tsukiji Fish Market
The Tsukiji Fish Market , Japan’s “Food Town”, is a series of streets and alleyways lined with restaurants and food stalls selling traditional Japanese foods, snacks, fresh fish, and seafood dishes. It’s got a rep for being a “tourist trap” these days, but as a first time visitor to Japan, this turned out to be our favorite place to eat! We loved that you could buy small portions, often on skewers or in a small serving boat, because it meant we could try a lot of different options without filling up on one thing. We got a little bit of everything — grilled meats, fresh sushi, onigiri, fried cheese balls, shrimp tempura, octopus, and even a bag of Japanese seasoned nuts.
The market is typically open from 8 or 9 am - 3 pm every day except Sundays and some Wednesdays. To get the freshest food before they sell out and to avoid crowds, it’s best to go on the earlier end of this range. We got there around 8:30 am on a Monday and it was pretty quiet for the most part but by 10:30 am the streets were packed and lines for some of the more popular spots were so long they stopped letting people queue.
Note: It’s generally expected that you don’t walk around while you eat, so stay inside or right out front of wherever you get your food from. Most places will also only allow you to throw trash in their bin if you purchased it there, so don’t collect wrappers and try to toss them just anywhere. Also note that many places are cash only.
teamLab Borderless
TeamLab Borderless is an immersive digital art museum that you’ll find listed on most Japan travel blogs. Because of this, it was a must see for us, but we were completely underwhelmed by it. It’s cool if you’ve never been to anything like this before or if you just want the photo-op, but we were pretty over it after 30 minutes. What you see in the photos online are pretty much what you get. It does seem like a great activity for kids though — there were a lot of families there when we went. Definitely get your tickets in advance through their website because time slots do sell out. Prices vary but our tickets were $32 each.
Udon Shin
One of the only restaurants that we specifically had on our list in advance was Udon Shin, a tiny restaurant in Shinjuku famous for it’s crispy tempura and udon noodle dishes. Like any viral restaurant, you’ll find some people who find it over-hyped and some that think the hype is well deserved. I personally loved it!!
The restaurant is super small and compact with maybe 3 or 4 tables and 5 or 6 bar stools at a counter inside so a long wait time is pretty common. Online reservations weren’t available when we went so we walked up and got a ticket at the door, which basically saves you a spot in line — then you will get a notification when your turn is approaching. When we went, I believe our wait time was about 2.5 hours so we walked to a nearby McDonald’s for a snack and then back to our hotel to hang out and wait. You could easily wander around the streets and shop in the area if your hotel is not as close.
We both ordered a tempura soft-boiled egg and their signature ‘carbonara udon’ which comes with thick, wheat noodles coated with parmesan, butter, and black pepper, topped with a gooey soft-boiled egg and a slab of bacon tempura. We quickly realized that the tempura egg “appetizer” wasn’t really necessary because our noodle dish came with an egg and our main dish was served so fast that we didn’t have to wait long to eat anyway. Everything was SO good but unfortunately I couldn’t finish it all and they don’t offer to-go boxes in most places so I had to leave my leftovers behind. I’m still sad when I think about it lol. This is a restaurant I would 100% go back to and next time I wouldn’t eat anything beforehand and I’d only order the main dish.
Sensoji Temple + Asakusa
Sensō-ji is Tokyo's oldest-established temple and one of its most significant. In addition to it’s rich history, the temple is known for its lively atmosphere and nearby shopping and food stalls. We visited the temple and then walked around the streets of Asakusa, taking photos and stopping to eat. We tried melonpan ice cream at a small shop near the temple and were pleasantly surprised by how good it was! Melonpan is a fluffy Japanese sweet bread with a crispy cookie crust — the fresh warm bread paired with ice cream made for an unexpected but delicious combo. For a more substantial meal, we ate at a sushi restaurant a few streets from the temple and while it was good, it didn’t compare to the fresh sushi we got at Tsukiji.
In total, we spent a little over 2 hours exploring this area. Admission to the temple is free!
Hie Shrine
After Sensoji, we took a quick trip to the Hie Shrine, which is famous for being Tokyo’s most urban shrine and well-known for its iconic red gates. Admission is free here as well and we spent about an hour walking around. It was a bit of a gloomy, overcast day so it was super quiet compared to Sensoji.
Shibuya Crossing/Scramble + Shibuya Sky Tower
Shibuya Sky is a 360° open-air observation deck located on the roof of the Shibuya Scramble Square skyscraper. It’s the highest point in Shibuya so it’s the perfect spot to capture the city from above. In addition to the rooftop deck, there is an indoor area on the floor below with large expansive windows providing similar views, along with a cafe and gift shop. On the day we visited, the rooftop was closed due to weather unfortunately, but we still enjoyed seeing the view from the enclosed floor. The best time to visit is on a clear day before sunset but this is the most popular time slot, so you’ll want to book well in advance. We got our tickets last minute on Klook for about $16 each. Even though this is a pretty touristy activity, we loved it and I would go back on my next trip to try to see the sunset from the rooftop!
After grabbing some coffee and gifts for our families, we went down to the street to see the Shibuya Crossing from the ground. This intersection is famous for being the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing and it’s cool to be able to say you saw it in person, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit if you aren’t already in the area. Considering there is a lot to do in Shibuya, it’s likely to easily fit into your trip! We found a spot to the side of the crosswalks to people watch and after a couple of red lights we walked across ourselves and explored the streets on the opposite side. There are lots of shops and restaurants in this area.
Tokyo DisneySea
Going to Tokyo Disney was something we put high on our list from the beginning of our trip planning and it turned out to be the most fun day. We’re not even big Disneyland goers (I’ve only been once before in CA and Jesse and I had never gone together before this) and we had an absolute blast! We picked DisneySea over Disneyland because it’s unique to Tokyo and the general online consensus seemed to point that it’s the more fun option for adults. Since we didn’t do both we can’t compare but I can say that DisneySea doesn’t quite have the same classic and nostalgic feel of Disneyland (from what I experience in CA) — you won’t find the traditional characters, parades, and rides. But it’s the only Disney park themed around the myths and legends of the sea, so again it’s unique in that way.
Our tickets were only $65 each and we used the app a few times to skip the line, which is around $10 - $15 per person. This was totally worth it! We were a little bummed that not very many rides had the option to pay to skip and we never got access to Fantasy Springs but were overall satisfied with everything we got to do. Definitely research ahead of time if you plan to go and have your hearts set on certain rides.
Our favorite ride was Journey to the Center of the Earth (we were able to skip the line for this) and our favorite food was the spicy smoked chicken from the Lost River Cookhouse. Popcorn is also a big deal at Tokyo Disney and you’ll find all kinds of different flavors throughout the park. We tried the curry popcorn and really liked it!
Disney tickets can be booked up to 2 months in advance online. We went as a day trip from Tokyo and it took a little over an hour by train. We stayed in the park from about 10 am to 6 pm.
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
On our last full day in Tokyo, we were pretty tired from our Disney day so we had a slow morning at our hotel and then made one outing to the Shinjuku National Garden, which was about a 15 minute walk from our hotel. There’s a small entrance fee to this park that’s well worth it, plus you can pay with your Suica Card if you have money loaded. This park is probably what comes to mind when you think of Japanese gardens, with its lush trees and plantlife and beautiful bridges crossing over the water. It’s an extremely popular spot, especially during cherry blossom season!
After walking around the garden paths, we got some food at one of the cafes and hung out on the grass in the sun — a little full circle moment from how our trip started.
Things that were on our list that we didn’t do:
Mt. Fuji: We mostly decided not to go to Mt. Fuji this trip because of the long journey from Tokyo (as a day trip) and the possibility of not being able to see the mountain due to weather in November. This is definitely something on my list for next time — I would prioritize it on a spring trip when the cherry blossoms are in bloom and I would stay at least 1 night close by to explore more and be able to capture the sunrise.
Monkey Kart: This is basically a go-kart tour around the city and it seemed SO fun — Jesse and I love just being kids together. But you need to have an International Drivers Permit to do this and Jesse didn’t have time to do that before our trip. If you do want to, you can get an IDP through AAA.
Animal cafe: I came across this recommendation a ton in my research as they’re apparently really popular here but we didn’t prioritize going to one during our trip. I don’t know if we would in the future, but if you like the idea, I’d look up options in advance. The few we passed by were in really busy areas.
Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio: We like the Harry Potter series so this was a potential interest for us, but didn’t make the cut. It seems like it’d be a fun thing to do on a rainy day if you’ve got time to kill and are a big fan of HP!
Tokyo Tower: We had a few options picked out for getting those above the city views and this was one, but it seems like Shibuya Sky was the better option. The Tokyo Tower is a big landmark here though, and can be seen from a few different places. We saw it from afar when we went to Minato City for teamLab Borderless but I read that Shiba Park is one of the best spots to go if you’re looking for a good photo opp.
Revolving sushi bar: This was a popular thing mentioned on tiktok, but we never ended up finding a spot. We didn’t feel like we missed out though.
Omoide Yokocho aka Memory Lane: This is a narrow alleyway filled with open-front, hole in-the-wall restaurants that serve local foods and beer. You’ve probably seen photos of the alley at night, lit up by red lanterns.
Han’s Kitchen Annex: This was one of the restaurants we were considering for our anniversary dinner but we ended up going somewhere closer to our hotel. It’s highly rated for their steak and meat if you’re big on dishes like that. It’s a 5 minute walk from Shibuya Station and reservations are recommended.
Kamakura: This is a coastal town, less than an hour from Tokyo, with a lot of traditional Japanese temples and shrines, including one with a beautiful bamboo grove. There are also multiple beaches so it’s an especially popular destination in the summer.
Alternative 5 Night Itinerary
Like I mentioned, our itinerary could easily be condensed into fewer days so if we did a 5 night trip instead of 8 nights, this is what that would probably look like. Keep in mind that you could add in dinner or lunch reservations on each day or just wing that part like we did. I also left out the Borderless museum, but that could easily fit into this schedule.
Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo
Day 2: Yoyogi Park + Meiji Shrine + Takeshita Street
Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market + Sensoji Temple + Asakusa + Hie Shrine
Day 4: Shibuya Scramble + Skytower + Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Day 5: Tokyo DisneySea (or other excursion, a free day for shopping, etc)
Day 6: Depart Tokyo
What I’d Do on Next Time
For my next trip to Tokyo, I want to visit during cherry blossom season! Seeing the fall colors in November was absolutely beautiful and I’m excited to see what it's like in the Spring. During this time, I’d visit Yoyogi Park and the Shinjuku National Garden again, make another morning trip to the Tsukiji Fish Market, and book a sunset time slot at Shibuya Sky. I’d stay in Shinjuku again and try to find some new restaurants to try but would love another chance to eat at Udon Shin. After a few days, I’d head over to Kyoto and/or Osaka to experience a new part of Japan! Many people recommended a multi-city trip and I have done this in other countries before so I have no doubt that it would be a great experience in Japan as well.
Japan Travel Tips & Final Thoughts
7-eleven is extremely popular in Japan and you’ll find stores on what seems like every corner. It’s a great place to stop for snacks and beverages while you’re out exploring or between meals at your hotel. The egg salad sandwiches were a favorite of ours. Most 7-elevens also have an ATM if you need cash.
Speaking of cash, you definitely want to have some on hand for smaller restaurants, the fish market, and for train tickets if you don’t use the Suica Card.
Carry your passport with you at all times. Apparently this is required by law of all foreign visitors but we didn’t know until I looked up info about tax-free shopping (after being asked for my passport at a clothing store). If you go shopping at a mall or any big name brand stores, you can show your passport to get a discount. Restaurants and small local shops didn’t ask for passports before paying.
Ramen is one of our favorite Japanese dishes and we had it a few times on our trip but I couldn’t tell you the name of any of the restaurants. We kinda just hopped inside random shops when we were hungry, but were never disappointed!
For food in general, we had fun just going in blind — we didn’t have a huge list of must visit restaurants and instead just picked places off the street as we passed or did a quick Yelp search of spots immediately nearby. If you’re more of a foodie, this approach may not be your style but food is such a subjective thing anyway so I think this is one area of travel planning where you gotta do your own research.
Look up proper etiquette for visiting shrines and temples before you go. These are sacred places and it’s important to be respectful.
Electrical outlets are the same as in the US so no need to bring a converter if you’re American.
At most restaurants, the waiter will bring you a bill, then you will get up and pay at the cash register before leaving. No tips are expected.
Our trip was at the end of November and some days were extremely warm and others were cool and rainy so we made sure to dress in layers. In the city it was pretty easy to quickly get out of the rain by hopping into a store for a bit, but there were a few times I was glad to have brought a small travel umbrella.
Kit Kats were mentioned as a popular “souvenir” to bring back from Japan since they have all kinds of unique, fun flavors and after grabbing a bag of strawberry Kit Kats at the airport before our flight home, I regretted not getting more! They’re so good and I wish we’d tried more flavors.
Remember that everyone has different preferences when traveling and any opinions expressed here are simply from my own experiences! I hope you feel inspired and a little more prepared to plan your own trip to Tokyo :) Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or thoughts you’d like to share!
