Tokyo: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Tokyo burned twice in one century — in the 1923 earthquake and the 1945 firebombing — so almost nothing in it is old. The eastern side, Shitamachi, is the closest thing to the city that was: a temple from 645, a street that has sold knives since the 1920s, and one quarter the fire missed both times. Start at Asakusa and walk north.
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A short history of Tokyo
For centuries Tokyo was called Edo. In 1457 Ōta Dōkan built a castle here, in 1603 Tokugawa Ieyasu made it the seat of the shogun, and by the 18th century Edo was already one of the largest cities in the world. In 1868 the emperor moved here from Kyoto, and the city received its new name, "Eastern Capital". In 1923 the Great Kantō earthquake destroyed a large part of it, and in March 1945 American bombing burnt it again. In 1964 it hosted the first Olympic Games in Asia, and in the same year the Shinkansen line to Osaka opened.
The ten best sights in Tokyo
1Sensō-jiTokyo’s oldest temple, founded in 645
2Meiji ShrineA forest of a hundred thousand donated trees
3Imperial PalaceThe gardens are free; the palace is not open
4Zōjō-jiA temple with Tokyo Tower standing directly behind it
5Tokyo National MuseumThe largest collection of Japanese art anywhere
6Nezu MuseumA garden you come for more than the art
7Mori Art MuseumOn the 53rd floor, open until ten at night
8Ghibli MuseumTickets sell out a month ahead, and only online
9Shibuya CrossingThree thousand people cross at once, every two minutes
10Tokyo SkytreeSix hundred and thirty-four metres, the tallest tower on earth
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Tokyo →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Tokyo:
Free walking tours in Tokyo
Old Tokyo
Tokyo burned twice in one century — in the 1923 earthquake and the 1945 firebombing — so almost nothing in it is old. The eastern side, Shitamachi, is the closest thing to the city that was: a temple from 645, a street that has sold knives since the 1920s, and one quarter the fire missed both times. Start at Asakusa and walk north.
- Sensō-ji · Founded in 645 after two fishermen pulled a gold statue out of the river and could not put it back — it kept returning to their net. Thirty million people come a year, and the current building is a 1958 concrete copy of the one the bombs destroyed.
- Nakamise-dōri · Two hundred and fifty metres of stalls leading to the temple, trading since the 1600s — the shopkeepers were given the pitches in exchange for sweeping the temple grounds.
- Kappabashi · Eight hundred metres of restaurant supply shops — handmade knives, lacquer bowls, and the plastic food models that Japanese restaurants put in their windows, which are made by hand and cost more than the real dish.
- Tokyo Skytree · Six hundred and thirty-four metres — the tallest tower in the world. The number was chosen because 6-3-4 reads as "mu-sa-shi", the old name of this province.
- Yanaka Ginza · One of the very few quarters that neither the earthquake nor the bombing reached. Wooden houses, a cemetery full of cats, and a staircase where people stop to watch the sunset.
- Ueno Park · Japan’s first public park, 1873, on the grounds of a temple destroyed in a civil war battle. Five museums, a zoo and a thousand cherry trees that fill it completely for ten days each April.
Shibuya and Harajuku
This is the Tokyo that appears in every film — a crossing where three thousand people cross at once every two minutes, one street where teenage fashion is invented, and a forest of a hundred thousand trees donated from all over Japan to surround a shrine. All within three kilometres, and all on foot.
- Shibuya Crossing · Every traffic light stops at once and the whole junction becomes pavement. Up to three thousand people cross in one cycle, and nobody collides — which is the thing worth watching from the café above.
- Hachikō statue · A dog who came to this station every evening to meet his owner, and kept coming for nine years after the man died at work. He is buried beside him, and this is where Tokyo arranges to meet.
- Meiji Shrine · The forest around it is entirely man-made: a hundred thousand trees of three hundred and sixty-five species were donated from every corner of Japan in 1920 and planted by volunteers, designed to become a natural forest within a century. It has.
- Takeshita Street · Four hundred metres wide enough for two people, where Japanese teenage subcultures have been born and died since the 1970s. On a Sunday it is almost impassable.
- Yoyogi Park · It was a parade ground, then American military housing, then the 1964 Olympic village. On Sundays rockabilly dancers in leather have been performing at the entrance for forty years.
- Shimokitazawa · Two stops away and a different city — streets too narrow for cars, second-hand shops, record stores and twenty tiny theatres. Chains are effectively kept out by the rents and the width.
The centre
There is a hole in the middle of Tokyo: three square kilometres of gardens and walls holding the Imperial Palace, which you cannot enter. Around it is the wealthy city — Ginza, where land once sold for the highest price on earth, the market that still sells fish, and a tower built in 1958 out of melted American tanks.
- Imperial Palace East Gardens · The palace stands on the site of Edo Castle, which had the largest keep ever built in Japan until it burned in 1657. They never rebuilt it — the stone base is still there, empty, and you can climb it.
- Tokyo Station · A red brick palace finished in 1914 and modelled on Amsterdam’s. The bombing took its domes off; they were put back in 2012, a hundred years late, using the original drawings.
- Ginza · Named for the silver mint that stood here in 1612. In 1989 a square metre here sold for more than anywhere on earth. On weekend afternoons the main street is closed to cars and people walk down the middle.
- Tsukiji Outer Market · The fish auction moved to Toyosu in 2018, but the four hundred stalls outside it stayed. Knives, dried bonito, tamagoyaki on a stick — go before nine and eat standing.
- Hamarikyu Gardens · A shogun’s duck-hunting grounds, with a pond that rises and falls with the tide — the only one of its kind left. There is a teahouse on an island in it, and skyscrapers on every side.
- Tokyo Tower · Thirteen metres taller than the Eiffel Tower it copies, and a third of its weight — a third of the steel came from American tanks damaged in Korea and melted down.
Getting to Tokyo and getting around
- Haneda Airport · Thirty minutes to the centre — use this one
- Narita Airport · An hour out, and the Skyliner is worth it
- Tokyo Station · A red brick palace from 1914, and the bullet trains
- Shinjuku Station · Three and a half million people a day — the busiest on earth
Museums in Tokyo
- Tokyo National Museum · The largest collection of Japanese art, in Ueno
- teamLab Planets · Barefoot, in water. Book ahead
- Mori Art Museum · Fifty-third floor, and open until ten at night
- Nezu Museum · A Kengo Kuma building, and the garden is the point
- Ghibli Museum · No photographs inside, by Miyazaki’s rule
- Edo-Tokyo Museum · A full-size wooden bridge indoors, and the city before 1868
Parks and gardens in Tokyo
- Shinjuku Gyoen · English, French and Japanese gardens in one wall
- Meiji Shrine forest · A hundred thousand donated trees, planted in 1920
- Rikugien · A 1702 garden built around eighty-eight poems
- Inokashira Park · Rowing boats, and the Ghibli museum at its edge
- Mount Takao · An hour out, and the most climbed mountain on earth
Things to do in Tokyo with kids
- Ueno Zoo · Japan’s oldest zoo, and the pandas
- Odaiba · A full-size Gundam that moves on the hour
- Sunshine Aquarium · Penguins swimming in a tank over your head
- Kidzania Tokyo · A small city where children do the jobs
Cheap eats in Tokyo
Eight counters where Tokyo eats standing or in silence. A noodle shop where you buy a ticket from a machine and never speak to anyone, a six-seat sushi bar in a station corridor, and an alley of grilled skewers under the railway that has been there since the black market of 1946.
- Omoide Yokocho · Yakitori on stools, under the tracks, ¥2,000
- Tsukiji Outer Market · Four hundred stalls. Go before nine, eat standing
- Standing sushi, Tokyo Station · Six seats, no menu, point at the case
- Ramen ticket machines · ¥900, no conversation required
- Tsukishima monja street · Seventy shops of one dish you cook on the table
- Ameyoko · The post-war black market, still shouting
- Depachika, Ginza · A department store basement — the best food hall in Japan
- Konbini · The egg sandwich at 7-Eleven is genuinely good, ¥300
Nightlife in Tokyo
- Golden Gai · Two hundred bars, six seats each
- Nonbei Yokocho · Drunkard’s Alley, beside Shibuya station
- Nakameguro · A canal lined with bars and cherry trees
Frequently asked questions about Tokyo
What is there to see in Tokyo?
The top sights in Tokyo are Sensō-ji, Meiji Shrine and Imperial Palace. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Tokyo?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Tokyo without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Tokyo?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Tokyo, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Old Tokyo.
How do you get to Tokyo and get around?
The main ways are Haneda Airport, Narita Airport and Tokyo Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Tokyo, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Tokyo that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Tokyo for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.