Tokyo Itinerary 5 Days: The Perfect Day-by-Day Plan

Tokyo rewards a plan. The city is huge, the trains are fast, and the difference between a great trip and an exhausting one is simply grouping your days by neighbourhood. This 5-day Tokyo itinerary does exactly that: each day stays in one part of the city, with morning, afternoon and evening blocks, real travel times and a rough daily budget.

Before you start: how to get around

Buy a Suica or PASMO IC card (or add one to your phone's wallet) on arrival and tap through every train, metro and convenience store. Most single hops cost ¥180–320, and a typical day of sightseeing runs ¥800–1,200 in fares. Skip the Japan Rail Pass unless you are leaving Tokyo for Kyoto or Osaka — inside the city it does not pay off.

From the airport: Narita Express to Shinjuku or Tokyo Station takes about 60 minutes (¥3,070); the Keisei Skyliner to Ueno takes 41 minutes (¥2,580). From Haneda, the Keikyu line reaches Shinagawa in 12 minutes (¥330).

Where to stay: Shinjuku for nightlife and transport, Ginza or Tokyo Station for comfort and calm, Asakusa for old-town character and lower prices, Shibuya if you want to be in the middle of everything.

Day 1: Shinjuku and the west side

Morning. Ease into the jet lag at Shinjuku Gyoen (¥500, opens 09:00), a 58-hectare park with Japanese, English and French gardens. It is the single best place in the city to reset your body clock.

Afternoon. Walk 15 minutes to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and ride the free observation deck on the 45th floor for a city-wide view — on clear winter days you can see Mount Fuji. Then wander Omoide Yokocho, the alley of tiny post-war yakitori bars behind Shinjuku Station.

Evening. Dinner in Golden Gai or a standing izakaya, then the neon crossings of Kabukicho. Budget ¥2,500–4,000 for dinner and a drink.

Daily budget: ¥6,000–9,000 per person.

Day 2: Asakusa, Ueno and the old town

Morning. Start at Senso-ji, Tokyo's oldest temple, before 08:30 to have Nakamise-dori almost to yourself. Free entry.

Afternoon. Walk to the Sumida river for the Tokyo Skytree view, or cross to the Asahi building side for photos. Then take the Ginza line two stops to Ueno Park for the Tokyo National Museum (¥1,000) — the best collection of samurai armour, scrolls and ceramics in the country.

Evening. Ameyoko market under the train tracks for cheap seafood, grilled skewers and standing bars. Dinner ¥1,500–2,500.

Daily budget: ¥5,500–8,000 per person.

Day 3: Shibuya, Harajuku and Omotesando

Morning. Meiji Jingu shrine (free) inside its forest of 100,000 donated trees. Arrive by 09:00 and you may catch a Shinto wedding procession.

Afternoon. Takeshita-dori in Harajuku for teen fashion and crepes, then the calmer, architect-designed boutiques along Omotesando. Stop at the Nezu Museum (¥1,400) for its garden.

Evening. Shibuya Crossing from the Shibuya Sky deck (¥2,500, book online — sunset slots sell out days ahead), then dinner in Nonbei Yokocho.

Daily budget: ¥8,000–11,000 per person.

Day 4: Day trip to Hakone or Nikko

Pick one:

• Hakone — the Odakyu Romancecar from Shinjuku (85 min), then the Hakone Free Pass (¥6,100) covers the mountain railway, ropeway, pirate boat on Lake Ashi and buses. Best for hot springs and Fuji views.
• Nikko — Tobu limited express from Asakusa (about 2 hours). Toshogu Shrine (¥1,600) is the most ornate in Japan, surrounded by cedar forest and waterfalls.

Leave by 07:30 either way and you will be back in Tokyo for dinner.

Daily budget: ¥12,000–16,000 per person.

Day 5: Tsukiji, Ginza and Tokyo Bay

Morning. Tsukiji Outer Market for tamagoyaki, uni and a standing sushi breakfast (¥2,000–3,500). Go before 10:00.

Afternoon. Walk the Imperial Palace East Gardens (free), then Ginza for department-store food halls — the basement floors of Mitsukoshi and Matsuya are a free-sample tour of Japanese pastry.

Evening. teamLab Planets in Toyosu (¥3,800, timed tickets) or a quiet last dinner in Yurakucho's under-the-tracks izakaya.

Daily budget: ¥8,000–12,000 per person.

5-day Tokyo itinerary at a glance

What a 5-day Tokyo trip costs

For two travellers in mid-range 3-star hotels, expect roughly ¥18,000–28,000 per night for the room, ¥6,000–9,000 per person per day for food, and ¥1,000 per person per day for trains. Add international flights and the whole 5-day Tokyo itinerary lands around ¥190,000–260,000 for a couple excluding airfare.

Best time to visit Tokyo

Late March to early April brings cherry blossom and the highest prices. May and October are the most comfortable months — mild, dry and clear. June is rainy season, July and August are humid and above 33 °C, and February is cold but cheap and crowd-free.

Practical tips

• Carry ¥5,000–10,000 in cash; small restaurants and shrines are still cash-only.
• Trains stop around 00:30 and restart at 05:00 — plan the last leg home.
• Coin lockers at every major station cost ¥400–800 and save your legs on arrival and departure days.
• Tipping is not practised anywhere in Japan.
• Free Wi-Fi is patchy; a travel eSIM (about ¥1,500 for 5 days) is worth it for navigation.

Shorter or longer trips

Have only three days? Keep days 1, 2 and 3 and skip the day trip. Have a week? Add Kamakura (great Buddha and coastal temples, 1 hour from Tokyo) and a slow day in Yanaka, the low-rise old quarter that survived the war.