Welcome to Tokyo, a city that effortlessly blends centuries of tradition with cutting-edge modernity. As you embark on this captivating journey through the vibrant capital of Japan, you’ll discover a world where ancient temples and bustling markets co-exist with neon-lit skyscrapers and futuristic technology. In this travel itinerary, we invite you to explore every facet of this extraordinary destination, from the serene gardens of Meiji Shrine to the bustling streets of Shibuya Crossing, from the historic neighborhoods of Asakusa to the ultra-modern districts of Shinjuku and Akihabara.
As you journey through Tokyo with this itinerary, we’ll be your guide, offering insights into the best places to visit, dine, and immerse yourself in local customs. We’ll help you navigate the city’s efficient public transportation system, discover hidden gems off the beaten path, and plan the ultimate 5 day Tokyo experience.
So, pack your bags, prepare for sensory overload, and embrace the magic of Tokyo – a city where every moment is a new adventure, every meal a culinary masterpiece, and every encounter an opportunity to connect with the heart and soul of Japan. Welcome to Tokyo!
When I am researching activities and things to see in a new city, I wish I found more itineraries that ranked the list of activities they recommend. Everyone’s time is different in a new city and it’s important to be able to prioritize activities that are a MUST versus activities that are nice, but could possibly be skipped. I like to schedule my days and build an itinerary with one MUST item, one TRY TO DO item, and one SKIP item a day in case something happens or we are too tired, we can always hit the MUST item and SKIP the item that’s not as important.
★★★ MUST SEE
★★ TRY TO DO
★ SKIP (BUT WORTH IF YOU HAVE TIME)
★★★ Meiji Shrine
★★★ DisneySea Tokyo
★★★ teamLAB Tokyo
★★★ Senso-Ji Shrine
★★★ Tsukiji Fish Market
★★ Harajuku
★★ Shibuya Crossing
★★ Free Walking Tour of Shinjuku
★★ Asahi Beer Tower
★★ Akihabara
★★ Omoide Yokocho
★ Yogogi Park
★ UNIQLO store
★ Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku
★ Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
★ Ueno Park
★ Roppongi Hills
Use these jumps to navigate to a specific day or just keep scrolling to read the full itinerary!
When: July 2023
Who: My husband and I for our honeymoon (2 adults)
Where we stayed: Shinjuku
Day 1 Information ~
Hotel in Shinjuku ~ book ahead of time online
Arrive in Tokyo:
We flew nonstop from Houston IAH to Tokyo NRT through United. We used points and cost us about ~75,000 points each. Our flight took off around 10:45 AM and landed in Tokyo at 2:00 PM the next day. It was a ~13 hour flight. It was a pleasant experience; we were in the back and managed to get a 2 seater row so we were by ourselves and the food was very yummy.
The tricky part of traveling to Japan was getting from NRT to our hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo:
We loved the N’EX because it was pretty quick (about 75 minutes). There are some stops, but it’s direct so you just sit and chill until you get to your station. It was clean, there were bathrooms, there was wifi, and there were power outlets to charge my phone.
Before leaving NRT, we stopped at a Starbucks and got a matcha latte. It was really good and much better than matcha in the US.
We got to Shinjuku station around 4PM and walked the rest of the way to the hotel. We loved our hotel, but Shinjuku is a crazy experience and trying to figure out which way to go was confusing. Our hotel was only supposed to be ~15 minutes away via walking, but ended up being MUCH longer as we were lost and had our luggage.
While we were in the station we did two important things:
Check into Hotel: We stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Shinjuku. We used our points and it cost us 15,000 points per night so the total was 75,000 points for 5 nights. Because we have Explorist status with Hyatt, we got an upgraded corner room with a view. An attendant in the hotel brought up our luggage and remember in Tokyo they DO NOT tip.
Dinner: After we rested for a bit, we were hungry and wanted to get dinner in Shinjuku. We decided to get ramen since we love ramen. We walked about 12 minutes into the heart of Shinjuku to go to a restaurant named Ichiran Shinjuku Kabukicho-Shop. It is located in the basement and there was a 20 minute wait in a line.
Ichiran:
This restaurant is known for its unique dining experience, where you can enjoy a personalized ramen meal in individual booths
My husband was absolutely obsessed with their ramen. Even though we were each in our own private booth, we were seated next to each other and could lean around the barrier and talk. The cost for each of our ramens was ~$10. This was one of the best experiences we had in Tokyo and I can’t recommend it enough!
UNIQLO: On our way back to the hotel, we passed by a UNIQLO. I really wanted a bucket hat and a shoulder bag so we purchased those. I used them the rest of the trip every day and fell in love with both. I will link the hat HERE and the shoulder bag HERE.
Day 2 Information ~
Free Walking Tour Tokyo ~ reserve 2 weeks in advance online
★★Shibuya Crossing: Because of jet lag, we woke up pretty early and were ready to go. We got some premade coffees and pastries at the 7/11 under our hotel and headed back to Shinjuku station to take the train to Shibuya. I can’t recommend using Google Maps enough! We just typed in our destination and it was able to guide us correctly to the correct area of the train station so we could hop on the train to get where we needed to go
I highly recommend going to the Starbucks (map linked HERE) that overlooks Shibuya Crossing. My husband and I split a matcha latte (~$3) and went upstairs to watch the crossing happen every few minutes. This was much cheaper than going to the Shibuya SKY Observation Deck which will set you back $15 EACH! We stayed and watched and relaxed for ~30 minutes. After, we took the train to Meiji Shrine.
★★★Meiji Shrine: Around 8AM, we arrived at Yogogi Park. Follow the signs to get into the heart of the park where the Meiji Shrine is. It is free to visit. Meiji Shrine is one of Tokyo’s most iconic and significant Shinto shrines, known for its serene beauty and historical importance
On the way in/out of Meiji Shrine, we loved the long row of sake barrels called “sakabayashi”. The display of sake barrels is a way to promote Japanese culture and craftsmanship. Make sure to take some pictures! We went to explore Yogogi Park around 9:30AM.
★Yogogi Park: We walked to Yogogi Park from Meiji Shrine (a short walk) and it’s free to visit. Yogogi Park is a versatile and welcoming space where you can engage in various activities or simply unwind and enjoy the atmosphere. We scrolled around, relaxed on some of the park benches, and walked around the Yogogi Park Fountain. **Be aware there are LOTS of birds in the park**
★★Harajuku: Once we were done at the park, we walked over to the Harajuku district. The district is located across the street from the park. We stopped and got Marion crepes along Takeshita-Dora street since they were just opening (~11:30AM). The crepes were very yummy and they didn’t skimp on the whipped cream.
★Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku: Next we walked to this trendy and stylish shopping complex located about a 5 minute walk from the crepe stand. It’s known for its unique architectural design, futuristic entrance, and rooftop terrace. We did some shopping and I bought some cool shirts at the Tokyo Nike store.
Cat Cafe MOCHA Harajuku: Next we went to a cat cafe located on the fourth floor of a building. This place offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy snacks, coffee, and quality time with a variety of adorable feline companions. Cat Cafe Mocha typically charges an admission for a designated amount of time; we paid for 30 minutes. It was about $9.50 for each person. This came with a beverage, but did not come with cat treats. I liked the place because the cats seemed happy and clean and the cat cafe actually supplied phone chargers. You may want to make reservations online ahead of time, but we didn’t and there was no wait when we went.
Lunch: We ate a late lunch after shopping. We were wanting to go to the largest UNIQLO in the world which was located in Ginza. So we headed there via train; this took about 20 minutes.
Before UNIQLO, we stopped for ramen at a restaurant named Ramen Takahashi. This ramen was different from the one we had the previous night as it was a fish bone broth base instead of pork. The food was yummy; I got a dipping ramen and my husband got a cooked meat and rice bowl. We liked both, but they actually lost power halfway through eating so I wasn’t able to ever get more hot broth and I stopped eating my ramen after it went cold.
★UNIQLO: After lunch, we walked to the largest UNIQLO in the world where we got some shirts as souvenirs. They have a coffee shop on the top floor so I also got a red bean dorayaki pastry. After this we went back to the hotel to rest. We took the train which took about 30 minutes.
★★Free Walking Shinjuku Night Tour: I always try to find free walking tours in whatever city we are visiting. This company, Tokyo Localized, offers lots of different options. When doing research, I found Shinjuku to be sort of beguiling and didn’t know where to start so when I saw this tour I thought it would be perfect. It was definitely interesting. The description for the tour reads “During the Shinjuku Night Walking Tour, you will experience the craziest part of Tokyo nightlife and the Japanese drinking culture – see the Red Light District and MORE! Come join the most interesting night tour of Tokyo!”. There were parts of the two hour tour I could have skipped, but it was cool to see the animated Godzilla at 8PM coming out of the Toho building on Godzilla Road in Shinjuku, the 3D cat billboard, and Omoide Yokocho (where we ate dinner later). You will need to make a reservation to attend this free walking tour online. The tours don’t open up until 2 weeks before.
★★Dinner at Omodie Yokocho: We went back to Omoide Yokocho alleyway for dinner. Also known as “Memory Lane” or “Piss Alley” among the locals, this alleyway is a historic and atmospheric alleyway located in Shinjuku. It is famous for its narrow lands, small eateries, and traditional Japanese izakayas. We just found ourselves 2 chairs at a random small eatery we passed by and ordered lots of chicken skewers, etc. They were kind of overpriced (~$2.50 a skewer), but they were packed full of flavor. We headed back to the hotel after dinner and crashed (about a 10 minute walk).
Day 3 Information ~
teamLAB Tokyo ~ reserve ahead of time online
★★★teamLAB Borderless Tokyo:
The teamLAB Borderless we attended is NOW CLOSED. A new museum will open Jan 2024.
We started our day at teamLAB which is an immersive museum known for its colorful, futuristic digital art installations and photo ops. You will need to reserve and pay for a timed entry ticket ahead of time online. Our time slot was 10AM-10:30AM. Once you arrive, you just get in line; the line moves at a steady pace. **Be aware – no shoes are allowed!! You will be given a locker to store your shoes, backpacks, other things.** We spent about 1.5 hours there and the ticket cost ~$27 per adult. To get to Asakusa from here, it took us about an hour and a couple of train transfers:
Lunch: We headed to Asakusa after teamLAB and so we got lunch around that area. This was probably my favorite meal of the Japan trip! We went to a restaurant named Asakusa Gyukatsu. This is a tonkatsu restaurant which is a beloved Japanese dish consisting of breaded pork cutlets. This restaurant is fun because you actually get the breaded pork raw and they give you a hot cooking stone and you cook the meat yourself. The meal also comes with a variety of sides, rice, soup, sauces, and tea. It was such a fun experience to cook the meat yourself and it was literally like butter. I was obsessed.
Not so fun part: there was a line since the restaurant is tiny and so we waited outside in line for about 1 hour and 10 mins.
★★★Senso-Ji Shrine: After lunch, we walked across the street to the Senso-Ji Shrine. This is one of Tokyo’s most iconic and historic Buddhist temples. It’s not only a popular tourist attraction, but also a significant spiritual and cultural site. To get to the Shrine you will first pass through the Kaminarimon Gate which is incredibly massive and a good photo op. Upon passing under the gate, you will find yourself on Nakamise-dori, a bustling shopping street lined with traditional stalls and shops selling souvenirs, local snacks, and traditional crafts. It’s an excellent place to pick up unique gifts and try Japanese street food. Towards the end of the street, is the main hall known as Hondo. This is the heart of the temple and visitors can enter the hall to offer prayers, and admire the stunning architecture and artwork. It is free to walk down the street and view the Shrine. We were here for maybe 45 minutes looking at the Shrine and browsing the shops.
★★Asahi Beer Tower: Walk across the river to the tall golden building; this is the HQ of Asahi Beer (my favorite Japanese beer). If you go to the top floor there is a wonderful area to get an ice cold beer and sit and enjoy the panoramic views of Tokyo. A glass of beer costs ~$5. They also have really nice bathrooms so I recommend using them at this time. We spent about 30 minutes enjoying our beer and the views. After we were done with our beer, we went to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden; we took the train to get here:
★Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden: We arrived here around 5PM which gave us 2 hours to walk around since for their summer hours they are open until 7PM. Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is the best place to see the cherry blossoms in the spring. In the summer, it’s lovely though too. The Garden is a beautiful and expansive park located in the heart of Tokyo. It’s one of the largest and most renowned gardens, offering visitors a peaceful oasis in the midst of the urban hustle and bustle. There is a small fee to get in; about 500 yen or $3. The Gyoen features a diverse range of landscapes and my favorite part was the greenhouse full of unique flowers, trees, plants, etc.
Dinner: After we were done at the Shinjuku Gardens we were hungry for dinner so I found a standing only sushi bar. When we arrived, there was only a 10 minute wait which wasn’t bad. This experience was very interesting and a must try. The prices were incredible; we only paid ~$40 for a two person meal of all sushi/nigiri. The sushi chef did give me a hard time because I asked for less wasabi on my nigiri pieces.. Oops
When we left the line was crazy long so we came at a good time. After dinner, we walked home since we were in Shinjuku.
Day 4 Information ~
Tsukiji fish market ~ more info found here
★★★Tsukiji fish market: First thing we did in the morning was go to the Tsukiji fish market. We arrived around 8AM and left around 9AM (for some reason it wasn’t crowded). Here are some of the things we tried:
I can’t choose which was my favorite because they were seriously all so good
**Be aware that in Japanese manners you should NOT eat and walk; there are designated standing eating areas so please go there after you purchase food and eat it there before walking**
The matcha latte was last as it opened later. The matcha stand was called Matcha Stand Maruni and was some of the best matcha we had on the trip.
★Ueno Park: After Tsukiji Fish Market, we took the train to Ueno Park:
We walked around, ate some snow cones since it was so hot, and my favorite part: rode boats on the lake. We rented a canoe for 30 minutes (it was ~$2) and even though it was hot, we had so much fun (I was a passenger princess).
Lunch: After Ueno Park we went to the ★★Akihabara district. We took the train to get there:
Our first stop was lunch. I found this restaurant that served standing Japanese BBQ named Jiromaru Akihabara. It wasn’t too busy and we were able to eat right away. After lunch, we walked around the electronic district and went into a few stores/gaming centers.
Hotel/Rest: After walking around Akihabara, we went back to the hotel for an afternoon nap.
★Roppongi Hills: For dinner we went to Roppongi Hills to check out where the money of Tokyo lives. We got another ramen dinner at a restaurant named Afuri which was pretty tasty. This was our last official Tokyo dinner since tomorrow we will spend the day at DisneySea.
Day 5 Information ~
DisneySea Tokyo ~ reserve tickets ahead of time online
We spent the entire day at ★★★DisneySea! We chose this amusement park over Disneyland Tokyo because I read online that Disneyland Tokyo was a lot like the Disneyland in LA which we have been to. DisneySea Tokyo is the only one like it in the world!
I did purchase DisneySea tickets ahead of time online; it was about ~$65 a person (cheaper than in the US).
I wanted to arrive at opening to get started with the day before the full effect of the crowds arrived. DisneySea was over an hour away from our hotel in Shinjuku via the train:
**Once you arrive at the Maihama station, you will walk to the Disney station line. Disneyland/DisneySea are next to each other on the same island. You can get off at Maihama station and walk to DisneySea, but it is over 1 mile long. Instead they offer a monotrail to take you around to DisneySea. But it is a part of Japanese public transportation and you will have to swipe your Suica card to get there/to get back.**
Entering the park was efficient, but they did do a baggage security check. Once we were in, we took some pictures then went to Mamma Biscott’s Bakery to get some coffee and pastries.
RATE ALL THE DISNEYSEA FOOD AND DRINKS:
Once we were in the park and after we got coffee, we went to some of the shops in the Mediterranean Harbor to look for souvenirs. The gift shop things you can buy are so unique; unlike any other Disney place in the world. Starting at 10:30AM in the main lake in the middle of the park was the “Let’s Celebrate with Colors” Show so we stood and watched that. It was pretty spectacular and definitely if you are in the area, you should check it out. Our first ride was the longest wait of the day (over an hour) ~ Soaring. This is a new ride at DisneySea, but they actually have the same one in Walt Disney World in Florida which my husband and I went on so it wasn’t new to us. After Soaring, we went on the Gondola Rides on the other side of the Mediterranean Harbor and this was one of my favorite activities here. Next we ventured over to the American Harbor and got lunch and walked through the shops there. After lunch we got on the Transit Steamer Line which takes you around the park and tells you facts. It was chill and a nice way to see the other side of the park which we were headed to next. Then we ventured over to Port Discovery and rode the Aquatopia ride. We got soaked which was nice as it was a hot day. After we went to Mysterious Island and rode on the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride (~20 minute wait in line). Our dinner reservations were next so we headed back to the American Waterfront to eat at Restaurant Sakura for an early dinner. For dessert I really wanted to try the Toy Story mochi balls so we went on a hunt to find them. We eventually found them in Lost River Delta so we did a taste test and they were so delicious! Since we were in Lost River Delta, we rode on the Raging Spirits roller coaster (~40 minute wait). After we went over to Mermaid Lagoon where we went on the Jumpin Jellyfish ride and Flounder’s Flying Fish Coaster. After that we went to the Arabian Coast and rode on Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage as there was no wait in line. Next we grabbed a snack since we had an early dinner then went to sit and wait for the end of day show “Sky Full of Colors” which started at 8PM. It was very futuristic and beautiful to watch. We did leave a little early to beat the crowd all trying to leave. We took the same way home and got back to the hotel around 9:30PM.
What a long, but exciting day we had! I want to go back!
Fly Home: Our flight was leaving at 1:25 PM from NRT so we had to get back to the airport the same way we came in. We took the 10AM N’EX train back to NRT and got through security, customs, etc. We had over an hour until boarding so we went to the I.A.S.S Superior Lounge located in Terminal 2 International terminal. We have free access through Priority Pass and I have a whole post about Priority Pass advantages that I will link HERE. This lounge was one of the best; it had amazing ramen, sushi, other foods and it also had showers which my husband took full advantage of. Definitely recommend coming to this lounge if you have time and you are in NRT. We flew with EVA Airways, but we weren’t headed home; we were off to Taiwan!
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