When we ask ourselves what to see and do in Tokyo we tend to get scared: the city is so huge and offers so much to see and do to the tourist that one does not know very well where to start.
It is an advantage, because it is complicated that we run out of the city, but also a great inconvenience because we are always going to leave things pending. Although we can turn this inconvenience into an advantage: that’s how we always have an excuse to return! And also, with good planning, we can see a large part of Tokyo.
Here are many ideas to enjoy Tokyo to the fullest. We will start with a list of essentials, for when you have less time to plan. Or less days in Tokyo. And then we will give you all the list of what to see and do in the city distributed by zones. You will see that you can spend as many days as you want in Tokyo. There will always be something to see.
How many days do we recommend in Tokyo?
We start with the million dollar question, because… how complicated it is to answer it! Since, as we always say, it depends a lot on our personal interests and the time available on our trip to Japan. We always say that on trips we have to investigate before closing our itinerary and prioritize what catches our attention. But we know that sometimes you need a minimum of days recommendation, so we will try to answer this question.
In order to get a clear idea of how the city and its different neighborhoods are, for a first visit to the Japanese capital we believe that a minimum of 4-5 days is necessary. And of those 4 or 5 days, we can spend a day doing some excursion from Tokyo, but not more if we want to have enough time in Tokyo. As you will see below, Tokyo has a lot to see and do, so this would be what we consider minimum to see the vast majority of things exposed here. Of course, as we always repeat, it is important to read the guide and decide what we want to see and what we do not care, to adjust the number of days in Tokyo of our itinerary to our personal tastes.
When To Go
Anytime of the year is good to visit Tokyo. Sometimes they force us to take vacations for a few specific days and our philosophy is always the same: better to go than not to go, either when it’s time (although the time is in summer, with very high temperatures and horrible humidity).
Anyway, for those who care about the weather, we leave you with this graph so you can get an idea of how the temperatures and rainfall are according to the time of year.
Travel with children to Tokyo
Tokyo is a great city to go with children, not only because it has a thousand different things, which already can attract the attention of the children, but also because there are many museums or specific activities for them.
In addition to everything mentioned here, we leave you with some specific proposals to travel with children to Tokyo and enjoy the city with the whole family
Where To Eat in Tokyo
The dining options in Tokyo are impossible to list, because obviously there are restaurants in every corner, especially in the most tourist areas of Tokyo.
You can take a look at the general entrance on where to eat in Japan, so you can hear the widest chains and the best-known family restaurants, as well as specific restaurants that we can talk about. Anyway, we have added the specific cafes and restaurants in a specific layer of the upper map of what to see and do in Tokyo, so that when you are visiting a specific neighborhood, you have some idea about where to eat or drink something.
And of course… don’t forget Tokyo’s themed restaurants ! Do you want to eat at a restaurant that seems to have come out of a video of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu? Do you want to hallucinate in the Robot Restaurant? Do you like history, ninjas or samurai? Or are you more trains and railroads? Or videogames? Whatever your interest, Tokyo has a themed restaurant for you.
