Places to seeWhere to go in Tokyo
Start with the first of these. Each is worth half a day.
Tokyo東京都
Tokyo is not one city so much as a row of centres joined by trains, and the mistake visitors make is trying to see all of them.
Tokyo is not one city so much as a row of centres joined by trains, and the mistake visitors make is trying to see all of them.
Start with the first of these. Each is worth half a day.
Pick two or three areas and walk them properly.
Sensoji in Asakusa is the oldest temple in the city, approached through a street of small shops selling snacks and fans. Shibuya is the crossing where a thousand people walk at once when the lights change. Shinjuku has the busiest station in the world and, ten minutes from it, a garden quiet enough to sleep in. Meiji Shrine stands in a forest of a hundred thousand planted trees inside the city.
Getting in: Haneda Airport (15–30 min to the centre) · Narita Airport in Chiba (60–90 min) · Tokyo Station (shinkansen)
Pick the season first and the days will arrange themselves.
Cherry blossom in late March and early April, along the rivers and in the parks. The best two weeks of the Tokyo year.
Hydrangea in the temple gardens, and river fireworks in July and August.
Late November is autumn colour, and the clearest air of the year.
Cold, dry and bright, with very little snow. Mt. Fuji is visible from tall buildings on clear mornings.
