Tokyo is one of the biggest cities in the world, so I wanted to spend more than a few days on my first visit to the city. This itinerary for one week in Tokyo is based on our own trip, sharing the best things to see, do & eat in Tokyo for first time visitors.

Our itinerary for one week in Tokyo includes futuristic Shibuya, Shinjuku and Harajuku, historic Yanaka, the beautiful Meiji Shrine and Senso-Ji Temples, the Tsukiji Fish Market, a day trip to Mt Fuji & more!

Tokyo is a true metropolis, and is more like five cities joined together! Having more time meant that we could explore different areas of Tokyo and appreciate the diversity of the city, which I think is a big part of its charm.

I loved visiting carefully preserved Old Tokyo alongside the fast-paced, futuristic parts of the city, and experiencing Japanese culture for the first time.

I only had a week off work for my first trip to Japan, but David and I decided to spend the whole week in Tokyo – we prefer to travel slowly and get to know an area in favour of dashing around the country. Since we only had a week, we also didn’t want to spend too much time in transit.

I am crazy about Tokyo, and will definitely return to Japan to explore more of the country.

PS: Only have a few days in Tokyo? Check out my itinerary for 3 Days in Tokyo.

Itinerary: 1 Week in Tokyo

• Day 1 – Shibuya, Harajuku & Shinjuku
• Day 2 – Northern Tokyo
• Day 3 – Shinjuku, Minami-Aoyama & Nishiazabu
• Day 4 – Day Trip to Mt Fuji & Hakone
• Day 5 – The Imperial Palace & Tokyo Tower
• Day 6 – Tsukiji Fish Market & Ebisu
• Day 7 – Fly from Tokyo to Australia

Day 1: Shibuya, Harajuku & Shinjuku

I can’t believe how much we squeezed into our first day – I always get way too excited and do a crazy amount on my first day in a new city!

Where to stay in Tokyo: Nishiazabu

We were staying in an AirBnB in Nishiazabu, a trendy neighbourhood which is a short stroll from the famous Omotesando Boulevard,  Tokyo’s answer to the Champs-Elysee. I loved our tiny AirBnB apartment, and the neighbourhood of Nishiazabu. The neighbourhood isn’t full of tourist sights, so it’s not somewhere many people visit – I’m so glad we got to explore this area, because it was one of my favourite parts of Tokyo!

Apparently Nishiazabu is often used on Japanese TV shows, as a lifestyle neighbourhood for young professionals. The charming, narrow backstreets were lined with a mix of traditional and quirky architecture, mostly houses, along with shops, bars and restaurants that were almost hidden among the houses.

Omotesando Boulevard

We walked along the Omotesando in the morning, admiring the architecture of the designer flagships along the boulevard. The architecture alone is worth a visit, even if like me, giant designer labels aren’t your thing. 

Harajuku

Afterwards, we checked out the famous Harajuku neighbourhood, which is ground zero for Tokyo’s kawaii (cute) culture.

Crepes are really having a moment in Harajuku, so we grabbed a super sweet crepe from one of the dozens of crepe stands in the area.

Meiji Shrine & Yoyogi Park

We spent the rest of the morning exploring Yoyogi Park, which is home to the sacred Meiji Shrine.

Yoyogi Park is also the stomping ground for some of Tokyo’s most colourful characters and free spirits. We were lucky that during our visit, the Autumn instalment of the quarterly Earth Garden sustainability festival was on, and so was the weekly Yoyogi Flea Market.

Shibuya

Trekking around Yoyogi Park made us work up an appetite, so we went to nearby Shibuya for lunch. The Shibuya neighbourhood was how I’ve always pictured Tokyo, with it’s bold and bright signs and billboards everywhere, towering shopping centres and crowds of people.

We crossed at the famous Shibuya Crossing which is the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world, and I was so surprised at how peaceful and calm the crossing was despite being so busy. Tokyo was like that – it’s home to so many people, but I never felt crowded or rushed, everything always felt calm.

We ate at a ramen shop in Shibuya, where you order via a ticketing machine near the entrance. We sat up at the noodle bar, watching the chefs scurry around the kitchen, preparing noodle dishes at lightning speed. After lunch, we’d returned to the apartment to chill out for a bit before dinner.

Golden Gai & Piss Alley

We had dinner in the Roppongi neighbourhood, at Gonpachi, a cavernous, Edo-style restaurant which inspired a famous scene in Kill Bill. 

After dinner, we ventured back into the city, to Shinjuku, so we could check out the bars in Golden Gai & Piss Alley, which is one of the best things to do in Tokyo. Golden Gai is a cluster of tiny alleyways, lined with even tinier bars. There are nearly 200 bars, and most of them only seat between 4-10 people.

We spent more time trying to choose a bar than we did in one, because entering the bars was surprisingly intimidating. After getting a drink or two, we wandered over to Omoide Yokocho, another rabbit warren of alleyways, this time lined with snack bars. Omoide Yokocho translates to Memory Lane, but to locals the precinct is known as Piss Alley. Appetising, huh?

I liked Piss Alley more than Golden Gai, because the atmosphere is more convivial and welcoming –  who can take themselves too seriously over sizzling street food?

Day 2: Northern Tokyo

On our second day, we stuck to Northern Tokyo, in the historic Asakusa and Yanaka neighbourhoods, sprawling Ueno Park and the magnificent Senso-Ji temple.

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Yanaka Ginza

Yanaka is much more laidback and has a slower pace than central Tokyo, so I felt more confident practicing my very basic Japanese phrases with shopkeepers here, than I did in busy central Tokyo. 

We wandered through the busy shopping streets of Yanaka Ginza, which were lined with tiny stores and shop fronts. I’m sure I made a total fool of myself in Japanese, but all of the Japanese shopkeepers were very gracious!

Ueno Park

Near Yanaka is Ueno Park, another enormous park in Tokyo. We worked our away through the park, and headed to the big lake which we could see on the map. To our surprise, the expansive lake was barely visible under a thick blanket of giant lilypads!

Ueno

We left from the other end of the park, and found ourselves in the Ueno neighbourhood. Ueno is a little more worn than Yanaka, but we did find a vending machine that sold the popular Japanese soft drink, Calpis. There are vending machines everywhere in Tokyo, and most of the soft drinks have flavours I’ve never tasted in the western world, so I was keen to try this Japanese favourite.

In Ueno, we walked through a couple of precincts with shops specialising in different things. First we walked past a street full of shops all selling shrines. Then we saw the famous cookware district, which sells cooking equipment and utensils, and the plastic figurines of dishes that restaurants use in their front windows.

Okonomiyaki

For dinner, we went to Sometaro, an Okonomiyaki restaurant where you can cook your own okonomiyaki at your table (the staff help).

Okonomiykai is a Japanese dish a bit like an omelette, most often with pork and cabbage and special okonomiyaki sauce. It was so delicious, and cooking it ourselves was a lot of fun. Sometaro is recommend in Lonely Planet, so I suspect it’s a bit of a tourist haunt, but it didn’t feel like an awful tourist trap.

I’m sure Japanese people don’t need help making their own okonomiyaki, so I’m glad help was available at Sometaro.

Senso-Ji Temple

After dinner, we visited the magnificent Senso-Ji Temple in Asakusa. Senso-Ji is Tokyo’s oldest and most significant temple, and was originally built in 645. It was destroyed during the air raids in World War II and has since been rebuilt.

Senso-Ji feels like the centre of the community, as it’s surrounded by the buzzing Nakamise Dori Markets, and the surrounding streets are full of yakitori and izakaya bars. There were crowds of Japanese visiting the temple and paying their respects, and it felt like a very vibrant and functioning part of the community. It was by far my favourite temple in Tokyo, and if you only visit one, make it this one!

Day 3: Shinjuku , Minami-Aoyama & Nishiazabu

Tokyo Metro Government Building

In the morning, we went to Shinjuku to visit the free Observation Deck at the top of the Tokyo Metro Government Building. Despite the grey weather, it was still an impressive view over the endless city.

There is a canteen on one of the lower levels, which is designed for government employees but is technically open to the public. I was a little intimidated about eating here, but I later regretted not giving it a go. Shinjuku is strangely devoid of places to eat, and we spent a long time walking around looking for food.

We headed to Isetan, a luxury department store in Shinjuku, which is renowned for it’s basement food hall, and found something to eat.

Minami Aoyama

In the afternoon, we explored the Minami-Aoyama neighbourhood, close to our AirBnB. Minami Aoyama is often referred to as the West Village of Tokyo, and is one of my favourite areas.

Like Nishiazabu, Minami Aoyama is relatively tourist-free, and is full of trendy shops, boutiques and cafes and charming residential streets.

We went for tea at Miniami Aoyama Flower Market, a gorgeous florist and greenhouse-style café. Their desserts looked out of this world, but we stuck to tea. It was the perfect place to while away a rainy afternoon.

Dinner & drinks in Nishiazabu

We had dinner at Butagumi, a tonkatsu restaurant in the backstreets of Nishiazabu. It wasn’t until after our trip that I discovered that Butagumi is one of the most highly regarded tonkatsu restaurants in Tokyo, but is a lot less touristy than it’s competitor, Maison.

Butagumi is one of my favourite restaurants I’ve ever been to. I’m not a huge fan of pork, schnitzel, parmas or curry, so tonkatsu is not something I expected to like. It’s a testament to the quality of Japanese cooking and Butagumi’s chef that their classic pork tonkatsu, which is essentially breaded pork served with a curry-like sauce, is one of my favourite meals I’ve ever eaten.

The ambience was everything you’d hope for in a traditional Japanese restaurant. The restaurant had no signage, just a small light at the front door.

The building is nestled among houses in the backstreets of Nishiazabu and would be easy to miss. The staff were welcoming and attentive, and we were seated on the second storey of the restaurant, in a small room near the kitchen with three or four tables, the only other table occupied by a pair of Japanese businessmen.

After dinner, we weren’t ready to go home so we decided to visit one of the many bars we’d noticed on our way. The bars, like Butagumi, were easy to miss. The doors were always closed, the signs small and perhaps there would be a small light about the sign to suggest that it was open for business.

We settled on Library Lounge These, which was a tiny, dimly-lit bar with a few booth seats. We were seated in a booth, and presented with a bowl of fruit. We were told to choose some fruit and a type of alcohol, so we did. I think I chose passionfruit and vodka, and David chose whiskey and orange.

There was no price list, but we had the equivalent of $80 AUD in yen, in cash. This was as much as we’d paid for our multi-course dinner with matched drinks at Butagumi, so we were sure we’d have enough to cover a few cocktails. Lucky we stopped after the first round – the two drinks cost us every yen we had left on us! Ouch.

Despite having a tech-savvy culture, no one pays with card in Tokyo. We paid cash the whole time, and only saw one person pay with a credit card in the entire week – an American tourist at the Tsukiji Fish Market.

Day 4: Day Trip to Mt Fuji & Hakone

I love trying to squeeze a side trip in from major destinations when I travel, and since Mt Fuji is only 2 hours outside of Tokyo a day trip was the perfect fit. We booked a day trip to Mt Fuji & the surrounding Hakone region, using a tour we found on Viator.

Our guide kept us entertained with information about Tokyo’s ancient and more recent history as we made our way out of the city and towards Mt Fuji. We had a nice view of the mountain as we drove towards it from Tokyo, but only through the tinted bus windows – no good for photos.

I was a bit disappointed that there was no photo stop to take a photo of the famously photogenic mountain, since it’s famous for being so beautiful, and next time I go to Tokyo I would definitely book a special tour to a site where you can stop and take in the view of the mountain.

There are ten “stations” on Mt Fuji, and we drove up to the fifth station, which is as high as you can get by motor vehicle. You can walk the entire way up, but it takes a few days. It was October when we visited, and the bright yellow, orange and red foliage was particularly stunning against the clear blue sky on top of the mountain.

There is a gift shop at the fifth station, which is crowded and full of junky souvenirs, so we wandered away from the crowds into the forest, which runs down the mountainside. It was so peaceful, not to mention beautiful with its radiant autumn foliage, so we chilled out here until it was time to board the bus again.

Lake Ashi, Hakone

Afterwards, we went towards Lake Ashi in the Hakone region. Hakone is spa country, or onsen country. By the time we reached Lake Ashi, the weather had really turned. It was windy, freezing and drizzly. Despite the gloomy weather, the ride across Lake Ashi was still beautiful.

When we arrived on the other side of the lake, we went to take a cable car to the top of Mt Hakone. Halfway up the mountain, we were enveloped in clouds and fog. When we got to the station at the top of the mountain, we could barely make out the people walking a few feet in front of us, who were completely submerged in the fog.

It was pretty, but I was also a little bit nervous! I’m very scared of heights, so it was a bit of a tense ride back down the mountain for me.

Catching a Bullet Train

At the end of the day, we took the Shinkansen (the bullet train) back to Tokyo. I loved watching the trains fly through the station, and the journey was smooth, efficient and comfortable. What a way to travel!

We got off at the station in Ginza, in central Tokyo. Ginza is Tokyo’s most upscale neighbourhood, full of luxury shopping and department stores. The neighbourhood didn’t hold that much appeal for me, it looked a bit like Fifth Avenue in New York, but we had a bento box dinner from a food hall in one of the department stores. 

Day 5: The Imperial Palace & Tokyo Tower

The Imperial Palace

On our fifth day, we visited The Imperial Palace which is the residence of the Emperor of Japan. The palace is built on the site of a former Edo Castle, surrounded by gardens and moats. 

Unfortunately, I realised when I got to the palace that my camera battery was still charging in the apartment, so I had to rely on my iPhone for photos. I had a very quick pity party but decided to see it as an opportunity to spend less of the day glued to my camera, and spend more time in the moment with David.

David and I wandered around the gardens for a bit before heading to Shibuya for lunch.

There are clusters of restaurants and shops under lots of major train tracks in Tokyo, so we decided to try one out in Shibuya. We had a cheap lunch special which involved miso soup, edamame and noodles.

Views over Tokyo

That night, we went to Prince Park Tower’s bar, for the views over Tokyo and Tokyo Tower. Unfortunately, it was an extra 300 yen ($30 AUD) per person to sit by the window and enjoy an unobstructed view, so we sat behind the bar. The view was still beautiful from behind the bar.

Afterwards, we wandered near Tokyo Tower, the city’s red doppelganger for the Eiffel Tower, and wondered whether it was worth going up. We’d already had a few nice views, and I had heard the tower was overrated. We decided to go up anyway and I’m glad we did.

I really enjoyed the views over Tokyo at night – it reminded me a little bit of the views from Tour Montparnasse in Paris, although without the Eiffel Tower or the Arc du Triomphe as part of the view.

Day 6: Tsukiji Fish Market & Ebisu

Tsukiji Fish Market

The Tsukiji Fish Market is the largest and busiest fish market in the world, famous for it’s early morning tuna auctions.

We’d considered visiting the tuna auctions, but it turned out to be a logistical nightmare and we’d have a very low chance of getting in. I’ve heard of people arriving at 3am to queue, and still not making the cut, plus it was before the train started running and I had no idea how to order a cab in Japan. Rather than getting up at 2:30am to see something neither of us were dying to see, we decided to just go around breakfast time.

We started with the outer section of the market, which is lined with stalls selling snacks and homewares. We had breakfast at a sushi train, which was our first sushi of the trip! One thing that surprised me about Tokyo was how little we saw sushi – there is so much delicious Japanese food that never makes it to sushi-mad Australia, and I loved trying so many new dishes.

Afterwards, we visited the interior market, where vendors were selling the last of their wares and packing up. It was a good time to go for a wander, because we weren’t getting in the way of people trying to do business, so we were able to stop a bit more and stickybeak or take photos.

Exploring Ebisu

In the afternoon, we went to Ebisu, another off-the-tourist trail neighbourhood. I say that not because I’m trying to be a holier-than-thou travel snob, but because I want to stress that there’s not really any reason for a tourist to visit Ebisu, if you’re looking for interesting sights. It was just a normal neighbourhood, but I kind of like wandering the everyday parts of a city that aren’t on show.

Confession: We had lunch at Shake Shack. I did not eat enough Shake Shack burgers when I was in New York City, and when I saw one in Tokyo I had to go back.

Izakaya in Nishiazabu

We spent the afternoon chilling out in the apartment, and decided to stay local for dinner.  I googled “cheap restaurants in Nishiazabu”, because we were after something easy and low key. There are some gorgeous restaurants in the area, but with a price tag to match. We came up with one option, Yakitori Toriyoshi, and went to check it out.

It was one of the best meals I had in Tokyo, and one of my most memorable overseas meals! It was an Izakaya bar, which is the equivalent of a Japanese pub. We were seated at the bar, and shared a few dishes from the menu while we watched the chefs work. I’d never seen any of these dishes before, and they were all delicious.

The staff were warm and welcoming, despite it clearly being a locals bar that rarely saw tourists. We were warned we’d need to leave before 8pm, as they had reservations, so at 7:45pm we started to get ready to leave. One of the waiters rushed over and asked us to stay, because they had something for us – they brought out complimentary desserts for both of us!

Day 7: Saying goodbye to Tokyo

Our seventh day was cut short, as we had to get to Haneda airport to return to Australia. A bus transfer leaving from Roppongi to Haneda made the airport journey as stress-free as it could be.

We experienced so much of Tokyo in one week, and visiting the city was a wonderful introduction to Japan. I really want to return to Japan and see more of the countryside and other towns, but now that I’ve felt I’ve seen a lot of Tokyo, I’ll be able to concentrate my next visit on other parts of the country – next I want to visit the Okinawa islands, Osaka, Kyoto and more of northern Japan.

Have you been to Tokyo? Would you like to go? What are your favourite things to do there?

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