7 Days in Tokyo Itinerary: A Full Week for First-Timers

This 7-day Tokyo itinerary is built for first-time visitors arriving from Europe or elsewhere after a long flight, who want to see the city's essential neighbourhoods without rushing through them. It assumes you're landing with some jet lag, that you want at least one or two days outside the city, and that you'd rather do five things well than ten things badly.

If you've got less than five days, this plan won't fit — you'd need to cut one day trip and probably Harajuku or Ginza too. If you're the type who prefers unstructured wandering with zero fixed plans, treat this as a loose skeleton rather than a script. It works equally well for couples, solo travelers comfortable navigating transit apps, and families with kids old enough to handle a lot of walking — expect 12,000 to 18,000 steps on the busier days.

One opinion worth stating up front: skipping both day trips to cram in more central Tokyo neighbourhoods is a mistake. Nikko and Kamakura show you a different Japan — mountain shrines, enormous bronze Buddhas, coastal temple towns — and without them, a week in Tokyo risks feeling like one long shopping district crawl.

Most international flights land at Narita or Haneda in the afternoon, so Day 1 should be light by design.

Morning and afternoon

From Narita, the Narita Express or Skyliner gets you into central Tokyo in 60-90 minutes; from Haneda, it's closer to 30-45 minutes by monorail or train. Check into your hotel, drop bags, and resist the nap — fight jet lag by staying in daylight. Head straight to Asakusa, Tokyo's old downtown, and walk through Senso-ji Temple, the city's oldest Buddhist temple, founded in the 7th century. The approach street, Nakamise-dori, is lined with souvenir stalls selling rice crackers and folding fans — touristy, yes, but worth the 15-minute walk through it.

Evening

Have an early dinner in Asakusa — tempura or soba are easy on a jet-lagged stomach — and aim to be in bed by 9 or 10 pm local time. Don't schedule anything after dark on Day 1; your body won't thank you for it. If you're wide awake anyway, a short walk along the Sumida River near Asakusa Bridge is a calmer alternative than fighting crowds elsewhere.

This is the "modern Tokyo" day, and it's intentionally dense — by now you should be somewhat adjusted.

Morning and afternoon

Start in Shibuya late morning to avoid the worst of rush hour. See Shibuya Crossing from street level, then from above at one of the viewing decks in the surrounding buildings — it's genuinely more impressive from the second or third floor than down in the scrum. Spend an hour or two in the surrounding shopping streets, then take the Yamanote Line to Shinjuku (about 10 minutes). Shinjuku is overwhelming on arrival; give yourself a coffee break before tackling it.

Evening

Head up to the free observation decks at Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building before sunset — no booking needed, and the view rivals paid options like Tokyo Skytree at a fraction of the cost. For dinner, Omoide Yokocho's narrow alleys of yakitori stalls are atmospheric but cramped and smoky; if that's not your scene, Shinjuku's department store basements (depachika) have excellent takeaway food halls instead. This is also the night to book a sunset boat cruise or an evening food tour for later in the week — Tokyo Bay cruises and izakaya food tours both tend to fill up, so reserve a day or two ahead rather than hoping for a walk-in slot.

A gentler contrast day — forest shrine in the morning, youth fashion chaos in the afternoon.

Morning and afternoon

Start early at Meiji Shrine, a 10-minute walk from Harajuku Station through a forested approach of over 100,000 trees donated from across Japan when the shrine was built in 1920. Arriving before 9 am means fewer tour groups and better light for photos of the torii gates. Afterwards, Takeshita Street in Harajuku is the opposite experience entirely — narrow, crowded, loud, full of crepe stands and novelty shops. It's worth 30-45 minutes, not more, unless teenagers in your group disagree.

Evening

Walk 15-20 minutes to Omotesando for a calmer, more upscale version of Harajuku, with better dinner options than the crepe stands. If legs are tired, this is a fair day to end early — you have an intense day trip tomorrow.

Nikko deserves a full day — it's roughly two hours each way by train, so this isn't a half-measure trip.

Full day itinerary

Take an early train (ideally departing before 8 am) from Tokyo or Asakusa Station toward Nikko; the Tobu line direct trains take about 2 hours, with JR routes requiring a transfer and taking slightly longer. Nikko's main draw is Toshogu Shrine, the elaborately carved mausoleum of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, set in cedar forest in the mountains north of Tokyo. Budget 3-4 hours for the shrine complex and the walk up to it. If weather turns bad, the shrine buildings have covered viewing areas, but a heavy downpour will make the gravel paths unpleasant — have a poncho rather than relying on an umbrella in wind.

Pack lunch or eat at one of the simple soba restaurants near the shrine entrance; options thin out once you're inside the complex. Return trains run until early evening — don't cut it too close, as the last direct trains back to Tokyo are earlier than you'd expect, often before 8 pm. This day trip is the one worth booking a guided tour for in advance if you don't want to manage transfers yourself; compare current Nikko day tour options and prices before you book, since guided versions often include transport and an English-speaking guide bundled together.

A food-forward day with a shift into Tokyo's most polished shopping district.

Morning and afternoon

Go early — by 8 or 9 am — to Tsukiji Outer Market. The wholesale fish auction moved to Toyosu Market in 2018, but the outer market in Tsukiji still operates as a dense strip of food stalls, knife shops, and tiny sushi counters. Eat breakfast here rather than a hotel buffet: grilled skewers, tamagoyaki on a stick, fresh uni. It's one of the better food experiences in Tokyo precisely because it's still a working market, not a show put on for tourists. From Tsukiji, it's a 15-minute walk to Ginza.

Evening

Ginza is Tokyo's answer to Paris's Avenue Montaigne or London's Bond Street — flagship stores, department store food halls, and considerably calmer streets than Shibuya. Window shop, or visit one of the multi-floor department stores even if you're not buying anything; the basement food floors alone are worth 30 minutes. For dinner, Ginza has everything from standing sushi bars to multi-course kaiseki, at a noticeably higher price point than Asakusa or Shinjuku.

Kamakura is the easier of the two day trips — about an hour from Tokyo Station by train, versus Nikko's two hours — which makes it more forgiving if you're flagging by day six.

Full day itinerary

Take the JR Yokosuka Line direct from Tokyo Station to Kamakura, roughly 55-60 minutes. The main sight is the Great Buddha (Daibutsu) at Kotoku-in Temple, a bronze statue cast in 1252 and over 11 metres tall, sitting outdoors since a tsunami destroyed its hall in the 15th century. It's a 5-minute walk from Hase Station on the small Enoden tram line, which itself runs along the coast and is worth riding for the views.

Pair it with Hase-dera Temple nearby, known for its hillside garden and ocean views, then walk or tram back toward Kamakura Station for the shopping street Komachi-dori, which has a similar energy to Asakusa's Nakamise but with a beach-town feel. If weather is poor, Kamakura is less forgiving than Nikko — fewer covered areas — so this is the day to swap for Day 7's flexible slot if a typhoon or heavy rain is forecast.

This day is intentionally unstructured, and that's the point, not a gap in planning.

Morning and afternoon

Sleep in. By day seven most travelers coming from European time zones have adjusted, but legs and feet haven't. Pick one neighbourhood you missed or loved and revisit it at a slower pace — Akihabara for electronics and anime culture, Yanaka for an old-town feel with far fewer tourists than Asakusa, or a museum like the Edo-Tokyo Museum (closed for renovation in recent years, so check current status before planning around it) or the Ghibli Museum, which requires advance tickets sold on a fixed monthly release schedule.

Evening

Save this evening for whatever bookable experience you reserved on Day 2 — a sunset Tokyo Bay cruise, a robot-themed show, or a guided izakaya food crawl. It's also a sensible night for a conveyor-belt sushi dinner, which is cheaper and more relaxed than a Ginza sushi counter and a fitting lower-key close to the week.

Tokyo's train and subway network is extensive, and a Suica or Pasmo IC card — tap-to-pay, rechargeable at any station machine — is the only sane way to move around for a week. Load it with around ¥2,000-3,000 to start and top up as needed; both can now be set up on an iPhone or Android wallet before you even land, skipping the physical card line.

The JR Yamanote Line loops around central Tokyo hitting Shibuya, Shinjuku, and other key stops, while the Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway cover everything in between with lines that overlap confusingly at first. A 7-day unlimited subway pass exists but rarely pays off unless you're taking five-plus rides daily — for most itineraries like this one, pay-as-you-go IC card taps work out cheaper. Avoid driving entirely; parking is scarce and expensive, and the trains run cleaner and more punctually than almost anywhere in Europe.

One genuine annoyance: rush hour, roughly 7:30-9:15 am and 5:30-7:30 pm on weekdays, turns central lines like the Yamanote and Chuo into shoulder-to-shoulder crushes. Build your day trips or longer journeys around those windows where you can.

Shinjuku and Shibuya are the obvious first-timer choices — both are major transit hubs on the Yamanote Line, meaning almost everywhere on this itinerary is reachable without transfers. Shinjuku skews slightly better value and has an enormous station (confusing the first time, fine by day three). Shibuya is louder and trendier, with a higher concentration of mid-range hotels near the crossing itself.

Asakusa is the quieter, more traditional alternative — good if you want mornings that feel calmer, though you'll do more transferring to reach Shibuya or Harajuku. Compared to staying in Ginza, which is polished but dead quiet after 9 pm, Shinjuku or Shibuya give you more to do within walking distance after dark. Avoid booking near Tokyo Disneyland or far-flung suburbs purely for a lower nightly rate — the time cost over seven days adds up fast, often an extra 40-60 minutes round trip daily.

Shinjuku and Shibuya offer the best balance of transit access and evening life for a first full week in Tokyo.

Tokyo neighbourhoods compared for a 7 days in Tokyo itinerary base

Price levels are relative within Tokyo and vary by season and hotel type, so check current rates before booking.

A handful of experiences across this week genuinely benefit from advance booking rather than walk-up. A sunset or evening cruise around Tokyo Bay, passing the Rainbow Bridge and Odaiba's waterfront, is worth reserving two to three days ahead, especially on weekends. Guided day tours to Nikko that bundle train transport, an English-speaking guide, and entry fees save you logistics headaches, though they cost more than doing it independently and move at a fixed pace.

A sumo stable visit or practice viewing, where schedules exist, needs booking well ahead since slots are limited and tied to the training calendar, not tourist demand. Teamlab digital art exhibitions — Tokyo has more than one — regularly sell out specific time slots days in advance, so this is not one to leave for a walk-in on the day. Cooking classes and izakaya food tours in Shinjuku or Shibuya are more flexible but still worth locking in 24-48 hours ahead for evening slots.

Compare current prices and availability for these before you book, since schedules and costs shift by season — cherry blossom weeks and Golden Week in particular push prices up and slots down across the board.