How To Tour Tokyo In One Day

So you’re stuck in Narita Airport and, because you got the cheapest flight imaginable, you have a day and a half to kill before jetting off to Asia for your big backpacking adventure. You’ve got some time to kill, so you could visit Narita Temple for half a day, have a snack at some restaurant, and spend the rest of your wait at some cheap airport hotel. If you’re more adventurous, however, you may want to try visiting Tokyo. Tokyo is about a 1.5 hour train ride from Narita Airport. Be sure to take the Sobu Rapid line (The Dark Blue One) to Ueno Station, and from there take the Yamanote Line (The Green One) to Shibuya Station. If you know you’re going to have a layover beforehand, see if you can’t book a room at the Tokyu Stay in Shibuya. It’s one of the best value hotels in the city. There are plenty of cheaper hotels just outside of Tokyo but they’re not as conveniently located. You’ll want to get your sleep for the long day ahead, but if you have an extra hour it can be fun to take a stroll around Shibuya and see the busiest crosswalk in the world, as well as some of the various shops like Don Quijote (cheap electronics and novelty goods), mandarake (odd Japanese comic book merchandise), and shibuya109 (fashion shops for Shibuya youth culture).

The Day Begins

5:30AM – Wake up/Quick Light Breakfast It’s a little early, but you’re probably jet-lagged anyway so this hour shouldn’t be a problem. They have free continental breakfast at Tokyu Stay, but don’t pig out because there’s much better food along the way.

6:15AM – Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu) Take the Yamanote Line (The Green One) from Shibuya station to Harajuku. Ask for someone to point you to Meiji Shrine, and you’ll soon find yourself in a beautiful shrine/park in the center of the city. Meiji shrine is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike, but it loses a little something with all the crowds. If you go there in the early morning you’ll be able to visit the shrine in the still, serene morning. It’s worth it.

8:00AM – Walk down Omotesando + Breakfast Omotesando is the Champs-Elysees of Tokyo and is a wonderful place to take a stroll. There are plenty of trendy little cafes where you can have a delicious breakfast. Be careful: if there are any fashonistas in your company your tour may end here, as beautiful storefronts for Louis Vuitton, Prada, Coach line the streets.

10:00AM – Subway Ride to Asakusa You should be able to see a few subway entrances while walking down Omotesando. Enter any of these and take the Ginza line to Asakusa Station.

10:30AM – Explore Asakusa Asakusa has a lot of neat little shops on Nakamise street which leads to the Asakusa Kannon Temple.

12:00PM – Lunch Asakusa has a lot of famous Japanese restaurants, just ask around (most speak enough English to recommend a place) or consult your lonely planet guide. The last time I did this tour for friends everyone was pretty full from all the snack food they tried on the Nakamise Shopping Street so we didn’t eat here.

3:00PM – Check Out Akihabara Asakusa is not too far away from Akihabara, the electronics district of Japan. You can check out this train route site to find the right transfers (5 mins on the train, many more if you get lost), or you can just hire a cab. Either way, it should take about five minutes. Akihabara is a wierd place, but you can get great duty free deal on electronics plus you can go to a maid cafe where women dressed up as maids serve you tea, cake, and do little things for you like stir your tea and dab your face with a napkin.

5:00PM – Roppongi Hills The final stop on the site is Roppongi Hills, which is a swanky modern development project. The roppongi hills complex is a fun area to explore, and if you need a break you can grab a beer at Heartland, a place where a lot of expats gather.

7:00PM – Dinner If you really want a memorable meal I recommend trying out Gonpachi. There is one in Shibuya but the most impressive location as far as atmosphere has to be the Nishi-Azabu Branch. The trains can be confusing to get there so I recommend taking a taxi. Or, if you’ve been traveling in Japan for a while and want something other than Japanese food, I highly recommend Barbacoa in Omotesando, a place that serves excellent Brazilian food. Gonpachi is usually good for walk-ins but you’ll probably need a reservation for Barbacoa.

10:00PM – Back to the Hotel OR Clubbing By this time you’ll probably be so tired that you won’t be able to do much else, but if you’re really hardcore you can down a couple of red-bulls (or any of these quite potent Japanese Energy Drinks) and check out the club scene in Shibuya. Some might recommend Roppongi but I find the atmosphere in Roppongi clubs to be a little sleazy. As for club recommendations, I’ve heard Womb is pretty good and Club Asia isn’t bad either. Whatever you do, stay away from Gaspanic, which is usually overcrowded and has watered down drinks and sticky floors. Word of warning: Trains usually stop running around 12 o’clock and start again at about 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning. The farther you need to go, the earlier the last train is. Tokyo’s a huge city, and there’s certainly a lot more to see than in this 14 hour tour. What this tour does provide, however, is a great snapshot about what Tokyo’s about. And if you do all these things and go all these places, I guarantee you’ll have a story to tell.

Be Sure To Plan

Before you go out on the town, be sure to double check train routes and memorize a few Japanese phrases that will make your trip go more smoothly. This blog post should just be an outline for planning your day, so be sure to do a little research beforehand. What are your suggestions for a one day Tokyo tour?

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