Three days in Tokyo, Japan

I’ve just come back from hosting a tour group through part of the Japan. I will break down that itinerary into another post if you want to copy it, but for now I’m going to cover the best things we did to explore Tokyo.

I’ll group them into geographical areas, so you can use it like we did, or just browse through and pick out the things you think you’d most enjoy.

Arriving at Narita Airport, it’s about an hour and a half to get into the city. If you have a choice, Haneda is closer.

Day 1 in Tokyo

Where to stay: We picked Dai-Ichi Hotel in Ginza, which meant we were within walking distance from great shopping and across the road from a bunch of tiny local eateries too.

Today I had TeamLab Planets on the top of my list, and as were in a group we’d made a booking ahead for entry between 9.15am and 9.30am. This digital museum will play with your mind! Kids will love it, but so did we adults.

You enter the first room by walking up a “river” barefoot with your pants rolled up, to then wade into a water-filled room where digital koi swim around you.

In another room we coloured in pictures of critters, then they were scanned into a computer and suddenly we saw them running around the undulating floor. There are two more rooms like this with different themes, so you could easily take an hour in here with kids.

Allow 2-3 hours at TeamLabs. There is a cafe at the exit, so that makes a good spot to wait for those who are caught up in the mirrors or the climbing swings or standing mesmerised in the orchid room.

Visit iconic Shibuya Crossing for lunch, pose for photos amongst the “influencers” and a bit of shopping.

To get here, either take a taxi from TeamLabs (about 10-30 minutes). Cost is from ¥5,000 to ¥6,500 (US$31 to US$40).

Or if you have a bit more time and are feeling adventurous, take the train! It’s easy once you get the hang of it.

Shibuya Crossing is the famous five-way road crossing with zebra lines and pedestrians running into the middle for a selfie before proceeding to the other side every minute and half! It’s also a huge shopping area with lots of restaurants around too.

I walked across a few times first to get the hang of it, and the second and third (and fourth) to take my own photos and video!

A great place to see the view from above is from the 7th floor of Magnet. You’ll see the building on one of the corners. For ¥1,800 you can go out into the open-air balcony with one drink of choice and stay as long as you like taking all the pics. There was hardly anyone here when I went.

Don’t bother with Starbucks on the opposite corner for the view. They are only on the second floor and have a huge curtain mural blocking most of the view.

You’d easily spend two or three hours in Shibuya if you plan to eat and shop too.

We took about an hour just to eat at a tiny local restaurant which had items like rectum on the menu (!) But it also had ramen – which was really delicious!

Shopping includes IKEA and loads of local stores with Hello Kitty, second-hand handbags, shoes and souvenirs. You’ll also find department stores including a mega Don Quijote. This is an eye-opener! But we went to the one closest to our hotel on day 3.

We then took the Ginza Line train back to Shimbashi, to the hotel. It cost ¥180 (NZ$1.80, approx) and we didn’t have to change trains.

Tonight’s dinner : wagyu teppanyaki. It was the best dinner of our entire tour! We walked from the hotel into Ginza to Honoo Ginza, which specialises in teppanyaki style (cooked on a hot plate in front of you) wagyu raised in the Okinawa Prefecture. They made a special menu for our group of 12, which cost ¥120,000 each. Some of us added a three-glass wine pairing for an extra ¥3,500.

It was sublime!

Day 2 in Tokyo

Today we’re off up the Skytree Tokyo for expansive views over the city. The key is to come as early as possible. Actually that’s true of pretty much everywhere in Tokyo. It’s a busy busy city!

Tokyo Skytree stands 634 metres above ground and there are two levels of observations decks. You can see Mt Fuji from here on a clear day. When it was built in 2012 it was the tallest building in the world. We went to the first deck at 350m. You can also go to 450m.

It was mid November when we were here, and on the fourth floor there was a pop-up European style Christmas market. This was super exciting for me as I had collected mugs from our Christmas Markets river cruise, and added another little boot to my collection.

Allow at least an hour to take in the views, and add some more time to shop at Solamachi, the new adjoining mall which is home to 300 shops!

Visit old town Asakusa. You can walk from Skytree via the Sumida River Walk and Tokyo Mizumachi, or across the Sumida Park bridges, in about 20 minutes. Or take the Tobu Skytree Line train to Asakusa Station in about three minutes.

Here you’ll find Sensō-ji Temple, Tokyo’s oldest buddhist temple founded in 628 AD. Bring a charged phone for not only pics of the building, but of all the kimono-wearing tourists and locals alike who pose wistfully in front!

From here you can delve into a plethora of little stores filled with souvenirs and food. Try the candied strawberries (and grapes). Buy your cute chopsticks and some Hello Kitty tat for the little ones.

There are also shops for quality kitchen knives, which is a thing here. Honestly they are amazing. Often the blades are etched and a decent sized knife will set you back up to NZ$1,000!

Tonight have dinner on a boat in Tokyo Bay. We hired a small boat which could seat our group and with a small kitchen onboard, were treated to hot tempura and little salads.

But the best thing? The karaoke TV that our guide turned on and helped us line up the playlist.

Day 3 in Tokyo

I’ve saved today for shopping around our hotel in the Ginza prefecture!

I mentioned Don Quijote above, and soon learned it was an iconic shop where you can buy literally everything. From sweets to makeup, watches to designer handbags. Souvenirs and electronics. I spent about an hour here and while it was suggested to come at 6am (it’s open 24-hours), we got here about 9.30 and it wasn’t crowded at all. Well not the one in Ginza 8. I can’t speak for the Mega Don Quijoti in Shibuya!

It’s a bit overwhelming, even without crowds of shoppers. Music is playing advertising jingles on every aisle. TV screens blast out ‘come here’ animations. The shelves are packed to the ceiling and your eyes are drawn to everything all at once!

It’s the ideal place to save your sweets and biscuit shopping for though. Pick up your matcha KitKats or freeze dried strawberries in chocolate. Mt Fuji wrapped cookies and loads of gifts.

Check out this pocket guide to the shops in Ginza.

The Ginza shopping precinct is about four blocks wide by eight blocks long. It has luxury retailers and high street stores. International and local brands. You could drop some serious yen in the likes of Louis Vuitton or Dolce and Gabana, but you can also find some great deals in Uniqlo, GU, Zara, H&M and ABC Mart.

You may need more than a day!

Try a contemporary sushi lunch or dinner at Sushi Yamaken Ginza. The presentation is exceptional and it’s right here in the heart of Ginza – so you could shop all day!

Want more?

Have a look at this post comparing prices between Tokyo and New York in Is Tokyo Expensive? You might be pleasantly surprised.

And this is a super helpful post on Things to Know Before you Go to Japan.