18 Best Things to Do in Tokyo

Tokyo is Japan’s biggest, densest, and most varied city — 23 wards that each feel like a different city entirely. Here is what to actually do once you are there, organised by neighbourhood and interest, with typical costs in rupees for travellers from India. Base yourself in Shinjuku for first-night recovery and the metro, or Shibuya if you want the scramble on foot — pick one hotel and stay put.

Quick Answer: The Experiences Worth Booking

Iconic Tokyo

1. Cross Shibuya Scramble Crossing

Up to 3,000 people cross at once when the light turns green. View it first from the Starbucks above, then walk it yourself. It costs nothing but patience. Combine with Meiji Jingu in the same west-Tokyo day; do not treat the scramble as a standalone pilgrimage that eats the morning you needed for Senso-ji. This is theatre, not a temple — and still the activity Tokyo is best known for.

2. Visit Senso-ji Temple, Asakusa

Tokyo’s oldest temple (645 AD). Free, open from about 6am. Arrive before 9am to beat the tour groups; walk Nakamise shopping street for traditional souvenirs after the hall, not instead of it. The incense cauldron and the lantern at Kaminarimon are the photographs. This is the east-Tokyo morning — do not add Meiji Jingu on the same jet-lag legs.

3. Free observation deck, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

Shinjuku’s best skyline view, open until 10:30pm, no entry fee — one of the genuine free things to do in Tokyo. North and south towers alternate; check which is open. Go at dusk if the weather is clear. Pair it with Omoide Yokocho afterwards so the deck is not a standalone outing. Weeknights are quieter than Saturday.

4. Meiji Jingu Shrine

A forested shrine in the middle of the city, genuinely peaceful even on busy days if you arrive at 8am. Free. The gravel path from Harajuku station is the reset after Takeshita Street. This is a working shrine — bow, skip the loud speakerphone, and do not treat the barrels of sake as a picnic table. Omotesando is the architecture walk afterwards.

5. Explore Akihabara

Electric Town for anime merchandise, retro arcades, and multi-storey electronics stores. A half-afternoon is plenty. Super Potato and the larger arcade buildings are the start. No reservation; cash still helps for gachapon. Skip it if shrines are the whole trip; keep it if Tokyo attractions for you include a claw machine at 11pm.

Food and Markets

6. Tsukiji Outer Market

Tokyo’s most famous fish-market area. The inner wholesale market moved to Toyosu, but the outer market’s food stalls remain excellent for breakfast sushi — go hungry from about 7am, not at noon. Expect ₹1,500–₹4,000 for a counter set. Many stalls still prefer cash. Pair with Toyosu only if tuna auctions are the trip; most Indian first-timers are happier at Tsukiji’s outer lanes.

7. Depachika food halls

The basement floors of Isetan (Shinjuku) and Takashimaya are a food-lover’s hour: bento, wagyu, seasonal wagashi. Go hungry at 11am or after 6pm for marked-down packs. No reservation. One of the best things to do in Tokyo on a jet-lagged first evening, before you trust yourself with a ramen queue. Bring a tote.

8. Omoide Yokocho (“Memory Lane”)

Tiny, atmospheric yakitori alleys near Shinjuku Station — smoke, beer, and stools that are not Instagram-designed. Two or three stops beat one tourist izakaya with an English sandwich-board. Many still prefer cash. Vegetarians: ask, and expect gaps. This is the Shinjuku night that belongs next to the free deck, not instead of dinner.

9. Conveyor-belt sushi

Plates from ¥100 (about ₹55) — a fun, low-cost way to try a wide variety of fish without an omakase reservation. Chains such as Sushiro and Kura run across the city; a busy Shinjuku or Shibuya lunch is the move. Vegetarian plates exist (tamago, inari, cucumber) but are limited. This is the sushi experience most Indian first-timers actually finish.

Modern and Unusual Tokyo

10. teamLab Planets or teamLab Borderless

Tokyo’s famous immersive digital art museums. Tickets ₹1,800–₹2,500; book well in advance — weekends and sakura weeks sell out 2–3 weeks ahead. Planets (Toyosu) involves water; Borderless (Azabudai Hills) is the wandering-room version. One museum is enough on a three-night stay. Do not stack with Senso-ji and Shibuya on the same day.

11. Themed cafés

Owl cafés, cat cafés, and Shinjuku’s robot-show circuit — uniquely Tokyo, and genuinely fun for a couple of hours if you treat them as novelty. Time slots are 30–60 minutes; book same-day. About ₹1,500–₹3,000 including a drink is typical. The original Robot Restaurant closed; successor shows rotate, so check current listings. Pick a licensed café in Harajuku or Ikebukuro.

12. Harajuku’s Takeshita Street

Tokyo’s most outrageous youth-fashion street; crepes are practically mandatory. A 45-minute wander, not a half-day. Pair with Meiji Jingu so the shrine is the morning and Takeshita is the circus after. Omotesando is the calmer architecture street one block over. Weekday late morning beats Saturday noon.

13. Karaoke in a private room

Cheap, fun, and widely available — about ₹300–₹600 per hour per person in chains such as Big Echo, often with a drink package. Rooms are private. English catalogues are standard in Shibuya and Shinjuku. Book 60–90 minutes after dinner, not instead of yakitori.

Nature and Views

14. Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Three garden styles in one park; spectacular for cherry blossoms and autumn colour. ¥500 entry (about ₹280). Open roughly 9am–4pm; last entry earlier — check the season. A slow hour in the middle of Shinjuku, not a tick-box. See Best Time to Visit Tokyo if your dates are built around sakura or maple.

15. Ueno Park

Museums, a zoo, and one of Tokyo’s best cherry-blossom spots in spring. The park is free; museums are not. Pair with Senso-ji in the same east-Tokyo day. The Tokyo National Museum is the rainy-day version. Do not add Shibuya to this cluster before lunch.

16. Odaiba

Tokyo Bay’s futuristic waterfront district, good for an evening walk and skyline views — Rainbow Bridge, teamLab Planets is next door in Toyosu, and the Gundam statue if that is the trip. A half-evening, not a third full day. The Yurikamome line is the view; the metro is faster.

Day Trips from Tokyo

17. Hakone

Mt Fuji views, onsen towns, and a ropeway over volcanic valleys, about 90 minutes away. Better as an overnight than a ropeway sprint. A day visit still works if you skip the scramble that morning. Weather hides the summit often; the bath is the point. See Hakone and Japan’s hidden gems if the onsen night is why you added a fifth day.

18. Nikko

A UNESCO shrine complex in cedar forest, about two hours north. Toshogu is ornate and crowded at weekends; go on a weekday if you can. A long day from Tokyo; kinder as an overnight if you add Kegon Falls. Do not stack with Senso-ji and Shibuya. This is the quieter temple day if Kyoto is not on a short trip.

How Many Days Do You Need in Tokyo?

Most itineraries allow 3 days for Tokyo, which is enough to cover the highlights above across the city’s east side (Asakusa, Akihabara, Ueno) and west side (Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku). Sleep in Shinjuku if Day 1 is an arrival night; Shibuya if evenings in the scramble neighbourhood are the whole point. Two nights is a neon sprint; five nights adds Hakone or a slower Yanaka afternoon.

• Day 1: Shinjuku (deck, depachika, Omoide Yokocho) and Shibuya Crossing.
• Day 2: Senso-ji before 9am, Ueno, Akihabara.
• Day 3: Meiji Jingu, Harajuku, teamLab or karaoke — Roppongi or Ginza if you still have legs.

See the Tokyo itineraries and the Japan travel itineraries for how Tokyo fits into a 10-day trip, or check Places to Visit in Tokyo and Best Time to Visit Tokyo for planning around seasons — sakura in Ueno, maple in Shinjuku Gyoen.