13 Things to do in Tokyo, Japan

TokyoJapan
Written By Away Again

Tokyo is one of our favourite places to visit, so we constantly find ourselves returning back! From the delicious food and rich culture, to the unique experiences and cute shops, there’s always so much to see, eat and do.

If it’s your first time in Tokyo, we’d recommend spending at least 5 days, including some day trips if you have time. For a detailed itinerary, check out our 5-Day Tokyo Itinerary (which also includes tips on how to get around and where to stay etc).

1. Explore Shinjuku

Shinjuku is a lively and busy neighbourhood in Tokyo, with neon-lights, 3D advertising and small alleyways filled with delicious food and drinks. It’s also a major transport hub, with Shinjuku Station being the busiest train station in the world!

See the Godzilla Head & 3D Billboards

  • Godzilla Head: Make sure to spot the iconic Godzilla Head, located on top of the Hotel Gracery. You can view it from the street, and it roars with smoke and lights every hour between 12-8pm.

  • 3D Electronic Billboards: Check out the giant wall of 3D electronic billboards, located at Cross Shinjuku Vision (across from Shinjuku Station’s east exit). The popular one is the giant 3D cat, which features in short videos between ads. You may see it yawning, stretching, walking around and jumping out of the screen - it’s definitely a cool sight to see!

Eat at Omoide Yokocho 🍢

Omoide Yokocho (‘Memory Lane’) in Shinjuku is a narrow alley packed with multiple small, counter-style izakayas that serve a range of yakitori skewers, grilled meats and drinks.

Although quite tiny (most only fit 10 or less people), it’s a fun experience being able to watch your food being grilled in front of you in a lively setting and the skewers are so delicious. We’ve been twice to the izakaya ‘Kanpai Tokyo’ and we love the skewers there!

2. Explore Harajuku

Harajuku is the place to go if you’re looking for quirky shops and trendy cafes. To get there, you can easily take a train on the JR Yamanote Line and get off at Harajuku Station.

Make sure to check out Takeshita Street - the most famous street in Harajuku and a short walk from Harajuku Station. It’s well-known for its quirky shops, trendy cafes and vibrant culture.

Along the street, you can:

  • Snap cute photobooth pics at Purikura-No

  • Try a delicious crepe from Marion Crepes

  • Get different capsule toys from the Gacha Machines along the street - one of our favourite things to do in Japan!

✍️ Tip: It can get very busy so we’d recommend going before 10am.

  • A Japanese capsule toy vending machine. You insert coins (usually 200-500 yen), turn the knob, and receive a random toy or collectible in a plastic capsule. The toys often feature popular anime or character-themed items, and part of the fun is not knowing exactly what you'll get. It’s one of our favourite things to do in Japan!

There’s also more to Harajuku than just Takeshita Street. We love exploring around the other streets, where there are even more shops! Some of our favourites are:

  • 🪄 Harry Potter Shop: this opened in August 2025 and it’s Japan’s first Harry Potter Flagship Store, with 2 magical levels to explore. You can see what it looks like in our video here.

  • 🛍️ Kiddy Land: a HUGE toy shop spread over 5 levels, with Snoopy, Sanrio, Miffy, Mario and heaps more. We always spend so much time (and money) here.

  • 📱 Cas:pace: sells unique phone cases. We got the popular vending machine phone case (pictured below).

  • 🥢 Dear You: sells cute homeware, kitchenware and ceramics. We bought the cute chopsticks pictured below! Note: On Google Maps, it shows up as ‘Zakka+Sake Bar DEARYOU’ since there’s also a sake bar at the back.

3. Meiji Shrine

Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu) provides a peaceful escape from the busy city, with a forest of over 100,000 trees. The entrance is next to Harajuku station, where you’ll pass through the massive Torii Gate and then follow the path to the main shrine buildings. Along the way, you’ll also see beautifully arranged sake barrels.

Once you reach the shrine, you can participate in Shinto rituals, such as writing a wish on an ema (wooden plaque) or purifying yourself at the temizuya (water pavilion).

  • ⏰ Opening Hours: Every day from sunrise and closes with sunset. The times differ by month (check here).

  • 🎟️ Admission: FREE for Meiji Shrine. However, there are small fees for the museum and inner garden.

4. Explore Shibuya

Shibuya is one of Tokyo’s most popular districts, featuring the famous Shibuya Crossing. You’ll see hundreds of people moving in every direction the moment the lights change so it’s definitely chaotic, but fun to cross!

You can also get incredible views of Shibuya Crossing and Tokyo from above at Shibuya Sky. This is an open-air observation deck with 360-degree panoramic views of the city. It’s located on the 47th floor (top floor) of Shibuya Scramble Square Tower 🗼

  • ⏰ Opening Hours: 10am-10.30pm daily (last entry 9.20pm)

  • 🎟️ Tickets: Get up to 10% off via Klook.com with code FEASTONITKLOOK. Make sure to book well in advance because this attraction is extremely popular and sells out fast. You’ll need to book a dedicated timeslot and tickets are released 28 days in advance.

Buy here with discount code FEASTONITKLOOK

For shopping in Shibuya, some of our favourites are:

  • 🛍️ Loft: huge lifestyle department store with 7 floors. There’s SO many products here, from stationary and stickers, to cosmetics, to interior decor and kitchenware, plus more. It’s the perfect place for souvenirs!

  • 👒 Hands: another huge lifestyle store, with a variety of household and DIY goods.

  • 👜 PARCO: has more than 190 shops with a mix of fashion, art, entertainment, food and gaming. It’s also home to the Pokémon Center and Nintendo Store.

  • ✨ Disney Store: perfect for Disney lovers, especially if you don’t have time to go to Disneyland and explore their shops. There’s a cute castle-themed entrance, with lots of Disney toys and souvenirs to take home.

5. Gōtokuji Temple: ‘Lucky Cat Temple’

Gōtokuji Temple is a must-see, especially for cat lovers! 🐈 It’s a Buddhist temple, famous for its maneki-neko (beckoning cat) statues, which are believed to bring good fortune. You can buy your own and make a wish, then either leave it at the temple or take it home. Some people even come back to return their cat statue once their wish comes true as a way of giving thanks.

You can also write a wish on an ema (wooden plaque) or try your luck with a Japanese fortune slip. If you happen to pull a bad fortune, it’s advised to tie it to the designated area at the temple to symbolically leave the bad luck behind.

Check out our video about the temple here.

  • ⏰ Opening Hours: every day from 6am-5pm

  • 🎟️ Admission: FREE to enter the temple

How to get to Gōtokuji Temple:

  • 🚂 From Shinjuku: Take the Odakyu Line to Gōtokuji Station (~15 minutes), then walk 10 minutes to the temple.

  • 🚂 From Shibuya: Take the train to Sangenjaya Station, then another train to Miyanosaka Station (Tokyu Setagaya Line), then walk 5 minutes to the temple. This route is popular because at certain times throughout the day, there’s an adorable cat-themed 🐾 train from Sangenjaya to Miyanosaka! Check the schedule here before you go to find out what times the unique cat train will run.

6. Explore Akihabara

If you love electronics, games or anime, don’t skip Akihabara (also known as ‘Electric Town’)! It’s a famous shopping district known for all of these things, so you’ll definitely have lots of fun at the arcades or shopping around.

👾 Arcades in Akihabara

We are HUGE arcade fans, and if you know us, you know we love the claw machines! Our favourite arcade is GiGo, which has so many different claw machines and classic arcade games across multiple levels.

For other arcades, check out TAITO Station, Game Panic or Super Potato (for old-school retro arcade games).

    • The smaller claws are easier to win and cheaper, so we’d recommend focusing on these compared to the big ones if you don’t want to waste too much money.

    • Some claws have rubber on the ends/tips. If you spot these, we found them easier to win on since they can grip the toy better.

    • At some arcades like GiGO, you can ask the staff for help and they may reposition the toys to be in a better spot for you.

    • If the claw grabs the plushie but immediately drops it (ie weak grip), don’t keep trying and move on to a different claw.

    • Try to go for toys that are closer to the opening or can bounce off another toy and fall right in.

Shopping in Akihabara

  • 🗡️ For anime lovers: Animate Akihabara, Lashinbang and Akihabara Kotobukiya

  • 📷 For electronics and camera lovers: Yodobashi Akiba

  • 💥 For a mega 10-story store: Radio Kaikan (anime, comics, figurines, electronics)

  • 🧸 For certain gachapon or figurines: Habikoro Toys (inside Radio Kaikan) has a whole store filled with HEAPS that you can just buy without having to try your luck on the gachapon machines. The store can be quite overwhelming since there’s so much there, but it’s really cool to check out!

7. Explore Asakusa

Asakusa's main attraction is Sensō-ji Temple, which is Tokyo’s oldest temple and also has a stunning 5-story pagoda. You can also explore all of the street food and souvenier stalls along Nakamise-dori Street leading up to the temple.

For street food, you’ll see lots of stalls around Sensō-ji Temple and Nakamise Shopping Street. Some of our favourite eats were:

Shopping in Asakusa

  • 🔪 Kappabashi Street (known as Kitchen Town): sells lots of kitchenware, including knives and ceramics

  • 🎁 Nakamise-dori Street: lots of stalls leading up to Sensoji Temple. Great spot to shop for souvenirs!

  • 🛍️ Nishi-Sando Shopping Street: shopping arcade

  • 🌸 Flower Miffy: if you love Miffy, you’ll love this cute store! It sells heaps of Miffy-themed items, and we bought so much here.

  • 🧸 Sanrio Store: sells lots of Sanrio character items!

Asahi Sky Room

If you have more time or want to find a relaxing spot to escape from the crowds, we’d recommend heading to Asahi Sky Room. This is located insideAsahi Headquarters and then you need to go up the escalators to get to the Sky Room. It’s the perfect spot to enjoy a beer with amazing panoramic views! 🍺

8. Teamlab Planets

If you love immersive experiences, check out TeamLab Planets. This digital art museum is a whole sensory experience with different unique rooms. Our favourite room is The Infinite Crystal Universe, where thousands of LED lights shift colours and sparkle around you.

In January 2025, they expanded the museum's entire space by 1.5 times with 3 new interactive art spaces, which have more than 10 immersive artworks, so we’ll definitely need to go back and check out the new spaces!

Things to know about TeamLab Planets:

  • ⏰ Opening Hours: 9am - 10pm daily

  • 🎟️ Tickets: Get up to 10% off via Klook.com with code FEASTONITKLOOK. Book well in advance because this attraction is popular and sells out fast. You’ll also need to pick a time slot. We’d recommend either the earliest or latest session (although we went at 8pm and it was still VERY crowded, so expect it to be very busy in general!).

  • 👖 What to wear? There are mirrored floors, so it’s advised to avoid skirts or dresses (especially short ones) if you may feel uncomfortable. Also, some rooms involve walking in knee-high water levels, so wear shorts or clothing that can be rolled up quite high to avoid them getting wet.

  • 🦶 Barefoot: This is a completely barefoot experience (since a few rooms require you to walk in water) and requires you to take off your socks and shoes, then store them in a locker before entering. If you don’t want to go barefoot, we’d recommend going to TeamLab Borderless instead (which doesn’t require you to go barefoot).

Get up to 10% off tickets with code FEASTONITKLOOK

Note: there is also another similar digital art exhibition called TeamLab Borderless, but we haven’t been to this one yet. We heard that it used to be much bigger than TeamLab Planets before the expansion, but might be more similar in size now. Borderless also seems to be more accessible, since there are hard flat floors and no water rooms, with lots of digital projections.

9. Go-Karting

One of our favourite things to do! If you’re looking for a fun and thrilling way to see Tokyo, go-karting around the city is an absolute must. You get to dress up in different character onesie costumes and it feels like a real-life version of Mario Kart. The go-karts also go pretty fast, so it’s a really exhilarating feeling and we loved it!

Things to know about Go-Karting:

  • 🪪 You need an international drivers licence to participate in this experience

  • If you want to try this, but you’re a bit nervous, we’d recommend you:

    • Choose the shorter time (e.g. 1 hour) so that you won’t have to drive as long but can still experience it

    • Choose a route with less traffic (i.e. not Shibuya Crossing)

    • Buy insurance when they offer it as an option on the day (which is cheaper than if you damage the go-kart and have to cop the $$ costs)

    • Do this experience during the day, not at night

  • ❌ If you’re NOT a confident driver, we do not recommend this experience. You’ll be driving in a low go-kart on the actual streets of Tokyo (i.e. lots of traffic) so the cars feel much taller and bigger next to you, compared to driving in a normal car. You’ll also need to keep up with your group as much as possible, which can be stressful and dangerous if you are not a confident driver.

Get up to 10% off tickets with discount code FEASTONITKLOOK

10. Explore Ginza

Ginza is Tokyo’s high-end shopping, dining, and entertainment hub, known for its designer boutiques and flagship stores. The main street, Chuo-dori, is lined with brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior, and Uniqlo’s massive flagship store.

Some of our favourite shops to visit:

✍️ Note: on weekends, the street is closed to automobile traffic and becomes a large pedestrian zone. The road closure takes place from 12-6pm (or until 5pm between October and March).

Food & Drink Spots:

  • 🍚 Tonkatsu Hasegawa Higashi Ginza for amazing pork tonkatsu

  • 🍜 Udon from here. We found that not many people knew about this spot, so there was never a line and the udon was really good!

  • 🥃 Ginza Music Bar was so cool and the perfect spot for drinks on a night out! The DJ mixes songs on vinyl records (which we loved) and we also really loved all of the cocktails.

11. Roppongi Hills Observation Deck

If you’re looking for stunning panoramic views of Tokyo and Tokyo Tower, check out the Roppongi Hills Observation Deck. It’s located on the 52nd floor of the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 250 meters above sea level. The open-air rooftop is no longer open to the public, so it is just the indoor observation deck.

Get up to 10% off tickets with discount code FEASTONITKLOOK

12. Day Trip from Tokyo

There are heaps of half-day or full-day trips you can do from Tokyo, depending on your interests. Here are some of our top picks:

  • Kamakura: charming coastal town known for its historic temples, shrines, and scenic beaches. This was one of our favourite places to visit!

  • Yokohama: home to the fun and interactive Cup Noodles Museum, and Yokohama Chinatown (the largest Chinatown in Japan!).

  • Mount Fuji: a day trip is great if you're short on time, but visibility can be unpredictable. For the best chance to see it, we recommend staying a few days in the Fuji Five Lakes area (like we did!). Book Mount Fuji tours on Klook.com and get up to 10% off with code: FEASTONITKLOOK.

  • Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea: a magical day trip—perfect for Disney fans or theme park lovers. Book ahead and get up to 10% off on Klook.com with code: FEASTONITKLOOK.

13. EAT all of the good food!

We saved the best for last! Tokyo is a food lover’s paradise, and below were some of our favourite spots from our last few trips together.

Plus, don’t forget to check out their convenience stores, like 7-Eleven, Family Mart and Lawson. Some of our favourite things to get at these stores were the fruit smoothies, egg sandwiches and pork buns!

5-Day Itinerary, Guide & Tips:

For our itinerary and more info on getting around, where to stay etc: Read Here

Japan Discount Code:

Get up to 10% off Japan activities, tours, trains and hotels on Klook.com with code: FEASTONITKLOOK.

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