Visas & entry
Japan grants visa-free short stays (commonly up to 90 days) to holders of many passports, including US, Canadian, UK, EU, Australian and New Zealand passports; other nationalities may need a visa or eVisa in advance. Entry rules, onward-ticket expectations and permitted stay lengths change, so verify with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs before booking.
Getting in
- Haneda Airport: The best airport for central Tokyo: it is close enough that Tokyo Station, Shinagawa, Shinjuku and the eastern wards are practical by train or airport bus. Use it whenever the fare and flight timing are comparable to Narita.
- Narita International Airport: The main long-haul alternative, well outside Tokyo in Chiba. Narita Express is useful for Tokyo Station, Shinjuku and Shibuya; Keisei Skyliner is fastest for Ueno. Allow roughly an hour or more to reach your hotel after clearing the airport.
- Tokyo Station: The principal Shinkansen gateway from Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Sendai and beyond. It is ideal for Ginza, Nihonbashi, Marunouchi and east-side bases; Shinjuku or Shibuya still require a cross-city train transfer.
- Shinagawa Station: A major Tokaido Shinkansen stop and the most convenient rail gateway for south/west Tokyo or a Haneda connection. It is often easier than Tokyo Station if you are staying in Shibuya, Shinjuku or near Shinagawa.
- Takeshiba Passenger Ship Terminal: The departure point for the Izu Islands and Ogasawara. Treat island sailings as real transport commitments, not spontaneous excursions: jetfoils, overnight ferries and the Ogasawara ship are weather- and schedule-dependent.
Getting around
Use trains and subways for almost everything in the central wards; an IC card is the default payment tool, and Google Maps or a Japanese transit app handles the otherwise intimidating network. Pick one central base and travel by area: a seemingly short cross-town move often takes 30–50 minutes door to door. Rent a car only for a deliberate western-Tokyo or island trip; it is a liability in central Tokyo. Mt. Takao is an easy rail day trip from Shinjuku, while Okutama is roughly two hours each way and deserves an early start or overnight.
Money
Currency is Japanese yen. Cards work widely in hotels, department stores, chain restaurants and major attractions, but carry cash for small bars, older restaurants, market stalls, temple donations and some island businesses; ATMs in 7-Eleven stores are reliably useful. Tipping is not customary and can create awkwardness—service is included.
Daily budget · JPY (Japanese yen) per person per day, excluding international flights.
- Value
- ¥13,000–22,000
- Mid-range
- ¥28,000–48,000
- High-end
- ¥75,000–150,000+
- Value means a hostel, capsule or basic business hotel; convenience-store breakfasts, inexpensive noodle/rice-bowl meals and mostly free sights. A ¥6,000 single room exists, but is not a dependable Tokyo assumption in blossom season, weekends, Golden Week or late booking.
- Mid-range buys a good business or boutique hotel, cafés and proper sit-down meals, museums and paid viewpoints, plus the occasional useful taxi or reservation-only dinner.
- High-end means leading hotels, serious omakase or kappo, premium bars, frequent taxis and potentially private guides. One ambitious sushi dinner can consume much of the bottom end of this band.
- Accommodation—not local transit—is the usual budget breaker. Hotel rates spike for cherry blossom weeks, Golden Week, weekends and year-end; taxis after the last train, upscale dining and major ticketed attractions are the next biggest leaks.
- Use an IC card for normal rail and subway rides; the subway starts around ¥178. Subway passes only pay off on genuinely subway-heavy days, not as an automatic purchase.
- Izu and Ogasawara are separate-budget trips: nearer-island ship transport can add roughly ¥6,000–29,000, flights to nearer islands roughly ¥14,000–20,000, and Ogasawara ship fares substantially more. Island lodging, rental cars and limited restaurant supply also raise costs.
Eating well
- Tokyo has every Japanese regional cuisine, but that does not make it Tokyo food; seek Edo dishes intentionally.
- For serious Edomae sushi, book ahead when the restaurant requires it, sit at the counter if possible, and let the chef set the order.
- Do not dismiss station-area soba: a quick standing bowl is part of the local food culture, not merely a compromise.
- Treat unagi as a planned meal; good versions are expensive, and tourist-strip pricing is not a quality guarantee.
- Go to Tsukishima for monjayaki with companions: it is designed for sharing and cooking at the table.
- Use Tsukiji for a food walk, not a serene market experience; it is crowded. Toyosu is the functional wholesale-market alternative, not the atmospheric one.
Book before you land
Ghibli Museum, Mitaka — advance reservation required; releases disappear quickly and the museum has Tuesday and periodic longer closures. · teamLab Planets, Toyosu — timed-entry slots can sell out, especially weekends and school holidays. · Shibuya Sky — timed admission is often unavailable close to the date, particularly for sunset. · Tokyo Grand Sumo Tournament tickets at Ryogoku Kokugikan — book as soon as sales open if your dates align with a tournament. · Izu Islands and Ogasawara transport and accommodation — limited supply and weather-sensitive schedules make advance booking essential, particularly for Oshima weekends and all Ogasawara sailings.
- Do not change hotels just to sample another central neighborhood. Choose one base—Shinjuku for westbound day trips, Ueno/Asakusa for the old east side, or Tokyo Station/Ginza for rail and airport links—and use the trains.
- Keep an IC card charged. It works across most urban rail, buses, convenience stores and many vending machines, but it does not replace every reserved long-distance or island ticket.
- Last trains matter. Taxis after midnight are expensive, and staying out beyond the final train can turn a cheap evening into a costly ride home.
- Escalator etiquette varies: stand on the left in much of Tokyo, but follow local signs and do not block people walking past. Queue quietly on platforms and let passengers exit before boarding.
- For Mt. Takao, go early and hike at least one direction if you want it to feel like a mountain day; autumn weekends are crowded. For Okutama, check weather and trail conditions and do not treat it like a casual city walk.
- For islands, build buffer time before an international flight. Ferry and flight operations can change with sea and weather conditions; never schedule an island return the night before a nonrefundable departure.
Entry rules change — verify visa requirements for your passport before booking this region.
Season by season
March to May
March starts cool; April and May are mild for long walking days, but late-March to early-April blossoms bring the year’s sharpest hotel, restaurant and park crowds.
first visitscity walkingcherry blossomsMt. Takao and parks
Avoid Golden Week in late April to early May if possible: domestic transport and hotels are heavily pressured, and peak sakura is expensive and crowded.
June to August
June through mid-July is humid and drizzly, then heat and humidity become punishing; days above 35°C are possible and late-summer typhoons can disrupt flights, ferries and island plans.
nightlife and evening diningmuseums and indoor attractionsfireworks and matsuriIzu Island beach trips
This is the hardest season for all-day sightseeing; start early, retreat indoors at midday, and leave weather buffer around island transport.
September to November
September can still be hot and typhoon-prone, but late October and November are crisp, comfortable and particularly good for urban walking and western-Tokyo hikes.
repeat visitsfood-focused tripsMt. TakaoOkutama hiking
Foliage weekends, especially at Mt. Takao, are crowded and can push up prices, though usually less severely than cherry-blossom season.
December to February
Central Tokyo is generally dry, bright and cold rather than severe, with January often around 1–10°C and early darkness; visibility is often excellent for skyline and Fuji views.
value-focused tripsmuseums and diningclear skyline viewscity photography
Parks are bare and daylight ends early; many independent restaurants, museums and small shops close for several days around New Year.
Events worth planning around
Cherry blossom season · Usually late March to early April; timing varies by year. · Tokyo parks, riversides and sakura neighborhoods; Mt. Takao is also busy.
Book accommodation well ahead if blossoms are the point. Expect crowded parks, restaurant pressure and peak hotel rates.
Golden Week · Late April to early May. · Tokyo and nationwide.
One of Japan’s busiest domestic travel periods: reserve hotels and long-distance transport early, or travel outside the holiday cluster.
Tokyo Grand Sumo Tournaments · Usually January, May and September. · Ryogoku Kokugikan, Ryogoku.
Tickets for desirable dates and seats sell out; book when sales open if a tournament is central to the trip.
Obon · Usually mid-August. · Tokyo and nationwide.
Domestic travel demand rises, adding pressure to transport and accommodation during an already hot period.
New Year holiday period · Late December to early January. · Tokyo-wide.
Expect reduced hours and multi-day closures at many independent restaurants, museums and smaller shops; confirm openings rather than assuming normal service.
What to eat
Eat Tokyo as an Edo food city, not as a greatest-hits catalogue of all Japanese cuisine. Prioritize Edomae sushi, soba, tempura, unagi and rice-bowl traditions, then use eastern neighborhoods for dishes tied to old waterways, markets and working-class dining.
Edomae sushi — cured, simmered or marinated seafood in the old Edo Bay tradition; at serious counters, follow the chef’s sequence and use soy sauce sparingly.Soba — Edo’s original fast food; try both a quick standing bowl near a station and a proper sit-down shop.Tempura and tendon — sesame-oil-fragrant tempura, or the casual rice-bowl version.Unagi — a classic Edo meal and now a deliberate splurge rather than an everyday bargain.Monjayaki — loose savory griddle batter scraped up with tiny spatulas; communal and messy rather than elegant.Fukagawa-meshi — clam rice with miso broth and leeks, rooted in the old Fukagawa/Koto waterside district.
Ryogoku: Chanko-nabe · Sumo-associated hearty meals
Fukagawa / Koto: Fukagawa-meshi · Clam-based Edo cooking
Tsukishima: Monjayaki
Tsukiji: Breakfast-and-snacking circuit · Seafood-market food
Toyosu: Wholesale-market seafood meals · Efficient market dining rather than old-market atmosphere
Ginza and Nihonbashi: Department-store food basements · Serious dining and traditional merchant-city food culture
Researched Oct 15, 2026