Top 43 Things to Do and See in Tokyo
Are you planning to visit Tokyo? Well, this blog post is for you as I present my top 43 things to do and see in this wonderful and exciting city, organized in 4 categories:
- Things To Do
- Places to See
- Shopping and Fashion
- Just Outside Tokyo (a 1/2 day or day trip)
Which is your favorite? Do you have any other suggestions so I can make this a top 50 list?
Things To Do
1. Attend a festival (matsuri) throughout the year to experience Japanese culture and a local street party like atmosphere, carry a portable shrine or dance in a Bon Odori
2. Attend a convention at Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba or the Makuhari Messe Convention Center in Chiba
3. Watch super big bodies collide at sumo wrestling held 3 times a year at the Ryogoku Kokugikan
4. Watch a traditional Japanese show of Kabuki, Noh, Nihon Buyo or Takarazuka at a theater
5. Climb Mount Fuji in the summer (August), but be well prepared (picture by Tanaka Juuyoh (田中十洋) via Creative Commons)
6. Visit a museum such as the Tokyo Edo Museum, National Art Center and Nezu Museum
7. Pray to the gods and find your fortune at one of the many Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples
8. Eat, drink and be merry under the Cherry Blossom trees at a hanami party in the spring, don’t forget to buy beer and food at your local konbini (convenience store)
9. Wear your yukata and watch spectacular fireworks at a hanabi in the summer
10. Enjoy a cup of tea and a sweet at a traditional Japanese tea ceremony
11. Stay at a ryokan (Japanese style inn) overnight for a truly unique Japanese experience
12. Clean up and take a Japanese style hot bath at an onsen
13. Taste the freshest sushi in the world at a traditional Japanese restaurant
14. Drink Japanese wine (sake or shochu) at a local izakaya
15. Enjoy the serenity of a Japanese garden at one of the many parks in the city such as the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden, Hamarikyu Garden, Ueno Park, Shinjuku Gyoen
16. Witness a traditional Japanese wedding at Meiji Jingu on a weekend
17. Pluck down your money and play the machines at a Pachinko parlor
18. Cruise the Sumida River through the Tokyo Bay area in a water bus
19. Ride a rickshaw for a unique way to travel
Places To Visit
20. Watch a baseball game, shop or take a ride in the amusement park at Tokyo Dome City entertainment complex
21. Try to find royalty and enjoy the quiet park surroundings at the Imperial Palace
22. Look up and marvel at the skyscrapers in Shinjuku, go to the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Building (free) for a bird’s eye view of the city, then bar hop at the Kabukicho at night
23. See an early morning fish auction (that’s at 5:30 am!) at the Tsukiji Fish Market. Photo courtesy of Yelena_YK.
24. Greet Mickey and Minnie Mouse at Tokyo Disney
25. Visit the harborfront or Chinatown at the port of Yokohama, less than an hour from Tokyo
26. Cross the Rainbow Bridge to enjoy yourself at one of the many leisure, shopping and entertainment areas in Odaiba
27. Buy the latest electronic gadgets and visit a maid cafe in Akihabara
28. Go to the top of Tokyo Tower for a view of the city – no, you are not in Paris!
29. Bet on the winning horse at the Tokyo Racecourse
30. Follow the 1964 Olympic trail by visiting the sites of the Komazawa Olympic Park, Tokyo National Stadium, Nippon Budokan and Yoyogi National Gymnasium
Shopping and Fashion
31. Visit the center of Japan’s most extreme teenage cultures and fashion styles in Harajuku
32. Stay forever young by hanging out with all the teeny boppers at Shibuya, look for the Hachiko statue and try not to get trampled walking across Shibuya Crossing!
33. Shop and dine at the elegant and expensive department stores at Ginza
34. Go bar hopping in Roppongi or go to Tokyo City View at the top of Mori Building for a breathtaking view of the city
35. Sip a latte and shop till you drop at the trendy Daikanyama complex near Shibuya
36. Window shop at one of the high-priced designer boutiques at the Aoyama Fashion Street
37. Shop at one of the extremely large department stores at Ikebukuro and check out the tall Sunshine 60 building
38. Find bargains and cheap stuff in the Ameyayokocho open-air street market district in Ueno
Just Outside Tokyo
39. Kamakura
40. Nikko
41. Mount Takao
42. Hakone
43. Kawagoe
Nice list. But I think Mt. Fuji should be in the “outside Tokyo” category.
How about:
- One of the many zoos in and around Tokyo.
- Toshimaen amusement park / pools.
- Japan’s oldest amusement park: Hanayashiki in Asakusa.
- Tokyo Sky Tree. Japan’s tallest structure.
- Asakusa’s “Lightning Gate” and Sensoji Temple.
- (outside of Tokyo) World biggest flower garden…「くりはま花の国」 (“Kurihama Flower Country”)
- (outside of Tokyo) “Kamogawa Sea World”
-
Thanks, let me think of adding some of your suggestions in Version 2.0 of my list
Take a ride on the shinkansen would be a good thing to add. For a lot of visitors to Japan, riding the shinkansen is an event by itself.
I thought about riding the Tokyo subway, maybe I’ll combine that together with riding the shinkansen as Subways and Trains. Thanks for the suggestion.
very great …
thanks so much for sharing the list
You are most welcome.
Wow, you know how badly you make me wanna visit Tokyo? But unfortunately, it’s a bit over my budget now, I’m contemplating Seoul. Shall see.. But to really see everything here, I would need more than a month.
Hopefully, you do get a chance to visit Tokyo and Japan one of these days. Happy travels!
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Great list here. I lived in Japan for 10 years and did most of them. Could never get up early enough to go to the Tsukiji fish market.
I would love to go back to Japan as a tourist, instead of visiting my wife’s lovable, but dysfunctional family in her small quite hometown of Toki in Gifu.
Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment – much appreciated for sure!
I hear you … have been to Tsukiji several times, but never early enough to see the fish auction (maybe one of these days when I can’t sleep).
Hi there,
I’m from Tdot as well!
I came across your website when I was looking for a picture of Tokyo Dome. Could you please tell me how you got the Tokyo Dome picture for your blog (in the “Places to Visit” section)? I would like to use the picture in my Japanese course website but I wasn’t sure if I would violate any copy-right. Please let me know. Thank you for your time!
Hi Lily,
Thank you for visiting my blog. I took the picture in this blog post (as well as all the pictures in my blog, unless I specify otherwise – in which case, I will mention the source).
Thank you for asking, please go ahead and use this picture in your own website. I would just ask that you acknowledge the source.
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