Tokyo Itinerary Guide: 1 Day, 3 Days or 1 Week, Planned by Area
By Atsushi — host at Bon House in Kanamachi, Katsushika ward. I've run it since 2022 and hosted over 300 guest groups.
Asakusa to Shibuya takes about 30 minutes on the Ginza Line, end to end. Most Tokyo itinerary mistakes come from shuttling between those two edges of the city several times a day, until the train rides have eaten the whole afternoon.
Tokyo's sights come in clusters. So every plan below, whether you have 1 day, 3 days or a full week, follows one rule: one area per day, and never mix the east side with the west side on the same day. I field itinerary questions from guests almost every week, and nothing shapes how a trip goes more than that one rule.
Tokyo Itinerary at a Glance: How to Split the City by Trip Length
| Trip length | Areas | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 day | Asakusa → Ueno → Akihabara → Ginza → Shibuya | Seeing the classics in one go |
| 3 days | East → West → East | First-time visitors |
| 1 week | One area a day + a spare day | Repeat or slow travellers |
For 3 days, my 3-day Tokyo itinerary goes deeper, with restaurants and budgets. For a week, see the 7-day Tokyo itinerary. This page is the big picture.
3 Rules Before You Plan Any Tokyo Sightseeing
1. Cap it at 3–4 stops per area Tokyo packs a lot into a small space, and trying to see everything leaves you running on empty by mid-afternoon. Three or four stops per area is what your legs can handle.
2. Hit the famous spots first thing in the morning Senso-ji's main hall opens at 6:00 am (6:30 am from October to March). The Nakamise shops open around 9:00, and after 10:00 the crowds pour in. Stand at Kaminarimon before 9:00 and your photos will look like a different place.
3. Plan around the trains A taxi in Tokyo's 23 wards starts at ¥500, but a traffic jam pushes that into the thousands fast. Build your route around what the trains reach, and get yourself an IC card (Suica or PASMO).
1 Day in Tokyo Itinerary: A Timetable for the Classics
| Time | Where | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30 | Senso-ji | Kaminarimon and Nakamise before the crowds |
| 10:00 | Ueno Park | Stroll, Ueno Zoo |
| 12:00 | Akihabara | Electric Town, lunch |
| 14:00 | Ginza | Chuo-dori, coffee |
| 16:00 | Tokyo Station | Marunouchi station building, souvenirs |
| 18:00 | Shinjuku | Dinner |
| 20:00 | Shibuya | Scramble Crossing after dark |
The route runs one way, east to west, so you never retrace your steps. Train fares come to roughly ¥1,000–1,500 per person.
In Asakusa, make the age-manju (deep-fried buns) at Asakusa Kokonoe your first street snack. Ueno Zoo opens at 9:30 and costs ¥600, but it's closed on Mondays (the following day if Monday is a public holiday), so on a Monday just walk the park. Ginza's Chuo-dori turns into a pedestrian street on weekend and holiday afternoons. At Tokyo Station, the rooftop garden of KITTE across the road gives you a free view down onto the Marunouchi station building.
If you'd rather spend longer on foot in Asakusa and Ueno, the half-day Asakusa and Ueno walking route suits you better. For Senso-ji in depth, read my Senso-ji temple guide.
3 Day Tokyo Itinerary: East, West, Then East Again
Day 1: Asakusa, Ueno and Yanesen for old downtown Tokyo
Spend the morning at Senso-ji, Nakamise and along the Sumida River, and have something like a tempura set for lunch. In the afternoon, cross Ueno Park into the back lanes of Yanesen (Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi). It looks low-key on paper, but this is the day that feels most like Tokyo to me.
Day 2: Shibuya, Harajuku and Shinjuku for modern Tokyo
Start at Shibuya Scramble Crossing, walk Takeshita Street in Harajuku, and eat lunch on Omotesando. Rest at Shinjuku Gyoen in the afternoon (entry ¥500), then finish in Shinjuku for the evening.
Tip: Walk into Meiji Jingu through the big torii gate by Harajuku Station and within a few minutes the city noise is gone and you're in deep forest. The 10-minute walk to the main shrine pays off. Shinjuku Gyoen's closing time changes with the season and is early in winter, so get in by early afternoon.
Day 3: Kuramae and Asakusabashi along the Sumida River
On your last day, skip the big-name sights. Browse Kuramae's leather goods shops and cafes, then the wholesale streets of Asakusabashi. A slow walk along the Sumida River Terrace is a good way to wind the trip down.
1 Week Tokyo Itinerary: 7 Days, One Area at a Time
| Day | Area | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Asakusa, Ueno | Old downtown, history |
| Day 2 | Shibuya, Harajuku | Trends |
| Day 3 | Shinjuku, Nakano | Subculture |
| Day 4 | Tsukiji, Ginza, Toyosu | Food |
| Day 5 | Akihabara, Jimbocho | Anime, secondhand books |
| Day 6 | Roppongi, Azabu | Art, nightlife |
| Day 7 | Spare day | Go back to your favourite spot |
Leaving Day 7 open is the single best trick here. You can swap it with a rainy day or a day when you're worn out. If it rains, pick a day's worth from my list of indoor spots for a rainy day in Tokyo.
Tokyo Itinerary for a Second Visit: Where to Go After the Classics
Once you've ticked off the big sights, these are the areas repeat visitors get excited about.
- Yanesen (Yanaka, Nezu, Sendagi): Showa-era lanes and temple streets, still intact
- Kiyosumi-Shirakawa: coffee and galleries, home to Blue Bottle Coffee's first shop in Japan
- Gakugei-daigaku and Jiyugaoka: neighbourhoods people live in rather than tourist areas, full of independent cafes
- Todoroki Valley: a ravine inside the 23 wards. Fallen trees kept it closed for a long time, and it reopened in March 2026
- Shibamata: the temple town from the Tora-san films. Eat kusa dango on the approach to Taishakuten. More in my Shibamata travel guide
Link these areas up on a share bike and you start to see how deep Tokyo goes. If you're coming in autumn, note that Tokyo's leaves peak late, from late November to early December (Japanese foliage reports write this as 11月下旬〜12月上旬, useful when you check live status). Read my Tokyo autumn leaves guide for the peak calendar and the quieter spots.
Where to Base Your Tokyo Itinerary: Why the East Side Works
If your plan runs east → west → east, staying on the east side keeps the travel short. Here are the times from Kanamachi, where I run Bon House.
| Destination | Travel time | Change at |
|---|---|---|
| Asakusa | 25–30 min | Kita-Senju |
| Ueno | 27 min | Kita-Senju |
| Tokyo Station | 35 min | Kita-Senju |
| Shinjuku | 45 min | Nishi-Nippori |
| Shibuya | 47 min | Omotesando |
| Shibamata | 2–3 min | 1 stop on the Keisei line |
| Narita Airport | 55–70 min | Keisei Takasago |
Ueno is 27 minutes and ¥253 away, and Shibamata is 1 stop on the Keisei line for ¥146. Tokyo Disneyland is about 45 minutes via Shin-Matsudo for ¥616. The weak spot is the west: on Shinjuku and Shibuya days you're looking at 45 minutes or more each way. That's why a 3-day plan that puts the whole west side into one day fits this base so well.
Here's how it would typically go for a family of four landing at Narita in the afternoon and staying 3 nights in Kanamachi to follow the 3-day plan above. On arrival, they change once at Keisei Takasago and reach Kanamachi in 55–70 minutes. Dinner is bento from Maruetsu, heated in the room's microwave. Day 1 is 25–30 minutes to Asakusa via Kita-Senju, and 27 minutes back from Ueno. Day 2 is the only long trip, 47 minutes out to Shibuya, so they check the last train in a transit app before heading out. On the morning of Day 3 they ride 1 stop on the Keisei line to Shibamata, then go on to Kuramae. They run the washer-dryer the night before the flight home, so the suitcases get packed with dry clothes.
Bon House is a private tatami guest room inside a detached house, with 4 futons and its own bath and toilet. There's no kitchen, but you get a fridge, microwave, electric kettle and a washer-dryer. If you want an east-side base for exploring Tokyo, check the room and rates at Bon House. Whether Kanamachi itself makes sense as a sightseeing base is covered in Is Kanamachi a good base for tourists?
Tokyo Itinerary FAQ
Is an unlimited subway pass a good deal?
It pays off if you ride the subway 5–6 or more times a day. The Tokyo Subway Ticket covers Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway lines and costs ¥1,000 for 24 hours, ¥1,500 for 48 hours and ¥2,000 for 72 hours, but residents of Tokyo and the 7 nearby prefectures can't buy it. They get the Tokyo Metro 24-hour Ticket (¥700) instead. JR and Keisei lines aren't covered, so if you stay somewhere far from a subway station, like Kanamachi, it's hard to make the pass pay for itself.
Should I add Tokyo Skytree or Tokyo Tower?
For a 1-day itinerary, pick Tokyo Skytree: you can walk there from Asakusa, so it doesn't break your route. Tickets and crowd times are in my Tokyo Skytree guide.
What about adding a day trip?
Put longer trips such as Kamakura or Nikko on the spare day of a 1-week plan. My day trips from Kanamachi guide lists options with travel times.
The One Rule for Any Tokyo Itinerary: Don't Mix East and West
Every Tokyo itinerary here comes down to three things: one area per day, the famous spots first thing in the morning, and never bouncing between east and west on the same day. Once you know how many days you have, fill in the restaurants and budget with the detailed 3-day plan or the 1-week plan.
Still deciding where to stay? Put Bon House in Kanamachi, close to Asakusa, Ueno and Shibamata, on your shortlist. See availability and rates on the Bon House room page.