Tokyo in three days, at the middle price
Three days for a first visit, one side of the city a day: the national museum and Senso-ji in the east, Meiji Jingu and Shibuya in the west, the palace gardens and two department stores on the last morning. Both nights are in one hotel between Akihabara and Kanda, because the Ginza line runs from Kanda to all three.
Every figure on this page was printed by someone, and the page says who: the museum, the shrine and the palace gardens from their own sites, checked on 25 September 2026; the food and the hotel from Hanako and Jalan, each with the date of the article; the metro fares from Tokyo Metro's IC fare table. Where nobody printed a price, the stop says so, and meals we have no source for are left open rather than guessed.
What closes when: the museum on Mondays, the ramen diner on Thursdays, the lunch izakaya on Wednesdays, the palace gardens on Mondays and Fridays, and the standing bar on days of its own choosing. Start on a Friday or a Sunday and everything else is open.
- Where
- Tokyo
- How long
- 3 days
- Stops
- 12
- Distance
- 32 km · 8.3 km on foot
- On the clock
- about 8 h a day
- Pace
- steady
- Season
- all
- Mood
- first-time · city · eating
Times are the editor’s plan, not a timetable. ≈ marks our own rough estimate; check the train times before you go.
Per person, one adult. Each place’s figure is what its source printed, and the stop names the source and the date; the fares are the operators’ own published figures. Meals and rides with no printed figure are not in the total, and a figure printed more than a year ago says so. Converted at the European Central Bank reference rate of 2026-09-24, not a bank rate.
- Day 1
- 観Tokyo National Museum 東京国立博物館
The national museum in Ueno Park. The ¥1,000 ticket is for the collection galleries. At busy times the museum itself recommends buying online: the queue at the main-gate ticket window can pass thirty minutes.
Tokyo National Museum · 150 min¥1,000per personas printed by Tokyo National Museum September 25Book aheadchecked 2026-09-25Hours9:30–17:00, Fridays and Saturdays to 20:00, last entry 30 minutes before closing; closed Mondays (open on a Monday holiday, closed the next weekday) · tnm.jp, checked 25 Sep 2026
Source ↗Open in maps ↗Plan BClosed on Mondays: on a Monday, swap day 1 and day 2.
- Metro≈25 min · Ginza line, Ueno to Asakusa · ¥178
- 観Senso-ji 浅草寺
Tokyo's great temple in Asakusa. The main hall keeps its own hours; come in by the Kaminarimon gate.
Senso-ji · 90 minchecked 2026-09-25HoursMain hall 6:00–17:00 (from 6:30, October to March) · senso-ji.jp, checked 25 Sep 2026
Source ↗Open in maps ↗ - Walk≈18 min · 1.1 km
- 麺中華・洋食 やよい
A neighbourhood diner of Chinese and Western plates, north of the temple. The ramen enthusiast Satoko Morimoto chose its plain ramen for Hanako: nothing extra is done to it, so the soup comes through clean.
台東区 · Hanako · 50 min¥900per personas printed by Hanako April 21Hours11:30–15:00 and 17:00–20:30 (last order); closed Thursdays · Hanako, Apr 2026
The place →Open in maps ↗ - Metro≈20 min · Ginza line, Asakusa to Kanda, then a short walk · ¥178
- 宿ホテルリソル秋葉原
Two nights here, on the Kanda River between Akihabara and Kanda. Jalan lists a room for two with breakfast from ¥9,500 a person, and the hotel keeps luggage.
千代田区 · Jalan Net News¥9,500per personas printed by Jalan September 14Booking requiredThe place →Open in maps ↗ - Day 2
- Metro≈35 min · Ginza line, Kanda to Omotesando, then a walk to the shrine · ¥209
- 観Meiji Jingu 明治神宮
The shrine is open every day and entry is free. Its gates follow the sun, so the hours change month by month.
Meiji Jingu · 90 minFreeper Meiji Jingu September 25checked 2026-09-25HoursSunrise to sunset: 5:20–17:20 in September, 5:40–16:40 in October, 6:10–16:10 in November · meijijingu.or.jp, checked 25 Sep 2026
Source ↗Open in maps ↗ - Walk≈25 min · 1.5 km
- 食よせ
An izakaya that opens at lunchtime, a short walk north-west of the shrine. Hanako put it on a list of places to eat and drink well for about ¥5,000; its shumai are ¥770 and the three-starter plate is ¥770.
渋谷区 · Hanako · 75 min¥5,000per personas printed by Hanako December 15, 2024 · may have changedHours11:30–22:30 (last order); closed Wednesdays · Hanako, Dec 2024 · may have changed
The place →Open in maps ↗ - Walk≈40 min · 2.6 km · taxi 12 min ≈¥1,500 est.
- 甘I’m donut?
The shop that started the queue for raw doughnuts, with more than 80 kinds in Shibuya, savoury and seasonal ones included. Hanako printed pistachio at ¥497 and raspberry at ¥464.
渋谷区 · Hanako · 30 min¥464–¥497per personas printed by Hanako January 14, 2024 · may have changedHours11:00–20:00; open every day · Hanako, Jan 2024 · may have changed
The place →Open in maps ↗ - Walk≈13 min · 0.8 km
- Metro≈30 min · Ginza line, Shibuya to Kanda · ¥209
- 宿ホテルリソル秋葉原
The second night.
千代田区 · Jalan Net News¥9,500per personas printed by Jalan September 14Booking requiredThe place →Open in maps ↗ - Day 3
- Walk≈25 min · to the Otemon gate · 2.3 km
- 観Imperial Palace East Gardens 皇居東御苑
The palace's East Gardens are open to the public with no ticket and no booking.
Imperial Household Agency · 90 minFreeper Imperial Household Agency September 25checked 2026-09-25Hours9:00–17:00 in September, 9:00–16:30 in October, 9:00–16:00 November to February, last entry 30 minutes before; closed Mondays and Fridays · kunaicho.go.jp, checked 25 Sep 2026
Source ↗Open in maps ↗Plan BClosed on Mondays and Fridays: on those days, begin at 11:00 in Ginza.
- Metro≈15 min · Marunouchi line, Otemachi to Ginza · ¥178
- 甘INFINI
Cheesecake in the Matsuya Ginza food hall. Hanako's pick is KANKAN, sold only here, topped with Tosa bergamot: ¥3,132 for a box of six to take home.
中央区 · Hanako · 40 minHours11:00–20:00 · Hanako, Jun 2025 · may have changed
The place →Open in maps ↗ - Metro≈10 min · Ginza line, Ginza to Mitsukoshimae · ¥178
- 甘Hugh Morgan（ヒュー・モルガン）
In the basement of Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi: a specialty-vanilla shop spent two years on this cheesecake of three cheeses and Madagascar vanilla. Hanako printed it at ¥5,616 a whole cake, the last thing to carry home.
中央区 · Hanako · 40 minHours10:00–19:30; closed when the store closes · Hanako, Jan 2025 · may have changed
The place →Open in maps ↗
- 1. Tokyo National Museum 東京国立博物館
Closed on Mondays: on a Monday, swap day 1 and day 2.
- 10. Imperial Palace East Gardens 皇居東御苑
Closed on Mondays and Fridays: on those days, begin at 11:00 in Ginza.
Two nights here, on the Kanda River between Akihabara and Kanda. Jalan lists a room for two with breakfast from ¥9,500 a person, and the hotel keeps luggage.
Sora Nakamura was born in Kanazawa, grew up between a fish market and a grandmother's kitchen, and spent her twenties cooking in Tokyo, Lyon and Melbourne before she put down the knife to write. Back in Tokyo since 2019, she keeps a spreadsheet of every place she has eaten at since 2011 and a bicycle she rides to most of them. She writes routes, not rankings, and believes the best restaurant in any town is the one that has been open long enough to have a regular who died there.