Tokyo overwhelms in the best way — a megacity where thousand-year-old temples sit in the shadow of neon skyscrapers, serene gardens open off frantic crossings, and every district feels like a different world. From the incense smoke of Senso-ji and the forest calm of Meiji Shrine to the digital wonder of teamLab and the view from the Skytree, here are the 17 attractions worth building your trip around, with prices, opening hours and tips to beat the crowds.
FreeSenso-ji Temple
Area
Asakusa
Category
Temple
“Come at 07:00 or after 20:00 — the Kaminarimon lantern and empty Nakamise-dori are magical without the crowds.”
FreeMeiji Jingu Shrine
Area
Harajuku / Shibuya
Category
Shrine
“Enter from Harajuku Station and go early on a Sunday — you may catch a traditional wedding procession in the forest.”
FreeShibuya Crossing
Area
Shibuya
Category
Landmark
“For the classic overhead shot, head to the Shibuya Sky rooftop or the Starbucks window above the Tsutaya store.”
¥2,100Tokyo Skytree
Area
Sumida
Category
Observation Tower
“Buy the timed fast-track ticket online and go up around 30 minutes before sunset to see the city switch from day to neon.”
¥3,800teamLab Planets
Area
Toyosu
Category
Digital Art Museum
“Wear shorts or roll up your trousers — you wade barefoot through knee-deep water rooms, so skip the maxi dress.”
Free entryTsukiji Outer Market
Area
Tsukiji
Category
Food Market
“Arrive hungry by 08:00 — go stall to stall for tamago, uni, grilled scallops and the freshest sushi breakfast in Tokyo.”
¥500Shinjuku Gyoen
Area
Shinjuku
Category
Garden
“Peak cherry-blossom week (late March–early April) is glorious but packed — go on a weekday morning right at opening.”
Free parkUeno Park & Museums
Area
Ueno
Category
Park & Museums
“Do one museum, not five — the Tokyo National Museum's Japanese galleries are the essential pick.”
FreeAkihabara
Area
Akihabara
Category
District
“Go multi-storey — the best anime, retro-game and figure shops (Mandarake, Super Potato) hide on upper floors, not the street.”
FreeHarajuku & Takeshita Street
Area
Harajuku
Category
District
“Do frenetic Takeshita-dori first, then escape to leafy, upscale Cat Street and Omotesando two minutes away.”
¥1,200Tokyo Tower
Area
Minato
Category
Observation Tower
“Skytree is taller, but Tokyo Tower is prettier lit up at night — view it from Roppongi Hills or shoot it from Shiba Park.”
FreeImperial Palace & East Gardens
Area
Chiyoda
Category
Palace & Gardens
“The inner palace needs a free advance tour booking; the East Gardens are walk-in and just as rewarding for most visitors.”
¥1,000Ghibli Museum
Area
Mitaka
Category
Museum
“Tickets are date-and-time stamped, sell out the instant they release (10th of the prior month), and are never sold at the door.”
FreeOdaiba
Area
Odaiba (Tokyo Bay)
Category
Waterfront District
“Ride the driverless Yurikamome train in the very front seat for a video-game view across the Rainbow Bridge.”
¥2,000Roppongi Hills & Mori Art Museum
Area
Roppongi
Category
Art & Views
“One ticket covers the Mori Art Museum and the Tokyo City View deck — go late, the museum is open until 22:00.”
FreeYanaka Old Town
Area
Yanaka
Category
Historic District
“Time your wander for late afternoon on the Yanaka Ginza shopping street, then watch the sunset from the 'Yuyake Dandan' steps.”
FreeGinza
Area
Ginza / Chuo
Category
District
“On weekend afternoons Chuo-dori closes to cars and becomes a 'pedestrian paradise' — the classiest place in Tokyo to stroll.”
Tokyo attractions in detail
1.Senso-ji Temple
Senso-ji is Tokyo's spiritual anchor and its single most-visited sight, a vast Buddhist temple in the old-town district of Asakusa founded in 645 AD. You approach through the thunderous Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) with its four-metre red paper lantern, then run the gauntlet of Nakamise-dori — a 250-metre arcade of stalls selling rice crackers, folding fans, ningyo-yaki cakes and every kind of souvenir — before reaching the towering Hozomon gate and the main hall. Waft the incense smoke over yourself for good health, draw an omikuji fortune, and photograph the five-storey pagoda against the Skytree beyond. The temple is free and open around the clock in its grounds, so the smart move is to arrive at dawn or late evening when the lanterns glow and the crowds thin to almost nothing. Combine it with a rickshaw ride, a stroll to the Sumida River, and the retro backstreets of Asakusa, one of the few places where old Edo still breathes.
Hours
Grounds 24h; main hall 06:00–17:00 (from 06:30 in winter)
Price
Free
Getting there
Tokyo Metro Ginza Line or Toei Asakusa Line to Asakusa, 5-min walk
Insider tip: Come at 07:00 or after 20:00 — the Kaminarimon lantern and empty Nakamise-dori are magical without the crowds.
2.Meiji Jingu Shrine
Meiji Jingu is the most important Shinto shrine in central Tokyo, dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken and completed in 1920. What astonishes visitors is the setting: a 70-hectare evergreen forest of 100,000 donated trees, planted from scratch a century ago and now a genuine woodland in the heart of the city. A broad gravel path passes beneath colossal cypress torii gates and a wall of sake barrels toward the elegant, understated main shrine buildings, where you can toss a coin, bow twice, clap twice and write a wish on a wooden ema plaque. The contrast with the frenetic Harajuku crossing just outside the entrance could not be sharper — this is Tokyo's great green lung and a place to slow down. Visit early morning for stillness, or on a weekend when you might glimpse a Shinto wedding, the bride in white beneath a red parasol. The paid Inner Garden, with its irises, peaks in June.
Hours
Sunrise to sunset (roughly 05:00–18:00, seasonal)
Price
Free; Inner Garden ¥500
Getting there
JR Yamanote Line to Harajuku, or Meiji-jingumae (Chiyoda/Fukutoshin lines), by the main torii
Insider tip: Enter from Harajuku Station and go early on a Sunday — you may catch a traditional wedding procession in the forest.
3.Shibuya Crossing
Shibuya Crossing is the image that defines modern Tokyo: a five-way pedestrian scramble where, on each light change, as many as 3,000 people surge across from every direction under a canyon of neon billboards and towering video screens. It is chaos with perfect Japanese order, and simply riding the wave across is a rite of passage. Nearby stands the statue of Hachiko, the loyal dog who waited nine years for his late owner — the city's favourite meeting point. For the postcard view from above, grab a coffee at the second-floor Starbucks overlooking the intersection, or ride to the open-air Shibuya Sky observation deck on the 47th floor of Shibuya Scramble Square for a jaw-dropping panorama, spectacular at sunset. The surrounding streets are a warren of fashion boutiques, izakaya, arcades and music bars, buzzing until the early hours. Come after dark when the screens blaze brightest, then dive into Center-Gai or the tiny bars of Nonbei Yokocho for the full Shibuya night.
Hours
Always open; busiest 17:00–23:00 and weekends
Price
Free (Shibuya Sky observation ¥2,500)
Getting there
JR Yamanote / Metro to Shibuya, Hachiko exit — the crossing is right outside
Insider tip: For the classic overhead shot, head to the Shibuya Sky rooftop or the Starbucks window above the Tsutaya store.
4.Tokyo Skytree
Soaring 634 metres over the eastern city, Tokyo Skytree is the world's tallest freestanding broadcasting tower and Tokyo's headline view. Two observation levels reward the ride: the Tembo Deck at 350 metres, ringed by floor-to-ceiling glass and a vertigo-inducing glass floor panel, and the higher Tembo Galleria at 450 metres, a gently spiralling glass tube that climbs to the tower's highest accessible point. On a clear day the panorama stretches across the entire Kanto plain to the perfect cone of Mount Fuji on the horizon; after dark the city becomes a limitless carpet of light. The tower's design nods to traditional Japanese architecture, its colour a subtle bluish white called 'Skytree White'. At the base, the Solamachi complex packs in more than 300 shops and restaurants, an aquarium and a planetarium, making it an easy all-weather half-day with kids. Book a timed fast-track ticket to skip the queues, and aim for the half-hour before sunset to watch Tokyo shift from daylight to neon in a single visit.
Hours
Daily 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00)
Price
Tembo Deck from ¥2,100; combo with Galleria ¥3,100
Getting there
Tokyo Skytree Station (Tobu Skytree Line) or Oshiage (Metro Hanzomon / Toei Asakusa)
Insider tip: Buy the timed fast-track ticket online and go up around 30 minutes before sunset to see the city switch from day to neon.
5.teamLab Planets
teamLab Planets is Tokyo's most Instagrammed experience for good reason: a body-immersive digital-art museum in Toyosu where you leave your shoes at the door and walk barefoot through a sequence of vast, disorienting installations. You wade knee-deep through a darkened pool where projected koi swim around your legs and burst into flowers on contact; you climb a hillside of soft light; you lie beneath a canopy of thousands of hanging orchids that descend around you; and you stand inside mirrored rooms of endlessly multiplying LED light that dissolve any sense of walls or floor. It is art you move through rather than look at, engineered by the teamLab art collective to blur the line between the visitor and the work. Sessions run on timed entry and sell out days ahead, so book online well in advance and pick an off-peak slot for smaller crowds. Wear shorts or trousers you can roll up, and expect to spend around 90 minutes to two hours. It is unforgettable, and a hit with children and adults alike.
Hours
Daily approx. 09:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00); check calendar
Price
Adults from ¥3,800; book timed slots online
Getting there
Yurikamome Line to Shin-Toyosu Station, 1-min walk
Insider tip: Wear shorts or roll up your trousers — you wade barefoot through knee-deep water rooms, so skip the maxi dress.
6.Tsukiji Outer Market
When Tokyo's famous wholesale fish auctions moved to the sleek new Toyosu Market in 2018, the atmospheric Tsukiji Outer Market stayed put — and it remains the best place in the city to eat your way through Japanese food culture. Some 400 stalls and tiny restaurants crowd a grid of lanes selling the freshest imaginable seafood alongside dried fish, seaweed, pickles, wagyu skewers, tamagoyaki (sweet rolled omelette on a stick), grilled scallops, sea-urchin gunkan and steaming bowls of miso. It is a standing, grazing, elbow-to-elbow kind of place, best tackled early and on an empty stomach: come by eight in the morning, buy small, and keep moving from counter to counter. Interspersed are shops selling professional knives, ceramics and kitchenware beloved of chefs. Many stalls close on Sundays and Wednesdays, so check before you go, and note that some sit-down sushi counters have serious queues by nine. A guided food tour is a great way to decode the stalls, but wandering with curiosity and a little cash works just as well.
Hours
Most stalls 05:00–14:00; many closed Sun & Wed
Price
Free to browse; street snacks ¥300–1,500
Getting there
Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line to Tsukiji, or Oedo Line to Tsukijishijo
Insider tip: Arrive hungry by 08:00 — go stall to stall for tamago, uni, grilled scallops and the freshest sushi breakfast in Tokyo.
7.Shinjuku Gyoen
A short walk from the neon and skyscrapers of Shinjuku lies one of Tokyo's finest and most peaceful green spaces, a 58-hectare garden that began as a feudal lord's residence and later served the imperial family. Shinjuku Gyoen is really three gardens in one: a classical Japanese landscape of ponds, islands, arched bridges and manicured pines; a formal French garden of symmetrical rose beds and plane-tree avenues; and a sweeping English landscape lawn dotted with vast, ancient trees. That variety makes it beautiful in every season — plum and cherry blossom in spring (it is one of the city's premier hanami spots, with over a thousand cherry trees), lush greenery and a tropical greenhouse in summer, and fiery maples in autumn. Because it charges a small entry fee and bans alcohol, it stays calmer and tidier than free parks, ideal for a picnic, a slow stroll or a quiet hour with a book. There is a traditional teahouse for matcha and wagashi. Note it closes on Mondays outside the cherry-blossom and autumn peak periods.
Hours
Tue–Sun 09:00–16:30/18:00 (seasonal); closed Mon
Price
¥500 adults
Getting there
JR/Metro Shinjuku, then 10-min walk; or Shinjuku-gyoemmae (Marunouchi Line)
Insider tip: Peak cherry-blossom week (late March–early April) is glorious but packed — go on a weekday morning right at opening.
8.Ueno Park & Museums
Ueno Park is Tokyo's great cultural gathering ground, a broad expanse laid out on former temple land that concentrates more first-rate museums than anywhere else in Japan. Chief among them is the Tokyo National Museum, whose galleries hold the country's largest collection of national treasures — samurai armour, swords, Buddhist sculpture, ceramics and ukiyo-e prints. Around it cluster the National Museum of Western Art (in a Le Corbusier building), the National Museum of Nature and Science with its blue-whale model, and the Ueno Royal Museum. The park also contains Japan's oldest zoo, home to giant pandas, the atmospheric Toshogu shrine dripping in gold leaf, and Shinobazu Pond, blanketed in lotus flowers each summer. In spring the central avenue erupts with more than a thousand cherry trees and becomes one of Tokyo's rowdiest, most joyful hanami parties. The whole park is free to wander; you pay only to enter individual museums and the zoo. It is best treated as a half-day: pick one museum to do properly rather than exhausting yourself, then relax among the trees and street performers.
Hours
Park 05:00–23:00; museums Tue–Sun ~09:30–17:00
Price
Park free; Tokyo National Museum ¥1,000; zoo ¥600
Getting there
JR Ueno (Park exit), or Metro Ginza/Hibiya lines to Ueno
Insider tip: Do one museum, not five — the Tokyo National Museum's Japanese galleries are the essential pick.
9.Akihabara
Akihabara — 'Akiba' to locals — began as a postwar electronics bazaar and evolved into the beating heart of Japan's otaku (geek) culture, a neon-drenched district devoted to anime, manga, video games, idols and every conceivable gadget. Its energy is best absorbed on foot: crane-game and rhythm-game arcades stacked floor upon floor, retro-gaming meccas like Super Potato, the vast anime-and-figure emporiums of Animate and Mandarake, and electronics giants such as Yodobashi Camera where you can lose hours. Maid cafés, where costumed staff serve omurice with a theatrical flourish, add to the surreal charm, and duty-free shops make it a favourite for visitors hunting cameras, figures and collectibles. The key is to look up and go inside — the true treasures sit on the upper floors, not the street-level windows. Sundays bring a pedestrian-only 'hokoten' when the main Chuo-dori closes to traffic. Even if anime and electronics leave you cold, Akihabara delivers a pure sensory hit of hyper-modern Tokyo, and it pairs naturally with a walk to the nearby Kanda shrine.
Hours
Shops roughly 10:00/11:00–20:00
Price
Free to explore
Getting there
JR Yamanote/Sobu Line or Metro Hibiya Line to Akihabara (Electric Town exit)
Insider tip: Go multi-storey — the best anime, retro-game and figure shops (Mandarake, Super Potato) hide on upper floors, not the street.
10.Harajuku & Takeshita Street
Harajuku is the birthplace of Tokyo street style, a neighbourhood where teenage fashion tribes, pastel 'kawaii' culture and global trends collide. Its spine is Takeshita-dori, a narrow, permanently thronged pedestrian lane crammed with cheap-and-cheerful fashion boutiques, cosplay and Lolita shops, purikura photo booths, and the outrageous rainbow-coloured cotton-candy and crêpe stalls that fill every social feed. It is loud, sugary and gloriously over the top — best braved on a weekday if crowds unnerve you. Step off it and Harajuku transforms: the tree-lined boulevard of Omotesando, often called Tokyo's Champs-Élysées, is a showcase of flagship stores by the world's star architects and luxury labels, while the winding backstreets of Ura-Harajuku and Cat Street hide independent designers, vintage shops and third-wave coffee. Nearby sit the serene Meiji Shrine and the ancient forest that surrounds it, a five-minute yet total change of mood. Come to people-watch, to shop across every price point, and to see the endlessly inventive way young Tokyo dresses. Weekends are peak spectacle but shoulder-to-shoulder busy.
Hours
Shops roughly 10:00/11:00–20:00; busiest weekends
Price
Free to explore
Getting there
JR Yamanote Line to Harajuku (Takeshita exit) or Meiji-jingumae Metro
Insider tip: Do frenetic Takeshita-dori first, then escape to leafy, upscale Cat Street and Omotesando two minutes away.
11.Tokyo Tower
Completed in 1958 as a symbol of Japan's postwar rebirth, Tokyo Tower is the city's nostalgic sweetheart — a 333-metre orange-and-white lattice modelled on the Eiffel Tower and, for decades, the tallest structure in Japan. Though the Skytree now dwarfs it, Tokyo Tower holds a warmer place in local hearts and cuts a far more photogenic figure, especially after dark when it glows in seasonal illuminations against the skyline. Its Main Deck at 150 metres gives sweeping views over the temples of Shiba Park, the bay and, on clear days, Mount Fuji, while the higher Top Deck tour (by reservation) reaches 250 metres with a guided, mirror-lined experience. At the base, the FootTown complex houses cafés, souvenir shops and family attractions. Many visitors skip going up altogether and simply admire the tower from below or from the Roppongi Hills observation deck, where it becomes the star of the view. It is at its most beautiful floodlit at night — a classic, uncomplicated Tokyo landmark that rewards a visit especially at dusk.
Hours
Main Deck daily 09:00–22:30 (last entry 22:00)
Price
Main Deck ¥1,200; Top Deck tour ¥3,000
Getting there
Toei Oedo Line to Akabanebashi, or Hibiya Line to Kamiyacho, 5–7 min walk
Insider tip: Skytree is taller, but Tokyo Tower is prettier lit up at night — view it from Roppongi Hills or shoot it from Shiba Park.
12.Imperial Palace & East Gardens
At the very centre of Tokyo, moated and wooded, lies the Imperial Palace, home of the Emperor of Japan and built on the grounds of the mighty Edo Castle, once the largest fortress in the world and seat of the Tokugawa shoguns. The inner palace itself is off-limits except on free guided tours (booked in advance) and two public open days a year, but most visitors are perfectly satisfied with the surroundings, which are free and open. The most photographed spot is the Nijubashi, a graceful double-arched stone bridge framing a keep tower and reflected in the moat. To the east, the beautifully kept Imperial Palace East Gardens are open to all: here you can walk among the massive stone foundations of the vanished castle keep, seasonal flower beds, a Japanese landscape garden and quiet lawns, a serene contrast to the business towers of Marunouchi just outside the walls. Joggers loop the five-kilometre moat circuit. Allow an hour or two, combine it with Tokyo Station's restored red-brick façade, and check the East Gardens' closed days (Mondays and Fridays).
Hours
East Gardens Tue–Thu, Sat–Sun 09:00–16:00/17:00; grounds free tours by booking
Price
Free
Getting there
JR Tokyo Station (Marunouchi exit), 10-min walk; or Metro Otemachi
Insider tip: The inner palace needs a free advance tour booking; the East Gardens are walk-in and just as rewarding for most visitors.
13.Ghibli Museum
Conceived by animation master Hayao Miyazaki himself, the Ghibli Museum in leafy Mitaka is a love letter to the imagination behind Studio Ghibli's beloved films — My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and more. Miyazaki designed it to be explored with the curiosity of a child rather than followed on a fixed route: you wander a fairytale building of stained glass, spiral staircases and secret nooks, discovering rooms that recreate a cluttered animator's studio, exhibits explaining how animation deceives the eye, a giant plush Catbus for children to clamber over, and a rooftop garden guarded by the five-metre Robot Soldier from Laputa. A small theatre screens exclusive Ghibli short films you cannot see anywhere else. Photography is banned inside, a deliberate choice to keep visitors present. The catch is the ticketing: entry is by date-and-time-stamped ticket only, released on the 10th of the previous month and gone within minutes, with none sold at the gate — so plan well ahead. Pair it with a stroll around the pretty Inokashira Park pond next door.
Hours
Wed–Mon 10:00–18:00 (timed entry); closed Tue
Price
¥1,000 adults; advance online lottery only
Getting there
JR Chuo Line to Mitaka, then Ghibli shuttle bus or 15-min walk through Inokashira Park
Insider tip: Tickets are date-and-time stamped, sell out the instant they release (10th of the prior month), and are never sold at the door.
14.Odaiba
Built on reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay, Odaiba is the city's futuristic playground, reached by the driverless Yurikamome monorail that glides across the elegant Rainbow Bridge — grab a front seat for the ride. The island packs in a day's worth of variety: a towering life-sized Unicorn Gundam statue that transforms and lights up on a schedule outside DiverCity mall; sprawling shopping and dining complexes including the retro-themed Odaiba streets and Aqua City; a replica Statue of Liberty framing skyline photos; and an artificial beach with the best waterfront view back toward the neon towers of the mainland. Families gravitate to the teamLab-adjacent attractions, the Miraikan science museum with its walking robot ASIMO demonstrations, the Legoland Discovery Centre and the Joypolis indoor theme park. By night the bridge and skyline light up and the whole seafront becomes a romantic promenade. It feels more spacious and modern than central Tokyo, an easy, breezy contrast, and it is especially good with children or on a clear day when you can see Mount Fuji across the water at sunset.
Hours
Always open; attractions ~10:00–21:00
Price
Free to explore; individual attractions vary
Getting there
Yurikamome Line from Shimbashi across Rainbow Bridge, or Rinkai Line to Tokyo Teleport
Insider tip: Ride the driverless Yurikamome train in the very front seat for a video-game view across the Rainbow Bridge.
15.Roppongi Hills & Mori Art Museum
Roppongi Hills is one of Tokyo's most ambitious urban developments, a self-contained 'city within a city' of offices, apartments, cinemas, shops and gardens centred on the 54-storey Mori Tower. Its cultural crown is the Mori Art Museum near the top of the tower, one of the country's leading contemporary-art venues, known for bold, well-curated exhibitions of Japanese and international artists and — unusually — for staying open until ten most nights. Your ticket typically bundles the Tokyo City View indoor observation deck on the same floor, a glass-walled ring offering one of the best panoramas in the city, with Tokyo Tower glowing photogenically in the middle distance and, on clear days, Mount Fuji beyond; an open-air Sky Deck on the roof can be added for a small extra fee. At the base, Louise Bourgeois's giant bronze spider 'Maman' guards the plaza, and the whole district is the heart of Tokyo's international nightlife and dining scene. Combine art and altitude here in the early evening, then stay on for dinner and Roppongi's late bars.
Hours
Mori Art Museum & City View daily ~10:00–22:00 (Tue to 17:00)
Price
Combined ticket from ¥2,000; Sky Deck extra
Getting there
Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line to Roppongi (direct concourse) or Oedo Line
Insider tip: One ticket covers the Mori Art Museum and the Tokyo City View deck — go late, the museum is open until 22:00.
16.Yanaka Old Town
Yanaka is where you go to feel the Tokyo that most of the city has lost. Part of the Shitamachi 'low town' district known as Yanesen (Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi), it survived both the 1923 earthquake and wartime firebombing largely intact, leaving a maze of narrow lanes, wooden houses, dozens of temples, a vast atmospheric cemetery shaded by cherry trees, and a slow, neighbourly pace found nowhere else in the megacity. Its heart is Yanaka Ginza, a cheerful pedestrian shopping street of family-run stalls selling croquettes, senbei crackers, mochi and street snacks, watched over by the local cats that have become the district's mascots — you descend to it down the 'Yuyake Dandan' sunset steps, a favourite photo spot at golden hour. Between shrines and tea houses you will find traditional craft workshops, tiny galleries, sake shops and cafés in restored townhouses. There are no blockbuster sights here; the pleasure is aimless wandering, snacking as you go and glimpsing everyday old-Tokyo life. It makes a perfect gentle half-day, easily combined with nearby Ueno.
Hours
Streets always open; Yanaka Ginza shops ~10:00–19:00
Price
Free
Getting there
JR Yamanote Line to Nippori (west exit), a short walk to the district
Insider tip: Time your wander for late afternoon on the Yanaka Ginza shopping street, then watch the sunset from the 'Yuyake Dandan' steps.
17.Ginza
Ginza is Tokyo's answer to Fifth Avenue or the Champs-Élysées, the city's most polished and expensive district and its historic centre of fashion, dining and the arts. Laid out in elegant blocks around the wide Chuo-dori, it dazzles with the glass flagship stores of the world's luxury houses, the venerable Wako department store beneath its landmark clock tower, sprawling depachika food halls in Mitsukoshi and Matsuya, and futuristic architecture like the pixel-façade Ginza Place. But Ginza is not only for big spenders: it is home to some of Tokyo's greatest (and priciest) sushi counters, hidden basement bars, contemporary art galleries, and the magnificent Kabuki-za theatre, where you can watch classical Japanese drama, even for a single act on a same-day ticket. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons the main avenue closes to traffic and becomes a 'hokoten' pedestrian paradise, with café tables set out under the sky — the most refined place in the city to simply stroll. Come to window-shop, gallery-hop, catch a slice of kabuki, or splurge on a memorable meal in Tokyo's most sophisticated quarter.
Hours
Shops ~10:00/11:00–20:00; Chuo-dori car-free weekend afternoons
Price
Free to explore
Getting there
Tokyo Metro Ginza/Marunouchi/Hibiya lines to Ginza; or JR to Yurakucho
Insider tip: On weekend afternoons Chuo-dori closes to cars and becomes a 'pedestrian paradise' — the classiest place in Tokyo to stroll.