10 days in Tokyo Japan: complete itinerary, neighborhoods, food, logistics and p

Ten days is exactly the right amount of time for Tokyo — long enough to move past the famous intersections and into the neighborhoods where the city actually lives. Here is what you need to know before you book anything.

What to do, in order

Book your hotel first, before flights, before anything else. If you're going during cherry blossom season (late March to mid-April), you need to secure accommodation six to ten months out — the best mid-range properties in Shibuya and Asakusa are gone by March for April dates. For every other season, three to four months ahead is fine. The sweet spots for weather and manageable crowds are late May and October through early November. Avoid June through August unless you genuinely tolerate 32°C heat at 80% humidity.

Choose your base neighborhood deliberately. Shinjuku and Shibuya put you at Tokyo's largest transport hubs with everything walkable, but they cost more and run loud past midnight. Asakusa runs roughly 36% cheaper per night, has genuine old-city atmosphere, and connects to everything in 15–20 minutes by subway. A practical split: six nights in Shibuya or Shinjuku, four nights in Asakusa. One base near any major JR or Metro node works fine if you don't want to move hotels.

The moment you land — at Haneda if you have any choice in routing, since it's 30 minutes from central Tokyo versus 90 from Narita — buy a Welcome Suica card at the JR East counter in Terminal 3. Load ¥5,000 onto it. This single card pays for every train, bus, subway, vending machine, and most convenience store purchases for your entire trip. Do not buy a JR Pass for a Tokyo-only stay. The seven-day pass costs ¥29,650; your total transport for ten days, including two day trips, will run ¥15,000–30,000 on the Suica plus regional passes. The JR Pass only makes financial sense if you're adding Shinkansen legs to Kyoto or Osaka.

Structure your days by geographic cluster, not by attraction ranking. Tokyo's districts are 20–40 minutes apart; zigzagging wastes two to four hours daily. Days 1–2 cover the western core: Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, Omotesando, Shibuya Crossing, Shinjuku Gyoen, the free observation deck at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (panoramic views, no queue, no charge — use this instead of paying for multiple rooftop tickets). Day 3 goes to Azabudai Hills for teamLab Borderless — book timed entry online weeks ahead, walk-ups are not reliable. Days 4–5 move through the Imperial Palace gardens, Tokyo Tower at sunset, and Asakusa's Senso-ji temple before 9am when crowds are thin. Day 6 is the single most important day for 2026 specifically: the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Ryogoku reopened March 31, 2026 after a four-year renovation — its first major overhaul since 1993. Adults pay ¥800. Allow three hours. Day 7, save for Yanaka, Nezu, and Sendagi — a triangle of low-rise, preserved old-town streets that most guidebooks skip entirely. Nezu Shrine has a tunnel of vermillion torii gates comparable to Kyoto's Fushimi Inari with a fraction of the crowd. Rent bikes for ¥1,000; the terrain is flat.

Days 8 and 9 are day trips. Hakone first: take the Odakyu Line from Shinjuku, buy the Hakone Freepass (¥6,100, covers all local transport for two days), and combine the Open Air Museum, Owakudani volcanic valley, and a Lake Ashi boat cruise. Soak in an onsen before returning — day-use entry runs ¥1,000–2,000. Check Fuji visibility and ropeway status before you leave; both are weather-dependent. Day 9 goes to Kawaguchiko for the Chureito Pagoda — the five-story pagoda framed against Mt. Fuji is one of Japan's most photographed compositions. Highway bus from Shinjuku costs about ¥2,000 each way. If weather is poor or you're tired, skip it and spend the day in Shimokitazawa (vintage shops, indie cafés) or Kagurazaka (cobblestone alleys, French-Japanese neighborhood) instead. Day 10: sushi breakfast at Tsukiji Outer Market before 10am, a walk through Ginza for last-minute shopping, then airport.

For food, carry ¥10,000–20,000 cash at all times — many ramen shops, temples, and neighborhood restaurants are still cash-only. A realistic daily food budget is ¥5,000–7,000: convenience store breakfast (¥500, and genuinely good), ramen or set lunch (¥1,000–1,500), izakaya dinner (¥3,000–5,000). The depachika — basement food halls in department stores like Isetan in Shinjuku or Takashimaya — are worth a dedicated visit for high-quality bento and prepared dishes at ¥800–2,000.

What you've probably been told wrong

The JR Pass is not a default purchase for Japan travel — it's a Shinkansen pass that makes no sense for Tokyo-only trips. Golden Gai in Shinjuku is worth one weeknight visit, but it's heavily touristed on weekends; Yanaka izakayas offer a quieter, more local version of the same experience. And you don't need to pay for multiple observation decks — the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is free, open until 11pm, and on clear days shows Mt. Fuji.

What's still uncertain

The yen exchange rate used here is ¥150 to the dollar; a stronger yen would raise costs for Western visitors. Tokyo is considering shifting to a 3% hotel tax (from the current flat nightly fee), with no confirmed implementation date — build a 10–15% buffer into accommodation budgets. Japan's duty-free refund system changes in November 2026, so plan major purchases before then.

Tokyo rewards the traveler who slows down. Ten days is enough to find the version of the city that isn't in the photographs.

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