INDEX
Itinerary of 4 days in Tokyo
To contextualize and understand these 4 days in Tokyo, we give you some surprising facts about this curious city:
- It is the most populated metropolis in the world with 37 million inhabitants, a huge number.
- It has the Shibuya crossing, the busiest, where 3,000 people can cross at the same time.
- It combines cutting-edge technology with tradition, such as the Sensjo-ji temple, a sample of contrasts.
- More than 5 million vending machines, so you won’t go thirsty or hungry.
- Shinjuku Station is the busiest station in the world, with more than 200 departures and 3.6 million passengers daily. Almost nothing…
Count that we are on a LOW budget, as this was part of our 7 month trip through Asia and Oceania, so we will leave you on each day activities that you can do to complement our route.
Finally, if you need more information about Japan, do not miss our post of 19 days in Japan, with all the complete information of one of the best trips we have done and, unlike most of the guides you will find, we did it in low cost mode.
That said, let’s get to the tour of 4 days in Tokyo!
Donde alojarse en Tokio
One of the factors that most conditioned us when visiting Tokyo is the price of accommodation. And it is VERY high, so it is convenient to look at it with time and try to sacrifice some comforts to pay an acceptable price. After a lot of research we managed to do so, as you will see below.
If you have no budget limitations, I would say that it is best to stay in Shinjuku or Shibuya, areas close to everything, super well connected and in the center. However, as the city is so big, it doesn’t matter a bit, because you will always have days where there will be long subway rides.
Here are some good options, including the one we chose, which is the best value for money:
- &AND Hostel Minamisenju: Our choice. It is located in the Minamisenju area, an area that is not in the center but is very close to the main attractions of the city (in fact you can easily walk to Asakusa). The hostel is VERY nice, it is huge, has a kitchen, washing machines. The only point is that the toilets are shared, but for showering you have individual cabins and it is very clean. The rooms are VERY small, but as we said, we sacrificed comfort.
- Tokyo Guesthouse Itabashi-juku: A very good way to save money in Japan is to share a bed. There are different modalities, between capsules and normal rooms. Many are shared by men only or women only. We leave you a mixed one with a pretty good grade, a great price and very well located.
- Rosenheim Tokyo Shinjuku: For those who want something of higher quality, this hotel is located in Shinjuku, one of the best neighborhoods to stay in. The rooms are very well kept, so it is a good choice.
- Cyashitsu Ryokan Asakusa: We would not recommend trying a ryokan in Tokyo (because of the high price), but if you feel like spending a night in them, this ryokan is very nice, very nice, well kept and authentic. In addition, it is located in Asakusa, an unbeatable place to make a base. Take a look at it, it is amazing.
- Ibasho Shibuya: We also leave you an apartment, as it is a great option to have a kitchen and save around, or if you go with other people to reduce expenses.
Activities in Tokyo
We leave you a selection of activities from GetYourGuide and Civitatis that we think may be of interest to do in Tokyo city and also some that may be interesting for day trips from the city. We have selected the ones we would do ourselves, so it is studied what we think is worthwhile on both platforms:
Itinerary of 4 days in Tokyo
As we always do when we visit a big city, we divide the visit into zones in order to optimize our time. This 4-day visit in Tokyo was divided as follows:
- Day 1: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku and Roppongi
- Day 2: Asakusa and Akihabara
- Day 3: Ueno, Yanaka, Ginza and Odaiba
- Day 4: Activities outside the city.
In the cities we always try to make an optimized route that makes us take the minimum of transportation and walk. We believe that our route is optimized to be able to do so.
That said, let’s go with our day by day summary, so you can better understand our 4 days in Tokyo.
Day 1 in Tokyo
The first day of our 4 days in Tokyo was going to turn out to be the most intense of all, as we would visit 4 neighborhoods: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku and Roppongi. We tried to connect these neighborhoods in the shortest way possible, walking or traveling a few stops by subway.
We started the day in Shinjuku, a neighborhood known for its lively nightlife and neon lights. We wanted to start at one of the places we liked the most, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which has a free observation deck with 360° views of the entire city. We, having a clear day, were even able to see Mount Fuji. You can pay for other viewpoints, but if you are on a low budget and prefer to save the expense, this one is perfect.
From there, we headed to the most famous area of the neighborhood, Kabukicho, home to most of the pachinkos (slot and game parlors) and nightlife. We recommend you to wander around the area and see places like the Gracery Hotel and its famous Godzilla statue, and its Golden Gai streets, an area of alleys full of small places to have a drink, and Omoide Yokocho, full of izakayas to eat.
We have to note that we would recommend returning to this area at night in one of your 4 days in Tokyo, as we were left with the desire to see Golden Gai or all the night illumination of the neighborhood.
Being in the area, we would take the opportunity to try one of the most curious ramen in Japan, where you eat in small individual cubicles in silence, and where they serve you the food through curtains without seeing the face of the employee. It is called Ichiran Ramen.
From this point, we would go to the Shibuya district taking the subway to the most famous crossing in the world, the Shibuya Scramble Crossing. It is said that 3000 people can cross in 3 minutes, crazy. Right there, you can see the famous statue of Hachiko the dog, which has a beautiful story behind it. We would say that in the area you should also visit the Shibuya 109 shopping center, the famous Don Quijote shopping center (a crazy place) and the Dogenzaka area, several streets that are famous for having love hotels, hotels by hours…
After finishing the visit to Shibuya, we would walk along Cat Street, a bohemian street with painting galleries and several clothing stores (luxury and alternative) until reaching Omotesando Street, the main artery of the Harajuku district. This street is known as the Champs Elysees of Tokyo and is basically a street with all the luxury stores and well-known brands you can imagine.
In the Harajuku area, we would visit the Meiji Temple, one of the most famous in the city. The opening hours are from 5:00 to 16:00 in winter and from 5:00 to 18:00 in summer, and we say this because we, going in winter time, went at 17h and we could not see it… Afterwards, we would stroll through Yoyogi Park, a quiet and pleasant park that serves as a rest in such a busy city. Finally, stroll along Takeshita-dori street, where you can discover the Kawaii fashion (inform yourself about what it is, as we find it difficult to describe it 😂), very famous among young Japanese.
To end the day, we recommend you to take a subway to Roppongi. There I would wander around, as you will see contrast between super quiet residential areas and macro buildings and shopping malls. From the Roppongi Hills shopping center (very nice) you can see one of the best views of the Tokyo Tower and go up to the Mori Tower viewpoint, which is said to be the best in the city (we did not go up because of cost).
As you can see, this first day of our 4 days in Tokyo had a bit of everything. We ended up exhausted, so we had to go to sleep to get strength for the next day.
Day 2 (4 days in Tokyo)
Let’s go for the second day of our 4 days in Tokyo! This day was going to be a bit quieter than the previous day as we were a bit tired from the thrashing.
We started the day walking to Asakusa, the neighborhood closest to our hotel. In this neighborhood you can visit one of the most emblematic places of the city, the Senso-ji temple. We liked it very much as it totally contrasts such a traditional temple (it is the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo) with the modern buildings around it.
Just in front of the temple gate (its most famous place because of the Kaminari-mon bell) is Nakamise Street, one of the oldest shopping streets in the city. From what we could see, it is one of the best places to buy souvenirs in the city, as they are original and handmade, so it is a great opportunity.
Once the two visits were over, we wanted to try a quite famous sushi that we had seen on social networks called Sushiro Kura. It is a conveyor belt sushi, where you order your plate by a tablet and they serve it to you through this belt, where the plate stops right in front of your table. It was very tasty, it was not very expensive and it is a different way of eating in Japan.
From there, we wanted to go to the banks of the Sumida River, from where there is a brutal view of the Tokyo Skytree. We strolled and talked for almost an hour as we walked along the promenade. We found it super quiet and pleasant, after the madness of people at Nakamise and Senso-ji.
The second neighborhood of the day was Akihabara, one of the most popular as it is the neighborhood of technology, otaku and gaming paradise.
We spent the whole afternoon there. We went to the following shopping malls that we recommend to visit if you like and are interested in these little worlds:
- Radio Kaikan: anime, manga and otaku world.
- Yodobashi Camera: the biggest technology store we have ever seen. 8 huge floors.
- Gigo Akihabara: several floors with games of all kinds and photo booths. We wanted to try both.
- Gashapon World: a good souvenir you can take home from Japan is a gashapon. In Akihabara you will see lots of them.
- Super Potato: retro game store that is amazing, you can find everything from the oldest consoles to some more recent ones.
As we said, if you like it or you are curious, you can easily spend several hours walking around from one mall to another.
Finally, we had ramen for dinner at a local place we liked called Ichiran Ramen, a classic in Japan where you eat in individual cubicles and you can customize your ramen to the maximum.
Day 3 (4 days en Tokyo)
On the third day of our 4 days in Tokyo we wanted to see all those neighborhoods that we had not been able to see and that we found interesting.
We started by visiting the most important park in the city, Ueno Park. It is a very large park, which houses some of the most prominent museums in the city, such as the Tokyo National Museum, the National Science Museum and the Museum of Western Art. We didn’t go inside any of them, but if you’re interested, it’s nice to know that these are all inside. You will also find temples like the Bentendo, a small Buddhist temple located in the middle of the Shinobazu pond.
Finally, for us this park was not spectacular as we went in winter and this park is famous to see the cherry trees in spring time. If you go during this period, you cannot miss it.
Very close to this place, there is a point that we did not have initially targeted but we would recommend a walk: the University of Tokyo. It is one of the most prestigious and important universities in the world and it is also very beautiful. We would also recommend visiting it especially during the flowering season, as it has a main avenue full of ginkgos, whose colors in autumn are impressive.
Following the walking route, we recommend you to go to Yanaka, a traditional neighborhood that was one of the few not destroyed in the bombings of World War II, and that maintains super traditional buildings that contrast with the large buildings of Tokyo. The idea is to wander around to find beautiful corners, as it is a super quiet and pleasant area. We ended up in the Yanaka cemetery, which we found impressive.
Finally, in this area you will also find Yanaka Ginza street, where you will find an outdoor market and many places to eat. It is not a bad idea to stop for lunch here before continuing in the afternoon.
Time to take the subway to go to see the richest area of Tokyo, Ginza, where we recommend a walk along its main street Chuo-Dori. The main attractions of this street are that it has all the ultra-luxury brands you can imagine and that, on weekends, it becomes pedestrian, so it is a perfect time to come. We, as great lovers of Uniqlo, could not leave without seeing the largest in Japan, with 12 floors.
To finish our visit to Tokyo, we would take the train in this area and go to Odaiba, a small island 30-40 minutes from Ginza where you will have the best view of the skyline of the city and, if you are lucky, you can see a luxury sunset, the best of our 4 days in Tokyo. In this area we recommend a leisurely stroll, see the replica of the Statue of Liberty (symbol of the good relations between USA and Japan after WWII) and visit the DiverCity Tokyo Plaza shopping center, famous for having the giant statue of Gundam.
If you have time left, it would be a good time to visit the nightlife districts mentioned above, such as Kabukicho in Shinjuku.
Here would end our third day of the 4 days in Tokyo and the visit to the city as such.
Day 4 in Tokyo
It is true that you could dedicate more days to visit the city, but it is also true that most people (like us, who could only dedicate 4 days in Tokyo) go with just enough time because they do a tour in Japan. That is why we would dedicate the fourth day to do an excursion or complementary activity.
We went to DisneySea park, as it is a unique park in the world and we are Disney lovers. It was a love-hate experience, as we thought the park was awesome, but the crowds were inhuman and we didn’t get to ride as much as we would have liked.
Some worthwhile options as well are:
- Day trip and return to Fujikawaguchiko, one of the best places to see Mt. Fuji. We did it in two days, just before visiting Tokyo.
- Visit Nikko, a town noted for its World Heritage temples and shrines, such as the famous Toshogu Shrine, surrounded by a spectacular natural environment.
- Visit Hakone, an area famous for its hot springs (onsen), views of Mount Fuji and the iconic Lake Ashi, where you can take a boat ride and see the floating torii of the Hakone-jinja shrine.
Map of 4 days in Tokyo
Tokyo is a very complete city, with thousands of things to do and beautiful and very special places. It is a perfect city to do in 4 days.
If you have any extra questions about our route of 4 days in Tokyo, do not hesitate to ask us on social networks or in comments and we will be happy to answer you.
