If you have around five days in Tokyo, these are some of the experiences we would definitely recommend.

Experience teamLab Planets

teamLab Planets was one of the things we had planned beforehand and it was absolutely worth experiencing. The installations are immersive and completely different from a traditional museum.

Book your tickets in advance and give yourself enough time to explore without rushing from one room to the next.

Visit a Shrine and Try Your Fortune

You should experience at least one shrine or temple while in Tokyo. We visited Meiji Shrine, which feels surprisingly peaceful considering the busy city surrounding it.

While visiting temples and shrines, look out for omikuji, the Japanese tradition of drawing a paper fortune. It is a small experience, but one we really enjoyed.

Discover Samurai Culture

Tokyo is incredibly modern, but learning more about Japan’s history adds another layer to the trip.

We spent some time learning about samurai culture through a tour but also in a Samurai museum, which was a really interesting contrast to the futuristic side of Tokyo.

Just Walk

One of our biggest recommendations for Tokyo is incredibly simple.

Walk.

Do not spend the entire trip travelling from one famous attraction to another. Take smaller streets, look at the architecture, discover tiny shops and restaurants and pay attention to all the little details around you.

Some of our favourite moments happened when we were not actually going anywhere in particular.

Eat Your Way Through Tokyo

Food was a huge part of our Tokyo experience.

Have ramen. Try sushi. We experienced both a casual standing sushi bar and sitting directly in front of the chef, and both were worth doing.

Also, do not be afraid of small local restaurants where you barely understand the menu. Walk in, figure out how to order and try something new. Those experiences often end up being much more memorable than restaurants you researched weeks beforehand.

Explore Food Markets and Market Streets

Leave some room in your appetite for Tokyo’s food markets and market streets.

Instead of sitting down for every meal, try different things as you walk. It is a great way to discover foods you might otherwise never think to order.

Find Great Bakeries and Coffee

Not everything on your Tokyo itinerary needs to be a major attraction.

We loved finding good bakeries and stopping for iced lattes while exploring the city. Kitasando Coffee was one of our stops. And we were also obsessed with the daily scanning of the sweet and savory goods in the bakery on the corner of our hotel. Cafe Yamazaki in Taito is a must-visit!

A good coffee, something from a Japanese bakery and an hour spent watching Tokyo go by can be just as enjoyable as another sightseeing stop.

See Tokyo From Above

You do not fully understand how enormous Tokyo is until you see it from above.

There are several observation decks around the city, including free options. If possible, go later in the day so you can watch the city change as the lights come on.

Spend an Evening in Golden Gai

Save one evening for Golden Gai.

Its narrow streets and tiny bars feel completely different from the rest of Tokyo. Go without too much of a plan, find somewhere that looks interesting and enjoy the atmosphere.

Experience Shibuya

Of course, see Shibuya Crossing. It is famous for a reason and worth experiencing at least once.

But do not immediately leave afterwards. Explore the surrounding streets, go into one of the huge Japanese arcades and browse places like Don Quijote.

Leave Room for Plans to Change

We visited Tokyo in July, when summer fireworks festivals are a big event across Japan. We had planned to experience one, had our snacks ready and were looking forward to the evening.

Then a storm came and the whole event was cancelled.

And that sums up one of our biggest lessons from Tokyo quite well.

Have a plan, save the places you really want to see, but do not schedule every hour of your trip. Tokyo is a city where simply walking down the wrong street, finding a tiny restaurant or stopping somewhere for coffee can turn into one of your favourite memories.

Five days will never be enough to see everything anyway. So do not try to.