24 Hours in Tokyo

Start green and quiet, end loud. Shinjuku Gyoen opens at 9 a.m.; entry is $3.20 (£2.40; ¥500). Then go to Harajuku for Meiji Shrine, free and open from sunrise to sunset, and lunch on Takeshita Street. Walk down Omotesandō to Shibuya, cross Shibuya Crossing, and be on the roof of Shibuya Scramble Square for sunset.

Shibuya Sky is the one thing to book. Web tickets for adults are $17.10 (£12.80; ¥2,700) for entry before 3 p.m. and $22 (£16.10; ¥3,400) after; the counter charges a little more, and the operator says that when the web allocation is sold out, the counter is too. Tickets go on sale two weeks ahead. Sunset falls in the late afternoon in winter and in the evening in June, so time your slot to the date. After dark, take the train back to Shinjuku for yakitori in Omoide Yokochō and a drink in Golden Gai.

Mondays break the plan: Shinjuku Gyoen is closed (the next weekday if Monday is a holiday), and also from December 29 to January 3. On those days, start at Meiji Shrine instead. From October 1 to March 14 the garden closes at 4:30 p.m., with last entry at 4 p.m., so keep it in the morning. If it rains, drop the roof deck and spend the afternoon in the department stores and food halls around Shibuya and Shinjuku stations.

Stay in Shinjuku, where the night ends and the trains to Haneda start. We priced one Friday night on Kayak for two adults, 3-star or better, guest score 8 or higher, all taxes and fees included, using Kayak's Shinjuku and Shibuya filter:

• January 15, 2027: $65 (£49) for a 3-star rated 8.0 in Shinjuku ward. Pearl Hotel Shinjuku Akebonobashi, a 3-star rated 8.5, was $69 (£52).
• June 11, 2027: $61 (£46) at the same Shinjuku 3-star. Hop Inn Tokyo Iidabashi, rated 8.8, was $70 (£52).

Shinjuku ward is large; the cheapest rooms are often a subway ride from the station, in Akebonobashi or Iidabashi, so check the map before you book. Shibuya costs more but puts you by the crossing. If you would rather do the east side, base yourself in Asakusa or near Tokyo Station and Ginza and swap this plan for Senso-ji, the Sumida River and the Tsukiji market streets; it is a different day, not an add-on.

From Haneda, Keikyu publishes estimated times from Terminal 3 of 11 minutes to Shinagawa, 23 minutes to Shibuya and 30 minutes to Shinjuku, changing to JR at Shinagawa. Keikyu's route planner prices the Shinagawa and JR route to Shinjuku at $3.70 (£2.80; ¥590), with IC card fares a few yen lower. Through trains onto the Toei Asakusa Line also reach Higashi-ginza in 23 minutes, which is the faster way if you change the plan to the east side. Buy a Suica or PASMO, or tap a ticket at the machines.

We could not verify Tokyo's flat taxi fares from Haneda on an official page, so we have not printed them; the airport's taxi stands are outside each arrivals floor. Narita is much farther out, and our layover page has the options from there.

Arriving by shinkansen, Tokyo and Shinagawa stations both connect to Shinjuku on the JR network.

• A crepe on Takeshita Street: the Harajuku snack, rolled to order and eaten walking.
• Yakitori in Omoide Yokochō: grilled chicken skewers at tiny counters in the alleys by Shinjuku station's west exit.
• A department-store food hall: the basements under the Shibuya and Shinjuku stores are where to buy a bento or sweets for later.
• Ramen at a ticket-machine counter: you pay at the machine, hand over the ticket, and eat at the bar. The easiest solo dinner in the city.
• Konbini breakfast: onigiri and coffee from a convenience store before the train to Haneda.

Prices vary by stall and none of these publishes a list we could check, so we have left them out.

Cut the morning. Go from Haneda straight to Shibuya, 23 minutes by Keikyu and JR, cross the scramble, book a Shibuya Sky slot for sunset, then take the train to Shinjuku for Omoide Yokochō and Golden Gai. That is the Tokyo evening in one line. Allow the 30-minute train back to Haneda plus your airline's check-in time; the layover guide sets out the timing for connections.

For one traveler paying the whole room, on the January date:

• Hotel, Shinjuku ward: $65 (£49) ($61 (£46) in June)
• Haneda to Shinjuku and back: $7.50 (£5.60; ¥1,180)
• Tokyo Subway Ticket, 24 hours: $6.30 (£4.70; ¥1,000)
• Shinjuku Gyoen: $3.20 (£2.40; ¥500)
• Shibuya Sky after 3 p.m., booked online: $22 (£16.10; ¥3,400)

Total before food: about $103 (£78) in January and $99 (£75) in June. The Subway Ticket covers Tokyo Metro and Toei lines only, not JR, so it pays off only if you ride the subway several times; Tokyo Metro says it is sold to overseas visitors and to Japanese residents from outside the Kanto area.

Tokyo is easy to reach nonstop from the US. Between Haneda and Narita there are nonstops from New York JFK, Newark, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Washington Dulles, Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth, on ANA, JAL, United, American and Delta; Miami is the only one of our ten US hubs without one. From the UK, ANA, JAL and British Airways fly nonstop from Heathrow to Haneda.

Entry rules. US citizens need no visa for tourist stays of under 90 days, with a passport valid for the whole stay; the State Department notes that airlines may refuse boarding with under six months left, and recommends completing arrival procedures on Visit Japan Web before you travel. Japan's Digital Agency runs it for immigration and customs. British citizens are admitted for up to 90 days for tourism without applying in advance, according to GOV.UK. Expect fingerprints and a photo on arrival. Our transit visa guide covers connections.

Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons for walking, and in cherry blossom season, from March 25 to April 24, Shinjuku Gyoen also opens on Mondays. Summer is hot and humid; winter is dry, cold and clear, with early sunsets that suit a Shibuya Sky slot in the late afternoon. The climate table on this page has the monthly figures. See also 24 hours in Seoul and our best food cities for 24 hours.

Airport to center

30 min from Tokyo Haneda International Airport: Keikyu Airport Line from Haneda Terminal 3 to Shinagawa, then JR to Shinjuku, $3.70 (£2.80; ¥590)

One night, Friday

$65 (£49) on January 15, 2027 · $61 (£46) on June 11, 2027 (Shinjuku and Shibuya wards (Kayak neighborhood filter))

Day ticket

Tokyo Subway Ticket, 24 hours (all Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway lines; for overseas visitors): $6.30 (£4.70; ¥1,000)

24 hours, per person

$45 (£34): half the average room, the airport ride both ways and a day ticket (entries extra)

Nonstop from the US

JFK, EWR, ORD, LAX, SFO, BOS, IAD, ATL, DFW

Nonstop from the UK

LHR

Hotel prices: Cheapest 3-star-or-better double, 1 night (Friday), 2 adults, nightly total including all taxes and fees, guest rating 8+, Kayak with the Shinjuku and Shibuya neighborhood filter, checked 2026-10-21. January: a 3-star rated 8.0 in Shinjuku ward at $65; the next, Pearl Hotel Shinjuku Akebonobashi (3-star, 8.5), was $69. June: the same Shinjuku 3-star at $61; Hop Inn Tokyo Iidabashi (3-star, 8.8) was $70..

Best months for walking around by our weather score: April, May, November. Daytime highs and lows, rain days (1 mm or more) and sunshine hours are 2016–2025 averages for Tokyo (Open-Meteo historical weather archive).

Tokyo: Shinjuku Sumo Show & Experience with Photo

It is a staged show, not a tournament: real tournaments run in Tokyo only in January, May and September. Up to six guests per show can try a bout, picked by lottery. Late entry may be refused. The $45 was a sale price (crossed-out $65) on the day we checked.

75 minutes

4.9★★★★★★★★★★(8,141 reviews)

Reserve

Rating as shown on GetYourGuide

Tokyo Bar Hopping in Shinjuku: Free-flow, Full Dinner, Golden Gai

Included: dinner, two drinks at the first bar, all-you-can-drink at the second and one drink at the last. Meet at the black pillar at the Omoide Yokocho entrance. Over-20s only.

3 hours

4.9★★★★★★★★★★(4,053 reviews)

Reserve

Rating as shown on Viator

Tokyo: Shinjuku Food Tour (13 Dishes and 4 Eateries)

Two drinks (one alcoholic, one soft) are included. It finishes at Shinjuku Station's south-east exit. The $84 was a sale price (crossed-out $104) on the day we checked. Book this or the Golden Gai bar crawl for one evening, not both.

3 hours

4.8★★★★★★★★★★(3,757 reviews)

Reserve

Rating as shown on GetYourGuide

Booking through these links supports this site at no cost to you. Prices move by date, so we do not print them here; the official prices we checked are in the page above.