Tokyo
Things to do in Tokyo, by neighborhood
Tokyo is too big to treat as one list of things to do. Its temples, museums, gardens and late-night alleys cluster in districts with sharply different characters, and the distances between them are real, so the useful question is not what to see but which part of the city you want to spend your time in. If this is your first trip, choose two or three of the eight neighborhoods below and give each one the time it asks for; the rest of Tokyo will still be there next time. Below, what each one is for, with no more than three things named in each, and the one thing it asks of you. Where to sleep is a separate decision, covered in our Tokyo where-to-stay article.
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What each neighborhood is for
| If you want | Go to |
|---|---|
| Temples and the old merchant city | Asakusa |
| The national museums | Ueno |
| Old lanes at a slow pace | Yanaka |
| Kabuki, imperial gardens, weekend boulevards | Ginza |
| Contemporary art and design | Roppongi |
| Youth culture, fashion, a forest shrine | Shibuya |
| A great garden by day, tiny bars by night | Shinjuku |
| Indie theater, secondhand shops, café streets | Shimokitazawa |
Asakusa: the temple town
The Edo-era temple town on the eastern flatland, with Sensōji, the oldest temple in Tokyo, and the Skytree rising across the Sumida River. The trade-off is position: Asakusa sits far east, so it pairs naturally with Ueno and Yanaka and poorly with Shibuya.
Ueno: the museum park
Tokyo's principal cultural campus: a park given over to the country's national museums. The trade-off is cherry-blossom season, when the park turns into one of the busiest picnic grounds in the city.
Yanaka: the slow city
A survivor of old shitamachi Tokyo next door to Ueno, all low-rise lanes, temple grounds and a cemetery you walk through rather than around. The trade-off is scale: it has no headline sight, and that is the point.
Ginza: kabuki and the imperial gardens
The heritage shopping district keeps the principal kabuki theater in Japan, with the free Imperial Palace East Gardens and the tidal pond of Hama-rikyū a short walk away. Its main boulevards close to cars on weekends, which is the time to come.
Roppongi: contemporary art and design
The city's contemporary-art district and its evening quarter, where the National Art Center, Tokyo fills the largest exhibition hall in Japan with temporary shows only. The trade-off is that what you see depends entirely on when you come.
Shibuya: youth culture and a forest shrine
The center of Tokyo's youth culture, loud by design around the Scramble Crossing, with the planted forest of Meiji Jingū and Yoyogi Park as its quiet half. The price is the press of people at the station, which eases a street or two away.
Shinjuku: a garden by day, a maze by night
Tokyo's skyscraper district by day and its densest night by evening, with a great imperial garden at its southern edge. The trade-off is that it barely switches off, which suits night owls better than early risers.
Shimokitazawa: indie Tokyo
A bohemian pocket of indie music and theater, secondhand shops and café streets, a short ride from Shibuya. It has almost no sights in the usual sense; you come for the atmosphere.
Three habits that hold everywhere
Walk on the left and pass on the right, as the traffic does. Finish your food where you bought it, because eating while walking reads as rude. And keep your phone in your pocket on trains and buses, where nobody takes calls.
When to go
The cherry trees bloom from the last days of March into the first days of April, bringing the picnic crowds; the autumn leaves peak from mid-November into early December. Avoid the first days of the year if you can: from December 31 to January 3 a good share of shops, museums and restaurants shut for between two and five days.
Questions people ask
What should I not miss in Tokyo?
One neighborhood from each side of the city: the old east, with Asakusa, Ueno or Yanaka, and the newer west, with Shibuya or Shinjuku. Which ones depends on what you come for; the table above sorts them.
Is 3 days in Tokyo too much?
No. Three days is enough for three of the eight neighborhoods above, walked properly, and not nearly enough for all of them.
What is the most traditional neighborhood in Tokyo?
Asakusa, the Edo-era temple town, or Yanaka, where the low-rise lanes of old shitamachi Tokyo survive.
What are some artsy neighborhoods in Tokyo?
Roppongi for contemporary art and design, Shimokitazawa for indie music, theater and secondhand shops.
Written by citysense editorial. Facts from the citysense Tokyo catalog, researched and fact-checked. Updated October 2026.