In short
A week in Tokyo runs about ¥66,500 budget, ¥171,000 mid-range and ¥377,000 comfortable per person (roughly $418 / $1,074 / $2,368), excluding international flights. Accommodation dominates — ¥24,000 to ¥210,000 for six nights — while local transport stays under ¥18,000 even at the top end.
Costs built from published 2026 rates, August 2026.
Seven days is enough to stop treating Tokyo as a checklist. This plan gives four days to the city itself, two to day trips, and one to the things you decide you want to go back to, with 2026 prices and the reality that JR fares rose 7.8 per cent in March.
Verified: 18 August 2026 · Exchange rate: ¥159.21 = 1 USD
What is in this guide
- What the week costs
- Passes: what to buy for this week
- Where to base yourself
- Day 1: West Tokyo
- Day 2: East Tokyo
- Day 3: Nikko
- Day 4: Modern Tokyo and the bay
- Day 5: Hakone or Kawaguchiko
- Day 6: Shimokitazawa, Shimo-Kita and the quiet city
- Day 7: Your choices, and the airport
- Admission prices, checked August 2026
- What changed, and what closed
- Variations
- Frequently asked questions
- A note on our numbers
- Adapting the week to the seasons
- Rain plans, in order of preference
- Getting the most out of each day
- What this itinerary deliberately leaves out
- A worked budget for this week
- Arrival and departure days, in detail
- Kansai: Kyoto and Osaka
Editor’s note
A week in Tokyo is long enough to stop rushing, and this plan deliberately spends two half-days doing very little. Every seven-day Tokyo itinerary that fills all seven days ends the same way: someone exhausted by day five, looking at a temple they can no longer tell apart from the last one.
What the week costs
| Line | Budget | Mid-range | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation, 6 nights | ¥24,000 | ¥90,000 | ¥210,000 |
| Local transport | ¥5,500 | ¥7,500 | ¥18,000 |
| Day trips | ¥8,000 | ¥12,000 | ¥25,000 |
| Food | ¥21,000 | ¥45,500 | ¥98,000 |
| Sights and entries | ¥8,000 | ¥16,000 | ¥26,000 |
| Week, per person | ≈ ¥66,500 ($418) | ≈ ¥171,000 ($1,074) | ≈ ¥377,000 ($2,368) |
Tokyo’s average hotel rate reached ¥34,800 in 2026, up 11.4 per cent nationally year on year, with the increase concentrated in the luxury tier. Business hotels remain the country’s best value. The full breakdown is in How Much Does a Trip to Tokyo Cost?.
Passes: what to buy for this week
| Option | Price | Verdict for this itinerary |
|---|---|---|
| IC card, pay as you go | ¥178 to ¥324 per ride | Yes. Your default |
| Tokyo Subway Ticket 48h | ¥1,500 | Worth it for days 2 and 4 if you are subway-heavy |
| JR Tokyo Wide Pass, 3 days | ¥16,000 | Yes, if you use it for both day trips (days 3 and 5) |
| Japan Rail Pass | ¥50,000, ¥53,000 from 1 Oct | No. Pointless for a Tokyo-only week |
The Wide Pass rose from ¥15,000 to ¥16,000 on 14 March 2026. It covers Nikko, Kawaguchiko, Karuizawa and GALA Yuzawa. Two of those day trips, at ¥5,600 and ¥4,000 return respectively, plus a Yokohama or Kamakura run, gets you close to break-even; three gets you past it.
Note: the Tokyo Subway Ticket does not cover JR, so it does not cover the Yamanote Line. On days built around Yamanote hops, stay on the IC card.
Where to base yourself
| District | Why | Typical mid-range rate |
|---|---|---|
| Shinjuku | Every line, nightlife, Wide Pass departures | ¥18,000 to ¥25,000 |
| Shibuya | Young Tokyo, walkable to Harajuku and Ebisu | ¥20,000 to ¥28,000 |
| Tokyo Station / Marunouchi | Shinkansen, quiet at night, business hotels | ¥16,000 to ¥24,000 |
| Asakusa | Cheapest, old Tokyo, further from the west side | ¥9,000 to ¥15,000 |
| Ueno | Good value, Keisei Skyliner from Narita | ¥11,000 to ¥17,000 |
Neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood detail is in Where to Stay in Tokyo.
Day 1: West Tokyo
| Time | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | Meiji Jingu, forest approach | Free (inner garden ¥500) |
| 10:30 | Harajuku, Takeshita Street then Cat Street | Free |
| 12:00 | Lunch, Omotesando | ¥1,200 |
| 13:30 | Shibuya crossing, Hachiko, Center Gai | Free |
| 15:00 | Daikanyama and Nakameguro, riverside | ¥800 coffee |
| 17:30 | Shibuya Sky, sunset slot | ¥2,500, book days ahead |
| 19:30 | Shinjuku, Omoide Yokocho yakitori | ¥3,000 |
Free alternative to Shibuya Sky: the Metropolitan Government Building’s twin 202-metre observatories, open to 22:00, cost nothing.
Day 2: East Tokyo
| Time | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 07:00 | Sensoji, Asakusa, empty | Free |
| 09:00 | Nakamise Street as it opens | ¥500 |
| 10:30 | Sumida river walk, Skytree from below | Free |
| 12:00 | Ueno, Ameyoko market lunch | ¥1,200 |
| 13:30 | Tokyo National Museum | ¥1,000 |
| 15:30 | Yanaka, Yanaka Ginza, the cemetery cats | Free |
| 17:30 | Akihabara, second-hand cameras, retro games | Free to browse |
| 19:30 | Izakaya dinner | ¥3,500 |
Day total: ¥7,700
Day 3: Nikko
Two hours each way, ¥5,600 return, or free on the Tokyo Wide Pass. Leave by 07:30.
| Time | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 07:30 | Tobu or JR to Nikko | ¥5,600 return / Wide Pass |
| 10:00 | Toshogu Shrine, the Tokugawa mausoleum | ¥1,600 |
| 12:00 | Lunch, yuba (tofu skin) set | ¥1,500 |
| 13:30 | Shinkyo Bridge and the cedar avenue | ¥300 |
| 14:30 | Bus to Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls | ¥1,150 + ¥570 lift |
| 17:00 | Return to Tokyo | — |
Alternative: Kamakura, one hour and ¥1,940 return, for the Great Buddha, coastal temples and a beach. Easier, shorter, and better in summer.
Both, plus guided versus independent costs, are compared in Best Tours and Day Trips from Tokyo.
Day 4: Modern Tokyo and the bay
| Time | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | Toyosu market, tuna auction viewing deck | Free |
| 07:00 | Sushi breakfast at the market | ¥3,000 |
| 09:30 | teamLab Planets, Toyosu | ¥3,800, book ahead |
| 12:30 | Odaiba, Gundam statue, waterfront | Free |
| 15:00 | Ginza, department store basements | ¥1,000 |
| 17:00 | Marunouchi, Tokyo Station brick facade at dusk | Free |
| 19:00 | Dinner, Ginza lunch-set-style izakaya | ¥4,000 |
Two corrections to old guides: teamLab Borderless moved from Odaiba to Azabudai Hills, and Oedo-Onsen Monogatari on Odaiba closed permanently on 5 September 2021. Neither is where guidebooks put them.
Day 5: Hakone or Kawaguchiko
| Option | Time each way | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hakone | 90 min | ¥6,100 Hakone Free Pass | Onsen, Open Air Museum, lake, ropeway |
| Kawaguchiko | 2 hr | ¥4,000 return, free on Wide Pass | The classic Mt Fuji photograph |
Hakone as a day trip works, but it is better as an overnight with a ryokan dinner and a morning bath. If you have the flexibility, spend the night and shift day 6 forward.
Mt Fuji visibility is best November to February on clear mornings. In July and August you will usually get haze. If seeing Fuji matters, check the webcams the night before and be prepared to swap this day.
If you intend to climb Fuji: the 2026 season charges ¥4,000 on all four trails, requires advance registration, and the Shizuoka-side trails require an e-learning course and test. Gates close 14:00 to 03:00 without a hut booking. Season is early July to early September only.
Day 6: Shimokitazawa, Shimo-Kita and the quiet city
| Time | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | Shimokitazawa, second-hand shops, coffee | ¥1,500 |
| 12:00 | Lunch, Shimokita curry | ¥1,200 |
| 13:30 | Koenji, record shops and Showa-era shopping streets | Free |
| 15:30 | Rikugien or Kiyosumi Teien garden | ¥400 to ¥500 |
| 17:00 | Public sento bath | ¥600 |
| 19:00 | Nonbei Yokocho or Golden Gai, tiny bars | ¥4,000 |
Day total: ¥8,200
This is the day that makes a week in Tokyo worth more than four days. Everything on it is somewhere Tokyo residents actually spend their weekends.
Day 7: Your choices, and the airport
Go back to the two or three places you wished you had longer in. Common answers: Shibuya on a weekend afternoon, the Ghibli Museum if you won the lottery months ago, Yokohama for the waterfront and Chinatown (30 min, ¥960), or a second Toyosu breakfast.
Before the airport: from 1 November 2026, tax-free shopping means paying full price in store and claiming the refund at airport customs, before check-in. Add 30 to 45 minutes if you have shopped seriously.
Also budget the ¥3,000 departure tax, tripled from ¥1,000 on 1 July 2026 and collected inside your ticket price.
Admission prices, checked August 2026
| Place | Price | Booking |
|---|---|---|
| Sensoji, Meiji Jingu, all shrines | Free | — |
| Metropolitan Government observatories | Free | Turn up |
| Shinjuku Gyoen | ¥500 | Turn up |
| Shibuya Sky | ¥2,500 | Book, sunset sells out |
| Tokyo Skytree Tembo Deck | ¥2,400 to ¥2,600 | Book |
| Tokyo Tower main deck | ¥1,500 | Turn up |
| teamLab Planets / Borderless | ¥3,800 | Book |
| Tokyo National Museum | ¥1,000 | Turn up |
| Ghibli Museum | ¥1,000 | Lottery, months ahead |
| Tokyo Disneyland / DisneySea | ¥7,900 to ¥10,900 | Book |
| Public sento | ¥600 | Turn up |
What changed, and what closed
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| JR East fares | +7.8% from 14 Mar 2026, first rise in 39 years |
| Yamanote cheap-fare band | Abolished. Tokyo to Ikebukuro ¥208 to ¥253 |
| Taxi flagfall | ¥500 for 1.096 km, then ¥100 / 232 m, from Apr 2026 |
| Tokyo Wide Pass | ¥15,000 to ¥16,000 |
| Public sento | ¥550 to ¥600, 1 Aug 2026 |
| Oedo-Onsen Monogatari | Permanently closed since 2021 |
| Robot Restaurant | Closed; Samurai Restaurant in its place |
| teamLab Borderless | Moved to Azabudai Hills |
| MariCar | Now Street Kart, no Nintendo costumes |
| Tokyo Disney free Priority Pass | Ends 31 Aug 2026, paid Premier Access from 1 Sep |
| DisneySea Fantasy Springs virtual queue | Dropped since 1 Apr 2025 |
Variations
| If you have | Do this |
|---|---|
| 4 days | Days 1, 2, 3 and 4. Drop the rest |
| 5 days | Add day 6, the quiet districts |
| 10 days | Add an overnight in Hakone and two nights in Kyoto |
| Winter | Swap Kawaguchiko in, Fuji is clearest Nov to Feb |
| Cherry blossom | Add Ueno Park, Chidorigafuchi and Meguro River at night. Book 4 to 6 months ahead |
| With kids | Add the Railway Museum in Omiya, Ueno Zoo, and one Disney day |
Frequently asked questions
Is 7 days too long for Tokyo? No, if you use two of them for day trips and one for the quieter districts. Seven days of central Tokyo sightseeing alone would be too much; seven days of Tokyo plus Nikko, Hakone and Shimokitazawa is a well-paced week.
How much does a week in Tokyo cost? About ¥66,500 ($418) on a hostel budget, ¥171,000 ($1,074) mid-range with a business hotel, ¥377,000 ($2,368) comfortable. Excludes international flights and the ¥3,000 departure tax.
Which pass should I buy for a week in Tokyo? An IC card as your default, plus the ¥16,000 Tokyo Wide Pass if you take two or three day trips it covers. Do not buy the national Japan Rail Pass for a Tokyo-only week.
What is the best day trip from Tokyo? Nikko for shrines and mountain scenery, Kamakura for temples and coast in a single easy hour, Hakone for onsen and Fuji views. Kamakura is the best value at ¥1,940 return.
When should I visit Tokyo? November is the consensus best month: clear, mild, autumn colour, no domestic holiday peak. Late April after Golden Week is second. Avoid Golden Week, mid-August Obon and New Year.
Do I need to book attractions in Tokyo? Shibuya Sky, teamLab, Skytree, Tokyo Disney and the Ghibli Museum, yes. The Ghibli Museum runs a lottery months ahead. Shrines, parks, museums and the free government observatories need nothing.
Is Tokyo walkable in a week? District by district, yes. City-wide, no. Shibuya to Asakusa is 12 km. Group one or two districts per day and take trains between them.
Where should I stay for a week in Tokyo? Shinjuku for connections and nightlife, Tokyo Station for quiet and Shinkansen access, Asakusa or Ueno for value. Staying on the Yamanote loop matters more than the specific district.
A note on our numbers
Fares, admissions and taxes were verified against operator and city sources in August 2026, with effective dates noted where a change is recent or upcoming. Tokyo’s JR fares changed on 14 March 2026; the lodging tax becomes a flat 3 per cent on 1 April 2027. If a figure has moved, tell us and we will correct it.
Keep planning: Tokyo Travel Guide 2026 · How Much Does a Trip to Tokyo Cost? · Where to Stay in Tokyo · Best Tours and Day Trips from Tokyo
Adapting the week to the seasons
Tokyo in August and Tokyo in November are different assignments. The days above hold, but the order and the timings should change.
| Season | What to change |
|---|---|
| Cherry blossom, late Mar to early Apr | Add Ueno Park, Chidorigafuchi moat by boat (¥800 for 30 min) and the Meguro river at night. Book hotels 4 to 6 months ahead |
| Golden Week, 29 Apr to 5 May | Keep day trips for the 1st and 2nd. Trains and parks are at domestic-holiday capacity on the 29th, 3rd and 5th |
| Rainy season, Jun to mid-Jul | Move museums and depachika to the middle of the week. Hydrangeas at Hakusan Shrine and Meigetsu-in in Kamakura are the compensation |
| High summer, Aug | Start at 07:00, break indoors 13:00 to 16:00, resume at dusk. Add a rooftop beer garden, ¥4,000 to ¥5,500 all-in |
| Typhoon season, Aug to Oct | Rail operators announce planned suspensions a day ahead. Check the night before rather than at the station |
| Autumn, Nov | The best month. Add Rikugien’s evening illumination (¥900) and the Meiji Jingu Gaien ginkgo avenue |
| Winter, Dec to Feb | Swap Kawaguchiko in for the clearest Fuji of the year. Add a sento at ¥600. Avoid 29 Dec to 3 Jan |
Rain plans, in order of preference
| Option | Cost |
|---|---|
| Depachika crawl, Shinjuku or Nihombashi | Free to browse |
| Tokyo National Museum | ¥1,000 |
| teamLab Planets | ¥3,800 |
| Museum of Contemporary Art, Kiyosumi | ¥500 to ¥1,500 |
| Public sento | ¥600 |
| Harmonica Yokocho, Kichijoji | ¥2,500 to ¥4,000 |
| Covered arcades, Koenji and Asakusa | Free |
Getting the most out of each day
Three timing rules do more for a Tokyo week than any list of attractions.
Go at opening or do not go. Sensoji at 07:00 is a working temple; at 11:00 it is a queue. Toyosu at 06:00, Shibuya Sky at opening, Meiji Jingu’s forest path before 09:00.
One or two districts a day. Shibuya to Asakusa is 12 km. Grouping geographically saves roughly an hour of transit per day across a week, which is a whole extra day of sightseeing.
Leave the evenings unplanned. Tokyo’s best hours are unscheduled: a yokocho alley you walk past, a kissaten you shelter in, a department store basement at 19:30. A week where every evening is booked is a worse week.
What this itinerary deliberately leaves out
Being explicit about omissions is more useful than pretending to be comprehensive.
| Left out | Why |
|---|---|
| Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea | A full day each, and the free Priority Pass ends 31 August 2026. Worth it only if you specifically want it |
| Mt Fuji climb | Season is early July to early September, needs registration, ¥4,000 on all four trails, and an e-learning test for Shizuoka-side routes |
| Roppongi nightlife | Expensive, and the touting problem is real |
| Ghibli Museum | Lottery, months ahead. Include it only if you already have a ticket |
| Yokohama | 30 minutes and ¥960 away, and a good half-day, but Nikko and Hakone give you more contrast |
| Kamakura, if you chose Nikko | Both are excellent. Two temple day trips in one week is one too many |
A worked budget for this week
The ranges above are useful for planning. This is one specific mid-range week, priced line by line.
| Day | Bed | Transport | Food | Sights | Day total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1, west Tokyo | ¥15,000 | ¥800 | ¥5,000 | ¥2,500 | ¥23,300 |
| 2, east Tokyo | ¥15,000 | ¥800 | ¥5,200 | ¥1,000 | ¥22,000 |
| 3, Nikko | ¥15,000 | ¥5,600 | ¥4,000 | ¥3,320 | ¥27,920 |
| 4, bay and modern | ¥15,000 | ¥1,000 | ¥8,000 | ¥3,800 | ¥27,800 |
| 5, Hakone or Kawaguchiko | ¥15,000 | ¥6,100 | ¥4,500 | ¥1,600 | ¥27,200 |
| 6, quiet districts | ¥15,000 | ¥900 | ¥6,700 | ¥1,100 | ¥23,700 |
| 7, your choices | — | ¥1,500 | ¥5,000 | ¥2,500 | ¥9,000 |
| Week | ¥90,000 | ¥16,700 | ¥38,400 | ¥15,820 | ¥161,000 |
Roughly $1,011 per person, excluding international flights and the ¥3,000 departure tax.
Where the ¥16,000 Tokyo Wide Pass fits: days 3 and 5 above cost ¥5,600 and ¥6,100 in transport, ¥11,700 together. Add a Kawaguchiko run or a GALA Yuzawa day and the pass wins. With only two covered trips it roughly breaks even, so buy it for the convenience rather than the saving.
Three ways to cut ¥30,000:
- Stay in Asakusa or Ueno rather than Shinjuku: ¥9,000 to ¥17,000 against ¥18,000 to ¥25,000, saving ¥30,000 to ¥50,000 over six nights. You lose ten minutes each way on the Yamanote.
- Drop teamLab (¥3,800) and Shibuya Sky (¥2,500) and use the free Metropolitan Government observatories instead.
- Eat one meal a day from a depachika basement after 19:00, at 30 to 50 per cent off, which cuts roughly ¥1,500 a day without eating worse.
Arrival and departure days, in detail
The first and last days of a Tokyo week are the ones people plan worst, and they are where jet lag and missed flights actually happen.
Arrival day
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| Immigration | Pre-register on Visit Japan Web before you fly; it turns two queues into one QR scan |
| Cash | Withdraw ¥20,000 to ¥30,000 at a 7-Eleven or Japan Post ATM in the arrivals hall. Skip the exchange counters |
| IC card | If you did not add Welcome Suica Mobile at home, buy a card at the station machine |
| Transfer | Haneda: Keikyu ¥327, 20 to 30 min. Narita: Skyliner ¥2,580, 41 min, or Access Express ¥1,290 |
| Luggage | If your hotel check-in is later than your arrival, leave bags at reception. Every hotel does this |
| First evening | Stay in your own district. Do not attempt Shibuya on landing day |
Jet lag, practically: if you arrive from Europe or North America, get outside in daylight for the first afternoon and eat dinner at a normal local time rather than sleeping at 17:00. It costs one uncomfortable evening and saves three disrupted days.
Departure day
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tax-free refund | From 1 Nov 2026, claim at customs before check-in, not after security. Allow 30 to 45 minutes |
| Departure tax | ¥3,000, tripled on 1 Jul 2026, already inside your ticket |
| Luggage forwarding to the airport | ¥2,000 to ¥2,500 from your hotel, next-day. Send it the morning before |
| IC card refund | ¥500 deposit returned at a JR window for ordinary Suica. Welcome Suica has no refund |
| Timing to Haneda | Allow 90 minutes door to gate. Narita: allow 150 |
| Last purchases | Depachika basements at the station beat anything airside |
Kansai: Kyoto and Osaka
Tokyo is only half a first trip to Japan. Two hours and fifteen minutes west, the Golden Route continues.
- Kyoto Travel Guide 2026 — the lodging tax that now reaches ¥10,000 a night, and the bus pass that no longer exists
- The Perfect 3-Day Kyoto Itinerary — built around two dawn starts
- Where to Stay in Kyoto — now the most expensive bed in Japan
- How Much Does a Trip to Kyoto Cost?
- The Best Things to Do in Kyoto — including the temples that are closed for restoration
- Osaka Travel Guide 2026 — why the Expo site is shut and the Amazing Pass still wins
- The Perfect 2-Day Osaka Itinerary
- Where to Stay in Osaka — Umeda or Namba, decided
- The Best Things to Do in Osaka
- Best Day Trips from Osaka and Kyoto — Nara, Kobe, Himeji, Koyasan