Tokyo
Neon nights, quiet shrines and the best sushi counters.
A city of 14 million, with more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other. We arrange the parts that are hard to arrange from abroad: the counter seat, the tickets that sell out in a morning, and the old neighbourhoods before the crowds arrive.
A personal reply within one working day, from the specialist who plans your trip.
- Nights
- 3 to 4 nights on a first visit, plus a day trip
- Best weeks
- Late March to early April, and late November to early December
- Getting there
- About 15 min from Haneda by train or monorail. About 55 min from Narita on the Narita Express, or 40 by Skyliner to Ueno
- A base for
- Hakone, Kamakura and Nikkō, each one to two hours away
More than the crossing at Shibuya.
Tokyo is a city of neighbourhoods. Asakusa grew up around Sensō-ji, founded by temple tradition in 628. Meiji Jingū stands in a 70-hectare forest planted by 110,000 volunteers. Ginza has its department stores and the Kabukiza. The 2026 Michelin Guide lists 160 starred restaurants here, 12 of them with three stars.
Tokyo rewards a plan more than any city in Japan: the counter that seats a handful of guests, the tickets released on one morning a month, the neighbourhood worth an early start. We plan those, and leave the evenings open.
Ask someone who knows Tokyo.
Tell us your dates and what you’d like from Tokyo, or the one thing you need booked. The specialist who plans your trip replies within one working day.
What we arrange in Tokyo.
Each can be booked on its own, or as part of a whole trip.
A seat at the counter
Sushi, tempura and yakitori counters where the chef cooks in front of you, from Michelin-starred rooms to neighbourhood grills. We request the seat, confirm it with you and brief the chef on what you don’t eat.Request this →
Asakusa before the crowds
Sensō-ji’s main hall opens at 6 am, or 6:30 from October to March, long before the tour groups. A guide walks Asakusa and the old lanes of Yanaka with you in the quiet hours.Request this →
Tea in a garden
Matcha and a sweet in the Nakajima teahouse on the pond at Hama-rikyū Gardens, with the city’s towers behind it. Pair it with a quiet morning in Rikugien, a garden laid out in 1702.Request this →
The tickets that sell out
Sumo fills Ryōgoku Kokugikan for 15 days each January, May and September. Ghibli Museum tickets go on sale at 10 am on the 10th of each month for the next. The Kabukiza sells single-act seats from noon the day before. We book them the moment they open.Request this →
Also in Tokyo:Hotels & ryokanTrain tickets & transfersSIM cards & pocket wifi
Where to stay.
Tokyo has many centres, joined by trains that come every few minutes. Five areas, and who each one suits.
We book hotels and ryokan →Marunouchi and Tokyo Station
Suits first visits · day trips
The city’s main rail hub: the Shinkansen to Kyoto and Kanazawa and the Narita Express, with the Imperial Palace gardens a short walk away.
Ginza
Suits food lovers · theatre
Department stores, Michelin-starred restaurants and the Kabukiza, all within a few streets.
Shinjuku and Shibuya
Suits nightlife · shopping
The busy west: big stations, shopping and late nights, with Meiji Jingū’s forest between them.
Asakusa
Suits old tokyo · early starts
Sensō-ji, craft shops, old restaurants and river cruises on the Sumida. Quieter at night than the west.
Roppongi and Azabudai
Suits art lovers · new hotels
Art museums and fine dining, and Azabudai Hills, opened in 2023, with new hotels among its towers.
When to go.
Tokyo is busiest when its cherry trees bloom. Our pick is late November: mild, clear days, the ginkgo avenues turning gold, and the city lit for winter.
March to May
Spring
Cherry blossoms usually open around 24 March and peak at the end of the month: under the 700-metre tunnel of trees at Chidorigafuchi, in Ueno Park and along the Meguro River. Sumo returns to Ryōgoku in May.
June to August
Summer
June brings the rainy season, then it turns hot and humid. The Sumida River Fireworks light up a Saturday in late July: 25 July in 2026.
September to November
Autumn
September and October are the wettest months, and sumo returns in September. The ginkgo trees turn gold around 23 November and the maples around the end of the month.
December to February
Winter
Cold and dry. Marunouchi’s avenue of trees is lit in champagne gold from mid-November to mid-February, and the January sumo tournament opens the year.
| Month | Average high | Rainfall | Usual peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10 °C (50 °F) | 60 mm | |
| February | 11 °C (52 °F) | 57 mm | |
| March | 14 °C (58 °F) | 116 mm | Cherry blossom |
| April | 19 °C (67 °F) | 134 mm | Cherry blossom |
| May | 24 °C (74 °F) | 140 mm | |
| June | 26 °C (79 °F) | 168 mm | |
| July | 30 °C (86 °F) | 156 mm | |
| August | 31 °C (88 °F) | 155 mm | |
| September | 28 °C (82 °F) | 225 mm | |
| October | 22 °C (72 °F) | 235 mm | |
| November | 17 °C (62 °F) | 96 mm | Autumn colour |
| December | 12 °C (54 °F) | 58 mm | Autumn colour |
Pairs well with Tokyo.
Easy to combine, by train from Tokyo.
About 80 min by Romancecar from Shinjuku
Hakone & Fuji
Hot springs, ryokan and the mountain on a clear morning.Tokyo and Hakone & Fuji →
About 2 h 30 by Shinkansen
Kanazawa
Samurai streets, gold leaf and one of Japan's great gardens.Tokyo and Kanazawa →
Questions about Tokyo.
How many nights should we give Tokyo?
Three or four on a first visit, more with day trips. Hakone, Kamakura and Nikkō are each one to two hours away.
Can you get Ghibli Museum tickets?
They’re sold only in advance, from 10 am Japan time on the 10th of each month for the month after, and the popular days go quickly. Tell us your dates early and we’ll book on the day they open.
Can we watch the tuna auction?
At Toyosu Market: from the upper walkway, or from the deck beside the auction floor if you win a place in the monthly lottery. The market is closed on Sundays, public holidays and some weekdays.
Can you book just one thing, like a sushi counter?
Yes. Every service can be booked on its own, from one seat at a counter to a guide for a morning. One booking is as welcome as a whole trip.
Book a single service →Plan your Tokyo.
Tell us your dates and what you’d like to see and feel. We’ll send a personal quote, and change anything until it feels right.
A personal reply within one working day, from the specialist who plans your trip.