Learn what are all the tourist attractions in Tokyo, Japan that you should not miss during your impending tour of Far East. If you have not yet bought the cheap flight tickets to Tokyo, contact me through comment form and I will save you a wallet full of U.S. dollars. Get to know the places to see in Tokyo and the unique food and drinks of Tokyo. The information in this post will be very useful when you plan to visit tourist attractions in Tokyo.
I know you are dumb stuck as you know it is just highly impossible to narrow down just 16 tourist attractions in Tokyo, the  Japan’s capital; as it is far too big a city that has probably more than 100 places to see.
However, since you won’t be planning to stay in Japan for more than 5 days, you could only see a select few sightseeing places in Tokyo. Moreover, you have to allocate quality time to eat all those exotic food delicacies of Japan-right?
In addition, you need certainly two full days for shopping in various markets in Tokyo. After all, you are visiting Japan, dear; it is where we all buy incredible electronic goods and stunning looking dolls, cheaply.
Do you know Japan comprises as many as 6800+ islands and islets? I would deal with island hopping tour of Japanese islands in a dedicated post.
The Best Tourist Attractions in Tokyo
Right now, let us know some of the must-see tourist attractions in Tokyo.
1. Mt.Fuji, The Top of the Tourist Attractions in Tokyo
That’s Mount Fuji you see surrounded by calm lakes and small mountains. I am sure you have already recognized it from seeing the same in several places offline and online. It is the unmistakable identity of Japan.
Mt. Fuji is actually a volcano but dormant since 1708. The crater of Mt Fuji is located at a height of over 12,000 feet!
There is no dearth of accessing Mt. Fuji as it is located just 100 km from Tokyo.
As you are aware, Japan is the land of the rising sun. If you want to see the first rays of the sun that hit the world every day, you can stay in one of the hotels near the summit of Mt. Fuji. The sunrise is nothing short of spectacular.
Your trip to Mt. Fuji will take about half a day.
2. Tourist Attractions in Tokyo:Â Disney Sea
I am sure the majority of travelers to Japan will take their family. If you are a solo traveler, then Japan is not the right choice; maybe India is ideal for single tourists.
Therefore, assuming your children accompany you to Japan, their first stop should be the Disney World. If they have seen most of the rides in other Disney world, then, take them to the Disney Sea in Japan. It is located well within the city of Tokyo.
Naturally, you can expect to enjoy as many rides as possible in this aqua theme park. When it comes to the thrilling rides in an entertainment park, you can count the technological brilliance of Japanese, thus making your ride much more exciting and memorable.
Some of the adventurous water rides in Disney Sea World in Japan are:
- Aladdin coast
- Aquatopia
- Raging Spirits
- Jumpin’ jellyfish
3. The Landmark Tourist Attractions in Tokyo: Tokyo Tower
In any city you go, if there is a very tall structure, Â then, it is one of the must-see places. You end up taking numerous photographs of the tourist landmark and pictures of with the tourist attractions in Tokyo at the background.
The Tokyo Tower is no wonder the tallest structure in Japan. It acts as a viewing platform as well as a source for hosting antennas for the communication companies.
Tokyo Tower as the name suggests is located in Tokyo and stands tall at nearly 1100 feet!
As the tourist traffic is quite thick right through the day, several restaurants and shopping malls have come up in the basement of the Tokyo Tower. The entire area down under is called ‘Foot Town’.
4. Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
If you have been assuming that the Japanese are good only at technological advancement and robotics, you will change your mind completely after visiting just two gardens in Tokyo. Even the above short video clip of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden will convince you that the Japanese do have eyes for natural beauty.
They have an uncanny intelligence in identifying attractive flowers of different colors in other parts of the world. They then go all out to bring the flowering plants to Japan and plant at various gardens.
We all do not fail to appreciate any garden that is landscaped in Japanese style-right?
The Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is a sprawling public park cum garden comprising nearly 150 acres of lush green surroundings.
However, this garden in Japan is designed and landscaped in French and English ways.
5. Akihabara and Harajuku shopping area, Tokyo
I know you have been waiting to know about a few highly visited and large shopping areas in Tokyo. As a matter of fact, you might even postpone sightseeing in Tokyo. Your shopping comes first and then only food and sightseeing in Tokyo.
At the outset, you would be expecting to see the name ‘Ginza’ here. I think other newcomers to Japanese shopping scene have pushed the Ginza down the list of best shopping areas in Tokyo.
The neighborhood of Akihabara and Harajuku are now topping the list of best shopping experience in Tokyo, particularly Japanese electronics goods. You can shop for your heart’s content the latest high-tech gadgets including miniature robots that can do myriad small household chores.
Apart from electronic goods, you will see an overwhelming array of fashion goods including apparels and cosmetics.
6. Ginza shopping
Since Ginza came into being much earlier, it is the favorite of native Japanese. The shady boulevards, roadside tea kiosks, aromatic standing-restaurants are some of the attractions in Ginza shopping district.
The shelves of stalls and shops are filled with world’s who is who of brands in the category of:
- electronics,
- perfumes,
- personal care items,
- kitchen needs
- aromatic oils
- famous Japanese tea and many more.
I read there are about 250 shops, most of them are large in Ginza’s 500k sq.ft. You should definitely go to Ginza after the lights are on when you will feel you are not in this world.
This how Ginza shopping district looks:
I shared the video so that you can recognize Ginza market instantly when you go to Tokyo.
7. Matsumoto Castle
It is one of the oldest monuments in Tokyo and is located slightly away from the city. Nevertheless, Matsumoto Castle is in the list itineraries of Tokyo’s local bus tour.
8. Origami Kaikan
Origami is the Japanese version of paper art and sculpture that is now world famous. The Origami is taught these days in primary schools all over the world.
In Tokyo’s Origami Kaikan, you can find all the materials that are needed to practice Origami either professionally or just as a hobby.
You can also buy thousands of origami products in equal number of colors and shapes.
Tourist Attractions in Tokyo: Top two temples Guided Tour in Tokyo
Like other Asian nations, Japan too has thousands of temples with Tokyo leading the list. The Japanese are very religious people and their method of worship, feeling proud of their temples and religious relics are worthy of praise.
Tokyo has hundreds of temples of both Buddhism and Shintoism. Temples of both Buddhism and Shintoism are given equal sacredness by the disciplined Japanese.
Of the numerous beautiful temples in Tokyo, I have selected the top two that feature in every one of the guided Tokyo temple & shrine tours.
Most of the shrines in Tokyo attract large influx of people. The added attractions of the Japanese temples are the nearby tourist places to see. Therefore, a temple visit for the Japanese also ends up as family picnic outings.
9. Meiji Shrine
Meiji temple is one of the top visited tourist attractions in Tokyo. It’s a Shinto shrine and is a highly revered one by the Japanese. In order to appreciate the Meiji temple, you need a local guide.
Do you know a unique belief held by the Japanese about Meiji shrine?
Women who are expecting to become mothers do not fail to come to Meiji shrine and pray for safe delivery of their child.
tourist attractions in Tokyo nearby of Meiji temple :
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Yoyogi Park
Thousands from all over Japan come to Yoyogi Park in Tokyo during the spring season because of that is when the famous cherry blossom would be in spectacular bloom.
Here is how it will look, the cherry blossom bloom I mean.
The Yoyogi Park becomes the best tourist attractions in Tokyo for small entertainers of Tokyo by exhibiting their skills such as juggling, displaying the basic nuances of martial arts for which Japan is world famous, and play various indigenous music instruments. These things happen only on Sundays.
- The popular tourist attractions in Tokyo that include Aoyama and Harajuku are located very close to the Meiji Shrine.
10. Sensoji Temple, Tokyo
What a colorful temple, that is written Buddhism written all over it that is evident from the typical Tibetan architecture! The red gates and the winged roof are really imposing-eh?
Sensoji temple is the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo and highly revered by the Japanese people. Do you know the age of Sensoji temple? It was built as early as 628 AD.
It attracts Buddhism followers from Tibet, China, SriLanka, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.
Over the years, Sensoji temple and its surroundings have become a place of vibrant activity. Food stalls and gift shops selling myriad wooden artifacts attract every visitor to this Tokyo attraction.
If you are impressed by these Buddhist and Shinto temples of Tokyo, try to visit some more temples that include:
- Zojoji temple
- Koganji temple
- Kanda shrine
- Yasukuni temple
These Tokyo temples are very beautiful and great places for gatherings.
What to Eat While Visiting Tourist Attractions in Tokyo?
It is now time for some eating pleasures. Your Japan’s visit is not complete if you don’t eat a few of Japan’s original cuisine that includes sushi and sashimi (raw fish eaten with herbal leaves).
Sushi bars as they are called locally can be seen just about everywhere. Without any exception, every sushi outlet serves the best food. The Japanese are not known to compromise on the quality of their profession.
11. Sushi bars in Tsukiji Market area, Tokyo
Tsukiji Market is an old fish market in Tokyo. It is surrounded by hundreds of street food kiosks that sell delicious squids and tunas in the form of sandwiches and raw as they are.
Of course, there are quite a number of sushi bars too in the vicinity of Tsukiji Market.
That’s sushi for you. It is a rice a dish basically and is eaten with meats and vegetables. If you say sushi is a staple of Japanese, it would not be called an exaggeration as it is so widely and frequently eaten in Japan.
Sushi has become so popular worldwide that even in Bangalore that is too far away from Tokyo, you can find sushi food stalls.
12. Eat sashimi in Tokyo
If you are a non-vegetarian (you better be as if you are not, you will starve in Japan), you should eat sashimi at least once when you are in Tokyo. Sashimi means a plate of raw fish. Sometimes, other meats also contain in a plate but invariably, a plate of sashimi will comprise tuna, cuttlefish and porgies (seabreams) fish varieties.
You need not search for any exclusive sashimi restaurant in Tokyo as it is served in every restaurant and street food outlets.
Other unique Japanese foods that you can taste while in Tokyo are:
- Miso soup
- Tempura (fried fish)
- Soba
- Udan
- Sukiyaki
Don’t assume anything of what these Japanese food are; do your mini research on the web and find out all about this Japanese cuisine.
What to Drink While Visiting Tourist Attractions in Tokyo?
13. Sake
Sake is an alcoholic drink made of rice bran. For the ‘sake’ of it, forget scotch and other western drinks for just one day and enjoy a glass of ‘sake’ in Tokyo.
Do you know what accompanies ‘sake’ in Japan’s pubs and bars? Brace yourself! A few slices of ‘raw horse meat’ will be put on your table along with a glass of ‘sake’.
This raw horse meat is called ‘Basashi’.
Tourist Attractions in Tokyo: Museums in Tokyo
Any big city such as Tokyo, Washington DC, and Paris will have more than one museum of myriad and different exhibits. Museums don’t mean only ancient historical dsiplays. In Tokyo, you can visit:
14. Nezu Museum-just visit the building and the most beautifully landscaped garden if you don’t bother too much in museum displays. I too do not like museums. The compulsory silence inside the museums is killing.
15. Tokyo National Museum
Displays Japanese art related artifacts. The surrounding place is all beauty.
Where should you buy the famous Japanese ceramics products?
What should you not forget to buy in Tokyo?
16. Odeo Ceramics market, Tokyo
I am sure you would like to buy ceramics items for which Japan is known for. Visit ‘Odeo Market’ and empty your wallet. Remember to buy a few ‘bone China’ cups and saucers.
Well, I think I have given you a hectic schedule of seeing tourist attractions in Tokyo for three full days.
