Tokyo feels like visiting 10 years in the future. This huge and crowded city is amazingly well organized and definitely one of the first stops any traveler should make when visiting Asia for the first time.
| Population | 8,700,000 |
| Area | 12,800,000 |
| Timezone | UTC+9 |
| Currency | Japanese yen |
| Airports | Narita International Airport (NRT), Haneda Airport (HND) |
Tokyo is certainly one of the world’s most expensive city for tourists, but it might not be as bad as its reputation would have you believe. Hotel bargains can be found through most of the year, especially if you book well in advance, and many or most of the things you’ll probably be coming to see are free.
Tokyo has its high season for hotels from April through August, plus around the winter holiday period. During these times the city’s hotels and hostels tend to be packed and prices are at their highest.
The low season starts after the New Year’s holidays and goes into March, and during this time hotel deals are easy to find and prices at top places can seem quite reasonable. Autumn is a great time to visit, with comfortable weather and decent hotel deals to be had.
| Rating | Price(USD) |
|---|---|
 | 13.61 - 31.10 |
| 16.85 - 82.27 |
| 20.84 - 142.33 |
| 45.42 - 203.12 |
| 181.82 - 346.72 |
| Type | Price(USD) |
|---|---|
| Hostel Bed | 15.55 - 21.38 |
Tokyo lacks famous must-see museums, but that’s probably for the best since just experiencing the culture itself is fascinating for visitors. You’ll obviously want to take some kind of tour and you can even visit Tokyo Disneyland not far outside the city, however many people are even more interested in the shopping districts and especially the electronics stores.
There are a variety of one-day bus tours that visit many different areas within Tokyo, and doing at least one is very worthwhile. You can also do a one-day bus or train trip that includes a visit to nearby Mt. Fuji. A food tour here is a great idea since they can take you to many different types of eateries while lowering the language barrier at the same time.
| Location | Description | Type | Price(USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Disneyland | The park isn't far outside the city center and it can be reached quickly and cheaply by train. | adults 12-17 4-11 | 51.19 42.77 30.45 |
| Sky Bus tour | These open-top buses run guided tours on several different routes around Tokyo. | adults children | 9.72 4.54 |
| Tokyo Tower | Take an elevator up this Eiffel Tower lookalike for great views. | adult | 7.78 |
Food and drink have a reputation for being outrageously expensive in Tokyo, but that’s a bit misleading. If you want to eat in upscale restaurants or hotels then you’ll pay dearly, but if you are interested in eating bowls of noodles or rice, like most of the locals do each day, then it can be done on a more modest budget. They key to surviving cheaply in Tokyo is being flexible and behaving like a local while you are there.
| Food Type | Description | Price(USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Budget breakfast | If you eat noodles or soup or rice dishes like the locals you can have a filling breakfast at a reasonable price. | 3.56 - 6.48 |
| Budget lunch | Again, follow the local workers to noodle shops or rice places. | 4.28 - 7.78 |
| Budget dinner | Things like sushi can be pricey, but Japanese cuisine is varied and some good choices are fairly cheap. | 7.13 - 11.66 |
| Beer (pint) | Hotel bars and expat places are most expensive, though foreigners aren't welcome everywhere. | 3.89 - 6.48 |
| Beer (can) | Getting drunk is much cheaper if you start in a local shop rather than a bar. | 1.62 |
| McDonalds Big Mac | Strangely enough, Big Macs are fairly cheap in Tokyo, at least compared to other Western foods. | 2.24 |
| Type | Price(USD) |
|---|---|
| Express train from Narita to city center | 20.67 |
| Express bus from Narita to city center | 20.09 |
| Taxi from Narita to city center | 116.63 - 194.39 |
| 3km taxi ride in Tokyo | 6.80 - 8.42 |
| Metro ride in city center | 1.10 - 2.01 |
| All-day Metro ticket | 3.89 |
Tokyo has two huge airports outside the city and Narita is the one that handles most of the international traffic, especially from outside Asia. You can reach the city from the airport on fast trains that are fairly expensive or slower buses that are much cheaper.
Transportation is reasonably priced, especially if you opt for the all-day metro ticket. The city is basically a collection of villages so it’s hard to see much on foot because each central area is spaced out from the others.
| Month | High F | Low F | Precip (inches) |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50 | 36 | 1.9 |
| February | 50 | 36 | 2.4 |
| March | 55 | 41 | 4.5 |
| April | 65 | 51 | 5.1 |
| May | 73 | 59 | 5.0 |
| June | 77 | 66 | 6.5 |
| July | 84 | 73 | 6.4 |
| August | 87 | 76 | 6.1 |
| September | 80 | 69 | 8.2 |
| October | 71 | 59 | 6.4 |
| November | 62 | 49 | 3.6 |
| December | 54 | 40 | 1.6 |
Tokyo’s summers tend to be hot, steamy, and wet, so if you can avoid July and August in particular it might be a good idea. The city is so crowded and dense that heat and humidity can feel worse than it otherwise might. Winters tend to be dry and mild, though snowfall does happen fairly regularly.
April, May, and October are the nicest weather months in Tokyo so they are your best bet, though this is definitely an indoor city so adverse weather probably won’t change your visit too much regardless.
| 21 Mar | 5:44am | 5:53pm |
| 21 Jun | 4:25am | 7:00pm |
| 21 Sep | 5:28am | 5:40pm |
| 21 Dec | 6:47am | 4:31pm |