Tokyo on a Budget: A Perfect 4-Day Itinerary

It was last spring, during cherry blossom season, that my aunt and I took a 2-week homemade trip across Japan on a budget. We booked our flights with the Polish airline LOT, and while we did whatever we felt like once we arrived, we made sure to book double hotel rooms for a maximum of €60 with a private bathroom, our only non-negotiable luxury.

Since we were flying in and out of Tokyo airport, we decided to start and end our trip with 2 days in the Japanese capital, for a total of 4 full days. I’ll tell you all about what we did, our activities, and our best tips for accommodation :)

Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo

We arrived at Tokyo airport after a 16-hour flight and spent nearly an hour picking up our Japan Rail Pass. Once we had the golden ticket in hand, we hopped on the Narita Express to head into the city center. Such comfort, such class! Naturally, we found out we were accidentally sitting in first class, right up until the conductor came by and politely asked us to move to the standard car for the rest of the ride. We then found ourselves in the Tokyo subway station, which is massive, and completely jet-lagged trying to figure out how it worked. Since we couldn't quite wrap our heads around it, we decided to just walk to our hotel to drop off our bags. We figured we’d try to understand it better the next day, which wasn't so hard once we weren't half-asleep. We checked into our first hotel, the Nihombashi Villa, where they let us leave our luggage before we set off to conquer the capital.

Shibuya and surrounding neighborhoods

We started in the Shibuya district to see the famous pedestrian crossing, a real sea of people. There's no better way to dive right in and experience the culture shock. Then we wandered around aimlessly; I was amazed by the courtesy of the people, and by the fact that everything is kawaii, the buses, the signs, the billboards: there are always cute little characters everywhere.

We ended the day in two other famous districts: Harajuku for its little boutiques and streets packed with young people, and Asakusa for its skyscrapers. Then we went to bed relatively early because, let's be honest, we were exhausted from our day of flying!

Day 2: Famous landmarks

Tokyo Tower

The next day, we headed to Tokyo Tower, I guess I was already missing Paris and the Eiffel Tower. This tower isn't the tallest, but the view is lovely and, most importantly, the entrance fee is cheaper than the Tokyo Skytree (which costs about double to visit). On top of the nice view, you can walk on a transparent glass floor suspended high up, just to really realize you're 150 meters off the ground. I had to do it to face my fear of glass floors!

Imperial Palace and Meiji Jingu Shrine

We then headed toward the Imperial Palace, which was unfortunately closed that day. We were still able to visit the park and take photos in front of the pretty bridge near the palace, before making up for it with a visit to Meiji Jingu, a shrine accessible from Harajuku station via beautiful wooded paths, the perfect walk in the late afternoon light.

We tried capsule hotels

We chose that night to test out the famous capsule hotels. We stayed at the Capsule Inn Kinshicho. Not bad at all! More spacious than you might think; nothing to trigger claustrophobia. Aside from the small TV attached to the "ceiling" that I bumped my head on, and a slight earthquake in the middle of the night, we slept very well.

(Our trip continues across Japan, but we returned to Tokyo for the final days of our journey.)

Day 3: Tokyo Disneyland

This was the day for the activity I insisted on: Tokyo Disneyland! Yes, that’s just me, I love Disney and I plan to visit every park in the world.

Not only was it fun, but it was also a culture shock to see how the Japanese behave in an amusement park. Their patience is impressive: we arrived on the opening day of a new parade starting at 3 PM, and as early as 11 AM, we saw people sitting on little mats along the walkways, quietly waiting for the time to pass and the parade to begin. The park brochures also ask visitors not to take photos with their arms raised above their heads during the parade, and it’s pretty well respected. And above all, almost everyone is dressed up with Disney accessories, not just the kids...

A huge disappointment, however: the fireworks show was canceled due to the wind. A tragedy! Well, for us at least, since the locals rarely show their frustration...

That night and the next, we opted for the Hotel Horidome Villa, which was very nice and very similar to the Nihonbashi Villa.

Day 4: Fish market, zoo, and cherry blossoms

Tsukiji Fish Market

It was our last full day in Japan, so we motivated ourselves to get up early and head to the Tsukiji fish market. We tried not to bother the people working there, as some seem annoyed by tourists photographing their products, even if others play along and show off their biggest (or grossest) items to visitors.

A few stalls tucked away from the main market also allow you to buy local products and sometimes taste them. I actually bought some green tea from a kind vendor who, luckily, told me they have a shop in Paris so I could keep stocking up once I got home. It’s a great shop, by the way, go check it out, it’s called Jugetsudo.

Ueno Zoo

We then decided to head to Ueno Zoo to meet its star panda. Very pleasant, full of animals, including some I wasn't used to seeing. I actually saw galagos (bush babies) for the first time in my life in person. They are mammals that look like a cross between rodents and lemurs. I almost shed a tear because they were so cute. Okay, fine, I cry over everything, you might say :)

Cherry blossoms (Sakura) at Shinjuku Gyoen Park

We continued with a walk through Shinjuku Gyoen, a magnificent park where the cherry blossoms were in full bloom to our great delight. Since it was a sunny spring day, it was also the perfect place to take a break in the grass and soak up the sun.

Another attempt at the Disneyland fireworks

Given my disappointment the day before, we made another attempt at Disney in the evening (admission is cheaper after 6 PM) to try and see the show we missed: bad luck, it was still too windy according to the park officials. In my opinion, there was only an occasional breeze! This time, I really wanted to cry because I was counting on a perfect finale for my trip... After all, what’s better than fireworks to end such a perfect trip with a bang?

Disappointment aside, I still have wonderful memories of these 4 days in Tokyo, and more generally of our 2-week trip to Japan.