The first time you visit Tokyo, you’re going to be surprised at the juxtaposition of old and new. Feudal palaces and Buddhist temples are in the same city as high-tech architecture and fast-pace urban living. Seriously, Tokyo is from the future, but it also wants you to revere its past–and rightfully so; Japan’s history is fascinating and colorful, and its reserved beauty is apparent in how it shows up in everyday life.
Like I do for a lot of places, I suggest taking a big tour when you get there and hitting all the “have-tos.” For example, in Paris, you have to check out the Lourve so you can you’ve seen the Mona Lisa. In Tokyo, you have to see Asakusa Kannon temple and the Ginza district.
An all-day Tokyo tour package that takes you past most of the city’s highlights is something you should do during the first part of your trip. These usually cost around $115 (give or take a few) and include the Meiji Shinto Shrine, the Asakusa Kannon Temple, Akasaka Palace, the Imperial Palace East Garden and much more. You’ll stop for lunch at the only remaining Edo Period seaside garden and be able to shop at the Nakamise shopping street and the Aqua City shopping mall after you’ve cruised Tokyo Bay.
Other Tokyo tours include a tour of the Tokyo tower (around $135), where your photos will really look like you’ve traveled forward in time, as well as a tea ceremony, where your photos will capture a tradition relatively unchanged for over two hundred years. You’ll cruise the Sumida River and visit the Asakusa Kannon Temple and stop at the Nakamise shopping street.
Tokyo Tours: Meiji Shinto Shrine & The Imperial Palace East Garden from Tokyo Things to Do
