Tokyo + Japan in 5 Days on a Budget
Five days lets you add a second day trip without feeling like you’re sprinting through it, and that matters because Hakone alone deserves a full day, don’t try to bolt it onto Kamakura in the same 24 hours. Builds on the 4-day version ; the 6-day itinerary adds Nikko as a third.
Book these before you go:
- Hotels: check rates on Agoda , Shinjuku puts you closest to the Odakyu Romancecar for Hakone.
- The Hakone Free Pass from Shinjuku, buy it the morning you go, not at the gate.
- teamLab, if it’s on your list, needs online booking days ahead.
| Day | Focus | Distance/time from Tokyo |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Asakusa | In the city |
| Day 2 | Shibuya and Shinjuku | In the city |
| Day 3 | Akihabara and Ueno | In the city |
| Day 4 | Kamakura | ~1 hr by JR train |
| Day 5 | Hakone | 1.5-2 hrs via Odakyu Romancecar |
Set up transport before anything else: Welcome Suica Mobile on your phone (free, 180-day validity, no counter queue) or a physical Welcome Suica (no deposit, 28-day expiry) at Haneda, Narita or Tokyo Station. Skip the nationwide JR Pass , at roughly ¥50,000 for seven days it doesn’t pay for itself on a Tokyo base with two local day trips, individual tickets on your IC card come out cheaper.
Base in Shinjuku or Shibuya. Carry cash, small shops and shrine stalls still often want it, and don’t tip, it isn’t the custom here.
Day 1: Asakusa
Senso-ji is free, Nakamise-dori is for snacks not a sit-down breakfast. Ramen lunch, ¥800-1,200. Izakaya dinner at Omoide Yokocho, ¥2,500-4,500 a person with drinks.
Day 2: Shibuya and Shinjuku
Scramble Crossing, free. Skip Shibuya Sky’s ¥2,700+ ticket and go up the free Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building instead, same view logic, zero cost, plus the free nightly projection show at sunset. Conveyor-belt sushi for dinner, ¥120 a plate, full meal ¥1,500-2,500.
Day 3: Akihabara and Ueno
Akihabara, free to wander. Konbini lunch, ¥300-800. Ueno Park in the afternoon, then Yanaka for the old shitamachi feel. Book teamLab now if you want it (Borderless at Azabudai Hills, ¥3,600-5,600; Planets in Toyosu, ¥3,800 weekday, ¥4,200 weekend), it won’t be available same-day.
Day 4: Kamakura
JR Yokosuka Line from Tokyo Station, under an hour, about ¥1,880 round trip on your IC card. Great Buddha, free to view outdoors. Temple trail around Hase and Kita-Kamakura fills the day, Komachi-dori for food near the station.
Day 5: Hakone
This is the day trip that actually needs a full day, so don’t split it with anything else. The Odakyu Romancecar from Shinjuku takes 1.5-2 hours. Buy the Hakone Free Pass (¥7,100 for two days, ¥7,500 for three, from Shinjuku), it bundles the round-trip train with the Tozan railway and bus, the ropeway and the Lake Ashi pirate-ship cruise, all separately ticketed attractions that add up fast without it. Owakudani and the lake both give Mt Fuji views on a clear day, weather-dependent, so don’t bank the whole day on the photo. Prefer it guided? Book a Mt Fuji and Hakone day tour instead of managing the pass yourself.
If time is tighter than five days feels like, don’t try to squeeze Hakone and Kamakura into a single rushed day just because they’re both technically reachable in an afternoon. Pick one. Hakone alone fills a day with the ropeway, the lake cruise and the Fuji views; Kamakura alone fills a day with temples and a beach town. Doing both properly is exactly what the extra day here buys you.
Head back before the last train, weekdays around midnight, weekends 12:30-1am. Miss it and a taxi adds a 20% surcharge between 10pm and 5am, budget ¥2,000-4,000+ for a short ride.