Tokyo + Japan in 6 Days on a Budget
Six days means three day trips are realistic, but only if you book the things that need booking before you leave home, not after you land. Builds on the 5-day version by adding Nikko; the 7-day itinerary adds a slower final day or Mt Fuji instead.
Book these before you go:
- Hotels: check rates on Agoda ; a week this rail-heavy rewards staying near Shinjuku or Tokyo Station.
- Ghibli Museum tickets, if that’s on your list, release on the 10th of the month and sell out in minutes, not “later that week.”
- teamLab and Shibuya Sky, same-day tickets are a gamble for either.
| 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 |
| Day 6 | Nikko | ~2 hrs via Tobu Limited Express |
Get your transport sorted first. Welcome Suica Mobile on your phone (free, 180-day validity, skips the airport counter) 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’s built for long-distance criss-crossing, not a Tokyo base with three regional day trips, buy individual tickets on your IC card instead.
Base in Shinjuku or Shibuya. Cash still matters at small shops and shrine stalls. No tipping. On rooms, six nights adds up fast: a capsule hotel or hostel dorm bed near a Yamanote stop is the cheapest way to stay central, a mid-range business hotel buys you a real door and quiet, and if you want one splurge night, save it for Hakone or Nikko where a ryokan with an onsen is worth the yen in a way a Tokyo hotel room usually isn’t.
Day 1: Asakusa
Senso-ji, free. Nakamise-dori for snacks. Ramen lunch, ¥800-1,200. Izakaya dinner at Omoide Yokocho, ¥2,500-4,500 with drinks, or an all-you-can-drink plan for ¥1,500-2,000 if you want to make a night of it.
Day 2: Shibuya and Shinjuku
Scramble Crossing, free. Go up the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building instead of paying ¥2,700+ for Shibuya Sky , same elevation logic, zero cost, plus the free nightly projection show. Conveyor-belt sushi dinner, ¥120 a plate, full meal ¥1,500-2,500. Shinjuku Gyoen is a good midday stop if the crowds at Shibuya wear you down, calmer, and still cheap at about ¥500.
Day 3: Akihabara and Ueno
Akihabara, free to wander, electronics and anime shops and arcades. Konbini lunch, ¥300-800, genuinely good food. Ueno Park and its museums in the afternoon, then Yanaka for the old shitamachi feel and a cat cafe if you want one. If teamLab’s on your list (Borderless at Azabudai Hills, ¥3,600-5,600; Planets in Toyosu, ¥3,800-4,200), it should already be booked by this point in the trip, not something you’re scrambling for the night before.
Day 4: Kamakura
JR Yokosuka Line from Tokyo Station, under an hour, about ¥1,880 round trip on your IC card, no pass required. Great Buddha, free outdoors. Temple trail around Hase and Kita-Kamakura fills the day, Komachi-dori near the station for cheap food on the way back. Prefer it guided? Book a Kamakura day trip instead.
Day 5: Hakone
Odakyu Romancecar from Shinjuku, 1.5-2 hours. Hakone Free Pass , ¥7,100 for two days or ¥7,500 for three, bundles the round-trip train, Tozan railway and bus, ropeway and Lake Ashi cruise, all of which add up fast if bought separately. Fuji views from Owakudani or the lake, weather permitting, don’t build the whole day around the photo.
Day 6: Nikko
Nikko is the furthest and longest of the three day trips, budget the whole day for it. The Tobu Limited Express from Asakusa runs about two hours (or Shinkansen plus the JR Nikko Line via Utsunomiya if that suits your route better). Toshogu Shrine , the UNESCO site, needs 3-4+ hours on its own, this isn’t a stop you fit in alongside anything else. Get an early train out and you’ll still be back in Tokyo for a late dinner, ramen or konbini both work fine after a long day of walking.
Last trains run out around midnight on weekdays, 12:30-1am on weekends. A night-surcharge taxi after that runs ¥2,000-4,000+ for a short ride, worth knowing before your Nikko train gets delayed and you’re cutting it close.