Tokyo in 2 Days on a Budget (With Daily Costs)
Two days is enough for old Tokyo and new Tokyo if you don’t waste a single train ride, one day for Asakusa and Akihabara, one for Harajuku, Shibuya and the free Shinjuku view, roughly ¥16,000-17,000 in attractions, food, and transit for both days combined, excluding your hotel. Longer trip? The 4-day itinerary adds two more neighborhoods without a single day trip out of the city.
Book these before you go:
- Hotels: check rates on Agoda , especially anywhere near a Yamanote Line stop.
- Shibuya Sky sunset slots, if you want the paid view instead of tomorrow’s free one, sell out days ahead.
- teamLab Borderless (Azabudai Hills) online tickets, no walk-up option.
| Day | Focus | Rough cost per person |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Asakusa, Tsukiji Outer, Skytree, Akihabara | ¥6,000-7,000 |
| Day 2 | Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinjuku’s free view | ¥6,500-11,000 |
Get a Suica or PASMO before you do anything else, either the Welcome Suica Mobile version in Apple Wallet before you land or a physical card at the airport counter. You’ll tap it on every train, bus, and half the convenience stores you walk into.
Day 1: Old Tokyo
Morning: Asakusa. Senso-ji is free to enter, and the walk up Nakamise-dori to reach it is free too, though the snack stalls selling melon bread and senbei will get you before 9am. Budget ¥500-800 for breakfast here rather than resisting.
Midday: Tsukiji Outer Market. A short subway ride south, this is the surviving half of the old fish market, the wholesale side with the tuna auction moved to Toyosu back in 2018. Graze the stalls for grilled scallops, tamagoyaki skewers, and a bowl of seafood over rice. Budget ¥1,500-2,500 for lunch.
Afternoon: Tokyo Skytree. From Tsukiji, cross back toward Asakusa; Skytree sits just across the river. The 350m deck runs ¥1,800-2,100 booked online. It’s the tallest view in the city and worth doing once, though it’s not the best value view you’ll get this trip (that’s tomorrow, and it’s free).
Evening: Akihabara. Wander the electronics and anime shops for free, then get dinner. A ramen bowl runs ¥800-1,200; if you’d rather sit down for something more filling, a tonkatsu set runs ¥1,200-2,500.
Day 1 total, excluding hotel: roughly ¥6,000-7,000.
Day 2: New Tokyo
Morning: Meiji Shrine and Harajuku. Meiji Shrine is free with an optional donation, a genuinely quiet start to the day before Takeshita Street next door gets loud with crepe stands and teenagers. Grab a crepe for ¥500-700 and keep walking.
Midday: Shibuya. The Scramble Crossing costs nothing to cross as many times as you want. Shibuya Sky , the elevated deck above it, runs ¥2,700 for an entry slot before 3pm, ¥3,400 after, and sells out days ahead, so book it online before you land, not decided on the day. If the budget’s tight, skip it: the government building deck tonight covers the modern skyline view for free.
Afternoon: teamLab Borderless. A short ride toward Roppongi gets you to Azabudai Hills , where teamLab reopened in 2024 after the original Odaiba site closed. Tickets run ¥3,600-5,600 depending on date and time and need to be booked online in advance , same as Shibuya Sky.
Evening: Shinjuku. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building has two 45th-floor observatories that are completely free, no booking needed, with a view that rivals anything you paid for today. Time it for sunset and stay for the building’s free nightly light show projected on the east facade. Dinner in the tiny bars of Omoide Yokocho or Golden Gai runs ¥2,500-4,500 with drinks, or find an all-you-can-drink plan for ¥1,500-2,000 if you’re in a group.
Day 2 total, excluding hotel: roughly ¥9,000-11,000 if you do both Shibuya Sky and teamLab, or ¥6,500-8,000 if you swap Shibuya Sky for the free Shinjuku deck.
Before you go
Book Shibuya Sky and teamLab the moment you have dates, not the week of the trip; both routinely sell out same-day slots. Carry some cash: Tsukiji stalls and older Akihabara shops don’t all take cards. Last trains stop running around midnight, and a taxi after that adds a 20% night surcharge, so don’t cut it close if you’re relying on the subway to get back to your hotel.
One paid observation deck a day is plenty. Do Skytree for the old-Tokyo skyline on day one, then let the free towers in Shinjuku close out day two instead of paying for a second view of the same city.