Tokyo Metropole & Greater Kanto · Tokyo, Shibuya

Shibuya, Harajuku and Meiji Shrine: the first day in Tokyo

The day everyone starts with, in the right order: the shrine forest in the quiet of the morning, Takeshita Street before it clogs up, Omotesando for lunch, and the Shibuya crossing saved for sunset from above.

Your first day in Tokyo, in the order that avoids the crowds. You start in the forest of Meiji Shrine while it is still quiet, go down to Takeshita Street before it clogs up, continue along Omotesando for lunch, and save the Shibuya crossing for sunset, from above. The whole day is on foot, from Harajuku south to Shibuya, about 6 km in all. If you get tired, cut the long stretch short on the metro, one station.

This day is part of: The Golden Route in a week: Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka, day by day · Tokyo and Kyoto in 5 days: two in Tokyo, three in Kyoto · Ten days in Japan: Tokyo, Hakone, the Alps, Kyoto and Osaka · Two weeks in Japan: Tokyo, Nikko, Hakone, the Alps, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka

Verified online, September 20269 stops · 08:00 to 22:00¥11,700 · ≈ $74 per personWalking between stops: 84 minMust on a first tripGood with kidsBook Shibuya Sky aheadShabbat-friendly

The day on a map

9 stops, in order

Stops: 9
Walking minutes: 84

Stop number on the timelineWalkingBase map: © OpenStreetMap

Open this day in Google Maps

The same stops with the same numbers, and the way from stop to stop. On a phone it opens in the app, and that is what you navigate with in Japan. Pin names on the map are in Hebrew.

On Shabbat: The core is free and on foot: Meiji Shrine, Takeshita, Omotesando, the crossing and Miyashita Park, all 10 to 20 minutes from each other. Skip the Nezu Museum and Shibuya Sky, and instead go up to the free rooftop terrace of Miyashita Park. Sleep in Shibuya or Harajuku.

Getting there: Start at Harajuku Station (JR Yamanote Line) or Meiji-jingumae (Metro, Chiyoda or Fukutoshin Line). The shrine gate is opposite the exit, and from there it is about ten minutes on the gravel path to the main hall.

08:0009:30
Stop 1ShrineMust
Meiji Jingu: a forest in the heart of the city
You start the day in a forest: 100 thousand trees planted a century ago, in the heart of the city. Entry is free, the shrine opens at sunrise, and at this hour it is almost empty. On weekends there is a good chance of seeing a Shinto wedding procession near the main hall.
FreeOpen in Maps About this place
Down to Takeshita Street
- Walk · 15 minWalk back along the gravel path to the gate by Harajuku Station, about ten minutes, and cross the road. The entrance to the street is opposite the station.
09:4511:00
Stop 2StreetRecommended
Takeshita Street: crepes, shops and kawaii
You reach Harajuku's crowded street before it fills up: the shops open at around 10:00, and before 11:00 you can still walk along it. A crepe at Marion Crepes, colorful popcorn, and 300-yen shops. With children, this is the stop they will remember from the day.
¥800 · ≈ $5Open in Maps About this place
On to Omotesando
- Walk · 10 minLeave from the lower end of the street, turn right onto Meiji-dori, and the avenue starts at the Jingumae crossing.
On the way you can stop at:
Harakado: A shopping complex from 2024 at the Jingumae crossing: nine floors, 75 shops and a rooftop terrace.
Kiddy Land: Six floors of Japanese toys and characters, from Sanrio to Studio Ghibli.
11:1512:30
Stop 3Architecture and shoppingRecommended
Omotesando: Tokyo's Champs-Elysees
An avenue of zelkova trees, lined with brand buildings by big-name architects: Herzog and de Meuron's Prada, and a Toyo Ito building that since 2021 has held a Bottega Veneta store. Stop for coffee at Tokyu Plaza, with the mirrors at the entrance, and behind the avenue the Cat Street alleys wait, with their vintage shops.
¥700 · ≈ $4Open in Maps About this place
Down to lunch
- Walk · 8 minTurn off the avenue into Cat Street. The lunch places are in the alleys on both sides of it.
On the way you can stop at:
Cat Street: The alley sits on top of the Shibuya River, which was covered over ahead of the 1964 Olympics.
12:4513:45
Stop 4LunchRecommended
Lunch break in Omotesando
Between Cat Street and the avenue there is food for every budget, from gyoza at old-time prices to a sit-down tonkatsu. Choose by the line and by your appetite:
- Harajuku Gyoza LouAbout ¥1,000 per meal
  A small institution near Cat Street, with only two kinds of gyoza, fried or steamed, about ¥290 for six. There is a line, but it moves fast. Cash only, and no reservations.
- Maisen, the main branch in Aoyama
  Tonkatsu, a pork cutlet in a crisp coating, in a long-established restaurant 2 minutes from Omotesando Station. For those who want to sit down to a full meal. Open straight through from 11:00.
- Brown RiceVegan, not kosher
  An organic vegan restaurant built on brown rice, vegetables and soy, in the courtyard of Neal's Yard. Open 11:30 to 18:00, closed on the first Tuesday of the month.
- Bread, Espresso & (Pan to Espresso to)
  A bakery and cafe, known for its soft cube bread. For a light meal. Open until 18:00, and the pastries sometimes run out earlier.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥1,000 · ≈ $6No reservationsOpen in Maps
14:0015:30
Break
A rest at the hotel, if you are staying nearby
This day starts at 08:00 and ends at 22:00, and the evening still holds the Shibuya Sky rooftop and the bar alleys. If your hotel is in Harajuku, Shibuya or Shinjuku, go back now for an hour and a half. To Shibuya: the JR Yamanote Line from Harajuku, one station, 3 minutes, ¥160, or a quarter of an hour on foot through Cat Street. To Shinjuku: the same line in the other direction, 2 stations, 5 minutes, ¥160. At 15:30 head out again, straight to Shibuya. If you are staying farther away, in Asakusa or Ueno, do not go back: the ride is about half an hour each way and eats the whole break. Your rest is the next stop, the garden of the Nezu Museum and the tea house inside it.
On to the Nezu Museum
- Walk · 15 minGo back to the avenue and walk it to the end, past the Omotesando crossing and the Prada building. The museum is at the end of the street.
14:0015:15
Stop 5Museum and gardenIf there is time
Nezu Museum and its Japanese garden
If you skipped the hotel, carry on to the bottom of Omotesando. There is a collection of Asian art here in a Kengo Kuma building, but the reason to come is the garden: paths, a pond and a tea house. Entry is about ¥1,300 and varies by exhibition. Closed on Mondays. If you prefer shopping, skip it and go straight on to Shibuya.
¥1,300 · ≈ $8Online ticket with a time slotOpen in Maps
Walk to Shibuya
- Walk · 20 minGo back to the Omotesando crossing, turn left onto Aoyama-dori and follow it down to Shibuya. Miyashita Park is north of the station, on the roof of the mall.
- or: Metro · 15 min · ¥180Ginza Line from Omotesando to Shibuya, one station, 2 minutes. It is about a 9-minute walk to the station, and a few more minutes from the platform to the park.
15:4517:00
Stop 6District walkMust
Miyashita Park and central Shibuya: the crossing from below
A park on the roof of a mall, and from there you go down to the famous crossing. Cross it once, then go up to the Starbucks in the Tsutaya building for a photo from above. The Hachiko statue waits next to the station exit.
FreeOpen in Maps About this place
Up to Shibuya Sky
- Walk · 5 minCross the square in front of the station to the tower attached to its east side, Shibuya Scramble Square.
On the way you can stop at:
The MAGNET rooftop terrace: A terrace on the roof of the building on the corner of the crossing, reopened in March 2026. ¥1,800 including a drink, if you did not get a Shibuya Sky ticket.
17:1518:45
Stop 7ViewpointMust
Shibuya Sky: the open rooftop for sunset
The open rooftop on floor 47, with a view over all of Tokyo, and on clear days of Mount Fuji too. The online price: ¥2,700 until 15:00, and ¥3,400 after 15:00, during the sunset hours. At the counter it is ¥300 more, and usually sold out. Tickets go on sale only 14 days before the visit, from midnight Japan time, and the sunset slots sell out fast, so buy online as soon as sales open. From 19 November 2026 anyone living outside Japan buys on a separate site for overseas residents, and they and anyone buying on Klook, Trip.com or KKday get in only with the original passport of every visitor. A QR code alone does not get you in. No bags and no tripods on the roof.
¥3,400 · ≈ $22Must book online, sales open 14 days ahead and sunset sells out fastOpen in Maps
Down to dinner
- Walk · 8 minCome down from the tower and walk north along the tracks, to the south building of Miyashita Park.
19:0020:30
Stop 8DinnerRecommended
Dinner in Shibuya
You come down from the roof into evening Shibuya, loud and lit up. Eat close by, and there are three completely different ways to do it:
- Shibuya Yokocho, in Miyashita ParkAbout ¥3,000 per person
  19 small stalls by region of Japan under one roof, on the ground floor: yakitori, ramen from Hokkaido, kushikatsu from Osaka. Loud, relatively cheap, and you can hop from stall to stall.
- Ichiran Shibuya¥1,180 per bowl
  The quiet alternative: ramen in pork broth, eaten in a private booth. Open 24 hours.
- Vegan Izakaya Masaka, in Shibuya ParcoVegan, not kosher
  A vegan izakaya on the basement floor of Parco: soy karaage and gyoza. Open 11:30 to 22:00, last order at 21:00, and no reservations.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥3,000 · ≈ $19Open in Maps
Finish in the bar alley
- Walk · 3 minThe alley is right by the south end of Miyashita Park, behind the tracks. From the Yokocho it is across the road, and from the other restaurants a few minutes more.
20:4522:00
Stop 9NightIf there is time
Nonbei Yokocho: the alley of tiny bars
You finish your first day in two alleys behind the railway tracks, with bars of 6 seats. Go in, say hello, order a highball. Some of the bars charge a seating fee of ¥500 to ¥1,000. Shibuya Station is a few minutes away, and from there you head back to the hotel.
¥1,500 · ≈ $10Open in Maps

Shibuya, Harajuku and Meiji Shrine: the first day in Tokyo

9 stops, in order

Meiji Jingu: a forest in the heart of the city

Takeshita Street: crepes, shops and kawaii

Omotesando: Tokyo's Champs-Elysees

Lunch break in Omotesando

A rest at the hotel, if you are staying nearby

Nezu Museum and its Japanese garden

Miyashita Park and central Shibuya: the crossing from below

Shibuya Sky: the open rooftop for sunset

Dinner in Shibuya

Nonbei Yokocho: the alley of tiny bars

Tsukiji, Hamarikyu Gardens and Ginza: fish in the morning, luxury in the evening

teamLab Planets, Toyosu Market and Odaiba: the futuristic day

Akihabara, Jimbocho and Kanda: anime, guitars, books and soba

Ghibli Museum, Kichijoji and Shimokitazawa: the calm west side

Azabudai Hills, teamLab Borderless, Tokyo Tower and Roppongi

Shinjuku: a free observatory, Gyoen garden, Omoide Yokocho and Golden Gai