Tokyo

Tokyo by half days around the Yamanote loop, from two days to a week

Plan Tokyo as a cluster of towns around the JR Yamanote loop and give each half day to one area. Two days cover Asakusa, Ueno, Meiji Jingū, Harajuku, Shibuya and Shinjuku; four or five add Ginza, Toyosu Market, Akihabara and Odaiba; a week leaves room for Kamakura and Nikko. Kyoto and Osaka are a bullet-train ride away.

Zigzagging across the city burns time on trains, so pair sights that sit next to each other. The old shitamachi, the merchant quarters of Edo, lies north and east of the loop; the shopping and nightlife districts line its western rim.

• Two days: start in Asakusa with Sensō-ji and a boat on the Sumida River. Walk on to Ueno for its park and the Tokyo National Museum. The second day goes west: Meiji Jingū early, then Takeshita-dōri in Harajuku and the grown-up shops of Omotesandō. Finish at Shibuya Crossing and in Shinjuku after dark.
• Four or five days: add the Imperial Palace gardens with Ginza and Marunouchi. Get up before dawn once for the tuna auction at Toyosu Market. Give an afternoon to the electronics and anime shops of Akihabara, and ride the Yurikamome across the bay to Odaiba.
• A week: use two days outside the wards. Kamakura, with its temples and seaside, is about an hour from Tokyo Station on the JR Yokosuka Line. Nikko's shrines in the mountains take around 2 hours on Tobu limited expresses from Asakusa, so leave early.

The Ghibli Museum in Kichijōji only sells tickets in advance, and rooms get scarce in blossom season and Golden Week. Choose hotels close to a Yamanote station so each morning begins on the loop.

Driving in the city makes no sense, though you may want to rent a car for the countryside beyond. For longer hops, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen leaves Tokyo and Shinagawa stations for Kyoto and Osaka.

Cherry blossom, Golden Week and Tokyo's busy calendar

Blossom season sets the calendar. Cherry trees usually peak between late March and early April, when picnic sheets cover Ueno Park. Golden Week follows in late April and early May, as domestic travellers pour into the city. By May nights hover around 15°C before the humidity arrives, so it is the most comfortable month for long walking days.

Summer is festival season. The rainy season sets in during June, and August averages 26.9°C around the clock, with a record of 39.5°C. Asakusa's Sanja Matsuri, held on the third weekend of May, brings 1.5 to 2 million people into the streets over three days as portable shrines are carried through the district. On the last Saturday of July the Sumida River fireworks draw close to a million spectators along the riverbanks. Plan indoor sights for the middle of the day if you visit in high summer.

Autumn colour runs through October and November. October is the wetter of the two, so pack an umbrella, while November turns crisp and dry with lows around 9°C.

Winter is underrated. December to February stays cold and dry, with lows near 1°C in January, but the skies are clear and Mount Fuji appears on the horizon from high viewpoints such as the free decks of the Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku.

Sushi, tempura and unagi, the three dishes Tokyo calls its own

Eat the three dishes Tokyo claims as its own: sushi, tempura and eel (unagi). Nigiri was born here, which is why it is called Edo-mae zushi, so pair the dawn tuna auction at Toyosu with a sushi breakfast at the former Tsukiji market. Then try monjayaki, the runny griddled batter of Tsukishima.

Cheap food is everywhere. Department-store basements (depachika) sell bento and sweets of deli quality, convenience stores stock onigiri and oden around the clock, and supermarkets mark down ready meals after 20:00. Use the plastic food in the window to point at what you want.

Evenings belong to the izakaya. Chains like Tsubohachi and Shirokiya have picture menus, which helps when the ordering tablet is in Japanese only. Older bars still pour Hoppy, a near-beer topped up with shōchū that has come back into fashion. At Kamiya Bar beside the Asakusa metro exit, try Denki Bran, the herb-flavoured brandy the bar is associated with.

Leaving a restaurant, a quick gochisōsama deshita (thank you for the meal) is always appreciated.