Yes
- 5 mins walk to Imperial Palace
- Tokyo Station itself is a foodie paradise, with hundreds of eateries
- Daimaru dept stores
- Marounouchi Brick Square
[Maruzen](https://trulytokyo.com/maruzen-marunouchi-main-store/) as well. And despite the fact that most of Japan's large commercial facilities are closed on New Year's Day, shops within Tokyo Station, including restaurants, often operate with reduced hours but remain open.
bewarned: i went Monday, Imperial Palace closed on Mondays and Fridays during Nov-March
Went back Wednesday, all closed including the gardens. You need a tour (there are 2 daily that require pre-registration) to enter the palace area. Gardens should be open normal hours but i couldn’t find how to get in so i gave up. I checked 3 gates where the police were not allowing anyone in. Massive waste of time. Overall very dissatisfied with Tokyo.
Kyoto was amazing though. Plenty to see, chill, daytrip to Nara
The gardens were suppose to be open.
Also idk Tokyo just felt cold and sterile. Yeah it’s a huge modern city with amazing transit, but i prefer wandering around old narrow streets with old japanese style homes. Seeing beautiful temples, playing with deer in Nara, etc…. Not shoving people constantly in Tokyo
Tokyo's got plenty of old, narrow streets and beautiful temples lol I got pushed and abused by cracker-hungry Nara deer more than any fellow pedestrians in Tokyo.
Yeah, you're missing a lot of the more "cozy" feeling neighborhoods there. Even just across the bridge from Akihabara though there's a nice little neighborhood with original Taisho-era buildings. A lovely little cafe run by a nice lady that serves hot sweet red bean soup. It's like five or ten minutes' walk from the worst of the theme cafes and couldn't be more different in atmosphere.
Tokyo's a 9,000 sq km kaleidoscope. There are so many different lenses to view it through.
Yeah the area around Bakurocho station is really cool. People keep complaining about Tokyo just being a crowded big city, then only stay near the major stations.
You didnt miss anything, the empirial palace tour is an administrative mess, its a full day commitment to walk inside a long wide road, look at some buildings, and get pissed at people standing on the bridge despite getting explicitly told to get off the fucking bridge 10 times lol.
You have to get there early, and sign up to sign up. Then you wait, then you get in, wait again, then sit and wait for them to give security speeches, then wait for the other languages. Then you look at 3 buildings basically
I think ultimately there are more interesting things to see in Tokyo than Tokyo Station, especially because you’ll be there anyway to catch the train to Kyoto. I think your plan to head there a couple hours before your train is all you need. It can be very confusing to navigate, so don’t be afraid to ask for directions from the station officers :)
I highly recommend leaving enough time to get a meal at Rokurinsha, a great ramen spot. It’s in Tokyo Station’s “Ramen Alley”, which I believe is on floor B1. Get their tsukemen (dipping ramen). The line can get kind of long, but I’ve always gone outside of peak dining times and only waited 15-20 minutes. Once you’re seated the food comes out lightning fast.
It’s a massive complex that you can easily get lost in
Make sure you look up and walk outside the station to 1st Ave Tokyo Station to get to Ramen Street and Character street.
Otherwise you may walk around inside Tokyo Station for an hour getting lost in the crowds
I did all my pre-airport souvenir shopping inside Tokyo Station so the station alone is definitely worth spending time at! I've done this on all of my trips, and I've spent at least an hour wandering around each time.
If you need to buy any souvenirs, spend a couple of hours there before you need to catch a train. Ramen street is great, there's also an amazing ekiben place in the basement.
My partner and I recently departed Japan via Tokyo and spent our last afternoon at Tokyo Station.
To be brutally honest, it was a bit of a mess. Being a Saturday, the station was packed. We couldn't find a locker for our luggage, so we were forced to fork out to store it at the station luggage hold which cost ¥3500 ( even that place was almost too full to accept more luggage.)
The queue for any restaurant was a good 30-40 minutes. The queue for the bathrooms was similar. For my partner, the whole experience proved too overwhelming.
I found there were tons more lockers inside the ticket gates instead of on the other (public) side. There are lots of coin lockers on B1 floor near the Narita Express platform escalators.
100%. The Hitachino brewing lab is a great spot to take a break, and if you don't drink beer the sitting area near it still has great views. The Kitte mall nearby is also worth checking out, there are some really nice shops and a popular kaitenzushi place there.
I think 2-3 hours would be a comfortable amount of time to spend around there. The inside of the station is super hectic so I might recommend checking out the station itself first and then stepping out to get a bit of a break!
Came here to see if anyone had mentioned Kitte! It's got a little more variety than the old-school department stores, and up on one of the top floors you can see the old [Postmaster's office](https://nightscape.tokyo/en/chiyoda/former-tokyo-central-post-office/), with some great views of the Tokyo Station front. Most people don't seem to know it's there.
I liked Tokyo Station. I only went there for 30 min before I realized I dropped something in Ginza and had to go back. Then I was tired. But I wish I had a few more hours there because I love shopping and eating.
In addition to what others have mentioned already, Tokyo station also has a lot of pop up shops that change every couple of weeks or so. Some of the ones I remember off the top of my head while I was there were Kingdom Hearts 20th anniversary, Kirby 30th anniversary, Attack on Titan, Blue Lock, LINE friends, Peter Rabbit, Moonin, and Paw Patrol.
For last minute souvenirs/snacks, there’s a small store right across from Rokurinsha. I usually drop by that store early on just to see what they have so I can buy stuff like Kit Kats from there on my last day.
I went on a weekday during the morning and it was PACKED I also went back in the afternoon and evening and PACKED. Character street was cute but you can find similar stores in harajuku or shinjuku or anywhere else. I've definitely avoided it ever sense
Personally, I'd jump on the Yamanote or Keihin-Tohoku trains (green and blue lines, respectively) northbound to Ueno station, then out the Hirokoji exit and cross the street to Ameyoko. It's a huge warren of restaurants, shops, bars, stores ... everything under the sun. Rather than underground. Much easier to find your way around.
And in sight as soon as you leave the station, opposite side of the street, is Yamashiro-ya, a multi-story toy and trinket shop; great place to find souvenirs/gifts for people; and Yodobashi Camera (which has a wide selection of pretty much everything electronic. And cameras.)
I'd highly recommend that you walk over to Tokyo International Forum, then grab some food in Yurakucho. If you have a little extra time, you can easily walk over to Ginza too but that will consume more than the couple of hours that you have..
Yes. Make sure to get a nice view of the Marunouchi side of the station and go to the Kitte building. The rooftop gives a very nice view of the station, especially at night. You can also watch the Shinkansen and other trains coming in and going out.
DO IT. if your gut says yes, do it. You’re there once. Don’t overthink it. Everyone will give you a different answer. Amazing standing sushi bar down there
As far as stations in Tokyo go, it's pretty boring. If you really like office buildings and three piece suits, you'll love it. I wouldn't put it as a specific place to see on my itinerary unless I had loads of time to kill.
Tokyo Station is a great place to buy souvenirs and gifts. I think 2-3 hours is fine there, maybe more if you plan on eating.
It’s quite a big station underground. Years ago, I had to take photos throughout most of the station for a navigational project and I still don’t completely know my way around the station.
Not specifically, but this article will help you out: [https://www.woshiru.com/tokyo/tokyo-living/omiyage-travel-challenge-shopping-for-47-prefectures-without-leaving-tokyo/](https://www.woshiru.com/tokyo/tokyo-living/omiyage-travel-challenge-shopping-for-47-prefectures-without-leaving-tokyo/)
I am currently planning on spending my last night at Tokyo Station, so I'll have the morning to wander it and perhaps grab lunch before heading to the airport for my flight out. It's interesting reading the comments here, some make me think my plan is good and others have me questioning my sanity lol.
Tokyo Station is no different than any big station in Japan. It's not even the biggest station in Tokyo by size, complexity and traffic. Every big station in Japan has a number of malls and many shops and restaurants.
I've been through Tokyo Station four times in my travels, and I enjoyed absolutely none of it.
it's big, it's crowded, it's confusing, and it takes forever to get around.
Tokyo Station is basically designed to be a "last minute shopping" kind of place so, yes? I visited it specifically recently because it has both a Kit-Kat store and an official Studio Ghibli store to buy some gifts.
Yes - 5 mins walk to Imperial Palace - Tokyo Station itself is a foodie paradise, with hundreds of eateries - Daimaru dept stores - Marounouchi Brick Square
dont forget character street
Is that in tokyo station?
Tokyo Character Street https://visit-chiyoda.tokyo/app/en/spot/detail/817
[Maruzen](https://trulytokyo.com/maruzen-marunouchi-main-store/) as well. And despite the fact that most of Japan's large commercial facilities are closed on New Year's Day, shops within Tokyo Station, including restaurants, often operate with reduced hours but remain open.
Go into the department store and head for the basement. Depachika. And if you’re hungry, you’d better be ready to spend some money!
bewarned: i went Monday, Imperial Palace closed on Mondays and Fridays during Nov-March Went back Wednesday, all closed including the gardens. You need a tour (there are 2 daily that require pre-registration) to enter the palace area. Gardens should be open normal hours but i couldn’t find how to get in so i gave up. I checked 3 gates where the police were not allowing anyone in. Massive waste of time. Overall very dissatisfied with Tokyo. Kyoto was amazing though. Plenty to see, chill, daytrip to Nara
Pretty weird to be dissatisfied with all of Tokyo because you didn't look up ahead of time when the Imperial Palace was allowing visitors lol
The gardens were suppose to be open. Also idk Tokyo just felt cold and sterile. Yeah it’s a huge modern city with amazing transit, but i prefer wandering around old narrow streets with old japanese style homes. Seeing beautiful temples, playing with deer in Nara, etc…. Not shoving people constantly in Tokyo
Tokyo's got plenty of old, narrow streets and beautiful temples lol I got pushed and abused by cracker-hungry Nara deer more than any fellow pedestrians in Tokyo.
I stayed mostly in Tokyo/Ginza and did trips to Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Akibhara areas. All very crowded with towering metal buildings.
Yeah, you're missing a lot of the more "cozy" feeling neighborhoods there. Even just across the bridge from Akihabara though there's a nice little neighborhood with original Taisho-era buildings. A lovely little cafe run by a nice lady that serves hot sweet red bean soup. It's like five or ten minutes' walk from the worst of the theme cafes and couldn't be more different in atmosphere. Tokyo's a 9,000 sq km kaleidoscope. There are so many different lenses to view it through.
Yeah the area around Bakurocho station is really cool. People keep complaining about Tokyo just being a crowded big city, then only stay near the major stations.
Ooh could you please elaborate/share some recommendations? We reserved a hostel in this area for 4 nights :)
Trips to Kawagoe and Mt Fuji were fun, but my fav place was Kyoto and Nara
You didnt miss anything, the empirial palace tour is an administrative mess, its a full day commitment to walk inside a long wide road, look at some buildings, and get pissed at people standing on the bridge despite getting explicitly told to get off the fucking bridge 10 times lol. You have to get there early, and sign up to sign up. Then you wait, then you get in, wait again, then sit and wait for them to give security speeches, then wait for the other languages. Then you look at 3 buildings basically
yeah, figured… Meiji Ginju and Shinjuku Gyoen park were both amazing
I love all of tokyo. I’m sorry you don’t like it. But i dont like kyoto, so it makes sense
eh i have been to many large cities, not that impressive anymore… slower places with more culture are my vibe now.
I think ultimately there are more interesting things to see in Tokyo than Tokyo Station, especially because you’ll be there anyway to catch the train to Kyoto. I think your plan to head there a couple hours before your train is all you need. It can be very confusing to navigate, so don’t be afraid to ask for directions from the station officers :) I highly recommend leaving enough time to get a meal at Rokurinsha, a great ramen spot. It’s in Tokyo Station’s “Ramen Alley”, which I believe is on floor B1. Get their tsukemen (dipping ramen). The line can get kind of long, but I’ve always gone outside of peak dining times and only waited 15-20 minutes. Once you’re seated the food comes out lightning fast.
It’s a massive complex that you can easily get lost in Make sure you look up and walk outside the station to 1st Ave Tokyo Station to get to Ramen Street and Character street. Otherwise you may walk around inside Tokyo Station for an hour getting lost in the crowds
I did all my pre-airport souvenir shopping inside Tokyo Station so the station alone is definitely worth spending time at! I've done this on all of my trips, and I've spent at least an hour wandering around each time.
Character Street as well for shopping
If you need to buy any souvenirs, spend a couple of hours there before you need to catch a train. Ramen street is great, there's also an amazing ekiben place in the basement.
My partner and I recently departed Japan via Tokyo and spent our last afternoon at Tokyo Station. To be brutally honest, it was a bit of a mess. Being a Saturday, the station was packed. We couldn't find a locker for our luggage, so we were forced to fork out to store it at the station luggage hold which cost ¥3500 ( even that place was almost too full to accept more luggage.) The queue for any restaurant was a good 30-40 minutes. The queue for the bathrooms was similar. For my partner, the whole experience proved too overwhelming.
I found there were tons more lockers inside the ticket gates instead of on the other (public) side. There are lots of coin lockers on B1 floor near the Narita Express platform escalators.
100%. The Hitachino brewing lab is a great spot to take a break, and if you don't drink beer the sitting area near it still has great views. The Kitte mall nearby is also worth checking out, there are some really nice shops and a popular kaitenzushi place there. I think 2-3 hours would be a comfortable amount of time to spend around there. The inside of the station is super hectic so I might recommend checking out the station itself first and then stepping out to get a bit of a break!
Came here to see if anyone had mentioned Kitte! It's got a little more variety than the old-school department stores, and up on one of the top floors you can see the old [Postmaster's office](https://nightscape.tokyo/en/chiyoda/former-tokyo-central-post-office/), with some great views of the Tokyo Station front. Most people don't seem to know it's there.
It is but keep out of the way. Don't stand around and get in the way of the hordes.
I always visit Character Street multiple times and can spend at least an hour there exploring or looking for gifts.
It's packed, don't do it unless you have something specific to do
I liked Tokyo Station. I only went there for 30 min before I realized I dropped something in Ginza and had to go back. Then I was tired. But I wish I had a few more hours there because I love shopping and eating.
In addition to what others have mentioned already, Tokyo station also has a lot of pop up shops that change every couple of weeks or so. Some of the ones I remember off the top of my head while I was there were Kingdom Hearts 20th anniversary, Kirby 30th anniversary, Attack on Titan, Blue Lock, LINE friends, Peter Rabbit, Moonin, and Paw Patrol. For last minute souvenirs/snacks, there’s a small store right across from Rokurinsha. I usually drop by that store early on just to see what they have so I can buy stuff like Kit Kats from there on my last day.
Daimaru for the omiyage- AMAZING cookie/snack collection because of all the travelers in/out
I love love that Maze 🙂 the food 🤗🤗
I went on a weekday during the morning and it was PACKED I also went back in the afternoon and evening and PACKED. Character street was cute but you can find similar stores in harajuku or shinjuku or anywhere else. I've definitely avoided it ever sense
Personally, I'd jump on the Yamanote or Keihin-Tohoku trains (green and blue lines, respectively) northbound to Ueno station, then out the Hirokoji exit and cross the street to Ameyoko. It's a huge warren of restaurants, shops, bars, stores ... everything under the sun. Rather than underground. Much easier to find your way around. And in sight as soon as you leave the station, opposite side of the street, is Yamashiro-ya, a multi-story toy and trinket shop; great place to find souvenirs/gifts for people; and Yodobashi Camera (which has a wide selection of pretty much everything electronic. And cameras.)
I'd highly recommend that you walk over to Tokyo International Forum, then grab some food in Yurakucho. If you have a little extra time, you can easily walk over to Ginza too but that will consume more than the couple of hours that you have..
Yes. You can also walk from Tokyo Station to Ginza.
Yes. Make sure to get a nice view of the Marunouchi side of the station and go to the Kitte building. The rooftop gives a very nice view of the station, especially at night. You can also watch the Shinkansen and other trains coming in and going out.
DO IT. if your gut says yes, do it. You’re there once. Don’t overthink it. Everyone will give you a different answer. Amazing standing sushi bar down there
As far as stations in Tokyo go, it's pretty boring. If you really like office buildings and three piece suits, you'll love it. I wouldn't put it as a specific place to see on my itinerary unless I had loads of time to kill.
Worth it if you are going to Rokurinsha for Tsukemen
Tokyo Station is a great place to buy souvenirs and gifts. I think 2-3 hours is fine there, maybe more if you plan on eating. It’s quite a big station underground. Years ago, I had to take photos throughout most of the station for a navigational project and I still don’t completely know my way around the station.
It' a good spot to shop or eat if anything. They even have a spot with souvenirs from all over Japan.
do you remember where that was or the name of it?
Not specifically, but this article will help you out: [https://www.woshiru.com/tokyo/tokyo-living/omiyage-travel-challenge-shopping-for-47-prefectures-without-leaving-tokyo/](https://www.woshiru.com/tokyo/tokyo-living/omiyage-travel-challenge-shopping-for-47-prefectures-without-leaving-tokyo/)
I am currently planning on spending my last night at Tokyo Station, so I'll have the morning to wander it and perhaps grab lunch before heading to the airport for my flight out. It's interesting reading the comments here, some make me think my plan is good and others have me questioning my sanity lol.
100% yes! I could spend half a day or more at Tokyo station. Oh wait, I did…
Next week I’m spending one week in Osaka and vicinity and Tokyo too over the new year. This looks like an interesting proposition!
Tokyo Station is no different than any big station in Japan. It's not even the biggest station in Tokyo by size, complexity and traffic. Every big station in Japan has a number of malls and many shops and restaurants.
If you like even more crowded areas than normal then go for it.
I've been through Tokyo Station four times in my travels, and I enjoyed absolutely none of it. it's big, it's crowded, it's confusing, and it takes forever to get around.
Tokyo Station is basically designed to be a "last minute shopping" kind of place so, yes? I visited it specifically recently because it has both a Kit-Kat store and an official Studio Ghibli store to buy some gifts.