Tokyo
A vast, quiet city: neon crossings, wooden shrines and bowls of noodles made with care.
Tokyo is a metropolis made of villages, each around its railway station: Shibuya's crossing and Shinjuku's towers on the west side, Asakusa's temple and the old town to the east, Ginza's department stores and the imperial palace's moats in the middle. It is orderly, endlessly deep, and Mount Fuji shows on clear winter mornings.
Why go
For a city that does everything at the highest pitch of care, from a ten-seat sushi counter to a department-store food hall to a convenience-store sandwich. The contrasts are the point: a shrine in the shadow of a tower, a garden behind a station.
And because the country radiates from it: Kyoto in a little over two hours by bullet train, Nikko's shrines and Hakone's hot springs as day trips, the Alps and the north beyond.
Highlights
What people go for, in no particular order.
01Shibuya and Harajuku
The scramble crossing from above and in the middle of it, then Harajuku's Takeshita Street, the fashion of Omotesando and the forest of the Meiji shrine beside them.
02Asakusa and Senso-ji
The old temple with its great lantern gate, the Nakamise street of stalls leading to it and the five-storey pagoda, in the old town (shitamachi) by the Sumida river.
03Shinjuku
The station at the centre of towers, department stores, the tiny bars of Golden Gai and the lanes of Omoide Yokocho, with the free observatory of the metropolitan government building above.
04Tokyo Tower, Skytree and the views
The red-and-white tower over the city at dusk, the Skytree across the river, and the observation floors at Roppongi and Shibuya for the skyline with Fuji on a clear day.
05Tsukiji, Ginza and the food
The outer market at Tsukiji for a sushi breakfast, the department-store basements of Ginza, ramen counters in every station and the tuna auction at Toyosu for early risers.
06Gardens, museums and the palace
The east gardens of the imperial palace, Shinjuku Gyoen and Rikugien, the national museum in Ueno park, and the digital art of teamLab on the bay.
07Mount Fuji, Hakone and Nikko
Hot springs and the lake views of Fuji at Hakone, the lacquered shrines of Nikko in the mountains, and the five lakes at the mountain's foot, each a day from the city.
Areas
Where to base yourself, and what each area is like.
Shinjuku
Hotels of every kind around the great station, with nightlife, parks and trains to everywhere.
Shibuya and Ebisu
The young west side: the crossing, the fashion, and the restaurants of Ebisu and Daikanyama.
Ginza and Marunouchi
Polished, central and next to Tokyo station for the bullet trains, with the palace gardens nearby.
Asakusa and Ueno
The old town: the temple, the park and museums, and traditional inns at a gentler pace.
When to go: Tokyo
- SpringMarch – May
- Cherry blossom in late March and early April, then fresh green and mild days. The most sought-after weeks; Golden Week in early May fills trains.
- AutumnOctober and November
- Clear, comfortable and colourful, with ginkgo and maples in the parks.
- SummerJune – September
- Rainy season in June, then hot and humid with fireworks festivals and typhoon watches. Early mornings and air conditioning.
- WinterDecember – February
- Cold, dry and often brilliantly clear, with Fuji visible across the city and the New Year holidays quieting the streets.
Getting there
Airports
Two airports in our search serve Tokyo. Distances are measured in a straight line.
- HNDHaneda
- NRTNarita
Distance from
- SINSingapore5,300 km
- BOMMumbai6,720 km
- SYDSydney7,830 km
- DXBDubai7,920 km
- LHRLondon9,570 km
- CDGParis9,690 km
- JFKNew York10,870 km
- JNBJohannesburg13,510 km
Getting around: Tokyo
The trains and metro are the city: fast, punctual and signed in English, with an IC card tapping through all of them. Haneda is close by monorail or train; Narita is an hour or so by express.
Taxis are immaculate and useful late at night; walking within a district is the way to find the alleys. The bullet train from Tokyo station reaches Kyoto in around two and a quarter hours.
Practical facts
The country, its currency and languages, the time zone and the time there now.
- Country
- Japan
- Currency
- JPY · Japanese Yen
- Languages
- Japanese
- Time zone
- Japan Standard Time
- Local time now
- Calling code
- +81
The atlas
Tokyo in figures
The figures under this guide: the climate on modelled 2001–2020 averages, how far it is from the UAE, and the places around it.
Climate
The weather in Tokyo, month by month
- Jan9°
- Feb10°
- Mar13°
- Apr18°
- May23°
- Jun26°
- Jul29°
- Aug31°
- Sept27°
- Oct22°
- Nov17°
- Dec11°
- Mild to warm and dry
- Mild to warm, humid or showery
- Hot
- Cool
- Wet
- Cold
Good for going, on these averages: April, May and August.
Mean highs run from 9°C in January to 31°C in August, with about 1,694 mm of rain in a year.
These are modelled averages for 2001–2020; the seasons described above are our own reading of a typical year.
Month-by-month climate for TokyoModelled averages for an area about 50 km across, not a weather station's record: NASA POWER climatology, 2001–2020.
Airports
How far it is from the UAE
From DXBTokyo
7,920 km
10 hrs 5 mins · Estimate
From AUHTokyo
8,030 km
10 hrs 10 mins · Estimate
The great-circle distance, and a rough flying time: the distance at an average 850 km/h plus 45 minutes for take-off and landing. Real flights follow airways, meet headwinds and wait for traffic, so schedules differ.
On the map
Places near Tokyo
From the journal
Related reading
Destinations
When to see the cherry blossoms in Kyoto: the dates, the data and a plan
Thirty years of Japan Meteorological Agency records, six recent seasons and the city's own advice, for planning a spring trip to Kyoto from the UAE.
Updated 29 September 2026 · 8 min read
When to go
The best time to visit Japan: seasons, rainy season and typhoons
Late March to May and October to November suit most trips to Japan. The weather agency's averages, the rainy and typhoon seasons, and the holidays that fill the trains.
Updated 29 September 2026 · 11 min read
How it works
Jet lag: how to adjust faster, according to the CDC and the NHS
What jet lag is, why flying east is harder, how many days it takes to adjust, and what the CDC and the NHS advise before, during and after a long flight from the UAE.
Updated 29 September 2026 · 6 min read
In pictures: Tokyo
Plan this trip: Tokyo
Open the trip builder with Tokyo already filled in. Flights, stays and everything else are priced together in one quote, prepared by a person on our team.
