Hike · Tokyo ·full day
Mount Takao 高尾山
599 m of forested mountain inside Tokyo prefecture, 50 minutes from Shinjuku on a single train. Trail 1 is paved and passes Yakuo-in, a working Shingon temple with tengu statues; Trail 6 follows a stream past the Biwa waterfall where monks still train and is the one worth doing. In clear, dry early-spring air Mt Fuji is visible from the summit, which it very often is not in summer.
Tip: Keio limited express from Shinjuku to Takaosanguchi, approx 50 min, ¥430 each way. Cable car ¥490 one-way / ¥950 return, 6 min, every 15 min, roughly 08:00-17:00. Do this on a WEEKDAY - Takao is the busiest mountain in the world at weekends. Summit runs approx 5-6C colder than the city; bring a shell.
approx ¥1,800 pp return incl. cable car (approx EUR 11) weekday source ↗ Food · Tokyo ·1.5h
Omoide Yokocho 思い出横丁
Sixty postwar yakitori and motsu stalls packed into two alleys west of Shinjuku station, smoke and lanterns and eight stools each. The atmosphere is the dish; the food ranges from decent to very good. The obvious end to the Mt Takao day, since the Keio line lands you next to it.
Tip: No reservations possible. Stalls seat 6–10; arrive by 17:00 or five will not sit together. Cash. Some stalls add a seating charge.
¥2,500–4,000 pp with drinks (approx EUR 14–22) evening source ↗ Food · Tokyo ·1h
Isetan Shinjuku depachika 伊勢丹新宿店 デパ地下
The best department-store food hall in Japan: two basement floors of patisserie from every French-trained pastry chef in Tokyo, wagyu counters, prepared side dishes, bento, pickles, sake and tea, all sampled aggressively. For a group of five staying in an apartment this is also the single cheapest way to eat extremely well - buy across twenty counters and eat at the table with a bottle of sake.
Tip: Open daily, roughly 10:00-20:00. Prepared food and bento get marked down 20-30% in the final hour - arrive around 19:00 for the discounts. Takashimaya Nihonbashi and Tobu Ikebukuro are the runners-up if you are on the wrong side of town.
¥1,500-4,000 pp for a full spread (approx EUR 9-24) evening source ↗