Best eSIM for Tokyo

At 37 million people, Greater Tokyo is the most populous metropolitan area on earth — and among the most orderly. The city has no single centre: it is organised around a dozen hubs strung along the circular Yamanote line, each with its own character. Shibuya and its youth, Shinjuku and its towers, Ginza and its luxury, Asakusa and its prewar Tokyo, Akihabara and its electronics. You don't visit Tokyo, you visit neighbourhoods connected by trains.

1. Senso-ji and Asakusa 🏛️ Culture

   Tokyo's oldest temple, founded in 645. You reach it through the Kaminarimon gate and its 700 kg red lantern, then along Nakamise-dori, a shopping street several centuries old. Come before 8 am to have it to yourself.

2. Shibuya Crossing 🌆 Urban

   Up to 3,000 people cross at once on each light cycle. The best vantage point is free, from the station walkway or the Tsutaya Starbucks; Shibuya Sky, higher up, is paid and needs booking.

3. Meiji Shrine 🏛️ Culture

   A Shinto shrine inside a forest of 100,000 hand-planted trees, steps from Harajuku. The contrast between the silence of its avenues and the crowds of Takeshita-dori next door sums Tokyo up.

4. teamLab Planets 🏛️ Culture

   An immersive digital museum in Toyosu: you walk barefoot through water, surrounded by projections that respond to your presence. Timed tickets are compulsory and often sell out a week ahead.

5. Tsukiji Outer Market 🍜 Food

   The auctions moved to Toyosu, but the Tsukiji outer market kept its 400 stalls: sea urchin, tamagoyaki, wagyu skewers. Before 11 am, this is where Tokyo has breakfast.

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  Visa No visa for most Western European, North American, Australian and New Zealand nationals: 90-day exemption on arrival. Since 2025, pre-registering on Visit Japan Web speeds up immigration and customs noticeably at both Narita and Haneda — fill it in before you fly, when your connection is better than on landing.
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  Voltage 100 V, Type A plugs (same as North America), 50 Hz in Tokyo. An adapter is enough for modern chargers.
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  Eau Tap water is drinkable everywhere and of excellent quality. Vending machines, roughly every fifty metres, remain the other local reflex.
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  Pourboire Tipping is not customary and can cause discomfort. Service is always included. Some restaurants add an otoshi, a small compulsory appetiser charge — not a scam but a local convention.
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  Argent Cards work in nearly every Tokyo business, more so than elsewhere in Japan. Still carry cash for small izakayas, temples and ramen shops with ticket machines. ATMs at 7-Eleven accept foreign cards 24/7.
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  Santé No mandatory vaccinations. Care is excellent but expensive without insurance. Pharmacies are everywhere; some medicines that are routine in Europe, notably those containing pseudoephedrine, cannot be brought into Japan.
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  Urgences Medical and fire: 119 | Police: 110 | Japan Visitor Hotline (24/7): 050-3816-2787

💡 Tokyo runs about 20% above Osaka on accommodation, but eating out stays surprisingly affordable: a very good bowl of ramen costs under ¥1,200. The unbudgeted expense is trains, at ¥200-400 a journey, several times a day.