Tokyo

1. ~7:30a●Tsukiji Outer Market breakfast

   Graze the stalls before the tour groups: a sweet tamagoyaki skewer, an uni-and-ikura don at a market counter, and strawberry daifuku for the walk.

2. ~9:30a◆Senso-ji & the Asakusa lanes

   Tokyo's oldest temple through the great Kaminarimon lantern; slip into the side streets once you've paid respects — the crowds stay on Nakamise-dōri.

3. ~11:00a✦Kappabashi kitchen town

   The chefs' street: hand-finished knives (have yours engraved), tamagoyaki pans, and the plastic-food ateliers.

4. ~12:45p●Standing soba lunch

   Cold seiro soba with fresh-grated wasabi and a side of kakiage — the Edo worker's lunch, done in fifteen minutes.

5. ~2:30p→Meiji Shrine → Omotesando

   The cedar-lined approach to the shrine, then the architecture parade down Omotesando — Prada's crystal lattice, Tod's, the Gyre spiral.

6. 6:00p✦Den ⭐⭐Anchor table

   Zaiyu Hasegawa's playful kaiseki — the 'Dentucky' fried chicken stuffed with sticky rice and the garden salad are the signatures. Book the moment dates are fixed; this is the trip's fixed point.

7. ~9:30p✦Golden Gai nightcap

   A whisky highball in a six-seat bar in Shinjuku's lantern alleys — pick any door with an open stool.

Jet lag works for you here: eastbound from the US you'll wake early, so the 7:30a market start lands naturally. Den is a 6:00p seating so you can still make Golden Gai without rushing the meal.

1. ~8:30a→Yanaka old town

   Temple lanes, the cemetery's cherry avenue, and craftsmen's shopfronts — the low-rise Tokyo that survived the century. Coffee at a kissaten counter en route.

2. ~11:30a◆Nezu Museum & garden

   Pre-modern Japanese art behind a bamboo-walled approach; the strolling garden with its teahouses resets the day. The Kōrin irises are the prize when shown.

3. ~1:15p●Tonkatsu, properly

   A kurobuta loin cutlet at a specialist counter — grind your own sesame into the sauce, and order the shredded cabbage refill without shame.

4. ~3:00p◆TeamLab Planets or Hokusai

   Choose immersion (barefoot through water and mirrors — book a timed slot) or the Sumida Hokusai Museum for the master of the wave.

5. ~6:30p●Yakitori under the tracks

   The Yurakucho gado-shita arches: smoky tsukune with raw egg yolk, negima, chicken skin, and lemon sours while trains rumble overhead.

This day is deliberately lighter on transit — Yanaka, Nezu, and Ueno sit in one walkable arc, leaving the evening free for the arches. If TeamLab slots are gone, Hokusai is a walk-up.

1. 5:45a✦Toyosu tuna auction viewing

   The dawn auction from the observation gallery — register ahead for the closer deck. The spectacle is the hand signals and the frost coming off the fish.

2. ~7:00a●Market sushi breakfast

   Straight to a counter in the market building: the omakase set with that morning's tuna, plus anago and tamago to finish.

3. ~10:30a→Daikanyama & Nakameguro

   Tokyo's quietest stylish quarter — T-Site's bookstore campus, then canal-side coffee along the Meguro River.

4. ~1:00p●Afternoon coffee & wagashi

   A pour-over from a beans-first roaster and a seasonal namagashi — the proper mid-afternoon pause.

5. ~6:00p●Chanko-nabe in Ryogoku

   The sumo stable hot pot in the district where it's eaten — order the soy-base chanko for two with extra tsukune, and finish the broth with rice.

The auction means a 5:00a alarm — schedule this day mid-trip when you're fully on Japan time, and keep the afternoon deliberately soft. Ryogoku dinner books easily same-week.