I have had the fortune of being able to travel to Tokyo a bunch of times in my career, and I often get asked for suggestions on places to visit. I figured I would write up a post to make it easier to share.
I am doing some research to find some smaller places (especially Ramen) that I have been to, and will update as find them.
General
Payment / Money
To start, get a Suica Card, which is basically like a debit card you can put money on and use for a ton of stuff, including the subway. Easiest way to use it is to add it to Apple Pay on your phone, which makes it both convenient to use and to add funds to. You can also use them at pretty much every convenience store.
Getting Around
Next, become familiar with the subway/train system in Tokyo. I would say the main line is the JR Yamanote Line, which makes a ring around the city, and stops at most of the major neighborhoods. It connects to the Tokyo Metro line. Between the two, you should be able to get anywhere you want to in Tokyo. You don’t need to buy tickets. Just swipe in and out with your Suica Card, and it will automatically deduct the trip amount based on the stations you used.
Use Google Maps (tips) to get around. It is super useful, and when riding trains/subway, it will show you which trains to take, train times, and exact subway exits to use. It makes riding the trains much, much easier.
Eating
Finally, the best site to use to find places to eat in Tokyo is Tabelog . This is similar to Yelp, and is the main food review app in Japan. You can filter by food type, subtype and neighborhood, making it really easy to find a good place to eat regardless of where you are or what you are looking for.
If you figure out the items above, then you are all set. Tokyo is super safe, so you can just wander around and not worry about getting lost. If you get hungry, just check Tabelog (I have found so many small gems this way). You will always be close to a train station, and you can always use Google Maps to figure out where to go.
Shopping
Tokyo Loft (Shibuya)(Ginza): Huge Japanese lifestyle store chain. Fun to wander around in, and so much cool stuff.
Tokyu Hands (Shibuya): Another Japanese lifestyle store. This one feels a bit older and maybe a bit more practical. Still a lot of fun to wander through the floors.
Character Street(Tokyo Station): In the basement of Tokyo Station, this is a collection of a ton of stores that sell toys from popular Japanese characters, anime, and manga. Basically, if you want cute Japanese character merchandise, this is a great place.
Sunshine City Huge (Ikebukuro): Huge mall, which contains a lot of Japanese character stores. Probably not worth the trip on its own, unless you are visiting the Bandai Capsule Toy Store (more below).
Toys
Bandai Capsule Toy Store (Ikebukuro): Located in Sunshine City, this is the world’s largest Gashopan (Capsule Toy) store, with over 3,000 machines. Make sure you bring cash and a bag to carry all of the capsules. You can spend a couple of hours here and find some really cool stuff.
Hakuhinkan Toy Park (Ginza) (Instagram): Huge toy store in Ginza. Go to the top and work your way down. Has a cool track racing car section where you can watch kids (and their dads) race cards. Super busy on the weekend.
Kiddie Land(Harajuku): Another great toy store.
Mandarak (Akihabara): Huge manga / anime / toy store chain.
Record Stores
There are a ton of record stores in Tokyo. I only have one listed below, but I will add more as I visit them.
Tower Records (Shibuya): Huge store in Shibuya, with a really amazing new and used vinyl store.
Electronics
First, for electronics, just wander around Akihabara (Electric Town). There are a ton of large and small electronics, manga, and anime stores.
Yodobashi (Akihabara): HUGE electronics (and toy) store. Can spend a couple of hours here. Just go to the top and work your way down. Also has a decent toy and scale model section.
Photography
Map Camera (Shinjuku): One of the best-used camera stores. Not cheap, but you can find super high-quality used cameras.
Bic Camera: Chain of large camera/electronics stores. Good place if you want to buy something new.
Stationery
Probably my favorite thing to shop for in Tokyo!
Ito Ya(Ginza): Huge Japanese Stationery / Lifestyle store. Go to the top, and work your way down (can spend an hour or two here). Note there is another, smaller store for more art supplies just out the back and across the street.
Kakimori: Small craft pen and paper store. Super cute.
Food
One of the best places to grab food in Tokyo are the convince stores. The main chains are 7-11, Lawsons and Family Mart, and you can find them on pretty much every block.
Also, a lot of the train stations have places to eat where you can grab something really quickly (either eat in, or something to go). In general, you should eat and then move on (don’t linger), and if you grab something to go, remember it’s often consider rude to eat while you are walking.
Hitsumabushi Bincho (Ginza): Unagi / Grilled Eel
Ramen
Chuka Soba Waka (Near Ueno)
Kikanbou (Kanda): Spicy and Numbing ramen. Rated one of the best bowls of ramen in Tokyo. When ordering you specify the levels between 1 and 5 for how spicey and numbing you want it. I recommend not going above 3/3.
Sushi
Muten KURA (Shinagawa): Kaiten Sushi (Conveyor Belt) family place in Shinagawa. Really good, cheap and fun. Really busy on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
Sushiro (Ueno): Chain Kaiten Sushi place. There will often be a wait, but is good, pretty cheap and a lot of fun. This is a chain, so there are a bunch across the city.
Coffee / Beer / Color
Glitch Coffee and Roasters (Ginza): Really popular (expect a line) third-wave coffee shop. Known for their pour-overs. This is the one place on my list I haven’t personally been to, but it comes highly recommended.
Popeye Beer Club(Ryogoku): Really great Japanese craft beer place. Has beers from around the world. Great atmosphere.
Iyoshi Cola (Harajuku): Fun little craft cola shop, worth stopping by to try if you are in Harajuku.
Other
Nissan Crossing (Ginza): Kind of a company showcase for Nissan. It’s free, and you can see some cool exhibits.
Studio Ghibli Museum: Really popular museum, but VERY difficult to get tickets. The best bet is to get someone in Japan to get tickets from a convenience store for you when they go on sale (a month before). If you want to go here, do your research first to help ensure you get tickets. I have failed twice trying to get tickets (I have still not been there).
Neighborhoods
Just some random notes.
Ginza : Upscale shopping. Not as many places to eat. They close the streets on weekends, so it’s a good place to walk.
Shinagawa : This is where I stay for work. Not a ton around here, but convenient on JR line, and station has a ton of places to eat.
Shibuya : Cool area, has the crosswalk. Super busy and touristy.
Akihabara : Electronics and Manga.
Ueno : Nice area. Has a huge park and lots of Japanese history museums. Good place to see cherry blossoms.
Harajuku : Used to be a cool Japanese neighborhood, but now it seems a bit touristy. It might be worth a walk just to see it. You can walk from here to Shibuya.