Japan

US citizens get 90 days visa-free with a Temporary Visitor stamp. Fill in Visit Japan Web before you fly for the QR code; it saves 15 to 20 minutes at immigration versus paper forms. Have your first night's address and proof of onward travel ready. From Narita: Narita Express (~60 min, ~¥3,070, reserved) if you're staying Shinjuku/Shibuya side; Keisei Skyliner (36 min, ¥2,580) for Ueno/east side; Keisei Access Express (~¥1,240, no reservation) for Asakusa on a budget. From Haneda, which is dramatically closer: Keikyu Line to Shinagawa (~¥300-330, 11-15 min) or the monorail (~¥500, 18 min).

Tokyo's oldest temple, and the rare major sight that's better at night. The Main Hall closes at 5:00pm but the grounds stay open and lit 24/7, serene and nearly empty after dark. Walk in through Kaminarimon (the giant lantern gate), down Nakamise-dori with its 80+ stalls. Perfect jet-lag plan: you're awake anyway.

Stay in Asakusa for dinner. Skip the tourist-trap tempura rows and eat where the office workers eat: an izakaya under the train tracks or a standing sushi bar. Then konbini dessert run. FamilyMart/Lawson/7-Eleven in Japan are a food group of their own: egg sando, custard taiyaki, limited-edition ice cream.

Tokyo's great Shinto shrine, set in a 700,000-square-meter forest that feels impossible this close to Harajuku. Grounds open sunrise to sunset. Go before 9:00am on a weekday for the calm version; Sunday mornings sometimes have a wedding procession. The Inner Garden (¥500) is worth it in iris season.

Ten minutes from the shrine, a different universe: Takeshita Street's crepes and vintage shops (calmest 10:00-11:00am weekdays), then the scramble. Cross it, then go up: Shibuya Sky's open-air rooftop on the 47th floor is the best high view in Tokyo. Advance tickets ¥2,700 before 3:00pm, ¥3,400 after; same-day costs more at the counter. No time limit once you're up, but no re-entry.

End west. Omoide Yokocho's six-seat yakitori stalls first (lively earlier, cash only, one drink plus one food per person, groups of 2-3 max), then Golden Gai after 9:00pm: 200+ micro-bars of five to eight seats, conversation-first, solo-friendly. Most charge a ¥500-1,000 table fee; look for no-cover signs. Free alternative with the best skyline: the Tokyo Metropolitan Government observatory decks (free, South deck to 10:00pm) with the projection-mapping show on the east face from 7:00pm.