Written by Katharina Mungall
Travel writer, photographer and architect
On 17 September 2017 we were supposed to be in Nikko. The weather had other ideas, so we pushed Nikko back a day and started close to our hotel instead. That happened to be the Shiba Park Hotel, very close to Tokyo Tower. We walked through Shiba Park, went up the tower and then caught the train to Yokohama. It was a rainy day, but we made the most of it.
In May 2019 we were back in this part of Minato, and this time we climbed the steep staircase at Atago Shrine, a little further north.
This suggested half-day walk combines places from those two trips with a stop at Zojoji. The ground-level route takes in Shiba Park, the temple grounds, the foot of Tokyo Tower and Atago Shrine, and it’s worthwhile on its own. Going up the tower costs extra time and money, so treat it as a choice rather than a given.
Our Shiba Park and Tokyo Tower visit was on 17 September 2017; our Atago stair climb was in May 2019. Practical details checked against official information on 28 September 2026.
Choose your route before booking the tower
These are planning allowances, including stops, rather than timed walks:
| Version | Time and trade-off |
|---|---|
| Ground-level walk: Shiba Park, Zojoji, the tower from below, Atago | Around 2–3 hours. You see the tower rather than the view from it, and you only pay for anything you choose to go inside |
| The walk plus a tower ascent | Around 3–4 hours or more, depending on queues and breaks. Adds the ticket price and the time up and down |
| A shorter walk | Drop the ascent to save money and queuing, or leave out Atago to reduce the walking |
Whichever version you pick, I would do the park, temple and shrine in daylight. Tokyo Tower stays open late into the evening, so the ascent is the stop that can slide later if the day runs over.
If you’re still working out where a half-day like this fits, our 5 Day Tokyo Itinerary: Build Your Own Route From Our 3 Trips shows how the days fit together.
Begin around Shiba Park and Zojoji
Start from Daimon or Hamamatsucho, or whichever nearby station works best with your line. Shiba Park wraps around the temple grounds of Zojoji, and Tokyo Tower rises right behind them, so the three sit in one compact patch of Minato.
This is where we started our 2017 day, in Shiba Park, before heading to the tower.
Zojoji is a large Buddhist temple, and its grounds are the heart of this first stretch. The temple buildings and the tower appear in the same view, which is a large part of the appeal of walking here rather than just taking the lift up the tower. The Treasures Gallery and Tokugawa mausoleum are separate paid visits with their own hours. This route only needs the grounds, so check Zojoji’s visitor information if you want to add either.
The temple’s Sangedatsumon gate is undergoing restoration beneath a temporary covering. Zojoji’s construction notice says you can pass underneath, but the approach is narrower during the work. Allow people through and follow the signs on the day.
Should you go up Tokyo Tower?
Seeing the tower from below
You don’t have to go up to enjoy the tower itself. You can see it from the ground for free: from Shiba Park, from the Zojoji grounds and from standing right underneath it. If budget or time is tight, the ground-level walk still gives you Tokyo Tower. It just doesn’t give you Tokyo from Tokyo Tower.
Main Deck or Top Deck?
We went up Tokyo Tower on that rainy September day in 2017. For this walk, the two ticket options to compare are:
| Adult ticket | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Main Deck: ¥1,500 | The 150 m Main Deck. Open 9am–11pm, last admission 10.30pm |
| Top Deck Tour: ¥3,300 online, ¥3,500 at the counter | The Top Deck at 250 m, plus the Main Deck. Open 9am–10.45pm, last tour 10.15pm |
Prices and times checked on the official Tokyo Tower site on 28 September 2026.
The Main Deck is the simpler, cheaper option if you just want to see the city from above. The Top Deck Tour makes sense if the higher deck is specifically what you want from the day. Before you pay for either, check Tokyo Tower’s official fees and operating notices. Bad weather can close the Top Deck, and congestion can bring the Main Deck’s last admission forward.
If a big skyline view is the main thing you want, compare this walk with our Tokyo Skytree and Ryogoku in one day, which is built around the other tower.
Continue to Atago Shrine
From the tower, head north through Minato to Atago Shrine, a Shinto shrine on a small hill near Kamiyacho and Toranomon Hills stations. Plan the walk with a map from wherever you leave the tower, as the exact route depends on where you come out.
The shrine is known for its steep stone staircase straight up the front of the hill, associated with success in life. We climbed it in May 2019.
You don’t have to use that staircase. Tokyo’s official accessible tourism guide describes a lift near Atago Tunnel that reaches the hilltop and gives access to the shrine grounds. If you depend on the lift, confirm its operation with the shrine before setting out; the steep front steps are not a suitable fallback.
I would still visit during daylight. The same official guide lists 9am–4pm for the shrine office reception, rather than as a closing time for the whole grounds. You can finish near Kamiyacho or Toranomon Hills Station; the shrine’s access page puts each about five minutes away on foot. Choose whichever suits your onward journey.
Starting later, or keeping the walk shorter
If you’re starting after lunch, flip the direction. Go to Atago first while it’s still daytime, then walk south to Zojoji and Shiba Park, and finish at Tokyo Tower, which stays open well into the evening. Check Zojoji’s access notices before you commit, especially if you want to enter a paid area. If that no longer fits, see the temple from outside and put the time into the tower instead.
To shorten the walk, drop the ascent if budget or queues are the problem, or drop Atago if you want less walking. What I wouldn’t do is stretch it into a full day by bolting on more neighbourhoods. It works because it’s compact.
Where this fits in your Tokyo plans
With the tower ascent optional, you can keep this to a half-day between longer Tokyo outings. We stayed at the Shiba Park Hotel in 2017, and our review, A cultural and artsy Stay in Tokyo – Review of Shiba Park Hotel, covers the hotel itself. If you’re still choosing a base, Where to Stay in Tokyo: 6 Hotels We Actually Stayed In compares the hotels we’ve used across our trips.
And if you only have room for one tower in your plans, the choice comes down to what you want from it. Choose this walk for temples, a shrine and a tower you can enjoy from the street. Choose Tokyo Skytree and Ryogoku in one day if the higher view and the sumo side of the city appeal more.
Would you go up Tokyo Tower, or keep the day for Shiba, Zojoji and Atago?
