It might be helpful to know what sorts of things you like. Are you interested in history? Art? Shopping, partying, temples, outdoor activities, modern marvels, fine dining, youth culture and fashion, sports, souvenirs? I'm not trying to be facetious, but there is so much that narrowing down a bit can make recommendations a lot easier.

December will change some things, such as the fabulous gardens and outdoor areas. A few of my favorites for a quick trip to Tokyo might include:

Asakusa - Senso-ji temple, the Nakamise Arcade and the surrounding "old town" entertainment area.

The Edo-Tokyo Museum and surrounding "sumo town" of Ryogoku. If you see only one museum in Tokyo, this should be it.

The Imperial Palace - even in winter, the East Garden should be nice.

Ueno Park and the Tokyo National Museum comlex.

Ginza - a trip to a high-end Japanese department store is an amazing experience. White gloved attendants, bowing everywhere and super expensive top-name merchandise. Be sure to go to the basements for the food displays and samples. A walk around Ginza at dusk is always a treat for the lights and window displays, but near Christmas it will be amazing.

Harajuku and Aoyama on a weekend is fun for the wild teen fashions being paraded.

Akihabara - I don't actually buy anything in "electric town," but find the madhouse atmosphere of all the electronics to be fascinating.

For a quieter look at pretty, older fashioned Tokyo, spend a half-day or so wandering around Nippori or better yet cross the tracks from Nippori Station to Yanaka or Nezu. You will think you have gone back 50 years.

Kamakura is definitely do-able as a day trip.

There is plenty to keep one busy for 5 days in and around Tokyo. Several previous threads have addressed this and a scroll through the forum will turn those up. I'm sure that others will chime in over the next few days, too.

JR