I setup this itinerary to cover a few days in Tokyo later this month. The design and purpose is for someone who has extensive experience visiting Tokyo, seen all the usual "sights" and is looking for something non-touristy/away from crowds, unique and a little different. Not included is a side-trip in the evening to see the holiday lights or illumination - still debating on which location to choose for that.

We have a lunch booked at Sushi Taichi Ginza, no other dining plans yet, but we're debating the AYCE king crab at one of the outlying Kanizanmai, likely kichijoji. Or maybe Tsukiji Kani Matsuri because the other half prefers hairy crab.

Also on the list - buying custom dashi blended at Dashi Okume. And looking for a 36cm Japanese made hand hammered carbon steel Yamada Kogyo-sho made wok. Hopefully boxed to carry home easily as a carry-on item. I don't think Tokyu Hands has the larger size woks, so need to find someplace still open on 12/26 late afternoon, or 12/29 morning to get it.

Open to suggestions or substitutions

Day 1: Friday, Dec 26 � The Hidden Island & River Walk

A quiet, historical walk in the shadow of skyscrapers.

• 1:30 PM: The Kachidoki Bridge Crossing
  
  • Transit: Take the train to Yurakucho or Shimbashi and walk towards the river, or taxi directly to the bridge.
    
  • Activity: Walk across this historic bridge. It offers one of the few wide, open-sky views of the Tokyo Bay area.
    
• 2:00 PM: Tsukuda Island (Tsukudajima)
  
  • The Spot: A preserved 17th-century fishing village that survived the war and earthquakes.
    
  • See:
    
    • Sumiyoshi Shrine: The guardian shrine for fishermen and ferrymen.
      
    • The Red Torii Gate: Located unusually right on the water's edge.
      
    • The Narrow Alleys: Wander the tiny backstreets where potted plants and old wooden houses create a time-slip atmosphere.
      
• 4:00 PM: Sumida River Terrace
  
  • Activity: Walk along the paved river embankments. This is a popular spot for locals to jog and walk dogs, offering a relaxing sunset view of the skyline.
    

Day 2: Saturday, Dec 27 � The Manual Ferry & Bonsai Masters

Critical Timing: Saturday is essential for the winter ferry schedule.

• 9:00 AM: Depart Shinagawa
  
  • Transit: JR Yamanote Line to Nippori, transfer to Keisei Line to Shibamata.
    
• 10:00 AM: Shibamata Taishakuten Temple
  
  • Activity: Explore the wood-carved temple that is the heart of this retro town.
    
  • Must See: Suikeien Garden. A stunning strolling garden with a covered wooden corridor. (Note: This is the last day to view it before the New Year closure).
    
• 11:00 AM: Yagiri-no-Watashi (Manual Ferry Crossing)
  
  • Action: Walk behind the temple to the riverbank.
    
  • The Ride: Board the traditional wooden boat. It is rowed by hand (no engine) across the Edo River to the Chiba side. This is the only surviving Edo-style ferry in Tokyo.
    
  • Schedule: In winter, it only operates on weekends/holidays (approx. 10:00 AM � 4:00 PM). Since today is Saturday, it will be running.
    
  • Logistics: Take the ride across (200 yen). You can explore the Chiba bank briefly and take the boat back (easiest for transit), or if you feel adventurous, walk from the Chiba side to Matsudo station (long walk). Recommendation: Round trip by boat.
    
• 1:00 PM: Transit to Edogawa
  
  • Transit: Take the bus from Shibamata to Koiwa Station, then transfer to the bus for the bonsai museum.
    
• 2:00 PM: Shunka-en Bonsai Museum
  
  • Activity: Visit the private dojo of Master Kunio Kobayashi. Unlike a sterile museum, this is a living workshop where you can walk through the garden and see 1,000-year-old trees up close, often with apprentices working nearby.
    

Day 3: Sunday, Dec 28 � The "Grandma's Harajuku" & Garden Onsen

Replacing Jindaiji with a deep local culture walk and a stunning garden onsen.

• 9:00 AM: Depart Shinagawa
  
  • Transit: JR Yamanote Line to Sugamo (approx. 25 mins direct).
    
• 09:30 AM: Sugamo Jizo-dori Shopping Street
  
  • Why here: Known as "Grandma's Harajuku," this is one of the most friendly, local streets in Tokyo.
    
  • Activity: Visit Kogan-ji Temple (Togenuki Jizo) to wash the "healing statue." It is believed to cure ailments.
    
  • Stroll: The street will be bustling with locals buying New Year's preparations. Look for the famous "red underwear" shops (symbolizing health/luck) and traditional senbei cracker stores.
    
• 11:30 AM: Transit to Onsen
  
  • Transit: Take the Toei Mita Line from Sugamo Station to Shimura-sakaue Station (12 mins). Walk 8 mins to the onsen.
    
• 12:30 PM: Saya no Yudokoro (Maenohara Onsen)
  
  • The Spot: This is an authentic onsen built on the grounds of a Showa-era secluded mansion.
    
  • The Vibe: You are soaking in natural hot spring water while looking out at a meticulously maintained Japanese moss garden. It feels like a high-end ryokan in Kyoto, but it's a public facility in North Tokyo.
    
  • Activity: Enjoy the open-air baths (rotenburo) and the steam sauna. They also have an excellent restaurant inside overlooking the garden for lunch.
    
  • Status: OPEN Dec 28 (Year-end hours/rates apply).
    
• Late Afternoon: Return to Shinagawa via Toei Mita Line to Mita, transfer to JR Yamanote.
  

If you look over the Sumida river you might see me walking with my family along the West Bank on Boxing Day. We’ll be staying on that side.
- we ended up walking on the other side but much further down - https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/37501352-post527.html

I think you will struggle to consolidate the folkloric AI version of Tsukudajima you’ve presented here and what you’ll actually find there, particularly on a cold, December working day.

I also suspect that there are flourishes of artistic licence in the Saya no Yudokoro description. No doubt you can enjoy the lovely landscaping whilst you are eating but I don’t think you will be “soaking in natural hot spring water while looking out at a meticulously maintained Japanese moss garden”.

I lack the patience to scrutinise any of the other descriptions, I’d advise cross checking your choices before committing to them.

Here’s a realistic depiction of Tsukudajima. It’s from 2009.
https://www.ltij.net/tokyo/tsukishima.html

Day 1: Friday, Dec 26 — The Hidden Island & River Walk

Have you visited Tokyo Station and walked along/under the brick structure between Tokyo Station and Shimbashi and beyond? If you're doing history, that might be worth adding in. Walking along it is quite cool but there are also cool shops under the tracks at certain parts.

More as an incidental thing, not really deliberate - especially going between Yurakucho and Shimbashi as we're at Yurakucho frequently. I will put it on the list to have a look, thank you!

Hi

I just did this walk this evening and lots of interesting shops and bars as well as good smells. Quite busy at 930pm.. small candle displays for christmas.
example photo of part of the area underneath the tracks


Area under the arches


One of the christmas candle displays
On the road beside the arches there are more bars/restaurants with more people.enjoyed the experience
Regards

Tbs

Tis funny what AI misses. If OP used AI to create the list then booo. https://www.gotokyo.org/en/spot/1846/index.html
Added official site https://www.jrtk.jp/hibiya-okuroji/

Well AI didn't miss anything, it went off my prompt which wouldn't have uncovered the shops because the prompt focused on nature, parks, outdoors, bonsai, onsen, etc. But it did, as pointed out upthread, overly romanticize some spots which may be less desirable in winter, or only desirable, in case of the onsen, with reserving a private bath.

We're still refining, but some of the suggestions here have been super helpful!

Sorry to break it to you, but the Onsen private bath has even less of a garden view than the main baths/rotemburo do.


This photo comes from the Saya no yudokoro website. Worth noting also that even with the private Onsen, mixed gender bathing/family bathing is not allowed (with the exception for family members of the opposite gender under 7 years old).
I�ll add that only fully open rotemburo/baths are going to have any kind of view in December as the temperature difference between inside and outside make window panes opaque with condensation.

Here is a summary of what we actually did, vs the initial draft of what we thought of doing, which was updated a few more times since my initial post.

No draft for Thursday as it was our arrival day, but we did have dinner at Tonkatsu Aoki (Kamata). Cash-only, and I would suggest skipping the 400gram katsu option - while almost everyone in the restaurant was going in that direction and we did too, it was WAAAAY too much for us, especially with rice and soup on the side. Stick to 200gm portions, or if you're really hungry, the 300gm. 1/2kg of pork was overkill. I would suggest trying out their different salts where you can dip the fatty ends into the salt for a massive flavor burst. After dinner we went over to the Ebisu Garden to see the last of the holiday lights and that really odd chandelier.

(Draft) Friday, Dec 26
� Lunch in Ginza
� Matcha Shopping at Takashimaya Nihonbashi (Ippodo Tea Co.)
� Custom Dashi Making at Azabudai Hills (Dashi Okume)
� Dinner at Azabu Kogaiken Nakameguro (Omurice Hamburg)

(Reality)

We had our usual omakase lunch at Sushi Taichi Ginza - this visit was arguably better than the last two lunches, some of the pieces, particularly the iwashi/sardine were eye-roll-back-in-your-head good. After lunch we decided to walk to Takashimaya (I needed to break in my new Hoka shoes, $50 cheaper than the USA). Along the way we stopped by Moriichi, which is a great shop to buy origami paper and amazing greeting cards. I love this particular location of Takashimaya because of the history, the amazing products, and the chance to ride the old fashioned elevators with uniformed operators and metal grate doors, just like my childhood. We took a trip up to the rooftop garden, which while much prettier in spring with blooming azaleas, was a nice respite from the busy streets below. In warmer months, the rooftop has a small cafe where you can order drinks and small snacks and sit at a table in front of the garden.

From there we worked our way down floor by floor, making a detour to one department I hadn't visited before, the kimono salon. Here, we saw some of the most amazing textiles and fabrics, many were handmade silks costing tens of thousands of dollars, along with a few "Obi" that were priced in the hundreds of thousands of US$. The fabrics were absolutely stunning, and while photos are not allowed, if you find yourself in the store, it's worthwhile to stroll through this section as some of the pieces are museum quality. After a visit to the men's store, where I came dangerously close to buying a cashmere sweater, we went to the basement food court to get my matcha powder from Ippudo, and some yokan from Toraya.

We headed over to Dashi Okume, and while the cutoff for custom dashi was earlier in the day, I decided to buy a few of their pre-made custom blends to provide some ideas before trying my hand at inventing my own recipe.

From there, we had dinner at Azabu Kogaiken Nakameguro, and we arrived just in time to be seated at the counter with no lineup. If you like omurice, this is definitely the place to try, as this location is famous for its hamburger omurice where a custom blended patty is placed over rice, and an omelet on top, along with a demi-glace to pour over after you split the omelet. We also tried their crab croquette, and the curry omelet with fried prawn. Literally everything at this restaurant was absolutely amazing, both visually and in taste, so strongly recommend it for anyone who enjoys omurice and western-style Japanese cuisine.

After dinner, we walked back to our hotel in Shinagawa along the Meguro River to see the winter lights where all of the cherry trees are lit in pink to resemble the cherry blossoms.

(Draft) Saturday, Dec 27
� Shibamata Taishakuten Temple & Suikeien Garden
� Yagiri-no-Watashi Manual Ferry
� Lunch in Shibamata (Tempura or Soba)
� Shunka-en Bonsai Museum

(Reality)

We headed out to tour Shibamata Taishakuten temple. It was a very nice temple complex, nothing absolutely earth shattering, but I felt it was worth the visit. The temple includes a nice Japanese garden, and ornate wood carvings inside the main temple building. After the temple, we walked over to Yagiri-no-Watashi, expecting a historic experience with an old Edo-period river crossing ferry. Realty? A guy in a long wooden boat with an outboard motor who takes you on a 30 second ride to the opposite river bank. We passed and instead lingered in the park to watch a Jr High baseball game before heading back to visit the Shunka-En Bonsai Museum. If you're a big fan of bonsai, this is the place to visit, with prize winning trees, and historic trees - but if you're just mildly curious, there is another museum closer to Edogawa, or even the bonsai in the Japanese garden of Showa Park.

After the bonsai museum, we had a "date" for the last fireworks at Odaiba, and were lucky enough to grab a few snacks and a table at Decks Odaiba to watch the fireworks - then avoided the crowds who passed by Jonathan's where we had dinner. It was always on our list to try after the restaurant made so many appearances in the hysterical TV show The Hot Spot - it didn't disappoint, and we enjoyed our meal, and would always have it on our list as a backup plan if one is available where we're at. After dinner we planned to walk back across the Rainbow Bridge, but it was already closed for the night, so we took the bus back to Shinagawa.

(Draft) Sunday, Dec 28
� Ikegami Honmonji Temple
� Miyamaedaira Gensen Yukemuri no Sho (The Onsen)
� Kuhonbutsu Joshin-ji Temple
� Jiyugaoka Neighborhood Walk
� Dinner at Nami no Jiyugaoka

(Reality)

We decided to drop Ikegami Honmonji and go direct to Gensen Yukemuri because the onsen gets busy and earlier is better. This is a higher-end locals traditional onsen focused on very unique water preparations, and we enjoyed the experience and would go back again. The onsite restaurant is famous, especially for tofu, but after we finished our soaking, the wait list was 32 names long, so we decided to leave it for another time.

Kuhonbutsu Joshin-ji Temple is absolutely stunning - we walked the grounds, visited the main temple building, and the cemetery behind, where families were visiting loved ones, and cleaning/washing the headstones. From the temple we decided to walk again, and enjoyed the residential neighborhood and spotted one possible akiya candidate - not sure if it was for sale, it would be been a perfect rental property given the proximity to the train station and southern Tokyo, but the big crack in the foundation had me somewhat nervous. Setagaya with nearby Jiyugaoka would be our ideal place to own a small home in Japan and we just loved the environment here. We wandered into Jiyugaoka-proper and ended up at Jiyugaoka de Aone mall, where (on a clear day) you can see Mt Fuji from the upper deck of the mall. We also tried Grandir bake shop, a chain from Kyoto, which has arguably the best tasting bagels we've ever had - a thin crispy shell on the outside, with a soft, pillowy, chewy inside. It's what every bagel in North America wishes it could be.

For dinner, the plan was engorging ourselves with ikura at Nami-no, but after sitting down we discovered they are cash or PayPay only, and rather than run around looking for an ATM, we decided to put it off for next time since we're back in February.

That was pretty much it - the following day was departure day, but we had time until 3P - however, most businesses were already closed for the new year holiday, leaving few options. The original plan was to walk from our Shinagawa hotel to Happo-En to admire their gardens, but they were closed, so after checking out another nearby park that was also closed, we ended up with the throngs at Ueno Park for a little walk and headed back to get ready for the airport.

How 'hack' has become a weak synonym for 'advise on' or 'give tips on' .. it must hack off some pedants. Unless you want someone to hack your account and hack up your itinerary.

This was really good, thanks for "recommending" this, went on a rainy morning and worked out great

Definitely try Miyamaedaira Gensen on your next visit - I think it's a much better experience, especially with the different water options, but a little farther out from central Tokyo