The Tokyo Food Trail — from a Ginza depachika to a Golden Gai bar hop in four days

Land in Ginza — a quick bridge and a first Ginza lunch if you land early, the depachika graze at dusk, then a fish izakaya under the tracks

• MorningNihonbashi BridgeThe 1911 stone bridge where Japan's old highways began, the kilometre-zero marker set into the road — twenty minutes in passing, five minutes from Tokyo Station. Worth it only on an early landing; land in the afternoon and you'd skip this and the lunch below, picking up at the depachika for dusk and the izakaya dinner.
• LunchRengateiThe Ginza yoshoku house long credited with the birth of omurice and the pork cutlet — a gentle, familiar first Tokyo lunch a few minutes from the hotel. Open 11:15-20:00, closed Sundays.
• AfternoonGinza Mitsukoshi (depachika)Ginza Mitsukoshi's basement food hall (a depachika) — sweets, bento and prepared-food counters to graze before dinner. It is open until 20:00, so 17:00 leaves time.
• DinnerShin Hinomoto (Andy's)Fish-led izakaya under the Yurakucho tracks, a few minutes' walk from the depachika. Reservations accepted, cash only, closed Sundays (Tabelog).

Along the Yamanote line — Yanaka's food street, a Bib Gourmand ramen in Otsuka, Rikugien, then Shinjuku's yakitori alley and a guided bar hop

• MorningNezu ShrineA miniature tunnel of vermilion torii, under a kilometre from Yanaka Ginza.
• MorningYanaka & Yanaka GinzaA shotengai (local shopping street) of food shops — snacks, tea and wagashi sweets to graze on. Shops keep their own hours (GO TOKYO); a visitor guide says most rest on Mondays and Tuesdays, so a Wednesday works.
• LunchNakiryuBib Gourmand tantanmen in Otsuka. Tabelog lists a same-day ticket system: register on the shop's tablet from 08:00 for a 30-minute slot between 11:00 and 15:30, so plan an 08:00 start at Otsuka (five stops past Nippori on the Yamanote line). Cash only; closed Sundays and national holidays.
• AfternoonRikugien GardenA poem garden — 88 scenes from classical verse. Open 09:00-17:00 with entry to 16:30, so the after-lunch slot is comfortable.
• AfternoonSunshine 60 Observatory Tenbou Park (Sky Circus)Klook: a grass-carpeted deck 251 m up in Sunshine City, Ikebukuro, five minutes' walk from the station. The seed rates the evening as its best time, so book a late-afternoon slot.
• DinnerOmoide Yokocho YakitoriOmoide Yokocho, the yakitori alley two minutes from Shinjuku Station: smoky counters that seat only five or six each, and payment is cash (GO TOKYO). Go as a pair or a small group.
• EveningShinjuku Bar Hopping Night TourKlook: a guided bar hop through Golden Gai's alley grid — three or four bars you would not find alone. The legal drinking age is 20; book days ahead.

Asakusa to Ueno — Sensō-ji, the kitchen street, tempura, a sushi class in a happi coat and the Ameyoko market street

• MorningSenso-ji Temple & NakamiseTokyo's oldest temple, reached through the Nakamise street of snack and souvenir stalls (about 90 shops, per GO TOKYO). The seed marks it crowd-high with its quietest hours around 10:00-11:00, so the plan is there from 09:30.
• MorningKappabashi Kitchen Street800 m of restaurant-supply shops — knives and the plastic food replicas. Shops set their own holidays: most open Saturdays and only about 30% on Sundays (the street's own FAQ), so go on a weekday.
• LunchDaikokuya Tempura (Asakusa)Asakusa's 1887 tempura house — dark sesame-oil tendon. Open daily 11:00-20:00, cash only and no reservations (Tabelog), so arrive early in the lunch window.
• AfternoonSushi Making Class in a Happi Coat in AsakusaKlook: a 90-minute class in Asakusa, three minutes from the station — dressed in a happi coat you roll maki and press nigiri, then eat the lot, so pace the Ameyoko snacks. Book a slot days ahead.
• AfternoonAmeyoko Market StreetUeno's market street: about 500 shops and stalls along 500 m, open daily but with hours that vary by shop (GO TOKYO) — a walk-through, not a meal, so go before dinner.
• DinnerMonja Moheji UenoMonjayaki and okonomiyaki hall with private rooms, a minute's walk from Ueno Station. Reservations available and open to 23:00 (Tabelog).

Last bites — a Tsukiji Outer Market breakfast, Hamarikyu, omurice near the hotel, then a last GINZA SIX food-hall browse before the airport — the fuller slate if your flight's later, trimmed from the back if it's earlier

• MorningTsukiji Outer MarketTamagoyaki, uni and tuna in the Outer Market. GO TOKYO says it is closed Wednesdays, Sundays and national holidays; shops keep their own hours (the association lists tamagoyaki counters opening 04:00-06:00 and many seafood-bowl shops between 04:30 and 08:00), so 08:15 is mid-morning, not early.
• MorningHamarikyu GardensA shogun's duck-hunting grounds with a teahouse on an island, skyscrapers behind. Open 09:00-17:00 with entry to 16:30 (Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association).
• LunchShiseido ParlourGinza's grand 1902 tearoom, known for omurice, a few minutes' walk from the hotel so the bags are close. Open 11:30-21:30, closed Mondays, reservations by phone or online (Tabelog).
• AfternoonGINZA SIXGINZA SIX, the flagship department store a couple of minutes from the hotel — its food hall is the place for last edible gifts and its rooftop a quiet pause, a fitting close to a food trip. Then grab your bags and head for the airport; trim this for an earlier flight and go straight after lunch.