Free and cheap things to do in Tokyo, from free observation decks and museums to hidden gems found by a local. Each guide covers how to get there from the station, when it is less crowded, and whether it works on a rainy day or with kids.
Free Things to Do The Free Observatories of the Tokyo Government Building Two observation decks 202 metres above Shinjuku, both free of charge, and after dark the wall of the building itself becomes the screen. How the north and south decks differ, and how to plan the day. 
Free Things to Do Toyosu Market Tuna Auction: How the Free Lottery Actually Works One hundred people a day are allowed onto the observation deck beside the tuna auction floor, at 5:45 in the morning, free of charge. You must apply the month before and win a lottery. Here is how it works, and what to do if you do not win. 
Free Things to Do The Ad Museum Tokyo: Four Hundred Years of Japanese Advertising, and It Is Free A museum devoted entirely to advertising — Edo woodblock handbills, Meiji posters, and the television commercials you half remember. It sits in a basement in Shiodome, it costs nothing, and it is one of the most quietly enjoyable hours in Tokyo. 
Free Things to Do Caretta Shiodome Free Observation Deck, How to Reach the 46th Floor, Hours and the View A free viewing deck 200 metres above Tokyo Bay, reached by a glass lift from the station basement. Opening hours, cost, how to get there from Tokyo Station, Haneda and Narita, and what to know if you are coming for a Shiki Theatre show. 
Free Things to Do The New Year Greeting at the Imperial Palace: Japan's Ippan Sanga On 2 January the gates of the Imperial Palace open and anyone may walk in — free, no booking — to see the Emperor and Empress appear on the balcony. Here is how the day works, gate by gate, and the one small piece of etiquette that matters most. 
Free Things to Do Inside Japan's Parliament: The Free Tour of the House of Councillors The National Diet Building was finished in 1936 after seventeen years, built almost entirely from Japanese stone and Japanese timber. You can walk through it for free — no booking, eight tours a day. Here is what to see, and exactly how to join. 
Free Things to Do Toei Animation Museum: A Free Anime Pilgrimage on the Edge of Tokyo Dragon Ball, Precure, Devilman and 70 years of anime history. A free museum on the grounds of the studio where Japanese animation was born. 
Free Things to Do Autumn Leaves Near Tokyo 2026: Where to Go, Week by Week In Japan, autumn colour does not arrive all at once. It walks down from the mountains, about two months from the highlands of Nikko to the streets of central Tokyo. Here is where to find it, week by week, from early October to mid-December. 
Free Things to Do Kansen-ji: Kyoto-Style Autumn Colour, Inside Tokyo, for Nothing A Zen temple in a Suginami backstreet where the gate frames the maples like a picture. Free to enter, almost unknown to visitors, and at the end of November it looks like Kyoto. Here is when to go, and how to find it. Sponsored
