The Imperial Palace in the Chiyoda district of Tokyo was built on the site of the old Edo Castle in 1888 during the Meiji Restoration after a fire destroyed the former shogun’s palace. It’s a large, park-like area with fine gardens that you can tour. The current Emperor Naruhito resides in Fukiage Palace, which is open to visitors only on New Year’s Day and the Emperor’s birthday. Otherwise, you can see the beautiful outer gardens and the Nijubashi, a wooden double bridge over a moat, that leads to the inner palace.

If Ginza is not really in your price range, head to fashionable Shibuya and try crossing the enormous intersection to younger, more casual, and trend-setting shops. Shibuya 109 is a temple to young women’s fashion, a 10-story mall loaded with smaller shops selling clothes, accessories, and beauty products. Don’t miss the Mega Don Quijote Shop (locals call it Donki), a 24-hour discount mall with its own theme song and filled floor to ceiling with things you need and things you’ve never imagined needing like watches, electronics, shoes, make-up, anime plushies, snacks, sex toys, regular toys, cosplay outfits, hemp air fresheners, contact lenses, nose-lifting clips, pet supplies, etc.

If you’re North American, it’s like a turbocharged Spencer Gifts. Oh, and if you want to feel nostalgic, go to Tower Records and give some new CDs a spin at a listening station. Afterwards, eat wagyu beef at Shibuya Wagyu Yakiniku Ushihachi Kiwami (right above the Scramble Crossing), get coffee at Fuglen, a mid-century, Norwegian cafe/bar where every antique and piece of furniture can be purchased, or chill out at Kotaro, an izakaya (informal pub) with no menu but finely crafted small plates chosen by the chef to your preferences (reservations are hard to get at the 10-seater).

Just west of Shibuya is a cool neighborhood named Shimokitazawa (called Shimokita by locals), that feels less frenetic and caters to a more bohemian, artsy crowd. There are murals along the walls, vintage clothes and vinyl, handcrafted jewelry, hipster cafes, live music venues, and a theater scene. The area was a farming town in the 1910s before exploding into a residential area in the 20s and 30s. During WWII, when food and products were scarce and highly regulated, the neighborhood became an important black market. In the 1970s, Shimokita came into its full counterculture identity as more young people moved in, and today it preserves a sense of community, DIY commerce, and passion for the arts. Try freshly made soba (buckwheat noodles) at Dashinsoan or if you’re looking for curry (the area hosts an annual curry festival in October), there’s Nijiiro Curry Shokudo, Curry Spice Gelateria Kalpasi, or Sanzou Tokyo. Real Mexican flavors can be found at Kitade Tacos, where the tortillas are made from Hokkaido corn and a vegan option exists.

To get a little more of old Tokyo, head thirty minutes northeast of Shinjuku to Asakusa, the capital of shitamachi, or the low-lying, riverbank area. Asakusa is a district that’s centered around Senso-ji, the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo, originally built in 645 (it was rebuilt after being bombed in 1945) in dedication to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. It is popular with locals and tourists alike and is the most visited religious site in the world with 30 million annual visitors. You’ll first enter by passing under the giant red Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate), originally built in 941 (reconstructed for the last time in 1960). Then you’ll walk up Nakamise-dori, a street leading up to the temple that’s lined with small souvenir and snack shops. It feels like a tourist trap, but it’s worth bearing the crowds for quality traditional gifts like sweets, rice crackers, fans, lanterns, chopsticks, and woodblock prints for folks back home.

About an hour and a half southeast of Tokyo in Kanagawa Prefecture is the charming, onsen (hot spring) resort town of Hakone, perfect for a day trip or an overnight stay on your way to Kyoto. If you’re not heading to Mt. Fuji proper, take in the views of the iconic mountain from picturesque Lake Ashi, where you can sail across on a faux pirate ship. There’s a traditional, thatched roof teahouse called Amazake-chaya along the way to or from the lake, which has been serving fermented rice tea and mochi for 400 years.

For a relaxing, cozy experience, stay at one of the many ryokans (traditional Japanese inns) with communal hot springs (or private baths on your balcony if you’ve got tattoos – check policies), tatami (straw mat) rooms, and kaiseki meals. You could easily spend a couple of hours at the Hakone Open Air Museum which opened in 1969. It has a thousand modern art pieces with many sculptures permanently exhibited outdoors that you come upon as you walk the park, in one with nature. Picasso’s early drawings and ceramic works are inside a two-story exhibition hall.

In southern Kyoto, Fushimi Inari Shrine is where you can hike the iconic trail through thousands of orange torii (gates). Each gate was a donation or offering from a person or business wishing to express their devotion to Inari, the Shinto god of rice, tea, sake, fertility, agriculture, and prosperity. The whole trail takes two or three hours, so head back down when you’ve had enough. A good stopping point is the Yotsutsuji intersection about halfway up where you can get a bird’s eye view of Kyoto. You may notice many fox statues across the grounds; they serve as messengers of Inari.

Thirty-five minutes north of Fushimi Inari is the UNESCO-listed Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion), a Zen Buddhist temple covered in gold leaf. It looks dramatically bold against the pond and foliage. The present building was rebuilt in 1955 after fire destruction. The original building was a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who wanted it to become a temple after his death in 1408. Visitors can’t enter the pavilion, but you can have matcha and sweets at the teahouse.

Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka are two ancient, sloping, cobblestone alleys on the way to Kiyomizu-dera with beautifully preserved, historic buildings. It’s what Nakamise-dori in Asakusa wants to be when it grows up. You can find street food like mochi, ice cream, and pickles, plus trinkets, katana (swords), and atmospheric tea houses. Kyoto is the birthplace for matcha (Japanese green tea), as a Buddhist monk went to study in China and brought back seeds and the method for preparing powdered green tea in 1191. The Uji area is considered to have the ideal climate and soil for growing tea, and the Kyoto cultivators use age-old techniques. Make sure to take some gold-standard green tea home with you.

Nara’s eight major historic temples, shrines, palaces, and a primeval forest are collectively a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Todai-ji (Great Eastern Temple) is a landmark and the country’s most famous and significant temple, as the head of all other provincial Buddhist temples. Todai-ji became overly powerful from its establishment in 752, so the capital was moved away from Nara in 784 to escape its influence. The temple houses a famous 15 meter (49 foot) giant, bronze Buddha that sits imposingly grand and serene. Kasuga Taisha is the most important Shinto shrine in the city with dramatic sloping roofs hanging over its white buildings with bright red columns. Three thousand bronze lanterns donated by worshippers are lit only twice a year for festivals in early February and mid-August. Originally built for the Fujiwara family, the shrine is a tribute to five main Shinto deities. Walk ten minutes to visit the shika (deer) at Nara Park, who are semi-wild like the monkeys of Arashiyama. If you stare too hard into a deer’s eyes while feeding them, they’ll probably just run away, but little children are warned not to hold the deer crackers because they can get a little aggressive about their snacks.

Osaka Castle was where Toyotomi Hideyoshi intended to centralize a unified Japan, but Tokugawa troops terminated his line in 1615 after many battles over the castle. The castle is a pristine gray and white structure supported by sheer walls of cut rock piled without any mortar and surrounded by giant moats. The park around the castle is a popular spot for picnics and blossom watching.