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Lisbon or Tokyo?

Lisbon and Tokyo side by side: recommended length, best time, daily budget, highlights and which one suits whom.

A yellow tram in Lisbon

Portugal

Lisbon

Generous, if you do not underestimate the hills.

Country
Portugal
Recommended length
3–4 days
Best time
May and September
Daily budget
80–150 €
Language
Portuguese
Currency
Euro

Highlights

  • The first tram of the morning
  • A miradouro, early
  • Belém as its own half day

Neighbourhoods

  • Alfama — Climb up, see the view early, and accept getting lost on the way down.
  • Príncipe Real — Dinner, and fewer postcards. You are at the top of the hill here.
  • Belém — Think of it apart from the center. Go before noon and linger in the pastry shop.

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A crowded street of neon in Tokyo

Japan

Tokyo

One district, one day. Only then does the city shrink.

Country
Japan
Recommended length
4–5 days
Best time
Late March and November
Daily budget
120–190 €
Language
Japanese
Currency
Japanese yen (¥)

Highlights

  • A whole day in one district
  • Lunch from a market
  • An evening that ends early

Neighbourhoods

  • Yanaka — Low houses, temple gardens, a slower Tokyo than Shibuya.
  • Shimokitazawa — Records, small bars, secondhand shops. It begins in the afternoon and keeps you through the evening.
  • Asakusa — Beautiful if you go early. By afternoon it turns into souvenirs.

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Which one for whom?

Why Lisbon?

The yellow tram is a morning errand. Lisbon begins when you linger on a hill and get lost on the way down.

You can plan Lisbon as a flat city. You will live it as a hilly one. A ten-minute walk is sometimes a climb. Count the pause as part of the route.

Why Tokyo?

Cross the famous intersection once. The Tokyo you want starts one street in, and early the next morning.

Fill every day with another famous district and you will remember none of them. Give one day to the east, one day to a single neighborhood, and one day to no plan at all.

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