5 Tokyo Tourist Attractions for Children and Families

 

1. Tokyo Disneyland

Everyone who goes to Tokyo certainly knows that there is a Disneyland Resort in Tokyo, yes, this theme park is the first Disneyland in Asia, much longer before it existed in Hong Kong, let alone Shanghai. In Tokyo there are even 2 theme parks next to each other: Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.

One day is not necessarily enough to explore one theme park.

You definitely don't have enough time to visit both in one day. So if you only have 1 day allocated, you have to decide which one you want to go to. But indeed, if you want to be satisfied, you have to take at least 2 days (which will definitely be hard on the costs, hehehe). Tickets can be purchased on the official website, but usually the prices on Klook are cheaper.

It takes a 20 minute train ride from Tokyo Station. Ticket prices are ¥7400/adult for a 1-day passport ticket, or ¥13,200 for a 2-day ticket. Tickets can only be used to enter one theme park per day. You can buy tickets online (recommended) and also buy on-the-spot.

Tokyo Disneyland is almost twice the size of Hong Kong Disneyland, and Tokyo DisneySea is still 50% larger than Tokyo Disneyland. What is certain is that no matter what day you come, Disneyland will always be crowded and there will be queues everywhere. Expect queues for popular rides to be from 30 minutes to 2 hours, unless you take a FastPass.

If you don't want to play, just want to take photos, you can buy a Starlight ticket for ¥5,400. This ticket is only available for Saturdays and Sundays and can be entered at 3pm. Even cheaper is After-6 for ¥4,200, this ticket as the name suggests can only be entered after 6 pm (weekday only).

2. Ueno Zoo

Ueno Park is one of the largest parks in the city of Tokyo. In one of the areas there is even a zoo which is the pride of Tokyo: Ueno Zoo.

You can get here by taking the subway and getting off at Ueno station, then walk for about 15 minutes to the zoo entrance. Tickets cost ¥600/adult which is quite cheap.

This zoo's collection is quite complete, starting from polar bears, tigers, rhinos, to the special ones, namely Pandas from China, Japanese Macaque (red-faced monkeys), and Red Pandas. This zoo is divided into 2 areas: east and west which are connected by monorail (pay again), but you can choose to walk.

3. Odaiba Toyota Mega Web

If the father likes the automotive world, it could be a way to take the child to Tokyo Mega Web in Odaiba (Tokyo Bay). Indeed, this is a showroom for all Toyota models sold in Japan, also showing concept cars and electric cars that are still prototypes.

Children can be taken to learn to drive a car at a driving school. For a fee of ¥500, your little one will sit in a small electric car, learn to stop and gas, obey traffic signs, then at the end of the session they will be given a driving license, aka a driver's license, complete with a photo of their child.

4. Doraemon Museum

A museum was built specifically to display the work of Fujiko F Fujio, who during his lifetime drew hundreds of Doraemon, P-Man and their variants comics. We can see a replica of the maestro's work space, his drawing paper, and the timeless figures he created.

The location of this museum is not in Tokyo, precisely in Kawasaki which we can reach by 30 minutes train from Tokyo. There is no ticket counter at the location, tickets must be purchased at Lawson minimarkets spread throughout Japan. You can read further explanation and how to get to Doraemon here.

5. Legoland Discovery Center

This place is like a mini Legoland, and indoor. If you plan to go to Odaiba/Tokyo Bay (see point 3 above), then you can visit the Legoland Discovery Center at the same time. The location is inside Tokyo Decks Mall, prepare 3-4 hours to play here with your children. Tickets must be purchased one day in advance to ensure they are cheap, namely ¥2,250 per person.

There is Lego 4D Cinema, Lego Factory Tour, laser games, Lego Friends for girls, and DUPLO Village for toddlers.

Tickets can also be purchased online via the Klook website at this link, just show the voucher from your smartphone to enter this area.

Bonus: Yodobashi Camera

So this is actually a place to shop for electronic goods, why is it on this list? Come to Yodobashi Camera shop in Akihabara and you will find out. Apart from selling smartphones and cameras (DSLR and mirrorless, including accessories), this 6-story building also sells household items (read: for wives) such as hair driers and the like, and this is the most important thing: the 6th floor is a special floor for toys. Starting from toys for toddlers to for fathers (read: Playstation, Nintendo, Tomica Plarail and Gundam assemblies with colored paint). We can find all kinds of toys here, the prices are cheap, and it's incredibly spacious.