The Tokyo Guide I Wish I'd Had!
My insider food must-eats, top kid-friendly adventures and where to stay. May this 10 minutes read save you weeks and stress - and give you delicious times. You're welcome.
OK, this city is huge - and the task of working out where to eat and stay felt even bigger in my mind! But we came, we conquered and I’m here to share it with you all!
This guide is the result of MANY months of research, discoveries on the ground and hot tips from chefs and foodies in know.
If it was just me travelling to Tokyo, I’d be in a boutique hotel, in some trendy neighbourhood (like Nakameguro), wandering around book stores and discovering cafes and artisan makers by day, and exploring wine bars and amazing restaurants by night. I actually tried to do some of this with the family one day, optimistically dubbing it our “neighbourhood day.” Our little one must have asked, “where are we going?” and “why are we doing this?” about a thousand times, before just stopping in the middle of a busy footpath and refusing to walk further until I showed him a map of EXACTLY where we are going. Because the romance of wandering around and exploring hidden gems is clearly not his dream! And to be honest, it’s no one’s dream unless everyone is into it, SO for this trip, my priority was to:
have an amazing family-friendly experience,
and then fit the great food spots around that.
My criteria for where to stay was also all about the family. The key things being:
space - so there’s somewhere to relax/play and provide a moment of respite from the busy city
a laundry (no explanation needed)
very close walking distance to a convenient train station for visiting all the big guns for first-timers like Ginza, Disneyland etc.
But rest assured, this guide has something for EVERYONE (especially my food guide).
Now, we travelled with our two young boys and I found that Tokyo is GREAT for kids. It’s one of those rare cities where cutting-edge efficiency meets incredible hospitality. You can’t underestimate how things like perfectly timed trains and cleanliness lead to a stress-free family trip!
Beyond the excellent logistics, I have heard a few people mention that Tokyo is over-stimulating and “A LOT”, which is true - even for adults. So I think the key is to plan the trip in such a way that minimises the schlep:
know where you’re going
make bookings
stay close to a train station
have moments of rest in the day where you might just hang in the accomodation or even have a night in with (the very good) 7-Eleven sushi.
Considering how obsessed we are with food and exploring EVERY. SINGLE. RESTAURANT. AND. CAFE., I never thought I would do this, but we stayed in one evening with all the Japanese mini-mart delicacies, watching quirky local TV which we didn’t really understand - and we loved it!
So here’s my detailed guide for where to PLAY, EAT and STAY!
OUR TOP 8 FAMILY FRIENDLY PLACES TO VISIT (AND TIPS!):
teamLab Planets: for an interactive art experience straight out of a dream!
Top tip: We booked an early session at 10am as it was the only one available that day, and the line to go in turned out to be way shorter then for those booked after us- so I would go early!
Teamlab Planets from their instagram. Tsukiji Fish Market: This might be too busy for some younger families, but if you’re all into food, it’s a fantastic gateway into Japanese food, with everything from matcha soft serve to sushi, to the more obscure things like seafood crackers.
Ginza Shopping district: This is where you’ll find the biggest and best of every brand including Japanese icons, UNIQLO and MUJI. Obviously, this is not the kids’ dream, but I wooed them with the promise of a visit to an excellent four storey toy shop, “Hakuhinkan Toy Park” which has over 200,000 toys and an interactive car race game on the top floor. They liked it so much we went there twice. This was not my dream (ha ha), but I had a secret motive which was lunch afterwards at a hidden ramen joint a short walk away (more on where to eat below).
Shibuya Crossing: This is hectic, but I think it’s a must-see for the first-timer and can be comfortably viewed from the Starbucks overlooking it, with a coffee and hot chocolate. To round out the hyper-touristy experience, there’s a great conveyor belt sushi a short walk away, so I planned for this to be dinner afterwards. There’s a great wine bar in Shibuya too! (see where to eat below).
Tokyo Disneyland: arguably the best in the world—where Japan’s signature efficiency and respect for queueing, make it a much more pleasurable experience that most theme parks, let’s be honest! The food isn’t bad with popcorn stands for snacking, and my favourite was the quirky cafe in “Westernland” serving simply, a leg of turkey and beer. That’s it. I’m not really a fan of turkey, but this was a very good smoked turkey!!
Top tips:
It’s best to go on a Monday or Tuesday to avoid the long lines! They make you download the Disney app to get in (which is annoying as I’d rather not be on my phone in there!) so you will need an e-sim or data plan for it work (see my last Kyoto post for details on e-sims). Once you have the app, it shows you how long the lines are for various rides are, and you can purchase priority passes to skip the queues for the most popular ones like Splash Mountain. We did this as the queue was over an hour. It also shows you when there are various performances and parades during the day. On our day, there were fireworks at 8.30pm and I dreaded the idea of staying there until then, and then braving the crowds on the train home with kids, but it turned out there was another show at 6.30pm which also had fireworks and that was amazing enough. We almost missed it though, so it’s worth looking at what’s on and planning the day around those.
Tokyo Skytree: We enjoyed seeing the sprawling metropolis from above. What struck me was the never-ending sea of grey buildings and no traffic congestion! Within the Skytree complex there are actually lots of shops, an aquarium and a cute indoor play area for small children (good for a rainy day). There happens to be a 15 minute massage chair for 200 yen right next to it! It’s the best 2 bucks we spent, ha ha. The Food Court is pretty good and easy for lunch too.
The view from Skytree Takeshita Street, Harajuku- Wander through this whimsical neighbourhood with quirky shops, those animal cafes (where you can pet hedgehogs and piglets) and rainbow-coloured fairy floss bigger than your head! Note, we didn’t do this as I feel like our kids are too young and it would have been hectic, but next time!
Yoyogi Park - this park is a great place for some much needed nature, a run around and a picnic. It’s close to Harajuku so could be something to do in order to wind down from Takeshita Street!
Daikanyama T site - This is an extra one, but I loved this precinct in the trendy neighbourhood of Daikanyama, the highlight being the amazing Tsutaya Bookstore where you can lose yourself in the incredible and enormous curation of books and lifestyle goods. Kid friendly? Hmmm, my little one was obviously not into it but hey, they give me Daikanyama and I’ll give them Disneyland, so #negotiation.
WHERE TO EAT IN TOKYO:
This is my favourite part! Note that we didn’t go to every single one of these places because of time and kids, but I also chose the meals around where we were doing activities, so that we weren’t travelling halfway across the city for a bowl of noodles, as the city is quite spread out. (Though if I was travelling alone, I would absolutely take a 1 hour train ride for ramen, ha ha! )
I’m giving you my FULL list so you can curate for yourself!
This was once the biggest seafood market in the world and supplied chefs only, but now the outer market is open to consumers. SO Tsukiji’s outer market is the place to go for fresh seafood, sushi, tamagoyaki (Japanese omelette), and street food.
RAMEN:
This hidden gem in an alleyway behind Ginza’s busy main street, is known for its rich, creamy chicken-based tori paitan ramen. There’s a line up for this umami-packed experience, but it moves quickly and is worth the wait. If you don’t like your ramen thick and creamy, the shellfish based broth might be a better option.
Maze Soba Mitsuboshi
Specializing in maze soba (soupless ramen), Mitsuboshi serves up thick, chewy noodles and a savoury, umami-rich sauce. We didn’t get here but our foodie friends loved it.
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