I recommend using this suggested itinerary in the middle/end of your trip to Japan with kids. When the kids need to be a bit noisy and wild. This is also a great itinerary for kids who think “everything is boring”
7am Futo Park
I have written in detail about Futo Park here (there is a splash area in the summer months too!)
Take a cab here or walk from the nearest station – Shibaura Futo Station (4 mins walk)
If you like this park, you’ll like my other Tokyo Retro Playground suggestions here.
8am Take The Yurikamome Line to Toyosu Station
Don’t take a taxi – kids LOVE taking this monorail style train. Be sure to get in the front carriage as it’s an unmanned train so kids feel like they are “driving!” Don’t use suica or anything here either – give kids Japanese coins and let them buy their own tickets – it’s really cute (to work out the price – they just need to enter the number under the station “Toyosu” above the ticket machines. If they are under 6 they are free so get them to buy YOUR ticket instead. Super wholesome. Makes it feel like a “ride.”
To get here from the park – walk for 4 mins to Shibaura Futo Station.
9am Team Lab Planets
This is the one with the room with the water. We love it so much (I think we have been 7 times now?)
I have written in detail about it here – including what to pack and what to expect. Here is a link to book tickets to Team Lab Planets now.
Team Lab Planets is 8 mins walk from Toyosu Station (flat walkway – easy walk for kids.)
See here for my full list of things to book in advance (and by when) for a trip to Japan with kids.
10:30am A play in Toyosu Park Playground
Walk for 9 mins to Toyosu Park Playground. This park has a splash zone in July and August.
If kids are hungry the food court inside Lalaport Department Store is just 2 mins walk away that has Japanese food like udon, ramen, kushikatsu and there is also an ice-cream shop and KFC. There is a Starbucks inside the complex if you’re needing a coffee. There is an additional playground on the other side of Lalaport too.
If you need to change nappies, go to the baby room inside Lalaport – it’s lovely and clean.
If bigger kids want to shop- there is a great Daiso 100 yen store inside Lalaport for them to explore (and shop like they are “rich”)
11am Time for pancakes – served with a chocolate pen for self decoration AND a free toy for kids to take home!
This is at Aloha Table. It is within the Lalaport Complex.
This is a fabulous family-friendly option for lunch or dinner. My two love the kids’ menu – mostly the pancakes with the chocolate pen for decorating. All kids’ meals come with a small toy and, if it’s your birthday, the staff will come out and sing. Aloha Table is in an annex section (on the ground floor of the LaLaport Toyosu 3 building) of the department store. To get there easily from the main section of the shopping mall, walk to Zara on the 2nd floor of the main building, use the undercover walkway and then walk through the bookshop to the downward escalators to the ground floor.
This restaurant accepts most major credit cards, is entirely non-smoking and also has outdoor seating. They also have space for strollers. It is possible to make a reservation but we have always just walked in. I really like their big colourful salads.
The full Aloha Table menu is here.
ALOHA TABLE, TOYOSU
豊洲2-2-1 アーバンドックららぽーと豊洲3 1F
GROUND FLOOR, URBAN DOCK LALAPORT TOYOSU 3, 2-2-1 TOYOSU
OPEN EVERYDAY 11AM-10PM
12pm Miraikan the Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation
To get here- jump back on the Yurikamome Line at Toyosu Station again and take the Yurikamome for 11 mins to Telecom Center Station. I have written in detail about the Miraikan Museum here. Warning: it’s closed on Tuesdays (or Wednesday if Tuesday was a national holiday.)
2pm Grab some pizza at Trattoria Logic in the Decks Complex
Take the Yurikamome from either Telecom Center Station or Tokyo International Cruise Terminal Station for 8 mins to Odaiba-Kaihinkoen Station. Sit on the deck terrace if you think kids will need a little wriggle while waiting for their food.
My kids love their Margherita Pizza and I’m always daydreaming about their Caprese salad.
It’s not a fancy restaurant but I like how they have outdoor seating on the deck (so I feel much more comfortable with my kids spilling everywhere.)
They have high chairs.
If you are there for lunch, they offer a bottomless juice bar which includes iced tea, grapefruit juice and orange juice.
TRATTORIA PIZZERIA LOGIC
港区台場1-6-1 デックス東京ビーチ
DECKS TOKYO BEACH, 1-6-1 DAIBA, MINATO-KU
OPEN WEEKDAYS : 11AM-3PM & 5PM-10PM
OPEN WEEKENDS: 11AM-4PM & 5PM-10PM
TRATTORIA PIZZERIA LOGIC ENGLISH WEBSITE
3pm Shop for retro Japanese 1950s and 1960s toys and sweets at Daiba Itchome Shotengai in Aqua City Shopping Complex
Decks and Aqua City are connected by a walkway so it is easy to go between the two.
Inside the Decks department store is Daiba 1-Chome Shoutengai (4th Floor) a strip of the department store transformed into a retro-kitsch 1950s Japanese shopping street. There are wacky novelty toys, old-school Japanese sweets and a small selection arcade games. There is also a takoyaki (Japanese street food: fried octopus batter balls) museum.
The gimmicky toys are quite reasonably priced and this is the place to buy funny joke gifts (or toys to keep kiddies busy on a plane or in a hotel room.) This is area makes for some funny photos too.
Be warned, there is a haunted house in one of the back corners that looks spooky (even from the outside) so keep an eye on little ones. Japan takes it’s haunted houses very, very seriously.
Decks & Aqua City rent out strollers (but only for children less than 18kgs and only for use within these department stores) if little legs get tired.
DAIBA ITCHOME SHOTENGAI
4TH FLOOR DECKS DEPARTMENT STORE, 1-6-1 DAIBA, MINATO
港区台場1-6-1
OPEN 11AM-9PM
WEBSITE
Just a heads up – there is one section that is for 18 year olds and over. It’s a shooting gallery game. Just letting you know as there is just a simple swing door and it’s not marked in english and so I want to save you from having to chase a toddler out of there.
Another shopping suggestion inside the same department store is a walk through to 100 yen shop Daiso on the 4th floor.
This is one of the best 100 yen stores, in my opinion. It is great for buying small gifts or toys for keeping children entertained on planes or at restaurants.
Sticker books.
Cheap and cheerful mugs.
Insulated snack bags
Masks
DAISO, DECKS DEPARTMENT STORE
港区台場1-6-1
1-6-1 DAIBA, MINATO
OPEN 11AM-9PM
DAISO DECKS WEBSITE
There is also a Takoyaki museum here with just rows and rows of food stalls (still, all indoors) of Takoyaki shops. Takoyaki are little batter balls (the batter is similar to okonomiyaki) that have little pieces of cooked octopus inside. It is located on the 4th floor of Decks Shopping Mall (On the Beach Seaside Side of the Mall.) Please note that this is not actually a “museum.” It is a small food court that specializes in different types of takoyaki.
3:30pm Grab Hello Kitty Popcorn from a vending machine
I have a video of my kids buying this popcorn here (you’ll need to have cash on you, of course. I speak more here about how important it is to always have some cash on you while in Japan.). It is just outside the Daiba Itchome Shotengai.
Make sure kids don’t take the popcorn into the shops – eat it in front of the machine or take it with you outside (there is so much outdoor space all around this shopping complex)
4pm Visit Legoland Discovery Centre
Just 2 mins walk away is Legoland Discovery Centre. This place is great for kids 6 and under (in my opinion). There is even space for babies and toddlers to play. Some of the play areas require shoes off so make sure everyone has easy on and off shoes on for the day – just to make it easier. I have written about this Legoland in detail here.
