THINGS TO DO IN TOKYO WITH A 10-YEAR OLD KID (+ Map & Tips)

If you’re heading to Tokyo with your kids, get ready for some entertaining, interesting, and fun activities!  I’ve spent time in Tokyo on my own, but my visit with my 9-year-old (he was just weeks away from turning 10) was even more magical.

If you’re like me and spend hours and hours trying to make your trips perfect, this post is for you!  I’m sharing my research and what we did, plus some tips for planning your activities and a map.  I hope this info helps you create a fun, memorable, and stress-free trip to Tokyo with your kids!

Tips for Planning Your Tokyo Activities with Kids

PLAN IN CLUSTERS – Because Tokyo’s so spread out, it’s important to plan your sites/activities in clusters, rather than spending half your day traveling all over Tokyo.  Use the map below to help you visualize where you’ll be and what’s nearby.

HAVE YOUR KIDS HELP CHOOSE ACTIVITIES – Involve your child(ren) in the planning process, and from the beginning.  It’s important to get your kids involved because they’ll be more likely to enjoy the activities if they’re doing things they’re interested in.  You also may find out that your kids don’t want to do things that you thought they’d want to do.  For example, I was convinced my son would want to drive the Mario Karts in town, but when he found out he’d need to sit with me, he decided he wanted to skip the activity.  Or, even though he loves Pokémon, he wasn’t interested in going to the Pokémon Café (perfect, saved me the stress of reserving it!).

RESERVE POPULAR ACTIVITIES – That brings me one of the most important things to know when planning your family trip to Tokyo.  Figure out your activities in advance and then make sure you book when you need to!  Tokyo activities sell out, sometimes the minute (literally) they’re released.  I had to set my alarm clock for 1:00am sometimes to try to get tickets to activities and events.  Waiting until the last minute or ‘flying by the seat of your pants’ will lead to disappointment if you’ve got ‘must-do’ activities in Tokyo.  But, to make it a little more complicated, you can’t book many things really far in advance (for example, booking 30 days out).

APPRECIATE THE NORMAL – Include ‘daily life’ activities in your Tokyo family itinerary.  My son (and I) had a blast exploring the conbini (convenience stores), checking out the vending machines on the streets, playing with kids at the playground

BE REALISTIC – Remember that Tokyo’s enormous and transport takes a while, whether you’re on foot or taking the metro (our preferred ways to get around).  When choosing your activities, check Google Maps to see how long it actually takes to get from one place to another.  And, if you’ve got small kids, add some extra time!

TAKE SOME TIME TO CHILL – Plan some downtime each day, whether it’s in the middle of the day or extra time in the evening.  Although India and Japan are nothing alike, they’re both really stimulating, and my son and I both appreciated having some ‘chill time’ built into every day.  You may even want to build in some days with nothing planned.

DON’T TRY TO DO IT ALL – Finally, this is for all of you who want to do it all (I see you and I get it!)… don’t.  You could fill months with fun activities in Japan with your kids.  They’ll still have an incredible time even if you don’t do every Pokémon activity or ninja experience!  And, you’ll have a reason to come back!

Map of Things to Do in Tokyo with Kids

Good To Know:  You can click on the activity/destination on the map to get the most up-to-date contact info (address, phone number, and website). 

Things to Do in Tokyo with Kids

Again, the list below isn’t every possible thing you can do in Tokyo with kids, but it does include a lot!  You could definitely fill up a few trips doing the activities on this list. Hopefully you’ll get some good ideas for your time in Tokyo.

Nintendo Tokyo

As an 80’s kid, I have fond memories of Nintendo, and my son is a fan as well.  Nintendo Tokyo didn’t disappoint.  We didn’t buy anything, but we spent awhile wandering the aisles, checking out the displays, and taking photos with the character statues and figures.

Pokémon Center

Whether you need some more Pokémon cards for your collection or you just want to soak up the atmosphere with other Pokémon fans, it’s worth a quick (or long) stop.  My son loved checking out all of the merchandise, and it was easy to visit after the Nintendo Tokyo Store (right next door).

Sensō-ji Temple

Tokyo’s oldest temple, busiest temple, and most photographed temple.  It’s crowded, but still impressive to see. 

My son’s favorite parts about the temple visit were:

• Seeing the dragon carving on the bottom of the enormous lantern
• Participating in the purification ritual (both the water and the incense)
• Getting a fortune (and then tying it up as it was an unlucky one!)

Food Walking Tour with Arigato Travel

We did a family food tour with Arigato Travel when we arrived in Tokyo and our local guide Motoko taught us so much about Japanese food and food culture.  And, we ate our way through the Asakusa neighborhood (and found some food souvenirs to bring home).

Tokyo DisneySea or Disneyland Tokyo

I debated and researched whether or not to head to one of Tokyo’s Disney Resorts during our trip.  We’ve spent plenty of time at Disneyland and California Adventure, so I wasn’t sure it would add a lot to our Tokyo trip, but my son really wanted to go to DisneySea. 

I’m glad we went – it was a unique experience, the crowds weren’t as awful as I’d read about, and my son loved it. 

We did feel like some of the rides were shorter than their USA counterparts (the Tower of Terror was definitely shorter than Guardians of the Galaxy), but we still had a blast.

Helpful Tip:  Arrive really early to join the orderly lines in front of the entrance!  We arrived at 8am (for a 9am opening) and there were already short lines.

teamLab Borderless or Planets

There are two big interactive digital art exhibits run by teamLab – Borderless and Planets.  I debated them both and decided on the newer Borderless.

My son wasn’t excited about it, but I had to drag him out! Borderless is an immersive digital art experience that you see, feel, and participate in.

Helpful Tips: Spend time exploring. Whenever we thought we’d seen it all, we’d stumble upon a new room. Be sure to find the room where you make your own fish that’s displayed in the ‘aquarium.’

Specialty Cafés

If your kids enjoy visiting themed cafés, you’re in for a treat, because Tokyo is full of them.  Some that your kids may want to go to:

• DAWN Avatar Robot Café – Have a restaurant experience put on entirely by robots!  One of the coolest parts about this concept is that the robots are controlled remotely by people who are ill or bedridden and can’t get out to work.
• Animal Café – After researching carefully, we went to the MiPig Café.  This was a highlight of our visit for my son, and the animals seemed to be well-loved by the staff and treated with kindness.  However, please do your own research to decide if this is a good option for your family.  We also walked by cat cafés and ferret cafés. 
• Ninja Experience Café – Get trained by a ninja!

Takeshita Street

Keepin’ it real – I remembered this colorful, lively street in Harajuku more fondly than I found it this time around.  It felt overrun, but we still liked seeing the rainbow cotton candy and creatively dressed Japanese girls. 

Good To Know:  Takeshita Street is in the Harajuku neighborhood, which has trendy shops that will appeal to teens in your family. 

Gachapon Machines

Gachapon machines take yen (or sometimes a card pre-loaded with yen) and give you a capsule filled with a small toy.  They’re fun for young and old, and we enjoyed using them throughout the city.  Some of our favorite places to use them were:

• Asakusa market area
• Upstairs at the Alta Shop on Takeshita Street
• Inside arcades

Yodobashi Akiba

My tech-loving son and I spent hours here on a couple of visits.  There are multiple stories and plenty to look at – cameras, video games, and gadgets galore.  You’ll also find plenty of non-tech items, like kitchen products and toys.  There’s even a gachapon area.

Conveyor Belt Sushi

One of the first things we did when we arrived in Tokyo was get sushi at Sushiro in Akihabara.  We loved ordering by tablet and watching our dishes come along the belt. 

Good To Know:  Head down the stairs, take a number, and wait for your number to show up on the screen.  If the wait is long, you can leave and come back.  We did, but if I did it again, I’d just wait there because they called our number while we were away and it got a little confusing.  When you’re done, pay at the front.

Soba Noodle Shop

If you need a break from sushi, slurp some noodles at a soba noodle shop.  Our favorite in our time in Tokyo (and Japan in general) was Sugiei. 

Video Arcades

One of my son’s ‘musts’ for Tokyo was to explore the video arcades scattered around town.  His favorite places were Namco, GIGO, and Taito Station.  We never made it to HEY but it was on our list.

You’ll find modern video games, retro video games, rhythm/dance games, crane machines, and gachapon machines. 

I thought it was a bit confusing as the games are in Japanese, but many are recognizable (like Mario Kart) and my son didn’t seem to mind the language difference.  Something to keep in mind though.

Good To Know:  Some arcades are 18+ and they’ll stop you at the door if you try to enter with kids (this happened to us a couple of times when I didn’t realize they were 18+).  Some arcades require you to purchase a small game card that you top up with yen and use to play the games.  You can look around and see what others are doing.

Joypolis

Joypolis was recommended to us by locals, and we went early on in our trip.  My son enjoyed the rides in the multi-story indoor amusement park.  It’s not that big, but there is a fun roller coaster and plenty of other entertaining rides.  My son’s favorite rides were the Tower Tag laser tag competition (even though I was pathetic – oops!), the Gekion Live Coaster, the Halfpipe, Transformers, the Sonic Race, and House of the Dead.

I also really liked walking along the wooden outdoor area in front of Joypolis. 

Helpful Tip:  If you’re planning on going to Universal Studios Japan or one of the Disney Resorts, go to Joypolis first.  That way the rides will seem awesome (not so much if you did them after the bigger amusement parks).

Helpful Tip:  Look at the website before you go and make sure your kid(s) meet the height restrictions for the rides.  There are a few rides for everyone, but some kids may be disappointed if they can’t do most rides.

Good To Know:  You’re encouraged to buy tickets online in advance, and we did because I was worried we’d travel all the way to Odaiba and it’d be sold out.  We ended up going at a slow time of the day (afternoon) and we didn’t have any problems with crowds or long lines.  We did wait 45 minutes for the laser tag, but the other rides had much shorter lines.

Odaiba Marine Park

There are plenty of things to see and do along the water – like Joypolis (mentioned above), the LEGO Discovery Center, restaurants, and shops.  You can also play at the sandy beach (no swimming), walk along the water, or play at the Rainbow Park Playground.

We were there in the afternoon through the evening, and we loved the views of the Rainbow Bridge and the city lit up across the water at night.

Shinkansen

If your kids want to ride the bullet train (Shinkansen), but you’re not planning on making any long journeys outside of Tokyo, you can still take short trips.  For example, you could head to nearby Yokohama.

We took the Shinkansen a few times, including to Kyoto and Hiroshima.  We have high-speed trains where we live in Italy, but it was still a thrill for my son to travel on Japan’s Shinkansen.

Playgrounds with Local Kids

It’s always fun to play with locals, and Tokyo has some fun and unique playgrounds.  My favorite was actually a fairly standard playground across the street from our hotel in Ueno.  Kids of all ages were playing on the toys and playing baseball, and it was easy to join in on the fun. 

Tokyu Hands

My son was less than thrilled when I told him we were heading to a department store to look at stationary and ‘cool pens,’ but I had to drag him out of the store. 

Japan has the best stationary, pens, pencils, pencil pouches, etc. and Tokyu Hands is a one of many places to shop for them.  Tokyu Hands also has plenty of other things to look at – from umbrellas to water bottles, mini massagers to cosmetics.  Any kid will find something fun to look at!

Shibuya Scramble Crossing

You may recognize this enormous street crossing from movies like Lost in Translation or The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. 

Even if you’ve never heard of it, check it out!  My son was amazed by how big it was and we crossed it a few times!  We heard that over 2000 people make their way across the intersection each time.

Ninja Dinner

Ninja Tokyo is a restaurant that includes ninja magic and tricks.  It’s pricey, but we’ve heard great things about it, especially for families with older kids.  I tried to book it for my son and I, but unfortunately, it was full for our entire trip.  If you’re interested, reserve it early!

Kappabashi Kitchen Area

Little chefs will appreciate this zone of Tokyo, full of the display food you see at restaurants, kitchen gadgets and dishes, chopsticks, and more. 

We bought chef’s knives (for me now and my son when he moves out… yes, I know that’s a long ways off) and happily window-shopped for about an hour.

Jordan World of Flight Store

My 6-year-old is a die-hard Jordan fan.  Do you have one too?  If so, make your way to Tokyo’s Jordan World of Flight store.  Not only does it have a selection of clothing for adults and kids – there are also so many Jordan shoes for children.  We were impressed with the selection, and we also appreciated the mini Jordan room/museum inside the store. 

At the time of writing, there are World of Flight stores in Tokyo, Seoul, Milan, Beijing, and Mexico City, with a new store opening up soon in Philadelphia.

Nakamise-dori Street

This street lined with shops and stalls has plenty of high-quality items.  In fact, one of our guides says it’s where she shops for gifts to take to friends and family abroad.  On this street and surrounding streets, you’ll find Japanese art, trinkets, toiletries, old coins (my son’s favorite place!), and more.  It’s the type of place you could plan on visiting for an hour and find yourself there hours later.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

There are multiple gardens and green spaces in Tokyo, but the one that was recommended to us most was Shinjuku Gyoen. 

Neighborhood Bike Tour

We try to ride bikes when we travel, and we ended up riding in Kyoto on this trip, but I did look at several bike tours for families in Tokyo.  If we’d decided to do our bike tour in Tokyo, I’d have booked with DIG Tokyo Tours or Soshi’s Tokyo Bike Tour.

Mario Kart (Street Kart)

I think these go-karts that you can ride through Tokyo look like so much fun, but when my son found out he couldn’t drive one (instead, having to sit with me), he nixed the idea. 

Still, take a look at them for your family!  They’re not officially ‘Mario Kart’ because of licensing issues, but that’s what they’re known by. 

You can dress up in character (provided) or just drive.  There are multiple routes and times available too.

Good To Know:  You aredriving on some busy streets with cars. 

Combini

Yes, you’ve likely been to a 7-11, but have you been to a 7-11 in Japan?  If not, be sure to visit 7-11, Lawson’s or Family Mart – all convenience stores (combini) in Tokyo.  They’re full of delicious packaged and fresh snacks and meals.  We had a couple of meals from combini (they’ll microwave your dish at the cash register). 

Other combini favorites of ours are the Coolish ice cream packs, the fresh desserts, and the onigiri.  We also picked up snacks and treats to bring back for friends and family (and ourselves).

Don Quijote

Don Quijote is a discount chain in Japan and it’s an experience.  The shops are small, crowded, and have a little bit of everything at good prices.  They’re a great place to go for souvenirs, because you can get pretty much anything inside, from t-shirts to toiletries to snacks. 

The aisles are small and there are a lot of people inside (seems to me at all times of the day and night!), so it’s not the place to bring a stroller. 

We loved stopping in to grab a snack and we bought some last-minute gifts at Don Quijote just before leaving Tokyo.

Baseball Game

Baseball (yakyū in Japanese) is Japan’s favorite sport, and games are lively – on the field and in the stands.  Baseball games in Japan have a kid-friendly atmosphere and there are a few teams in and around Tokyo that you could go see.  The Yomiuri Giants are Tokyo’s most popular team, and if you can, see them play the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

Helpful Tip:  Japan Ball Tickets will purchase and deliver your tickets to you.  It’s a good pick if you’re looking for a stress-free option.

Helpful Tip:  Looking for a Japanese baseball cap?  We found the best selection at the New Era store in Shinjuku.

Good To Know:  The L.A. Dodgers Shohei Ohtani played for Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, north of Tokyo.

Karaoke

This was on our list but we never made it happen.  My research led me to Rainbow Karaoke Shibuya, which has private rooms (so your family can belt out tunes with no fear!) and an English language option – and there’s even unlimited ice cream and soda for little ones!

Taro’s Origami Studio

Step inside this origami studio to check out the intricate origami on display and then sit down for an optional quick lesson. 

Fish Market

I’ve been to the old Tsukiji fish market to see the early morning tuna auctions and dine on fresh fish, but we didn’t make it to the new Toyosu fish market to see the market in action. 

It’s pretty incredible to see the process of auctioning off the enormous tuna (interesting for kids to see what ends up in the tuna can/jar!).  Even if you don’t get up early to go see the fish being sold, you can still have a boat-to-table meal.

Hello Kitty & Friends

Is your child a Kawaii fan?  If so, Tokyo is the place for your family!  Sanrio has a small theme park on the outskirts of Tokyo, and you’ll find shops and even a hotel with Hello Kitty-themed rooms (Asakusa Tobu Hotel LINK).

Shinjuku Lights at Night

We mostly admired Shinjuku’s lights from our hotel window, but it was fun to stroll one evening in Shinjuku to check out the glittering scene.  My son’s favorite part of our walk was seeing the famous 3D LED billboard of the cat.

Familiar Foods

While we devoured Japanese cuisine on our trip, we also had a lot of fun sampling familiar foods in Tokyo.  For example, my son liked trying the shrimp burger at McDonald’s, and one day we had Mexican food at Guzman y Gomez (our tacos were amazing). 

Museum of Emerging Science

Tokyo’s National Museum of Emerging Science was on our list and not making it to it on this trip is probably my biggest regret.  Not only does it look like an amazing learning experience for kids, it seems like it’s an interesting and entertaining place for parents too!

Viewpoint of Tokyo

If you don’t have a view of Tokyo from above from your hotel, try to visit the Tokyo Skytree, Shibuya Sky, or Tokyo Tower, and make sure you reserve them way in advance!  Or, visit a free observation deck, like at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building or the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center.

Ghibli Museum

If you’re a fan of the Japanese animations from Studio Ghibli, a visit to the museum is a must.  And, if you want to go, setting your alarm for the minute the tickets open up is a must.  At the time of writing, the Ghibli Museum tickets for the coming month are released at 10am (Japan time) on the 10^th of the month.  So, tickets for October will be released on Septebmer 10^th at 10am (Japan time).  Have your finger on the mouse – they sell out in an instant.

Tokyo Soccer Teams

The J1 League is Japan’s top soccer league (like Serie A in Italy or the Premier League in England and Wales).  There are multiple teams that are accessible from Tokyo, including Tokyo Verdy, FC Tokyo, Urawa Red Diamonds, Kawasaki Frontale, Yokohama F. Marinos, and Kashiwa Reysol.  See the schedules and standinjs and buy tickets on the official J1 League site.

Sumo Wrestling

Tokyo’s sumo tournaments happen three times a year (January, May, and September) at the Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena.  You can buy tickets and learn more about the tournaments on the official Japanese Sumo site. 

Meguro Parasitological Museum

A parasite museum?  How cool is that?!  Wander through displays of parasites like ticks, tapeworms, round worms.  The explanation signs are in Japanese but there are QR codes on them so you can read them in English. 

Shodo (Calligraphy) Class

As a calligrapher, I really wanted to take a lesson on the Japanese art of shodo.  There are a few offerings in Tokyo, including this one by Atsushi Miyazaki.  This would be a good activity for any art-loving child, probably best for late-elementary school age and up.

More Things to Do with Kids in Tokyo

• Tokyo Toy Museum
• Clothes Shopping
• Zauo – catch your own fish for dinner
• See the cherry blossoms
• Anime shops
• Dandelion Chocolate Factory
• Happy Pancakes
• Collect stamps (ink) in a book
• Search for unique manhole covers