I’m such a city girl but it is also so lovely to venture away from the greys, the busy pedestrian crossings and the highways.
Greater Tokyo does big, open parks right! There is almost always a playground, bouncy domes, flower festivals, food stalls and trucks, a ride-on train or two and often additional activities like carousels, splash pads or petting zoos.
We love our mini Tokyo adventures in search of wide open spaces and new playgrounds. Parks in greater Tokyo often hold different festivals and fairs – often in sync with the seasons and the times that particularly beautiful flowers bloom.
I use instagram to check other park visitors pictures to see what flowers and leaves are in full bloom before we venture out for the day.
*Note: Take strollers ..these parks are really big and take a long time to make your way around.
We will never ever get bored of Hitachi Seaside Park . The park looks completely different in Spring to how it does in Autumn. It is absolutely breathtaking. At the peak of each of these seasons it extremely popular with domestic tour groups.
As the name suggests, the park is on the water so it can be windy and a bit colder than the middle of town so take a few warmer clothing options, just in case.
As well as all of the natural elements and flower plantations, this park is equipped with food stalls, an amusement park, well manicured rose garden, bike rental and mini-golf.
In Autumn, the hills are covered in Dr. Seuss style bright red kochia plants. Whereas in Spring they are baby blue, decorated with nemophilia flowers.
These are my photos from visits in Spring.
This is what you’ll find in Autumn…
For more Autumn suggestions, check out my AUTUMN IN JAPAN post here.
The food stalls here aren’t exactly healthy options but it’s fun to buy a few treats and mix them with your healthier snacks from home. (Warning: everything in this park is cash only.)
My children are crazy for the ‘under the sea’ themed carousel.
The only thing that beats the carousel are the bouncy domes (just near the “Egg Forest.”)
HITACHI KAIHIN KOEN (HITACHI SEASIDE PARK)
茨城県日立中馬渡字大沼605-4
605−4 MAWATARI, HITACHINAKA, IBARAKI
CLOSED ON MONDAYS
OPEN 9:30-5PM
PRICE: CHILDREN UNDER 7 ARE FREE, 7 YEAR OLDS ENTER FOR 80 YEN
ADULTS FOR 410 YEN
ACCESS: THE TRIP TAKES 2 HOURS FROM TOKYO BY CAR AND 2.5 HOURS EACH WAY BY TRAIN.
HITACHI KAIHIN KOEN INFORMATION
Then there is Kodomo no Kuni (meaning; Children’s Land). This is one of my favourite places to take my children for a full and very affordable day out.
My kids like Kodomo no Kuni’s splash ‘brook’ from mid-March until October.
Note that they don’t allow large pieces of sporting equipment or pets in the park.
As always, the jumping domes are also a highlight. There is also a petting zoo, a small amusement park, a milking station, horseriding and a ride-on train around the park.
I wrote more about Kodomo no Kuni here.
横浜市青葉区奈良町700
700 NARA-CHO, YOKOHAMA CITY, AOBA
OPEN: 9:30AM-4:30PM (UNTIL 5PM IN JULY & AUGUST)
CLOSED: WEDNESDAYS
PRICE: FREE FOR CHILDREN 2 & YOUNGER, 3-5 YEAR OLDS 100 YEN, ELEMENTARY & JUNIOR HIGH AGE 200 YEN, ADULTS 600 YEN
ACCESS: 45 MINS BY CAR FROM THE CITY OR 50 MINS BY TRAIN
WEBSITE
Showa Kinen Park is a beautiful piece of green space. Actually, the park is one of Tokyo’s largest parks… it’s more than 1.49 square kilometres in size! Whether you are there for the play equipment, a picnic, the bouncy domes, the ride-on train or to rent bikes ( you can even rent those bikes with the baby seats – called Mamachari) – it’s a beautiful day out. The tulip festival is particularly stunning in Spring too. The most beautiful flowers bloom in the park in March, April and May. The food trucks are everywhere so if you forget your picnic there isn’t any need to worry.
東京都立川市緑町3173
3173 MIDORI-CHO, TACHIKAWA CITY, TOKYO
OPEN: 9:30AM-5PM (CLOSES AT 4:30PM IN WINTER, OPEN UNTIL 6PM APRIL-SEPTEMBER)
CLOSED: MONDAYS (AND TUESDAYS IF MONDAY IS A NATIONAL HOLIDAY)
PRICE: SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN 80 YEN, ADULTS 400 YEN
ACCESS: 50 MINS BY TRAIN OR CAR FROM THE CENTRE OF TOKYO
WEBSITE
I finally made it to Mother Farm (sounds rude but it’s a place! Promise!) One major surprise? It’s not just fun for kids – the views were spectacular and the hillside was absolutely stunning – covered in gorgeous pink flowers. The staff here tell me that these pink beauties are out between Mid-May and September so that’s a nice big chunk of the year to catch them, don’t you think? I’m surprised that more people weren’t there doing professional photoshoot (although I did visit on a Monday….) * addition: I visited again on a Sunday and it also wasn’t too busy at all. The place is so big that it doesn’t ever feel crowded.
Look! Even the tickets are so cute!
The kids loved eating ice-cream and running around playing hide’n’seek near the flowers but were way more excited by the animals and the animal buses (which were very retro cool.) In fact, we just got on a dog bus without even caring where it went ! Just so fun.
The place is so well kept and well run which makes up for the fact that it’s a bit more expensive than the other parks above + paying extra for animal buses and carnival rides etc.
It’s not the easiest place to get to but, once you’re there is it a full day with so much to do. I’m thinking of going again next weekend, actually, with the hubby too…… such a beautiful family day out.
I didn’t think the food here was great in the cafes. Although most people seemed to have signed up for the all you can eat restaurants and the yakiniku spots – so maybe that is better.
At the cafe we ate at, they did have this kids plate which was pretty good value for 750 yen.
There is also a craft/ experience section of the farm.
There is the opportunity for children to make jam, cheesecake or yoghurt. Timewise, we signed up for the woodcraft section and my kids made keyrings.
Lucy put her name in English on one side and Japanese on the other.
There is also a section where you can learn how to milk a cow.
MOTHER FARM
千葉県富津市田倉940−３
940-3 TAGURA, FUTTSU, CHIBA PREFECTURE
PRICE: ADULTS 1500 YEN, CHILDREN 800 YEN (CHILDREN UNDER 4 ARE FREE)
ACCESS: FROM TOKYO CENTRE: 75 MINS IN CAR OR 95 MINS IN A TRAIN OR BUS (DETAILS ON WEBSITE)
WEBSITE
For a different option, that is one hour (public transport or car) from the centre of Tokyo, is Funabashi Andersen Park (Andersen, as in the infamous Danish author).
This park is big enough to spend the entire day here and is only 900 yen for entry (free for kids 3 & under, 100 yen for 4 years +, primary & junior high school students are 200 yen and high schoolers are 600 yen.)
I was, originally, drawn to this spot because of the year round splash pool facilities (almost all splash pads close the moment August finishes and children return to school). But I had he most amazing surprise when we arrived as this place had so much for families to do.
There is the swimming area, a giant roller-slide, bouncy-ball trampoline type thingy, ponyrides, mini golf, restaurants, mini-train rides, boats for rent, pedal cars, athletic outdoor climbing frames, a petting zoo and a children’s craft museum.
The roller-slide, the pool and the bouncy area was the most popular with my children. But school aged kids were also crazy for all the climbing frames /obstacle courses and grass toboggan slides.
Funabashi is the sister city of Odense in Denmark – the birth place of Hans Christian Andersen- and this park has done its best to recreate a mini Odense in Japan. It is like stepping into a little fairytale.
I was delighted to see so many older couples sitting and painting.
I also saw these two cuties who sat in this one spot for more than 4 hours!! Cute!!!
There are plenty of eateries inside the park. There are also food trucks just inside the entrance.
The pizza truck was so good that I just had to make up a menu translation.
There are also little stores that sell park, swim toys, crisps and snacks. These shops don’t sell baby swim nappies so be sure to pack plenty of your own if you’re keen on having the kids splash around.
The pool water is shallow and there are lots of different fountains and water play sections.
These kinds of dome tents are allowed inside the park and I wish we had packed ours. There were lots of small babies taking naps and many parents used them to change children’s clothing etc.
I’m really glad that we took our stroller as the park grounds are big! There are strollers to rent but I think they wouldn’t fit children over 3 years old.
千葉県船橋市金堀町525番
525 KANEHORI-CHO, FUNABASHI, CHIBA
OPEN: 9:30AM-4PM (OPEN UNTIL 5PM ON CERTAIN DAYS : SEE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS)
CLOSED: MOST MONDAYS (SEE WEBSITE CALENDAR FOR UPDATES)
ACCESS BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT: THIS SITE HAS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS
WEBSITE
More….
