When I plan time in Tokyo with kids, I plan for 1 thing for adults to be mixed with 3 fun things for children. But it’s always ideal if those things don’t cost a thing.
I’ve also written advice on how to keep costs down when traveling in Japan here.
Here are my suggestions:
Amazing Tokyo Retro Playgrounds
I have a gigantic list of retro Tokyo playgrounds here. Most of them are free to enter too.
For example ( see the full list for addresses and access details) :
Robot Park in Roppongi
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ROBOT PARK IN ROPPONGI IS CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS / CONSTRUCTION UNTIL DEC 13, 2024.
Free Museums
The Police Museum ( I wrote all about the Tokyo Police Museum here )
It’s open earlier than a lot of other Tokyo Museums too!
The Fire Museum just out of Shinjuku (detailed post on the Fire Museum in Shinjuku with kids here.)
Cool things to see ( and take photos with)
Go and spot Godzilla from the ground and up close in Shinjuku. Details here.
Free Shrines & Temples
There is Meiji Shrine in Harajuku ( it is best on weekends as you may be fortunate enough to witness at Japanese wedding.) Warning – it is quite a walk up to the entrance so little legs will most likely need a stroller.
The details are in my Harajuku with Kids post here.
The Lucky Cat Shrine, Setagaya (details can be found in my ‘A More Traditional Japan without leaving Tokyo’ post here.)
Hie Shrine, Akasaka.
All of the details are in my Akasaka with kids post here.
Tokyo Parks
A run around in Yoyogi Park is also free.
A huge park (no playground equipment) and a lovely slice of green in the middle of the busy city. Like all large, beautiful parks in Japan, the foliage and view is completely different with every season.
The cafe near the entrance sells some savoury snacks and sweets as well as outdoor toys such as wind-up planes, frisbees and bubble liquid and wands. There are lots of vending machines and public restrooms. The pond in the middle has ducks and lots of big trees make for great hide’n’seek sessions. If you have a kite or a scooter – this is one of the best central parks for it (some other parks have funny rules about sporting equipment etc.)
Just around the corner at the entrance to Yoyogi Park are the Rockabilly Dancers. This fascinating insight into Tokyo Subculture is a must see on a Sunday afternoon. This is, by no means, a paid performance but, instead a gathering of a large group of people who share a love for Americana-Happy Days-Soda Pop-Grease Lightning fashion and old school Rock’n’Roll.
My kids love to have a little dance along from the sidelines – their own little rendition.
I’m completely crazy for these black and white shots of just some of the group’s more well-known members. Shot by Denny Renshaw. Aren’t they just amazing?
Arisugawa Park, Hiroo
Arisugawa Park is stunning and completely different with every single season.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PLAYGROUND AT ARISUGAWA IS CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS / CONSTRUCTION UNTIL DEC 6, 2024.
It has a lovely children’s playground up the top of the hill and a Japanese garden with a large pond down the bottom. It’s perfect for turtle, duck and carp spotting!
More details on this park in my Hiroo with Kids post here.
Japanese Gardens
Happo-en is our favourite ‘hidden’ Japanese garden. It’s a famous wedding and shichigosan (children’s coming of age ceremony) venue and is open early in the morning. Entrance to the garden is free and there is a bakery/cafe (with the unfortunate name of “Thrush” for breakfast, tea time and lunch.) This restaurant is also recommended on the Halal in Japan website.
I’ve included all the details in my Happoen with kids post here.
Summer Splash Pads
*Warning; check my post here for open times – almost always only open in July & August, regardless of the temperatures.
Free tours
No offense to volunteer guides but I often don’t recommend. Just because sometimes they talk too much and get wrapped up in what they want to show you more than what you would actually like to do. HOWEVER, these FREE tours from Narita International Airport are just fantastic.
The tours are in English and you can actually schedule them in depending on what you wanted to see and how many hours you have to spare.
A girlfriend of mine, who loves sake, used this tour option when she was on her way to a ski trip in Hokkaido but had only 5 hours in Tokyo – she got a guide to take her for a tasting and she was in nerdy sake fermentation question-asking heaven.
My other friend took her kids on a tour mainly because she wanted a Japanese-speaking guide to take her to the organic all-you-can-eat vegetable restaurant , after seeing my photos .
The staff will also store your luggage for you ( for a very small fee) while you’re on their tours.
See these two links for what I got up to on the tours – I even got to dress up in a kimono AND then shocked everyone by saying that I wanted to dress like a samurai 😂❤️
The tour is free but, of course, you will cover your own transport, entry fees and food. It is so lovely to not have to bother with logistics (or linguistics, for that matter.)
I wrote about their lovely family-friendly tours here.
