Now Aoyama is the suburbs that blurs in at the edges with Omotesando (so you may want to combine these ideas with my Harajuku & Omotesando Area suggestions), Nishi-Azabu area ( or my ideas from the Hiroo area post and Azabu-Juban post) and Shibuya (Shibuya suggestions here) . So, if your days out and about in the city are limited : you may want to “pool together” your favourites and walk between the different areas for the spots that suit your families interests.
If you’re craving a burger , Shake Shack is still relatively new to Japan and is VERY well received .
The Shake Shake stores all have high chairs.
SHAKE SHACK GAIEN
港区北青山2-1-15
2-1-15 KITAAOYAMA, MINATO
OPEN 11AM-10PM
WEBSITE
Another morning idea that is borderline Aoyama & Omotesando is Aoyama Flower Market Tea House. This florist/cafe is so amazingly beautiful. You’ll want to take photos of everything.
The food is, at meal times, is quite …simple. The menu is constantly changing with the seasons but is almost always pasta and sandwiches. For this reason, I think it’s best to save this place for a cup of tea or a cocktail and a piece of cake. But that’s just me.
The food is okay but not the highlight.
Flowers are sold by the stem and are beautiful but a little bit expensive. There are small bouquets wrapped in brown paper near the cash register if you’re interested in a stunning memento.
If you know flowers or just really love flowers – you NEED to come here.
If you are looking for gluten free options at Aoyama Flower Market Tea House, I recommend ordering the teas and rose jelly dessert.
This cafe is known for having a looooong queue to get in and some people are happy to wait more than an hour to get in. Me with my children? eeerrrr…NO! For that reason I recommend visiting right at opening time on a weekday. Also, another tip? There is another Aoyama Flower Market Cafe in Kichijoji so if you’re out that way riding the swan boats (details here) I recommend visiting the cafe in the area – it’s a lot less crowded. There is also another in Akasaka.
AOYAMA FLOWER MARKET TEA HOUSE
南青山5-1-2
5-1-2 MINAMI-AOYAMA
OPEN 11AM-8PM (CLOSES AT 7PM ON SUNDAYS)
WEBSITE
And for more floral cafe loveliness, – I also recommend taking a walk for an additional few minutes to the Nicolai Bergmann Flagship Cafe as well. They change the back wall every season. It’s so beautiful.
It is also a fantastic place to go in the heat of summer. It is so well air-conditioned in here.
Lunch sets here ( a sandwich , soup, salad with tea or coffee ) are 1600 yen.
Their desserts are also beautiful.
To avoid the crowds, weekday mornings are the most serene, of course.
There are plenty of beautiful magazines in English and Japanese to flick through so it’s also a lovely place to visit on your own.
Their seasonal flowers and decorations are worth visiting several times a year.
And the wall mural is especially spectacular.
I love how even the tables are seasonal.
And for Christmas time too.
NICOLAI BERGMANN NOMU FLAGSHIP STORE
港区南青山5-7-2
5-7-2 MINAMI-AOYAMA, MINATO-KU
OPEN EVERYDAY 10AM-8PM
WEBSITE
Racines Aoyama is a lovely family-friendly spot that feels a bit fancy – it’s a great place to catch up with another family. I recommend sitting out the front on the terrace for more wriggle space for kids (best to bring some toys or colouring to keep them busy and quiet-ish at the table though.) If you’re sitting on the terrace you can also wheel a stroller right up to the table. This restaurant is open for breakfast (weekends only) , lunch and dinner. Breakfast options are french toast and waffles or eggs etc. Lunch options include salads, steak frites, soup, rice dishes, pasta etc. Dinner is a selection of antipasto options, meat and fish dishes and pasta.
This restaurant is also attached to a microbrewery.
For lunch here I would budget for 3000 yen per adult and more like 7000 yen at dinner time.
Racines Aoyama accept most major credit cards. The entire restaurant is non-smoking.
This restaurant is 7 mins walk from Gaienmae Station (take exit 3)
RACINES AOYAMA
OPEN FOR BREAKFAST ON WEEKENDS & NATIONAL HOLIDAYS 9AM-11AM
OPEN EVERYDAY FOR LUNCH 11AM-2PM
OPEN EVERYDAY AS A CAFE 2PM-4:30PM
OPEN EVERYDAY FOR DINNER 6PM-10PM
Not to be confused with Nezu Shrine, Nezu Museum is a gorgeous building and garden that hosts different exhibitions all the time. The last time I visited it was an antique ceramics exhibition and ….well… if you’ve met my 2 year old son – you’d understand why I wasn’t even going to chance it. So we headed straight to the beautiful Japanese garden behind the museum’s main building.
If you decide to explore the garden, like we did, avoid taking the stroller with you (reception are happy to hold onto it) as there are lots of stairs and rocks. Also, it’s best to take mosquito repellant too.
NEZU MUSEUM
南青山6-5-1
6-5-1 MINAMI-AOYAMA
OPEN: 10AM-5PM (OFTEN CLOSED OR PARTLY CLOSED ON MONDAYS, SEE WEBSITE)
ADMISSION: 1100YEN FOR ADULTS, 800YEN FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, FREE FOR STUDENTS YOUNGER THAN HIGH SCHOOL AGE
WEBSITE
Or for another outdoor idea on a sunny day, I recommend visiting Share Green.
This is a relatively new outdoor space with a couple of food trucks ( nothing like Commune Green in Omotesando but still a couple of yummy options), a coffee shop, a plant nursery and an event space. There are lots of places to sit and sooo much space for kids to run and play. On the weekends, holidays and during special events you can also find things to play on like hammocks or a bean bag toss game or two.
The coffee shop also sells ice-cream and one of the food stands makes the most delicious Kiwi Sours ( non-alcoholic options available too.)
* Please note that, although the address states that Share Green is in Aoyama, it is 18 minutes walk from the centre of Aoyama, 18 minutes walk from Niko Niko Park, 18 minutes walk from Roppongi Hills and 18 minutes walk from Akasaka. So, before or after visiting Share Green, you would like to branch out and change areas in the middle of the day, my Roppongi suggestions are here and see here for more information on things to do in Akasaka.
There are plenty of car & bike parking options here too.
SHARE GREEN
港区南青山1-12-32
1-12-32 MINAMI-AOYAMA
OPEN WEEKDAYS 8AM- 8PM
OPEN WEEKENDS 10AM-7PM
PLANT SHOP OPEN EVERYDAY: 10AM-7PM
*CHECK THE WEBSITE BEFORE YOU VISIT AS IT MAY BE CLOSED FOR CERTAIN SPECIAL EVENTS*
WEBSITE
If you’re looking to eat more traditional Japanese food for lunch I highly recommend Hachibe, a self-titled Sushi Izakaya (an Izakaya is a Japanese-style pub) and their lunch sets are incredibly good value. They have sushi set lunches, teishoku which, depending on the particular day, includes options like grilled fish of the day, vegetable tempura or pork hamburg (a Japanese style plump hamburger patty.)
Each set includes miso soup, green tea and pickled vegetables and prices range between 1000 -2000 yen.
For the Mummies and Daddies, a glass of wine or sake is only 500 yen!
This is a casual, local eateries that is filled with business people on their lunch break and often families with small children. They have table, counter and sofa seating available.
They also have an English menu (out front and inside the restaurant.)
SUSHI IZAKAYA HACHIBE
南青山3-15-13 青山グリーンヒルズ1F
GROUND FLOOR, AOYAMA GREENHILLS BUILDING, 3-15-13 MINAMI-AOYAMA
OPEN FOR LUNCH: 11:30AM-3PM (LAST ORDER AT 2:30PM)
OPEN FOR DINNER: 5:30PM-2:30AM
Or if you feel like a contrast and want to head for New York-style pizza, I would head to Pizza Slice 2. The only downside to this lovely, diner-in-a-warehouse (imagine the most trendy ‘Happy Days’ episode of your life) restaurant is…. the stairs. You’ll need to carry the stroller down as there is no elevator.
Pizza slices are pretty reasonable (especially for Japan!) at around 400 – 600 yen per slice.
There are a small selection of picture books on the shelf for kiddies too.
And this kind of option ( a ‘Salad Pizza’) is healthy, right? right? right?
PIZZA SLICE 2
南青山3-14-17 エイチ ビューティ＆ユース B1F
BASEMENT FLOOR, H BEAUTY & YOUTH, 3-14-17 MINAMI-AOYAMA
OPEN 11:30AM-11PM (CLOSES AT 10:30PM ON SUNDAYS)
WEBSITE
And if you’re looking for a smaller playground that isn’t too far from all the shops and the action in Aoyama. My kids really enjoy this little suburban corner playground in Minami-Aoyama.
You’ll need google to find it – and when you do – it’s best to probably search for Hunting World Minami-Aoyama (its a bag and accessories shop) – the address is 5-17-2 MinamiAoyama. And then put in the playground address (below) as it is just a few 100 meters away.
Its not a beautiful park but it has one public restroom (Japanese style), a sandpit, a climbing frame with slides, a small see-saw and swings.
MINAMI-AOYAMA ROKU-CHOME CHILDREN’S PARK
南青山6-13-2
6-13-2 MINAMI-AOYAMA
I loved this tofu (and seafood unless you give them warning that you don’t eat seafood in advance) restaurant in Aoyama. It is called UmenoHana and there are several of these restaurants all over Japan.
The entire restaurant has tatami floors and just feels traditional and special.
Leave lots of time for a meal here – it is designed to be served as a slow course.
Expect to pay around 6000 yen per person for lunch and around 8000 yen per person for dinner.
You can ask for seats where you sit on the floor or seats where there are seats holes cut into the floor. This style is called horigotatsu.
In order to visit with children, I recommend making a reservation in advance as you will be given a private room ( best to bring stickers and colouring to keep kids quiet and occupied as this is a pretty fancy restaurant.)
There is a kids menu available.
港区青山2-27-18
2-27-18 AOYAMA, MINATO
OPEN FOR LUNCH 11AM-4PM
OPEN FOR DINNER 5PM-10PM
OPEN EVERYDAY
WEBSITE (JAPANESE ONLY)
For an organic grocery store in this area, I recommend Natural House in Aoyama ( at the top end of Omotesando.)
NATURAL HOUSE, AOYAMA STORE
港区北青山3-6-18 共同ビル（青山）
3-6-18 KITA-AOYAMA, MINATO-KU
OPEN 10AM-10PM
NATURAL HOUSE
Another option that is just one walk from Omotesando Station – Casual Italian Restaurant “Cafe La Boheme Kita Aoyama.”
This restaurant welcomes families and servces both lunch and dinner. Budget for lunch is around 2000 yen per adult and more like 4000 yen at dinnertime. Please note that there is a 880 yen service charge for each person when dining after 6pm. This restaurant is big (seats 82 people) but it is still wise to make a reservation if you want to eat there on a weekend or during peak season. You can make reservations in English on their website. Although it’s only a couple of options each – there are vegetarian and vegan items on their menu too ( their vegan quinoa and kale salad is so good and they also have some vegan pasta dishes.)
The entire restaurant is non-smoking. They accept most major credit cards. You can see the Cafe La Boheme Kita Aoyama menu here.
CAFE LA BOHEME KITA AOYAMA
港区北青山3-6-5
3-6-5 KITA-AOYAMA, MINATO
OPEN FOR LUNCH ON WEEKDAYS 11:30AM-3PM (OPEN FOR PASTA SET PLATES ONLY 3PM-5PM)
OPEN FOR LUNCH SETS ONLY ON WEEKENDS (NO LUNCH MENU AVAILABLE) 11:30AM-3PM
OPEN FOR DINNER EVERYDAY FROM 5PM
And also only 3 mins walk from Omotesando Station is a casual burger joint called Umami Burger, Aoyama. This place is popular with kids as they also sell giant colourful “freakshake” style milkshakes. For a meal here, I would budget for 2,500 yen per adult. They accept most major credit cards. They also accept reservations (or you can just try for a walk-in as the restaurant seats 70 people so, hopefully, the wait time isn’t too long.) Umami Burger also have a vegetarian menu. They also have space to store strollers while you dine ( you will need to lift the stroller over stairs to enter the restaurant though.) The kids menu is so cute- they are little mini burgers. See the full Umami Burger menu here.
UMAMI BURGER, AOYAMA
港区北青山3丁目15－5
3-15-5 KITA-AOYAMA, MINATO-KU
OPEN 11AM-9PM
For even more dinner options, remember that Omotesando and Harajuku are only 5-10 minutes walk away and Roppongi is only 10 minutes away in a taxi, as is Hiroo.
For Harajuku & Omotesando suggestions see here.
For Roppongi suggestions here.
