Toranomon Hills is new and shiny and home to a lot of big business offices and lush hotels.
It doesn’t naturally come to mind as the most kid-friendly place (not dangerous of anything – but just because it’s full of offices so playgrounds and kid-friendly restaurants are a little harder to find) to spend time in Tokyo -however – there are some family-friendly options that I’d like to recommend.
It is walking distance (25 mins on foot, 15 mins by public transport, 7 mins – approx 800 yen by cab) from family-friendly Akasaka.
Or also easy to get to Roppongi which has some of the best playgrounds for little kids and one of the most English friendly areas for families.( 22 mins on foot, 11 mins by public transport, 8 mins -approx 1000 yen by cab.)
Toranomon Hills with Kids – Restaurant recommendations:
Tacos Way
Mexican restaurant inside an office complex. Good food. Takeout is an option. Restaurant is quite spacious.
Budget here for lunch is around 1000 yen at lunch and 2000 yen at dinner.
Tacos Way also can do takeaway.
TACOS WAY
OPEN WEEKDAYS 11AM-11PM
OPEN WEEKENDS & NATIONAL HOLIDAYS 11AM-10PM
Kohaku Chibo (Vegan, vegetarian and/or gluten free Teppanyaki courses and Okonomiyaki in Tokyo)
Bakery & Grill Sawamura Bakery This bakery and restaurant is rarely crowded – especially on weekends. It’s easy with kids as they can choose from the bakery goods in the glass display cabinet or from the restaurant menu. See here for the Bakery & Grill Sawamura breakfast menu. This is the Bakery & Grill Sawamura lunch and dinner menu – there is also a brunch menu on the weekends. The entire restaurant is non-smoking. Take out is also an option. For an adult meal I would budget around 2000 yen per person (and only a few hundred yen each if you’re going to just get takeout bread from the bakery section though.) Sawamura Bakery accepts most major credit cards. My family and I highly recommend their vegetable curry pan (curry bread.). At dinner time the meals are more hearty and most main meals are 2000-3000 yen (and 6000 yen for steak.). The restaurant was also happy to do a tomato based pasta for my little boy – it did have some small pieces of veggies and herbs etc in there too – but it was simple enough that he gobbled it all up.
This is also a great place to get a takeaway coffee (holds up to Melbourne Coffee standards) in the morning.
BAKERY & GRILL SAWAMURA, TORANOMON HILLS
BAKERY OPEN 7:30AM -8PM
RESTAURANT OPEN 7:30AM-11PM
BREAKFAST HOURS 7:30AM-10AM
WEEKEND BRUNCH HOURS 7;30AM-3PM
LUNCH HOURS 11AM-5PM
DINNER HOURS 5PM-11PM (LAST ORDERS AT 10PM – OR AT 9PM ON SUNDAYS)
If you are looking for a space of green for kids to play and stretch, just behind Sawamura is a statue and a grassed section at the base of this sculpture. Toranomon Hills often has complimentary picnic blankets here and there is a small play section for children in the top left of the grassy area (no equipment but the ground is soft like an outdoor tennis court and there are some little mounds for kids to play on.)
The Grill in Toranomon feels so so special. They welcome families (although this is a bit of a fancy vibe so I recommend visiting once kids are old enough to sit in their seats for a full meal.) This restaurant are happy to do a simple burger, simple pasta etc for kids if they don’t see anything on the menu to their liking. The staff are really kind here and speak English well. You can see the full The Grill menu online here. The restaurant is in the buildings literally above Toranomon Hills Station. There are set areas of the restaurant for families with small children so please make a reservation to avoid disappointment. On a sunny day you can also ask to sit out on the terrace.
This restaurant doesn’t have a dress code but you’ll feel a bit strange visiting in running shoes and shorts so I would be sure to dress smart.
For lunch, I would budget around 2000 yen per adult and 7000 yen at dinner. This restaurant accepts most major credit cards.
Please note that this restaurant has a service charge of 550 yen per person after 5pm on weekdays and after 3pm on weekends and holidays.
This restaurant is connected to Toranomon Hills Station.
THE GRILL, TORANOMON
港区虎ノ門2-6-3 虎ノ門ヒルズステーションタワー 2F
2ND FLOOR, TORANOMON HILLS STATION TOWER, 2-6-3 TORANOMON, MINATO-KU
OPEN WEEKDAYS 11AM-11PM
OPEN WEEKENDS 11:30AM-10PM
Dean & Deluca Cafe
We love the iced cookies here so much. They also serve coffee and sandwiches.
DEAN & DELUCA CAFE, TORANOMON HILLS
OPEN WEEKDAYS 7:30AM-7PM
OPEN WEEKENDS & NATIONAL HOLIDAYS 9AM-8PM
And just next door is Crisp Salad Works. Crisp Salad Works is a salad chain store where you can choose all of your salad ingredients and how finely chopped you’d like it to be. Salads are between 1000-2000 yen. They accept most major credit cards. There is a dine-in area. See the full Crisp Salad Works menu here.
港区虎ノ門1-23-3 虎ノ門ヒルズ森タワー2F
2ND FLOOR, TORANOMON HILLS MORI TOWER, 1-23-3 TORANOMON, MINATO-KU
OPEN EVERYDAY 11AM-9PM
A Japanese Izakaya in Toranomon Hills who welcomes children and babies.
Oto Oto Toranomon Hills welcomes young families. It’s a great way to dine with the locals after they have finished their office jobs during the week OR you can visit on Saturdays and have a much quieter dining experience (the offices bring in most of the dining traffic here, you see.).
At lunch, I would budget around 2000 yen per adult. For dinner, it is more likely to be 5000 yen per person.
Please note that there is a 440 yen service charge per person at dinner time here (and in exchange, you will be given an ootoshi once seated.)
Oto Oto accept most major credit cards.
It is a good idea to make a reservation here – you can try for a walk-in if it’s early in the evening on a weekday and hope for the best, of course.
You can see the full Oto Oto menu here (some is in English and use google translate for the rest.)
For kids who are cautious with new foods – they do have karaage (Japanese fried chicken) and vanilla ice-cream.
OTO OTO TORANOMON HILLS
虎ノ門1-23-3 虎ノ門ヒルズ森タワー 3F
3RD FLOOR, TORANOMON HILLS MORI TOWER, 1-23-3 TORANOMON
OPEN WEEKDAYS 11AM-2:30PM & 5PM-11PM
OPEN SATURDAYS 5PM-10PM
Fine dining with kids
Nobu Tokyo is in this area and they welcome children and even have a kids menu. Nobu also have a place to store strollers while you dine.
The dress code here is “smart casual” and men are not to wear sandals or open summer footwear. Nobu are a fabulous place to go if you have allergies or require 100% gluten free options as they completely understand the dangers of cross contamination risks etc.
For lunch at Nobu, for an adult I would budget approx 5000 yen and more like 18,000 yen. Please note that there is a 15% service charge added to the bill at the end of the meal.
This restaurants accepts most major credit cards.
Nobu is 6 mins walk from Kamiyacho Station (Exit 4B) or 7 mins walk from Toranomon Hills Station.
NOBU TOKYO
港区虎ノ門4-1-28 虎ノ門タワーズオフィス １Ｆ
GROUND FLOOR, TORANOMON TOWERS OFFICE, 4-1-28 TORANOMON, MINATO-KU
OPEN FOR LUNCH 11:30AM-FINAL ENTRY 1:45PM
OPEN FOR DINNER 6PM-FINAL ENTRY 9PM
A restaurant/cafe in a little green oasis in the city
Twelve Gardens offers pancakes and desserts between meal times. It’s also a beautiful spot for lunch or dinner as a family.
At meal times, the cuisine a mixture between Italian food and a steak restaurant.
This restaurant is 8 mins walk from Toranomon Hills Station.
For lunch I would budget around 3000 yen per adult and around 10,000 yen at dinnertime.
Please note that this restaurant charges a table charge of 10%. This restaurant accepts most major credit cards and has an English menu.
The restaurant seats over 80 people but it is still a good idea to make reservations in advance. You can book via their website or via tablecheck.
There is a kids menu – one option is a burger and fries and the other is a kids plate that has a small hamburger patty, fried shrimp, rice, a small bowl of curry sauce and some chopped fruit.
There is also space to store strollers while you dine. This restaurant also has high chairs for babies.
TWELVE GARDENS BAR & GRILL
OPEN FOR LUNCH 11AM-2PM (UNTIL 3PM ON WEEKDAYS) The weekday lunch menu for Twelve Gardens is here. The weekend lunch menu for Twelve Gardens is here.
OPEN FOR CAFETIME 2PM-5PM The cafe time menu for Twelve Gardens is here.
OPEN FOR DINNER 5PM-11PM (LAST ORDERS AT 9:30PM) The dinner menu for Twelve Gardens is here.
CLOSED DURING THE NEW YEAR PERIOD
A family-friendly sushi restaurant (that isn’t a sushi train)
Ikina Sushi Dokoro Abe have English Speaking Staff and welcome children. They also have booster seat attachments for chairs so babies can be safely strapped in. The restaurant also has space to store strollers while you dine.
Ikina Sushi Abe also have several omakase course options. It is inside the Toranomon Hills Mori Tower complex and so there is also easy access to change tables and rooms to breastfeed.
This is on a reservation only basis – but they also offer an “all you can eat” for 90 mins course for 5800 yen (2800 yen for kids under 120 cms tall and 1,800 yen for kids shorter than 100cms.) There is counter seating and table seating available at this restaurant (they can seat up to 45 people) but families with small children will need to sit at tables – don’t worry you can still see the chefs from there.
Ikina Sushi Kokoro Abe accepts most major credit cards. For lunch time, I would budget for 2000 yen per adult at lunch time and 8000-13000 yen at dinner time (depending on which course you choose.)
It is in the building above and connected to Toranomon Hills Station.
Click here to make a reservation for Iki Na Sushi Dokoro Abe Toranomon Hills.
IKI NA SUSHI DOKORO ABE, TORANOMON HILLS
港区虎ノ門1-23-3虎ノ門ヒルズ森タワー 4F
4TH FLOOR, TORANOMON HILLS MORI TOWER, 1-23-3 TORANOMON, MINATO-KU
OPEN 11AM-2:30PM (LAST ORDER AT 2PM) & 5PM-10PM (LAST ORDER AT 9:10PM)
CLOSED FOR THE NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS
If you’re looking for vegetarian and vegan options in Toranomon Hills, then I recommend a restaurant called Erick South. It is a South Indian Curry restaurant. It can be found on the basement floor. I really love their vegetable curry.
For lunch here I would budget 1000-2000 yen and then around 2000-3000 yen at dinner time. If you dine in, you can have free rice refills.
They have an English menu and a kids menu. This restaurant accepts credit cards and is completely non- smoking.
I also really like getting takeout bentos from them or the frozen, packaged curries to take home – this also works if the kids want to grab something that isn’t curry such as a burger and fries from 3rd burger on the same floor.
If you have any trouble finding this restaurant, use google maps to go to Starbucks Coffee, Toranomon Hills Tower and then take the escalator behind the store down to the B1 floor.
ERICK SOUTH, TORANOMON HILLS STORE
港区虎ノ門1-17-1 虎ノ門ヒルズビジネスタワーB1F
B1F FLOOR, TORANOMON HILLS BUSINESS TOWER, 1-17-1 TORANOMON, MINATO-KU
OPEN FOR LUNCH: 11AM-3PM
OPEN FOR DINNER: 5PM-9PM (LAST ORDER AT 8;30PM)
Toranomon Hills is only one or two stations from Roppongi, Ginza, Hiroo and Ebisu.
It is a really easy and short walk (15 min stroll) to the Tokyo Tower area from Toranomon Hills.
This park and playground is 10 mins walk from Toranomon Hills.
Everything is yellow in Autumn here and was the perfect spot for hide’n’seek (and lots of playground equipment too.)
This is a playground section of Shiba Park called Shiba Koen Kodomo Heiwa Koen and it’s right next to Onarimon Station (Exit 10.)
You also have a great view of Tokyo Tower here.
It is ten minutes walk from Tokyo Tower, itself. If you’re having a hard time locating it, try putting the Minato Library into google maps as it is right next to the playground equipment.
There are public toilets here.
