Tokyo Japan Family Trip
In October 2019, we took our first ever family trip to Tokyo, Japan.
We’re so grateful we took the leap and did a big trip because after that, everything shut down with the pandemic! After 3 years, Japan is finally opening back up again and we are hearing about many Hawai`i friends heading to Tokyo!
So, I thought it would be a great time to revisit where we went with our then 2 and 4 year old (which by the way was a little crazy so we took my parents with us too) in hopes that it can help you with your own planning! Only problem is truthfully, as I was looking at photos to write this, I couldn’t remember the details! Sorry! So this is more of a photo blog with not a lot of helpful links and specifics, :p but at least it can give you an idea of our 9 day itinerary and next time, I’ll write while it’s still fresh in my head.
Guess we have to go back! :p
Happy traveling to all of you heading to Japan!
erin’s tips
Go when the weather is cool!
Take extra help or at the very least, extra eyes when traveling with little ones. It’s super helpful as they hold/watch your things every time you have to take them to the bathroom (which was every 2-3 hours for our four-year old!)
Take the local trains for more space and seats. Even if the ride takes longer, enjoy sitting and the scenery.
Be flexible and have fun!
We flew on JAL and loved it! On the airplane we brought for the kiddos snacks, comfy headphones, and they did really well because they’re not used to sitting in front of their own screen for hours with the option to choose to watch whatever movies they wanted. :p And the food was oishi!
The only challenging part was as soon as we arrived, we were barely able to land in the typhoon and was stuck sleeping in the airport for the first day of our trip. We made the most of it and the kids cracked us up as they asked, “So is this Japan?”
As soon as we got to eat, we had what the kids loved most, ramen! On our list to eat was ramen, udon, katsu, hamburger steak, curry, omu rice, sushi, pan/bread, ice cream, strawberry shortcake, snacks, and of course…chocolates!
We checked into our hotel that we were very, very happy with. This was Sunshine City Prince Hotel in Ikubukuro? It was clean, spacious, and absolutely perfect for the 4 of us. We pushed the beds together and sandwiched the kids to sleep between us. We used the couch to line up all our luggage and the view from the window kept the kids busy when we were trying to clean up things. The table and chair is also something I look for in a room because it helps when we need them to sit and eat.
erin’s tip
For convenience, we highly recommend staying at any hotel on the green JR Yamanote line so you can explore Tokyo and always find your way back to your hotel easily. We also selected this hotel because the bus goes from the airport straight to these hotels so we didn’t need to catch the train and try to get around with all of our luggage! Very convenient!
First stop was this amusement park that I forgot the name of! Sorry. There was a lot of different little amusement parks! There were no lines, the weather was cool, and it was nice to expose the kids to rides we don’t have in Hawai`i.
We then took them to this famous kids’ playground called Asobono in Tokyo Dome City! It’s super good for little kids and honestly, our two could have stayed here the entire day. It had an amazing ball pit, a variety of toys, and other kids (which is great if you have an only child looking for some interaction)!
Tokyo Dome City was a fun area I had gone to before and taken Tori one of our work trips where we road a giant roller coaster, went rock climbing, and bowling! So we stopped there to do more rides (our family loves rides) and go on their giant Ferris wheel. You have to do a giant wheel when you’re in Japan and you can take in the views too! We chose one where you were able to sing karaoke inside! The kids still remember this in particular!
Ok how did we get around with little kids in Japan?
Fold out umbrella strollers!
They were really great to move the kids around in quickly, carry them up the stairs, they didn’t complain about getting tired from walking, and they even took naps in them sometimes. We also hung our bags on them, but make sure the kid is in it too so it doesn’t tip over! :)
And if you look carefully at the photo and this milk they’re holding, you have to try it! We bought one for each of them every single night from the convenient store to have ready for every single morning because it was soooooo good! It tastes really different from our milk, but they (and we) loved it!
erin’s tip
Try the milk!
Team Lab! Ok this place was totally worth it! Very interactive, artistic, social media photo opportunities galore, and a fun place to spark creativity, wonder, and engagement. Warning though, it could also cause kids overstimulation! :p
I believe this was the National Museum of Nature & Science. We had to walk quickly through most of it since we didn’t have a lot of time, but finding the animals and the dinosaur bones was absolutely the best part about it! It was really, really exciting for our kids to see these creatures life size and they just couldn’t believe it!
In Tokyo, we met up with our good friends for dinner at a place where you can catch your own fish! That made it exciting for everyone and it was a great ice breaker before sitting down together! Especially if there is a language barrier when meeting up with someone. You can always catch fish together and clap and cheer together without exchanging a word! :)
After Tokyo, we switched hotels and headed to Chiba where we stayed in one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever been in! It was called The Manhattan Hotel in Chiba and although super beautiful, because it was out in a non tourist area, the rate was really good!
This cruiser just loved playing with his toys in the great big tub and chillin’ when we got back to the room! He in particular was grateful for a nice big room to rejuvenate in after all the overstimulation!
Getting a comfortable and spacious hotel room meant a lot to us because we just needed to rest sometimes and for the little ones, a big hotel room was a whole world of hide and go seek fun in itself! Plus we could spread out our mess!
One of the main reasons why we went on a trip with a 2 and 4 year old, (even though we knew it would be challenging, especially with our 2 year old) was because another mom gave me the advice to just go whenever a kid turns 4. She said we had to take them to Disneyland! She really convinced me and said I wouldn’t regret it.
She said 4 was the MAGICAL age that you will never experience again where they see everything with awe, wonder, and absolute amazement and curiosity! And she was totally right!!! That’s why we decided on Tokyo Disneyland (it’s a little smaller and lower key than California) and it was so worth watching our daughter take it all in!
erin’s tip
From one mom to another, take your kid on a trip when they turn 4!
The neat thing about going to Disneyland on Halloween, was seeing everyone, literally everyone, dressed up! Japan goes ALL OUT with their costumes that that was very entertaining to look at while waiting in the lines. Surprisingly, the ride lines were relatively short…about 20-30 minutes for most of the kiddie rides.
We dressed comfortably, paced ourselves comfortably, and because it was cool, was comfortable staying at the park all day so we could make it to the night time parade. A 4-year old girl and her princess are worth staying up for!
Toon Town had a first roller coaster this petite 4 year old could ride and it was a highlight of the trip for her that she still asks us about today! I think she rode it 4 times and had to keep rotating with a different adult partner!
I think we spent two days at Disneyland and that was just right! In years prior at the end of a chocolate business trip, my husband and I ran around the theme park and did it in about 3 hours when there were no lines. :P It’s a good size and not overwhelming like what I imagine Disney World feels like (though I want to take them there when they’re older).
We also went to Disney Sea for 1 day which was beautiful! The kids preferred more of the little kid rides and shorter lines at Disneyland, but it was still really neat to try something different and walk casually around the park!
In Chiba, we had a dinner with another really close group of family and friends. Food really does bring people together and the best part is letting them order whatever, and trying whatever plates show up in front of you!
And some of the best moments we had on our Japan trip, were honestly just finding parks anywhere we went and taking the time to stop so the kids (and adults) could play! Japan has some pretty neat and different playgrounds and it’s free! This one was at a neighborhood park right across from our hotel in Chiba. It was a simple hour together, the last thing we did before heading home, and my recommendation for anyone who wants to truly vacation and not travel and be stressed. Go to a park and play!
That’s it in a nut shell! Peace out Japan! It was a very magical trip that we will never forget and we will definitely be back!