Picks
National Museum of Nature and Science - Museum: Ueno
[Open 9am-5pm. Closed Mondays.]This is an outstanding natural history museum, with beautiful, curiosity-inspiring exhibits exploring the animal and plant kingdoms and the prehistoric world. It's also a real bargain - general...
Tokyo Toy Museum - Museum: Yotsuya 3-chome
[Open 10am-4pm (enter by 3:30pm). Closed Thursdays.]Especially popular with younger children but suitable for all ages, the museum exhibits thousands of toys from around the world, with plenty of hands-on activity for enthusiastic visitors. The...
Kidzania - Amusement park: Toyosu
[2 sessions per day: 10am-3pm and 4-9pm; open every day.]In this rather unusual amusement park, children ages 3-15 can "work" at more than eighty grown-up jobs - pilot, firefighter, chef - and earn Kidzania currency while they do so. Some of the...
Ghibli Museum - Museum: Mitaka
[Open 10am-6pm. Closed Tuesdays.]When Hayao Miyazaki's spellbinding Spirited Away won the Oscar for best animated feature in 2003, it only confirmed to the world what Japan has known for decades: that the work of Miyazaki and his...
History Garage - Museum: Aomi
[Open 11am-9pm daily.]If you're even the least bit interested in vintage autos and racecars, this automotive museum is well worth checking out. Walk-through exhibit areas are fashioned to resemble the streets of an...
Legoland - Attraction: Daiba
[Open 10am-9pm (enter by 7pm) daily.]The Legoland Discovery Center is a mini-theme park inside the Tokyo Decks shopping complex, offering fun activities and charming attractions for visitors of all ages. There are a couple of...
Panasonic Center - Showroom: Ariake
[Open 10am-6pm (last entry 5pm). Closed Mondays.]The RiSuPia portion of the Panasonic Center is one of the best science museums we've seen in Tokyo, with free admission for visitors under 18. (It's Y500 for adults.) Almost all the exhibits are...
More activities
Amlux - Showroom: Ikebukuro
[Open 11am-7pm. Closed Mondays.]This five-story Toyota showroom has some seventy vehicles on display, including Formula-1 racecars. Other attractions include a racecar-driving game, road-safety driving simulators, and...
Children's Castle - Attraction: Omotesando
[Open 10am to 5:30pm weekends; 12:30pm to 5:30pm weekdays. Closed Mondays.]Hachiko and its surrounding environs may be the hot spot for the teen-to-college crowd, but not far away is a place designed specifically for the younger set. Located between Shibuya and Omotesando...
Fire Museum - Museum: Yotsuya 3-chome
[Open 10am-5pm. Closed Mondays.]Earthquakes. Landslides. Typhoons. Faulty wiring. Japan has its share of danger. But fear not: the fire department is here to help. To learn exactly how they help, visit Tokyo's Fire Museum, where...
Himonya Koen Kodomo Dobutsu Hiroba - Park/garden: Meguro-ku
[Open 10-11:30am, 1:30-3pm. Closed Mondays.]The petting zoo here lets you play with rabbits, guinea pigs and dogs, and ponies are available for riding (at Y150 per ride). Note the limited hours of operation. Other attractions in the park...
Jingu Gaien Nikoniko Park - Park/garden: Shinanomachi
[Open 10am-5pm daily.]This popular children's park inside the Meiji Jingu Gaien grounds features rather elaborate slides, simulated waterfalls and log cabins.
Popondetta Akihabara - Retail: Akihabara
[Open noon-8:30pm. Closed 3rd Wed.]The highlight of this model-railroad shop is a giant Tokyo-inspired track layout that takes up most of the second floor. Customers can rent one of several tracks by the hour, and either rent a...
Railway Museum - Museum: Omiya
[Open 10am-6pm (enter by 5:30pm). Closed Tuesdays.]Train enthusiasts shouldn't miss this impressive, expensively produced railway-history museum located about thirty minutes north of Shinjuku in Saitama Prefecture. The showpiece here is a collection...
Science Museum - Museum: Takebashi
[Open 9:30am-4:50pm (enter by 4pm). Closed Wednesdays.]Aimed primarily at younger visitors, the focus here is on basic science and technology, with lots of hands-on exhibits and 15-minute "science class" programs. Driving simulators in the Waku Eco...
Anpanman Children's Museum and Mall - Museum: Yokohama Minato-mirai
[Open museum 10am-6pm (enter by 5pm); mall -7pm; restaurant -8pm (LO 7pm) daily.]Aimed squarely at the six-and-under crowd, this popular mini-museum and shopping mall are devoted to the cartoon-pastry hero and his many plush and collectible friends. The main reason to fork over...
Amusement parks
Yokohama Cosmoworld - Amusement park: Yokohama Minato-mirai
[Open 11am-9pm. Closed Thursdays.]The giant ferris wheel, 112 meters in height with a capacity of 480 riders, is the main attraction here and a prominent part of the Yokohama skyline. There's also a roller coaster and a...
Tokyo Disney Resort - Amusement park: Maihama
[Open 9am-10pm daily.]Tokyo Disney Resort is the home to two theme parks - Disneyland (similar to other Disneylands around the world) and the only-in-Tokyo ocean-themed DisneySea. There's also a restaurant and shopping...
Tokyo Dome City Attractions - Amusement park: Suidobashi
[Open 11am-7pm daily.]The amusement park rides and attractions of Tokyo Dome City are spread out over five areas - LaQua, Tower Land, Splash Garden, Parchute Land and Geopolis - all covered by a one-day pass or separate...
