Tokyo itinerary for families and teens

Tokyo is a gigantic city home to nearly 37 million people in the broader metropolitan area. It’s no wonder that tourists get overwhelmed when starting to plan travel in Japan! That becomes especially difficult if you’re trying to please jet-lagged tweens and teens.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when traveling to Tokyo is moving hotels too often. Every time you check in and out of a hotel, pack all your luggage, find storage at train stations…it eats up part of your precious vacation time. The public transit system in Tokyo is nothing short of a wonder-of-the-world. You can get on a train almost anywhere, at any time of the day, and be at your new location in an expedient manner. I think choosing one hotel (or Airbnb) and using the train system is a much better use of time when exploring the various neighborhoods of Tokyo. The exception to this would be if you really wanted to stay at a Disney property for a few days. Don’t be intimidated by the trains. Use Google Maps, and just pay attention to which entrance/exit you need to use when coming and going from the stations. You can do it!

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A few thoughts to get us started:

You’ll need a lot of yen. Japan is really advanced in so many ways, and yet, many restaurants and shops still only accept cash. Luckily, there are a lot of ATMs and Japan is extremely safe, so no worries about carrying copious amounts of cash.
Go to 7-11 and Lawsons. The food in local combinis is actually really good! Try the egg salad sandwich (tamago). Just do it. You’ll thank me later.
You don’t really need restaurant reservations. There are SO many restaurants and street vendors for food. The quality of the food in Japan is unparalleled. If you have a specific place in mind, feel free to reserve! But there are so many restaurants that you can just show up in a lot of locations and have good luck.
Wear whatever you want to in Japan. I read so many travel forums that played up how conservative Japan is in relation to clothing, but I didn’t really see that play out in real life. A lot of locals wear black, white, and tan…not a lot of colorful pops…but that doesn’t mean you need to do the same! For women, I did see a lot of shorts, skirts, and tank tops. If you travel in the summer, it’s humid and hot! Wear what you are most comfortable in and don’t over-think it. Just have good footwear for the 20,000 steps per day you’re about to log.
Pocket Wifi. We did it. I’m not sure if I really needed it since I have an International plan through T-Mobile, but here are the upsides: You rent it ahead of time via the internet (we used Japan Wireless), pick it up at the airport, and pop it in a mail box before you fly home (our hotel sent it back for us). It’s a small device that you can pop in your purse or backpack and get access to instant wifi wherever you roam. My son and husband were also able to connect to the pocket wifi at no additional cost. Although I think I could have still used Google Maps and the internet without the pocket wifi, it probably would have destroyed my battery. In my opinion, the pocket wifi was worth the cost for peace of mind, extended battery, and instant connection even when underground on the subway.
I booked most of my attractions and tours on Klook. The app is great too! It’s nice to have all of your reservations, timed-entry QR codes, etc. all in one place.

I think the most logical way to plan Tokyo is to focus on attractions that are clustered together on Google Maps. Hop on the train closest to your hotel, and head out to that part of the city for the duration of the day. Here are some clustered activities (in no particular order of popularity) that I’d suggest in each area. Keep in mind that the jet-lag is real! You’ll probably want to start your mornings outside the first few days to get some sunlight and reestablish your rhythms. Don’t book anything the first night, you’ll be exhausted and cranky by 4pm – especially the kids!

Asakusa

Asakusa is the historic heart of Tokyo. In some areas, it’s like going back in time. Here you’ll find a slower pace, more traditional architecture, and the oldest Buddhist temple in the city.

Senso-ji Temple – This iconic temple draws in over 30 million tourists per year. No tickets required. Just stroll over and enjoy looking at the grounds. Senso-ji is light up pretty late into the night, so it’s just as beautiful in the evenings and a little lighter on the crowds.

Nakamize & Hoppy Streets – Adjacent to the temple is a cute street full of food vendors and souvenir shops. It’s a retro vibe and a fantastic place to find lunch. There’s also a main shopping street with plenty of restaurants and shopping.

Tokyo Skytree – This requires a 20 minute walk over the river to the east of Senso-ji. We really enjoyed the stroll over the bridge, but you could certain Uber as well. The Skytree is open from 10AM to 10PM and requires a timed entry acquired in advance. A lot of people want sunset tickets, so know that those do sell out quick. At 634 meters tall, you can get some really lovely views of the city here. The Skytree also has some shopping options, so if your kids are into Pokemon/Manga/Mario/Kirby/SpiritedAway/DragonBall, save some time for purchasing cards or souvenirs.

Ninja Museum – This is a curated one-hour tour that you can book in advance in English. The guide teaches you bite-sized pieces of history with stories about ninja, samurai, and shogun. At the end of the tour, you get to try your hand at throwing ninja stars too! I found this highly interesting, and my teen enjoyed the costumes, swords, and hands-on star throwing experience.

Sumo Show – The highlight of my whole trip to Japan! These tickets sell out, so be sure to reserve them in advance and arrive about 20 minutes early for better seats. I really knew nothing about Sumo, but it’s such a unique part of the Japanese culture. The Asakusa Sumo Show features retired wrestlers – many from injuries that impacted their career. When you arrive, you are immediately seated and given hotpot, fried chicken, and lots of little bites. The food was really good and all-you-can-eat. The wrestlers demonstrate sumo exercises, teach you the general rules, and then do a real round of sumo. Not only is it informative and entertaining, but it was laugh-out-loud funny throughout.

Ueno

This neighborhood houses Tokyo’s museum campus, Ueno Park and Zoo. It is also home to the gritty, bustling Ameyoko Markets. It’s a great place to spend a day if your family is keen to explore several museums that are close together.

Ueno Park – This park is the main name for where the museums and zoo are located. It’s 133 acres of walking trails and a huge pond.

Ueno Zoo – We really enjoyed this zoo! We bought tickets in advance, but there was no line when we arrived (this was in late May). The zoo is really gorgeous and well maintained. We spent several hours walking about and looking at the animals.

Museum Options:

Ameyoko Market – This is a stark contrast to the park with all of it’s stately looking museums! Ameyoko is known for being a little gritty and rough-around-the-edges. Vendors are packed along little streets like a maze of shops and restaurants. Evidently, it’s also the area most known for a little day drinking…

Shibuya & Shinjuku

Bustling, energetic, and a little chaotic…it’s Shibuya and Shinjuku. This is like the Times Square of Tokyo. Since you’re likely traveling with kids, this may not apply to you, but Shibuya is also where a lot of the night clubs are located. Heads up to families here – Shinjuku is is also home to Tokyo’s “red light district”. I’ve seen a lot of people posting on forums about regrets getting a hotel for their family in this party town. It might be better visited in daylight hours.

Shibuya Sky – This is a really neat open-air rooftop viewing area right above the Shibuya Scramble. This is the premier place for photography of Tokyo from the height of 750 feet above the ground. On a clear day, you could see Mt. Fuji in the distance.

Shibuya Scramble – One of the busiest crosswalks in the world. Honestly, I thought this was pretty over-hyped. It’s literally just a lot of people crossing the street.

Parco – Need to do some chopping with those teens? This is the ultimate shopping mall housing stores like The Pokemon Center (the only one where you can create a custom shirt), The Official Nintendo Store (Animal Crossing, Mario, Zelda, etc.), JUMP Shop (manga) and many other hits. Parco also has a floor of food and a rooftop park. Just note that it gets super crowded.

Mega Don Quijote (aka Donki) – Never heard of The Donki?! Oh boy. Imagine a multi-story Walmart designed by someone on hallucinogenic drugs. It’s a total sensory overload and there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to what is on sale at any given moment. Need KitKats? Donki’s got it. Need face cream and cosmetics? No problem. Need a secondhand designer purse or Rolex? In all seriousness, Donki’s got that too. Did I mention they play the same song over and over? Just go check it out.

Yoyogi Park – A 20 minute stroll from the bustling main area of Shibuya is Yoyogi Park. This is tranquility in a sea of neon. You can wander around and clear your head. Within Yoyogi Park is Meiji Shingu Shrine. Named after Emperor Meiji, this shrine is absolutely lovely and surrounded by old trees and walking paths. Totally free to wander, you can get a lot of beautiful pictures here. There is a small garden that requires an additional fee, so you can decide how much time you want to spend here.

Pignic Cafe – As you may have discovered, there are a lot of animal experience cafes throughout Japan. We opted to see some micropigs and were so pleased with our hour of tiny pig cuteness! I’ve seen a lot of questions about how ethical it is to visit these cafes. Personally, I thought the pigs looked very well cared for and they were well-fed and super snuggly. This was the only location we visited, but you can Google Tokyo’s various cat/pig/hedgehog/capybara cafes and see what you think.

Takeshita Street – Home to Tokyo’s kawaii culture aka all things super cute. If you have a Hello Kitty lover, this is where you can find Sanrio. Teen fashion and street wear can be found here too.

Shinjuku Train Station – This train station is pretty much the ultimate escape room! It’s gigantic. It serves 3.5 million passengers per day. It boasts 200 exits across the area. Definitely avoid business rush hours here.

Odaiba

These artificial islands were originally created in the 1850s, but received a high-tech makeover in the 1990s. The vibe here is futuristic amusement and weird art along the water.

Joyopolis – Located across multiple floors of the DECKS shopping mall, Joyopolis is an indoor amusement park. Attractions include a roller coaster, rides, laser tag, arcade games, virtual reality, etc. There are some height restrictions for rides, so check out the website if your kids are still on the shorter side.

Daiba Ghost School – Escape room meets haunted house. It’s supposed to be pretty intense.

Duckboat Tour – A car that becomes a boat? Yup. There are plenty of boat tours in the area.

Statue of Liberty – Ummm…yes. It’s a Statue of Liberty a la NYC.

teamLab Planets – This is a really cool interactive, high tech art exhibit. There are teamLabs all over Japan in Osaka and Kyoto too. teamLabs Borderless is also in Tokyo. This is a really popular tourist attraction, so definitely get timed entry tickets in advance.

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation – Hands on exhibits with AI, humanoid robots and space travel. Great choice for teens.

Fuji TV Observation Room – Futuristic giant sphere with views all across Tokyo Bay.

Minato & Chiyoda

I’m grouping these two wards together since they’re only two miles apart. Chiyoda is full of government buildings, so it’s not super exciting for tourists. However, it’s also home to the Imperial Palace and the main Tokyo train station which you may want to check out. Minato is directly south and is full of affluent homes, International Schools, expats, diplomats, and nightlife.

The Imperial Palace – Visiting the grounds here was on our to-do list, but we didn’t get to it. The grounds and gardens are supposed to be really pretty. You cannot go inside of the palace.

Tokyo Tower – Think of Paris, but make it bright red. We had already done several “top of the building” experiences, so we didn’t go inside the Tower, but got some good photos.

teamLabs Borderless – This is a really cool interactive art space. teamLabs Planets was mentioned above, and this is a similar vibe. You enter into a space that is fully immersed in art, projected images, smells, interactive spaces, lights, and a huge maze of fun things to wander. This was a highlight for us!

Shiba Park & Zozo-ji Temple – A quiet, forested area where you can walk and enjoy the grounds in peace. The temple is beautiful and is also home to tombs of the shogun. The main gate of the temple dates from 1622 and is one of the oldest surviving gates that wasn’t destroyed during the World War.

Honorable Mentions…

Ginza is a popular area full of super luxury brands. Think Hermes, Chanel, Gucci, etc. My bank account would rather do other things, but if you’re ready to spend some Yen…have at it!

Akihabara is for anime, electronics, and manga. There are plenty of specialty card shops, hobby stores, and arcades. There are also “maid cafes” where women dress up in maid costumes. I’m not quite sure I’d consider that a family attraction.

Disney is also a big draw in Tokyo. We visited DisneySea for a day, but there is also a DisneyLand. If your kiddos want to enjoy some Disney magic and hear their favorite characters speak Japanese, I recommend it!

If you want to visualize everything on Google Maps, please enjoy my curated Tokyo map that shows everything in this post.