We've got a special edition today of Trips + Giggles—it's our very first guide, written by a mom of two, and our very first post on Tokyo. Having lived in Tokyo during her 20s, Rachel Orosco decided to go back to Japan during the summer of 2018, this time with her husband and children tagging along. The family stayed for nearly a month! And now Rachel has graciously put together her list of things to do, what to see, where to eat, and how to stay.
WHERE TO EAT:
As for restaurants, you really can’t go wrong no matter where you go. The food is great and Japanese chefs take pride in their preparation. Yet there are some really fun dining experiences your kids might like:
1. The Ninja Restaurant in Akasaka neighborhood. Your concierge can make you a reservation.
2. Kawaii Monster Cafe in Harajuku. It is ridiculous but my kids LOVED it. Don’t do dinner there – just lunch. This is the one place where the food is not that great. It’s more about the show and the experience.
3. Sumo-Wrestling Themed Restaurant: You can guess what this is about!
4. Gonpach Nishiazabu: This is the izakaya where they filmed “Kill Bill.”
5. Rokunen Yonkumi: Another izakaya, but this time with a classroom theme. (The name roughly translates to “6 Grade, Class 4.) The wait staff is dressed up as teachers and it looks like an elementary school classroom. Their website is only in Japanese, but here's an English review you can read. [Photo via Rokunen Yonkum's website.]
WHAT TO DO:
1. teamLab Borderless: There is an AMAZING art installation is going on right now called TeamLab Borderless. You guys will LOVE this. It’s also located in Odaiba, an artificial island in Tokyo Bay, which is a great place to spend the day and play. It's easily accessible by train or by foot across the Rainbow Bridge. If you go to Odaiba, make sure to do the Onsen hot spring there.
2. The Ghibli Museum: This animation museum is really cool. You'll need to reserve tickets before you go. Do that here.
3. Harajuku: This neighborhood, along with Shibuya and Omatesando, has tons to see and you can easily do them in a day. Also, if your kids are like my kids, they begged me to go to the cat cafés, rabbit cafés, and even a hedge hog cafés. You just have to search them up. And the dessert café, Pom Pom Purin, is every little kid's dream. (Pom Pom Purin is a Sanrio character.) Near the Harajuku tube station, you can reach Yoyogi park where inside is the Meiji shrine.
4. Lake Visits: Kitanomaru Park and Inokashira Park both have little lakes where you can rent adorable pedal swan boats!
5. Rainbow Karaoke: This is a family-friendly karaoke place I found. It's in the Shibuya neighborhood on the 8th floor of the Modi Building.
If you're looking for more things to do, Tokyo Weekender and Savvy Tokyo have great events calendars that you can reference.
HOW TO STAY:
While Airbnb is great and popular, you have to stay at least a few nights in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. Here is a website, Ryokan Collection, that can help you find a ryokan. But we are obsessed with the Hoshinoya ryokans and they are all over Japan. The one in Kyoto (below) is especially great. The website can be overwhelming to search through but if you know exactly where you are going it might make it a little easier.
ARIGATO, RACHEL!
ありがとうございました
MORE ON TOKYO:
If you're looking for other hotel suggestions, there are 12 hotels in Tokyo that I can recommend (and can get you special treatment!) ranging from the Grand Hyatt to the Andaz to the Peninsula. Email me with your dates and I'll check the rates right away. For more about about my services as a travel agent, go here. (TL; DR: I don't charge planning fees and I can get you some great perks.)
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