7 Unique Tokyo Travel Tips and Attractions for Families

Challenge accepted, because giving Tokyo travel tips for a stay in Tokyo is crazy. If you don't stay in the city for at least 3 months, you have no chance of seeing even a fraction of it. With almost 38 million inhabitants, Tokyo is the largest city in the world.

In terms of area, Chongqing is the largest city in the world, which we visited a few weeks ago. Tokyo is a whopping 35 times smaller than Chongqing, with almost the same population. This struck me immediately as I walked through Tokyo's streets. Everything here is cramped and tiny. However, I had the wildest time ever here with my family.

We were only in the city for five days, and it was quite a feat to experience these seven activities that I'm presenting here in my Tokyo travel tips. But we managed it and even had some relaxing time. Practice really does make perfect. 🙂

By the way, before our trip, I had read countless Tokyo travelogues, and each one had different excursion tips. The city is so huge, ten times bigger than Berlin. Therefore, I hope I can introduce you to one or another sight here. Have fun!

Getting there and accommodation in Tokyo

Is it actually Tokyo or Tokio? It's probably like Munich and München. Tokyo is the English version and it actually looks more correct to me. Nevertheless, Google forces me to write Tokio. That's just how it is in digital life. Regardless of the spelling, we'll travel again from Nagoya by Shinkansen. It's convenient and highly recommended if you're already in Japan.

Otherwise, Tokyo naturally has two major airports, Haneda and Narita. You can get to the city conveniently, affordably, and quickly by train. This works great, as we'll find out later when we continue our journey. 😉

We found shelter in a nice hotel a bit on the outskirts. We were in the Nishi Kasai*, a great hotel with apartments. This has the advantage that a kitchen is included, which we as a family always appreciate. Most of the time, the kids don't completely fill up at the restaurant and want the next snack at home right away.

It was only a few meters from Nishi-Kasai Station, from where we could get everywhere easily. Most of the time, however, we usually call an Uber, simply because it has the advantage that I can rest and sleep a bit. 😴 Sometimes that suits me better than taking the subway.

The excursions we took here in Tokyo are sorted chronologically. The pictures in the gallery below also correspond to this.

Shibuya Crossing – The World's Busiest Intersection

I'll start my Tokyo travel tips with the absolute highlight and THE must-see attraction in Tokyo: Shibuya Crossing and the world's largest crosswalk located there. When the traffic light turns green, approximately 2,500 people cross the street, and that happens every time! So, you definitely have to walk across it once.

It's a crazy feeling when so many people are around you, but everything runs in a strictly regulated manner. No one is stepping on anyone's toes here, even though one of the crosswalks even runs diagonally. Here in the Shibuya district and right at the intersection is the most visited Starbucks branch in the world. A little tip on the side here in my Tokyo travelogue: If you order a coffee at Starbucks Shibuya, you can look directly out the window at the intersection and thus have a great view, as the Starbucks is located on the first floor of a mall.

Shibuya Crossing is located practically right in front of Shibuya Station, making it ideal to reach by metro. There are, of course, countless large malls here, and even more cool and quirky shops. You can easily spend a whole day in Shibuya, especially if you also want to visit a museum or a flagship store here and there. There are numerous of them in Tokyo, such as the Disney Flagship Store, the Nintendo Store, etc.

2. Maidreamin – Maid Cafés in Japan

In thematic cafés we already were in Kyoto, as I in my Travelogue Kyoto already mentioned. But there are so many different themed cafes in Japan. In a Tokyo travelogue, I read about the many maid cafes and how they are also very suitable for families with children, especially with girls.

In Shibuya, we visited the Maidreamin Café. There are a total of 20 Maidreamin Cafés in Japan. They originated in Tokyo because there are many anime and manga stores here. The huge video game scene led to the creation of these cafés in the 90s.

Here you'll be served by maids, who are Japanese women walking around in cosplay outfits. It looks fun and our kids really liked it too. They immediately received cat ears as headbands, just like the maids wear. In Japan, there's the expression „Kawaii,“ which can be translated as „Jöööö“ in Swiss German or „Awwwww“ in German.

Maidreamin strives to make everything look kawaii. From the accessories, the service, the food, to the cafe itself. However, the Shibuya location is more reminiscent of a pixelated computer landscape. You pay a small entrance fee and then you can stay for an hour. The food and drinks are absolutely affordable here, although the culinary aspect is not the main focus.

This is purely for entertainment. For example, if you order a cocktail, you get a free song with it that the maid sings to you. It sounds pretty squeaky, and you have to join in with a rattle, otherwise she won't shake your cocktail properly. It's a bit freaky and sometimes creepy, but that's how crazy Tokyo is. Fruit juices are only served to children here with paw gloves, and the maid purrs while doing it. The waitresses only come to your table if you call out „Meow meow.“ You have to like that sort of thing, of course. 😀

Despite this, we were still grateful for the Tokyo travel tip about visiting such a maid cafe with family. It was fun and we laughed quite a lot. Therefore, this point definitely belongs on my list of best Tokyo travel tips, even if it is one of the craziest. The atmosphere is crazy and actually intended primarily for nerds. I can't imagine a better target audience for it.

Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take photos in the maid cafe, nor are the maids allowed to be in the photos. However, at the end, you'll get a snapshot with a maid. You can find these pictures at the very bottom of the photo gallery for these Tokyo travel tips.

3. Harajuku and Takeshita Street – Japan's Cosplay Culture

Regarding cosplay, the trend from the 90s of portraying a video game character. It looks pretty crazy, and there's a district in Tokyo dedicated to cosplay: Harajuku. Harajuku is also located in the Shibuya ward. The most famous and popular street here is Takeshita Dori. Dori simply means street in Japanese. Takeshita Street offers one crazy shop after another. It's located right by Harajuku Station.

From cosplay outfits to currently trending fashion in Japan's teen scene, and from samurai to fancy carnival outfits, you'll find everything that's in right now. The street is sprinkled with millions of details to discover. We're continuously amazed here. The girls are storming one shop after another.

Finally, we eat lunch in a pink food court and order Rainbow 100 Yen coins. These are popular waffles in Tokyo that look like a 100 Yen coin and have brightly colored cheese oozing out. The waffles taste surprisingly delicious. We also have a mango smoothie with a heart-shaped straw. Yay, totally my thing actually. I feel comfortable here, anyway. It reminds me extremely of my DJ days from 1998 to 2008. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to Tokyo back then, but I did go to London for shopping.

Getting back to the topic, because Harajuku doesn't only have the craziest street in Japan, but also one of the most elegant, Omotesando Street. This is practically the Champs-Élysées of Tokyo. Here you'll find all the usual luxury brands from around the world and the clientele changes instantly.

But on Harajuku Street, there are also many great shops and shopping malls. First and foremost, Tokyu Plaza Harajuku. A building that houses a huge garden on its upper floors. It looks absolutely crazy, and I had to look twice when I spotted the building along the street.

There's a chocolate shop here that sells chocolate in the shape of music cassettes and vinyl records. I had to buy some right away, of course. That's quite an elaborate way to make chocolate. Unfortunately, the vinyl record didn't survive the journey. In Malta, it was just chocolate crumbs. That's why I took a picture of it beforehand.

It was a really nice and crazy shopping day, and when you plan your Tokyo itinerary, definitely make room for this crazy area. Even if shopping isn't your favorite activity, you'll find crazy things to see and be amazed by here.

4. Small Worlds Miniature Museum Tokyo

The Small Words Miniature Museum in Tokyo is a fascinating mini-world built with full attention to detail. Unlike, for example, the Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg, which I wrote about in another travelogue, areas and countries of our world are presented here mixed with fantasy worlds.

The topics presented are space travel, future cities, anime and manga worlds, and in some cases, real-world scenes. However, in all of these worlds, there are dinosaurs that walk or move around, as well as figures from Sailor Moon or Neon Genesis Evangelion. The latter is all the rage in Japan. A giant figure stands right in front of the museum entrance.

I got the tickets for us through GetYourGuide booked. This secures your admission, because if it's busy, there's a longer queue at the ticket office. In general, Getyourguide is great for buying tickets in Japan.

In addition to museum admission, you can also book workshops for the kids in the museum. This makes the museum an ideal excursion for families in Tokyo. They can craft small elements for the miniature world themselves here. There is also a restaurant and cafe, which, however, offers rather simple American dishes. So there are hot dogs and chicken nuggets here, instead of miso soup with tempura and soba noodles.

A Tokyo travelogue wouldn't be complete without mentioning the Small Worlds Miniature Museum Tokyo. We had a great time here and spent a relaxed three hours.

5. Avatar Robot Cafe Tokyo – Dawn Cafe

The Future is Now! If there are robot cafés in the world, then surely there are some in Japan. Ory Laboratory founded the Avatar Robot Cafés as an experiment in 2012. What looks like an entertainment program at first glance is actually very profound. This becomes clear when you know that there is no artificial intelligence behind the robots and they are not programmed. They are real humans.

Let me explain. The founder, Ory Yoshifuji, has a vision. It seems practically impossible to lead a fulfilling life when you are bedridden. She is pursuing the goal of eliminating „loneliness.“ Especially since the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, robot cafes have been gaining popularity. So, it's not exactly a secret tip for my list of Tokyo travel tips.

A total of 60 people, known as pilots, with disabilities are working in numerous robot cafes that already exist throughout Japan. These individuals even come from other countries at times. Ory has given them the opportunity not only to interact with other people, but even to earn money.

When you enter the robot cafe, you are first greeted by a robot whose pilot explains how the cafe generally works. You pay an entrance fee, similar to the maid cafe upstairs, but here for a much better and more profound purpose. Afterwards, you order your food and/or drinks from a human at the counter.

At the table, there's a small robot with another pilot. Our pilot's name is Nanaka, which is her real name. You can find a picture of her in the top image, at the bottom center. She's from Japan and makes a little small talk with us. Of course, not all pilots speak English, but the fact that tourists come here also challenges and encourages the people involved. They can not only learn new things but even learn new languages. Opportunities that would have been denied or significantly more difficult for them without the robots.

The drinks are then even brought by a robot, which in turn talks to you and you can ask it questions. It's funny, fascinating, and exciting all at once. Of course, the pilots see everything via a tablet and many, many cameras, and the robot virtually looks you deep in the eyes when the pilot looks at you via the tablet. That's creepy at first, but it makes everything seem much more human after a while.

I think the concept is awesome, and you should definitely support it with a visit if you're traveling in Tokyo or other cities in Japan. This is one of the most sensible Tokyo travel tips ever.

6. teamLab Planets Tokyo

Nice! At teamLab Planets in Tokyo, you'll experience art in another dimension. It's a museum right up my alley. Here, artworks that stimulate your senses take center stage. That's why you have to visit the exhibitions barefoot; shoes are forbidden. This is exciting because the floor keeps changing, from cold to warm, from carpet to stone, and you'll even find yourself standing in water from time to time. Sometimes up to your knees!

The exhibition consists of eight different light and dark rooms. You walk through these rooms on a prescribed path, each containing completely different art installations. My favorite was the mirror room with knee-high water, in which projected koi fish swam. It looked fascinating. But also a room where you lie under thousands of real orchids that move towards you feels fantastic and creates a very special atmosphere.

We had a lot of fun here as a family and teamLab Planets is definitely an exciting point for my Tokyo travel tips list. However, it's important to book your tickets in advance. I got our tickets Here about GetYourGuidebooked. Then you have everything centrally in one app and only have to show the QR code at the entrance.

This not only secures your entry, but you also save yourself the long wait at the ticket counter. While we were in Tokyo (in August), it wasn't even peak season, and we only managed to get tickets on one day. So it's better to book a few weeks in advance.

The exhibition is scheduled to be held in Tokyo until around 2027, which is why I've included it here in my Tokyo travel tips.

7. DiverCity Tokyo Plaza

DiverCity Tokyo Plaza is a beautiful shopping mall with numerous great shops, but also many museums and entertainment stores. For example, on one level there is a Round One, which combines arcades and video game halls with a kind of amusement park. You could spend a whole day here alone.

Next door, DiverCity also houses Little Planet, an indoor playground for kids, and the Unko Museum Tokyo. It's the official poop museum. Yes, the Japanese and Asians in general are into that sort of thing. We visited a poop café in Korea a few weeks prior, which was quite amusing. Here, it's all bundled together in a museum.

We didn't visit any of these museums or entertainment centers, but only looked at the shopping mall. The Gundam Base Tokyo is also located here. Gundam is a science fiction universe, and there's been an anime series since 1979 that is still currently airing in Japan, with new episodes! In front of DiverCity, there's a life-sized Gundam statue. Life-sized means pretty big, almost as tall as the mall behind it. You can imagine the Gundam statue like Optimus Prime from Transformers.

Perhaps the Transformers are even the American answer to the Gundam universe. At Gundam Base, you can then view all the details and information about the series and characters. We didn't do that because the family poll was 1:3. So we went shopping. 🤷‍♂️

However, the statue is definitely worth seeing, and the DiverCity Mall is located next to the iconic Fuji Television building. You can recognize the building by its oversized steel sphere. Unfortunately, we were too late. The observation deck there closes at 6 PM. However, the visit can be combined very well with a visit to DiverCity Tokyo Plaza.

Tokyo Excursion Tips Travelogue

Conclusion - Tokyo Travel Tips

Whether it's called Tokyo or Toukyou is completely irrelevant. The city is amazing and we spent five really exciting days here. I hope I was able to convey to you in my Tokyo travel report that the city is perfectly suited for families. It might require a bit of planning in advance so you can pick out the most beautiful sights for you.

We mostly traveled around Tokyo with Uber. On the one hand, it allowed us to pause and rest for a while, and on the other hand, there were no difficulties with directions. Also, in Tokyo, very few people speak good English.

Tokyo is ideal if you're into crazy things like cosplay, kitsch, cute stuff, computer games, video games, and anything that's pure entertainment. But you'll also find everything your shopping heart desires, from typical Chinese goods to Louis Vuitton.

I wasn't in Tokyo for the last time. I personally liked the city a lot. The mere fact that you can get off at any random train station in Tokyo and find something cool just around the corner makes the trip worthwhile.

Have you ever been to Tokyo? What did you like best there? What should we see there next time? What else are you missing in my Tokyo travelogue?

Tokyo Photo Gallery Travel Tips