8 Best Family Things to Do in Tokyo

This vast theme park incorporates Tokyo Disneyland® Park and Tokyo DisneySea® Park, plus adjoining Ikspiari shopping and dining complex. You can easily spend a full day in each section by buying a multi-day pass and do them all.

Master animator Hayao Miyazaki designed this gallery of exhibits, drawing on much-loved Studio Ghibli movies like "My Neighbour Totoro." The result is like a funhouse inside a fine art museum.

This man-made entertainment island is accessible by boat, rail, or on foot across the Rainbow Bridge. You can relax on the beach, battle digital zombies at Tokyo Joypolis, and meet ASIMO the robot at Miraikan, also known as the Future Museum.

Time travel seems almost possible as you wander the wooden buildings of a bygone Tokyo, restored and relocated to Koganei Park. After visiting the 17th and 18th centuries, you can return to the present day for an ice cream on the grass.

Tokyo's Shirokanedai Institute for Nature Study is a vast reserve of wild wood and marshland. Always hushed and never crowded – visitor numbers are limited to 300 people per day – it makes a refreshing break from the surrounding city.

Harajuku Kiddy Land is the flagship store of this toy brand and a wonderful experience for the young at heart. Across 6 storeys, the beautifully decorated store presents colourful interactive displays and a huge number of toys, games and figures of all varieties, plus all the kitsch character items – think Hello Kitty – that are so popular with children around the world. Kiddy Land is next to Meiji-Jingumae Station on the Chiyoda Line.

For a real taste of otaku style, head to this capsule toy (gachapon) haven in Akihabara. With more than 400 capsule toy machines you could win anything from Godzilla, to Ultraman or Dragon Ball Z. You should visit Akihabara Gachapon Kaikan as much for the experience as purchasding a capsule toy. Punk staff and blaring rock music seems to go down well with the customers.

With 5 floors of toys and games, Hakuhinkan Toy Park is truly a paradise for every child as well as young-at-heart adults. The store was first opened in 1899, making it one of the oldest toy stores in Japan. Hakuhinkan features all sorts of toys, from computer games to board games, jigsaw puzzles, game arcades, magic tricks, wooden toys, Japanese dolls and traditional goods, music boxes, stuffed animals and joke gifts. Hakuhinkan also has a toy clinic, a duty-free counter and child-friendly restaurants. If you’re travelling by public transport, take the JR Yamanote line to Shimbashi.