Manisha

Hi there:

A friend of mine is travelling to Tokyo for work. Her husband and 1.5 year old will also join them. They will be in Tokyo for 11 days and are looking for things to do, places to visit and any day trips. Here are some ideas I gave them, but if you have any others, I would love to share them with my friend:

* Gardens - I would think these would be great for a toddler to run around in, under supervision of course. I have only been to Harajuku Gardens and Happo-en. Are there any other gardens/green areas that you know?
* Walk around Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, etc. with toddler in stroller.
* Temples and Markets: I recommended Meiji Jingu Shinto Shrine since its beautiful and has a huge Park for the toddler to run around. Any others that have nice open spaces?
* Sumida River Cruise
* Seaside Top (panoramic Tokyo view from 40th floor of World Trade Center building)
* Stalls and breakfast booths outside of Tsukiji Fish Market
* ANYTHING ELSE?

Thanks in advance for your help!

offlady

Some of the department stores have rooftop amusement playgrounds and/or indoor playrooms for toddlers and small children with age-appropriate games and toys. Ask the customer service desk inside the stores. We took our 13 month old to the Takashimaya rooftop amusement playground and she loved it.

Manisha

offlady - what a great idea! Do you remember what else you did with your 13 month old? Quite brave of you btw to take your toddler to Japan. We took our LO to Spain but she was only 6 months at the time (a more 'reasonable' age than 13 months!)

offlady

It was a challenge taking our toddler especially since I was also 5 months pregnant with our son!

Another challenge was getting over the jet lag. On the first night our daughter woke up at 2 am played right through until daybreak. The second night she got up at 5 am. By the third night she had adjusted to her normal schedule.

The best thing we did was to get the most lightweight stroller we could find. It made it easy to carry getting through the crowds and stairs, especially in the busy train stations. A real life saver.

My daughter also loved the onsen baths! Fortunately, the ryokan we stayed at had baths that were not very hot. It was like going swimming in a large warm pool for her.

There is Sanrio Puroland, home of Hello Kitty and all her friends. It is much smaller in area than Disneyland, all indoors, air conditioned, and located in Tama Center and a short walk from the Tama Center train station. Very enjoyable way to spend the day with little ones.

We went to Tama Zoo but I would suggest Ueno Zoo instead. The grounds at Ueno are level and easier to walk around than Tama Zoo where the land is quite hilly and strenuous.

Manisha

Thanks offlady, I will be sure to share these ideas with my friends. I shared your earlier idea of the rooftop playground and they thought it was a great idea!

Sanrio Puroland sounds like fun! I am going to google it now and see some pics...

offlady

You are welcome. BTW, the rooftop playground we visited was the Takashimaya Dept. in Ginza (Nihonbashi). They had little carousels and bumper cars, toddler size. It's been years, so I don't know if they still have the same thing.

krgystn

Nikko is a very nice day trip (up in the mountains).