5 Days in Tokyo
 

Hello

I am travelling with an 11 year old boy to Tokyo for 5 days in late March. We are planning on a one day excursion out of Tokyo but the rest in town. We are relatively adventurous and well traveled. Any suggested itineraries? Thanks a million in advance.

An excellent source of information is:

japan-guide.com

Enjoy!

Cherry blossom time, my favourite season. You must visit Ueno and watch the revellers. My other favourite cherry blossom area is near the Imperial Palace. Your 11 year old would probably like the electronics world in Akihabara.

You might consider Odaiba.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3008.html
Science Museum and the Toyota Mega Web have a lot of activities for young people.
Also Gundam statue is kind of neat.
Getting there on the Yurikamome line is fun in itself, try to sit up front.

Great suggestions so far.

I am thinking with the eleven year old you might also consider:

Harajuku and Shibuya
Disney Sea and Tokyo Disney
Ghibli Museum
and if he is into shopping for anime or manga you can go here:
http://www.dannychoo.com/post/en/523...+Broadway.html

Aloha!

I live in Tokyo.
I suggest you go to Akihabara the geek capital of the world. You probably won't be able to get into the many maid cafes with a 11yr old though.
Then go to Oedo Onsen in Odaiba where you can enjoy hotsprings in Tokyo.
On Sundays, you can hire a bicycle at the Imperial Palace. Roads are closed traffic so you can cycle on the road around the palace.
Go to Shibuya to see the biggest zebra crossing in the world.
Finally you can make a quick trip to Yokohama. Yokohama is less than 30mins away by train from Shibuya.

For food, you can get ideas from this excellent website www.EatJapanChannel.com

dsunarto surely has some excellent suggestions.

Still, those of us who are lucky enough to have been to the Mara River at a certain time of the year might be stunned to learn that Shibuya has the world's biggest zebra crossing. (Are there also wildebeest in Tokyo?)

hawaiiantravelers Ghibili Museum suggestion is a great tip.
We took our daughter there at a similar age and it was a lot of fun.
If you do want to go you can get a head start by pre-ordering tickets in the US much like the JR rail pass system.
We did this and it helped as this museum is very popular and I've heard its hard to get tickets unless purchased far in advance as admission is by reserved time.
Here is link to ticket information
http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/ticket_information/

They do sell tickets through Lawson store outlets but you take a chance on not getting time and date you want.

Also forgot to mention the Trick Art Museum in Odaiba,
kind of touristy but a lot of fun and makes for some good photos

Our children, ages 12 and 14 at the time, enjoyed the boat ride on the Sumida River that went from Hinode Pier to Asakusa. We all liked the area of Asakusa with pedestrian only zone and many shops and temples.