Tokyo with a toddler (2–3) 24 spots
Tokyo is Japan's capital and one of the world's largest metropolitan areas. Districts with very different characters sit within a short train ride, and zoos, aquariums and museums are all walkable from stations. It suits first-time visitors who want to build days without renting a car.
Japan's first zoo, with about 300 species spread over two gardens.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
National Museum of Nature and Science
A national museum shown at full size — dinosaur skeletons, a life-size blue whale.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
Tokyo's closer airport, about 15 minutes by train from the terminals to Shinagawa.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
One of Japan's first public parks, with the zoo and museums inside its grounds.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
A market street of some 400 shops packed into 500 meters between two stations.
Stroller OK · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
A small amusement park, a flower garden in 1853, that calls itself Japan's oldest.
Nursing room · Changing table · Elevator · checked Aug ’26
Solamachi Tabe-Terrace Food Court
A food court at the foot of Skytree: udon, ramen and rice bowls at one table.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
A toy museum inside an elementary school built nearly ninety years ago.
Nursing room · Changing table · Elevator · checked Aug ’26
Tokyo's oldest temple, approached through a stone-paved shopping street from the great gate.
Stroller OK · Changing table · Elevator · checked Aug ’26
At 634 meters, the tallest free-standing broadcast tower in the world.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
A former imperial garden of 58 hectares, holding three garden styles in one plan.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
An aquarium at the foot of Tokyo Skytree, built so you get close to the animals.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Elevator · checked Aug ’26
A two-level observatory above Shibuya Station, finishing on an open roof 229 meters up.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
Japan's national museum of emerging science, hands-on throughout.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
Seven themed lands and 37 attractions, only five of which set a minimum height.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
Japan's oldest museum, six buildings on one site, showing almost only real objects.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
A government-run park with over 50 facilities and about 2,000 rental bikes.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
An aquarium of over 500 species, built around a 2,200-cubic-meter doughnut tank of bluefin tuna.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
Kura Sushi Global Flagship Store Harajuku
A 245-seat conveyor-belt sushi restaurant with an open-air deck over the city.
Elevator · Family restroom · checked Aug ’26
Asakusa Imahan Kokusai Street Head Restaurant
A sukiyaki and shabu-shabu house in Asakusa since 1895, serving only female black wagyu.
checked Aug ’26
The first permanent Pokémon cafe, in a department store near Tokyo Station.
Stroller OK · checked Aug ’26
A crab restaurant by Shimbashi Station, with kaiseki courses that run to nine dishes.
Changing table · Elevator · Family restroom · checked Aug ’26
An indoor playground at Tokyo Dome City, its ball pool filled with some 40,000 balls.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
At Futaba Farm inside the children's zoo Step in the West Garden there are native Japanese horses and other farm animals, plus alpacas, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, striped skunks and emus. Step Hall runs programs for watching small animals up close, with displays and hands-on programs matched to the child's age. In the forest where the gorillas and tigers live, in the East Garden, you can watch a young western lowland gorilla growing up inside its troop.On the Hashibiro Cart, children count toward the party from age 3, four people per group. Children 0 to 2 ride held by a guardian, one child per guardian and up to two per group. Riding needs a numbered ticket, and for the 12:30-13:30 for Kids run, web applications open at 11:30 the same day, first come first served. The rental strollers are meant for children up to about 4 years and 18 kg. You may bring a packed lunch and eat it at the Saruyama Kitchen in the East Garden, the West Garden rest house, or the roofed Shinobazu Pond Terrace. There is one children's toilet, inside the children's zoo in the West Garden.
On the dinosaur floor, Global Gallery B1F, they look up at the full skeletons of Tyrannosaurus (a replica), Triceratops, and Apatosaurus. Japanese Gallery 2F has the taxidermied Hachiko the loyal dog and Jiro the Sakhalin husky, and Global Gallery 3F holds 115 mounted large animals plus giant pandas.A preschooler can enter THEATER36○ with an adult, but it is standing room with no seats, and the museum warns that the footage has a floating, fast-moving quality that small children should be careful with. Compass on Global Gallery 3F runs in strict 45-minute swaps and needs a timed reservation. On rainy days the Japanese Gallery B1F lounge gets very crowded.
The terminals have kids' spaces where a small child can move around before boarding, and the floor guide shows which one is nearest your gate. Every terminal has a konbini, a convenience store, so snacks for the train can be topped up on the way.Most international flights use Terminal 3, though some ANA international flights go from Terminal 2, and Terminals 1 and 2 are mainly domestic. If you have a domestic connection, allow 30 extra minutes with a stroller. Free shuttle buses link the terminals: about 3 minutes between Terminals 1 and 2, 5 minutes from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 and 7 minutes back, running every 4 minutes from 5:00 to 20:00. Terminals 1 and 2 are also joined by an underground walkway about 400 meters long, but the airport states that the moving walkway inside it is closed for construction.
The swan boats and cycle boats on Shinobazu Pond take two adults and one child, both 1,000 yen per 30 minutes. Just inside the Shinobazu entrance, Hakamagoshi Plaza has a fountain shaped like a frog, belly button and all.The boathouse closes earlier than the park: April to September 10:00-17:50 with the desk closing at 16:50, October and March 9:30-17:20 with the desk at 16:20, and November to February 9:30-16:50 with the desk at 15:50. It is closed on Wednesdays from December to February. On a boat day, plan backwards from the desk's cutoff and you will not miss it. The park is free to enter, but facilities such as the zoo charge separately.
Most of the stalls open at 11:00. The custom here is not to eat while walking but to stand beside the shop you bought from, so you can hand over one bite at a time on the spot before anyone runs off — and the shop takes back the trash.Tokyo's tourism accessibility guide notes that on weekends and similar days the crowds make moving through it something to watch. With a stroller, pick a weekday and you can get through. Coming from the Ueno Park side, several lanes lead from the street in front of Suzumoto Engeijo into Ameyoko-dori, so you can enter by whichever one is clear.
At age 2, Pyon Pyon, the Helicopter, Bikkuri House, Carnival, the Maruhana Swordsmanship Dojo and Scoop Cameraman open up, and together with the merry-go-round and Chibikko Taxi that already take 0-year-olds, the list of choices suddenly widens. Seventeen attractions plus festival stalls and eateries are packed into a small site, so the next ride is a few steps away.Nin Nin Park requires a same-day numbered ticket and an accompanying adult aged 20 or over (one adult may take up to three children); it is free from 6 months to 2 years and charged from age 3. Pyon Pyon needs an accompanying adult aged 16 or over. Ride fees start at age 5, so most rides cost nothing for this age (the exceptions are the Roller Coaster, Disk'O and Little Star, which are charged even under 5 once the child meets the height rule). Adults riding along do pay, except on the Helicopter and Shirasagi, where the accompanying adult rides free.
Three kinds of noodles line up, Sanuki udon, soba and Hakata tonkotsu ramen, and alongside them takoyaki, seafood, oyakodon, Thai, Chinese, yakiniku rice bowls, soft-serve and chocolate bananas across 11 shops, which leaves room both for sharing off your plate and for a fussy eater. Eight of the 11 have a children's set, the cheapest being the Tsukiji Gindaco kids' set at 500 yen, four takoyaki and a drink.The shopping wagon for small children is for ages 2 months to 4 years (48 months), up to 103 cm and 18 kg or under. It works on a returnable 100-yen coin and is parked at 1F block 3, 1F block 12, 2F block 2, 2F block 3 and 3F block 5. Only 1 of the 11 shops, Ebisu Yakiniku Champion, states that it has a kids' chair, and nothing official says whether the shared seating has any. All 11 open at 10:00, an hour before the restaurant floors (6F, 7F, 30F, 31F), which makes an early lunch ahead of the crowd possible.
The Baby Wood Play Room is open to a child through age 2. In the Forest of Toys there is Acorn Pond, made of Kiso cypress from Nagano, and the Abacus Hut from Banshu in Hyogo, all pieces made by craftspeople from the wood of their own regions. Toy Town Yellow is a room where a child plays out the path food takes through three areas, farm, shop and dining table, and the Pretend Farm, where the whole body goes into harvesting vegetables, is the favourite.The Baby Wood Play Room takes only children aged 0 to 2 with a guardian; a sibling aged 3 or over cannot come in. If you have an older child of 3 or more and a younger one of 0 to 2, agreeing in advance that the adults will split and take turns makes the day run smoothly. Eating and drinking inside is not allowed, apart from water or tea on the corridor benches. On weekends and holidays there is no re-entry, so it is safest to eat before you go in. The only toilet is the Everyone's Toilet beside the 1F entrance, which is why the museum asks you to go before entering; baby keepers are fitted in the men's and the women's toilets, one each.
One thing after another is big enough to read with the eye. The giant straw sandal on Hozomon is 4.5 m tall, 1.5 m wide and 500 kg, made from 2,500 kg of straw and offered by supporters from Murayama in Yamagata; the story goes that demons take fright at whoever must wear such a sandal to guard this temple and leave. The five-storey pagoda stands 53 m from the ground. Along Nakamise, about 250 m and some 90 shops from Kaminarimon to Hozomon, some stalls make their sweets in front of you, so ningyo-yaki and hand-grilled rice crackers can be eaten fresh off the iron.In the inner sanctuary of the main hall you take off your shoes and step up onto tatami. Nakamise is paved in stone. In front of the main hall stands the great incense burner, where a steady stream of worshippers draw the rising smoke over themselves and pray for health. Entry to the grounds is free, and the main hall is open 6:00 to 17:00 (opening at 6:30 from October to March, closing at the same hour). Some 30 million visits are made here a year, so if you would rather have fewer people, come after sunset: the buildings are lit, the Nakamise shops close and the Asakusa picture scroll painted on their shutters comes out, and Taito City's tourism section writes that it is quieter than daytime and easier to walk at your own pace.
On Floor 340 there is a glass floor, 2 by 3 meters, that a child can step onto to look straight down through the glass under their feet. It is included in the Tembo Deck admission. The elevator from the ground to the Tembo Deck runs at 600 meters a minute, so the ride up takes about 50 seconds.The tower itself writes that anyone uneasy with heights should not force it and should talk it over with the people they came with, so a child who does not want the glass floor can see the same view from the floors around it. The official congestion forecast marks weekdays 10:00 to 14:00 as recommended and Friday to Sunday and holidays 17:00 to 18:00 as the busiest. There is no re-entry, so use the toilet and change diapers before you go up. Preschoolers aged 6 and under are free.
The great torii where the south and north approaches meet stands 12 meters high and 17.1 meters wide with pillars 1.2 meters across, the largest wooden myojin-style torii in Japan, and you walk under it over the gravel. Along the approach stand rows of straw-wrapped sake barrels offered by brewers from all over Japan, and wine barrels offered by celebrated houses in Burgundy, France.Running and sports are not allowed in the precinct without permission, and the shrine asks visitors to dress suitably for worship and to spend their time quietly. When a child needs to move, head round to the lawn north of the main hall. Eating outside the designated places is not allowed either, so keep snacks for Mori no Terrace or Forest Terrace Meiji Jingu. At New Year the approach is filled with worshippers every year.
Haha to Ko no Mori, the Mother and Child Forest, is a nature observation field created in 1985 so that children living in the city could enjoy contact with nature, among everyday trees, wildflowers and insects; the Ministry of the Environment's map calls it a satoyama woodland where many plants and animals live. At the Children's Square, children of elementary school age and under may use soft toys that pose no danger to others, such as rubber balls for small children and skipping ropes.The Children's Square sits south of the middle of the garden (south of Naka-no-ike pond, southeast of the Kyu-Goryotei, northwest of the Sendagaya rest house), and the Sendagaya Gate is the closest gate to it. Insect nets and insect cages may not be brought in, so any insect you find is watched where it is. Tricycles, balance bikes, bicycles and unicycles may not be brought in either. From May 7 to October 31 a kids' tent against heatstroke (sides no longer than 150 cm) may be pitched, but only at the Children's Square. Playing in the pond or the moat is not allowed. There are water refill stations, so you can top up a water bottle.
Every day there is a feeding time, when keepers hand fish to each penguin one by one. One tries to snatch another's share, another cannot manage to eat, and the character of each bird shows plainly (three times a day, about 15 minutes each; it may be cancelled or moved depending on the animals' condition). In the 5.5-meter-wide garden eel tank three species sway together in shoals, and in the roughly 100-meter Edorium about 15 varieties of goldfish can be seen from above as well as from the side. Behind the Ogasawara big tank runs a row of little round windows, the Aqua Scopes, and looking in feels like diving under the sea.There are no public address calls for lost children, so if you are separated, speak to a staff member nearby. No eating while walking; inside you sit on a chair to eat (including anything bought at the aquarium cafe, eaten on the sofas inside). You may go out and come back in, with a re-entry stamp on your hand from the information counter. The entrance is on 5F, and the recommended route says to climb the stairs to 6F first; if you want to avoid steps, read that as the elevator. Children aged 3 and over pay 900 yen; under 3 need no ticket.
From Sky Edge on the roof you look straight down on the scramble crossing. On 46F, Time River is a device where you touch imagery that makes the flow of time visible. After dark, the pillar of light called Crossing Light rises into the Shibuya sky every day from 19:00, on the hour and the half hour.To go out on the roof you leave your own stroller on 46F; only the loan stroller goes up, and even that cannot enter some areas such as the heliport. Inside there are stairs and escalators, and some spots are deliberately kept dark underfoot for effect — with a stroller, or if footing worries you, ask a nearby staff member and they will show you to the priority elevator. No food or drink may be brought in at all, and even gum is firmly refused. The roof closes without notice in strong wind, rain, snow, lightning or extreme heat, but the indoor observation corridor on 46F stays open on those days.
This museum has no set route — its FAQ answers the question by saying there is no particular route and you may view as you like. On 3F, the parent-and-child space Oya-kko Hiroba is free to use and suggested from age 3: Gorogoro-no-Shiba, an artificial-grass slope for rolling down objects of different sizes and shapes, and Koron-Koron-no-Kabe, a wall of holes where you fit rods, hoses and cups into a course and send a ball down it. On the same floor, Hello! Robot lets a child show a paper fan to Keparan, the museum's own partner robot, and watch it dance.Oya-kko Hiroba runs in 45-minute swaps, and on weekends, holidays and busy days you need a same-day numbered ticket (handed out at 10:00, 12:30 and 14:30, first come first served; only the 10:15 session is walk-in). A guardian goes in with the children, up to four children per adult. Eating is not allowed inside the exhibition areas — that happens in the rest areas on 1F, 5F and 7F. If new places are hard for your child, the information desk on 3F lends out comfort items such as ear muffs, sunglasses and lap blankets, and 5F has a Quiet Room with two private rooms, which the museum notes are not soundproofed.
Once they can walk around on their own, Toontown's play areas come into their own: Toon Park, with sculptures Mickey made for children, and Chip 'n Dale's Treehouse. Of the 37 attractions, 32 have no height requirement, and 11 let a child ride on a lap.Children 3 and under enter free; from age 4 a child ticket starts at 5,300 yen. In summer, Toontown has "soaking spots" that shoot water out, so pack one change of clothes. For a child who cannot yet say their name or your phone number, there are lost-child stickers, handed out at five places including the Baby Centers and the lost children center.
In the archaeology room on Heiseikan 1F, the Archaeology Hands-On corner lets a child actually ring a replica bronze bell (dotaku). Room C on Honkan 1F is "The Plaza of Japanese Culture", a hands-on exhibition space, and the stairwell next to Rooms B and C on the same floor holds a calm-down space that you may enter freely when it is empty.The Family Space cannot be used by children alone or adults alone. Only drinks in fully closable containers may be taken in; food is eaten in the Heiseikan 1F lounge. Indoors, eating and drinking is allowed in four places, the Heiseikan 1F lounge, the Honkan B1F lounge, the lounge beside the front entrance of the Research and Information Center 1F, and the covered terrace on Toyokan 3F, while outdoors is free. You can re-enter on the same day: tell the staff at the Main Gate exit and they stamp the date on your ticket.
Wanpaku Yugu is a playground with equipment for younger children, including Doronko Pond, where they pump the water out themselves. Kodomo-no-mori has Kumo-no-umi, the two white "fuwafuwa dome" bouncing mounds, plus Kiri-no-mori, which fills with mist every 30 minutes, and Wakuwaku Hiroba, where mist and fountains come on every hour (both March to November).The fuwafuwa domes are closed in the rain, and after the rain stops they reopen only once staff have finished wiping them down. The Rainbow Pool and the water play area have both ended their operation, so water play here means Doronko Pond and the mist. You may bring your own lunch, though not into the restaurants and cafes, and on a wet day the roofed shelters used for eating hold only so many people. You can re-enter the same day: tell a gate staff member on the way out and take a re-entry ticket.
There are galleries of familiar waterside life, among them Tide Pool, Creatures of the Shore, and Life in Freshwater. You can watch feeding time for the tuna, the penguins, and the seabirds. Admission is free through 6th grade.The hands-on touch program is suspended for now with no restart date, and visitors do not feed the animals. If touching was the draw, time your visit around feeding time or a spot guide instead. Child toilet seats are fitted on every Western-style toilet in the main building. Sensory goods such as ear muffs are lent free, first come first served, at the information counter on the 2nd floor of the main building, and a calm down space for a rest sits beside the escalator there.
A sweets stall stands inside the restaurant, serving freshly made crepes you can eat only here, from 280 yen. Sushi starts at 150 yen a plate.Orders are not placed on a table touch panel: the contactless "Smart Kura Sushi" system takes them from your own phone. Free Wi-Fi and CHARGE SPOT (portable battery rental) are available in the store. Takeout is not offered for individual sushi, side dishes, or drinks, so leftovers cannot be carried out. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing.
On the raised tatami seats you take your shoes off, so a child who wants out of a chair can simply stay on the tatami. Lunch runs 11:30-14:30 and is built around rice bowls: the "Hyakunen Gyudon" at 2,200 yen (limited to 20 servings a day) and the "Meiji Sukiyaki Don" at 3,300 yen.There are only three raised tatami tables on the 1st floor, seating up to four each. Reservations are not taken for the lunch menu, and lunch seating can close early depending on crowding and the number of seats. From 14:30 to 16:00 seating is suspended for the time being while the restaurant prepares for dinner. A 10% service charge applies once one person's bill reaches 5,500 yen.
The show is watched from the table, so a child can stay seated even as Pikachu comes close. The menu is built on Pokémon: dishes like the "Pikachu and Pichu Friendship Curry Plate" at 2,530 yen (tax included).The rule that each person orders at least one menu item applies from age 6. The kitchen does not alter dishes or remove allergens for individual guests; an allergen table is on the official site. Pokémon Cafe is reservation-only and you cannot enter without one. Booking opens at 18:00 on the day 31 days before your visit and stays open on the booking site until 08:00 on the day itself. The show runs about 10 minutes and may be changed, cancelled, or ended early without notice.
The children's set, Kodomo no Kani Gozen Akane, is 3,300 yen including tax and arrives as one tray with salad, a crab croquette, crab gratin, crab sushi, dessert and juice. The tatami rooms and horigotatsu seats are ones you step up to with your shoes off, so a child who wants out of a chair can simply stay where they are.The children's set can be ordered here: Ginza Hatchome is on the official menu's list of shops that serve it. At midday there is a lighter tray than the kaiseki courses, Ohiru no Kani Gozen Ariake, served until 16:00. The ten private rooms are split by size, for two, four, six, eight, and ten to twenty people. On children, the restaurant's Hot Pepper page says "children very welcome, and families can eat here in comfort," and Tabelog lists it as "children allowed."
In the town area "Colorful Town," children play shop face to face at a doughnut shop, a sushi bar, a florist, a pizzeria, and a burger shop. The forest area "Toy Forest" is carpeted end to end in artificial grass and gathers board games, educational toys, Sylvanian Families, and Ania figures. In the station area, "Tomica & Plarail Land" has the entire current line-up including the newest models. The giant trampoline "Air Castle" is open to children from the point they can walk on their own.In the ocean area children play barefoot, to prevent falls. Air Castle is walled in cushions, but it is for children who can walk on their own. You cannot step out and come back (only a child with a one-day kids' free pass and the adult accompanying them may leave and re-enter). There is no limit on how long you stay, but children from 6 months to elementary-school age incur an extension fee past one hour.