My wife and I spent a week in Japan with our two young children. It was a brief escape from our lives in Beijing. For the children and me, it was our first trip out of the country since arriving in early June 2023. My wife has left the country a few times for work. I’ll discuss how we planned the trip, where we went, and our thoughts on the Japanese capital.

Planning

The trip to Japan materialized out of nowhere. We knew we wanted to go, but spent the first few months of our time in Beijing, not thinking about when or how. There were conversations about what we’d like to do and when we’d like to do it, but nothing was ever settled.

At some point after Thanksgiving, though, we pulled the trigger. I’m still not sure when or how we decided. We crossed an imaginary threshold, and plans started to solidify.

The timing of our trip was based on when my wife was off work and when our oldest would be out of school for Chinese New Year. Our ayi would, like many other locals in Beijing, have two weeks off to visit family in her hometown.

Leaving and returning on Fridays may have cost us a bit more money, but we also wanted to minimize my wife’s leave time and ensure that we’d have a few days to settle back into life after we returned.

After we booked our flights, I started searching for a hotel closer to the sites we wanted to visit. Initially, we were set on staying at one of the Hilton properties because my wife earns points on her stay there. But it was pretty expensive. Instead, we picked the Shiba Park Hotel, which was far more conveniently located and offered easy access to parks and restaurants within walking distance. It was about half the cost we would have paid at the Hilton in Odaiba. Our stay was mostly uneventful; the staff were as accommodating as possible, but our room was a bit cramped for a family of four. That’s partly on us, but also that most places in downtown Tokyo aren’t kid-accessible even if they’re kid-friendly. I’d stay there again, but probably not if I came with my family.

Our biggest concern was finding things to do with the kids. I knew what I wanted to do but also understood that much of that wouldn’t necessarily be kid-friendly. Reading a few blogs and asking some of our Japanese friends living in Beijing and Tokyo helped.

Then there was transportation. Is there Uber? How accessible was the metro? And how do we get to and from the airports? We would arrive at Narita and leave from Haneda. There was, in fact, Uber, but not in the sense that most Americans would be used to. The app contracts with local companies to hire cars for users. It works for families and travelers like ours who don’t speak the language and may be uncomfortable trying to sort the metro.

Regarding airport transfers, there were regular buses from Narita to the Tokyo Central Airport Terminal (TCAT). Some stopped near Shiba Park Hotel, but our arrival time fell at the beginning of a four or five-hour window when no busses were stopping at our hotel. The folks at TCAT sorted a taxi for us after we arrived. The ride from there to the hotel was 20 minutes.

When we left, it was too early to catch a bus, and since we never sorted the metro, we ordered a taxi via our Uber app, and that was that. Pick up and drop off were easy.

Dining and Food Options

Everyone knows that Japan is known for its delicious food. It’s not just raw fish and rice. They have curry, izakayas, ramen, barbecue joints, etc. And in Tokyo, there are plenty of Western options, too.

We ate at Western-style diners, fast-food restaurants, Italian/pizza places, and several Japanese places. One of the issues we faced was that most of these places weren’t kid accessible. While they didn’t frown on kids in their restaurants, they either didn’t have kid menus/weren’t able to tailor options, or didn’t have space for kids. What I mean by space for kids is that most places were tiny hole-in-the-wall establishments. Either they had high tops that weren’t suitable for dining with young children, or you had to go up or down narrow staircases to get to spots that might be.

The three most kid-friendly places we ate at were: 1) Ichiban, a conveyor belt sushi joint where the chef was willing to tailor his options for our kids; 2) Sushi Zanmai, a chain sushi restaurant, and 3) Smokehouse, an American style BBQ restaurant. Each of them had space for kids and could tailor the menu to the kids' tastes/had a kids' menu. We ate at Denny’s and Jonathan’s, two American-style diners. While the space was often left wanting, they at least had options for kids.

Sites and Destinations

When I travel, I like having a few destinations in mind while leaving space and time to explore with no specific plans. I would be lying, however, if I said I didn’t do some research before I explored. Having a few places you know exist in each area is better. They can serve as anchors for whatever your objective may be. It could be a restaurant, landmark, or tiny park on a hidden street corner.

If you know some locals, ask them. They’ll likely have a more updated understanding of what’s happening in their city. We were fortunate enough to know three local families in Tokyo while there–one of my high school classmates, a college roommate, and a family we know from Beijing.

Our three favorite kid-accessible destinations were the Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo Sea Life Park, and the Asakusa Hanayashiki. Each of these was recommended by our local friends.

The Tokyo Skytree was opened in early 2012 and is the tallest tower in Japan. It stands as a beacon across the entire city and provides a stunning panorama of the Japanese capital from one of the two observation decks. Our kids were initially reluctant, but they enjoyed viewing the city from that perspective. Afterward, we headed to a food court in the shopping mall that is a part of the Skytree development. Each place has a kid's menu or offerings that can be tailored to your children's tastes.

My roommate from college suggested the Tokyo Sea Life Park. It also helped that he offered to pick us up from our hotel, as opposed to us having to sort out public transportation. Traffic was relatively light, and there was virtually no line to get into the aquarium. Going early likely helped as the parking lot was mostly empty and easy to navigate. Our oldest loved the experience and kept talking about all the colorful fish she saw. There was a giant shark tank, which she was thrilled to see because she loves sharks. Unfortunately, the penguin exhibit was closed for renovations. After we finished at the aquarium, we had to head to a local mall in Toyosu because our youngest had lost his shoes. (He likes to undo the velcro and pull them off).

We visited Asakusa Hanayashiki with a Japanese family we know in Beijing. They have a daughter the same age as ours. They suggested we meet them at a restaurant nearby and then walk through Senso-ji, a Buddhist Temple, before entering the amusement park that is nestled neatly into the neighborhood. The tight confines make it a different experience than going to one in the US. And in many ways, the compactness creates a more thrilling atmosphere. There are rides for nearly all ages. As we were leaving, I saw a group of middle-aged office workers enter and buy a bunch of ride tickets. Kids under four can ride for free, but accompanying adults have to give 3 or 4 tickets to join in. Each ticket is less than a dollar and can be obtained from several kiosks around the park. They have a small food court for snacks and clean bathrooms.

General Thoughts on Tokyo

I fell in love with Tokyo quickly. Like maybe immediately. I don’t know. In the first few days there, I kept thinking about how it reminded me of New York City. It’s big, bustling, and full of life. But it’s a calmer, cleaner, and cheaper version of the Big Apple. Sure, Shibuya is Times Square meets Bourbon Street, but the rest of the city operated much slower than I expected for a city of 31 million.

There were things I didn’t like. I wasn’t completely blinded by the traveling version of puppy love. Tokyo was essentially not kid accessible. It makes sense that any city that size would give that impression. But sometimes you have to see it to believe it. The metro is tough to get in and out of with a stroller, and you'll need one if you’re with an 18-month-old. Restaurants, while happy to host children, their menus often lacked options for them. And as a guy who has sorely lacked grill time over the last decade, I get a feeling that sort of thing would continue if I lived there.

All that said, of the many things I enjoyed, the best was that there are parks every few blocks. Some were smaller, at most half of a basketball court. Others were quite large. Each has clean public restrooms. And when you’re toting around two kids, sometimes all you need is some space to let them run.

If you’re thinking about visiting Tokyo, do it. But be ready for some difficulties if you bring your kids along.