There are many large parks and amusement parks, besides Disneyland, in and around Tokyo; perfect for day trips. Here are some we visited and liked.
Kodomono Kuni (Childen’s Land)
Kodomono Kuni located in Yokohama is an extremely large park, 240 acres right outside of Tokyo! And what a treasure it is. It is very low key, full of greenery and expansive open spaces. It is quaint, not much high tech gadgetry that one typically expects from Japan. This is where my sister and her boys and we decided to meet up with some Japanese friends and their children. It was the perfect place for a somewhat large group.
From where we were staying in Roppongi, we had to switch trains at Aoyama 1-chome to Hanzomon line and rode it all the way to Nagatsuta station where we transferred to Kodomono Kuni train.
Within Kodomono Kuni you can find a dizzying array of activities…dairy farm, swimming pool, tennis courts, rides, bike courses etc…We first made our way to the very Japanese amusement park rides where the kids enjoyed a peddle push roller coaster, helicopter and water rides. They also rode on some funny cycles.
After a simple lunch of noodles, (you can bring your own food or buy the very simple offerings of the park) we moved onto the farm area and some wide open grass area. The kids ran through some sprinklers, rolled down a hill, fed the cows and generally had a great time. We did however lose one of our boys for awhile…it is a rather large space…we did find him, just too many distractions for kids.
The park also boasted live outdoor entertainment. We watched a great magic show. Before we left around 3:30pm, the kids stopped by the playground near the entrance for some zip line fun. They also had a great time sliding down a huge cement slide. They kids were tired and so were we.
http://www.kodomonokuni.org/index2.html
Arakawa Yuenchi
If you want to travel back in time, this is the place for you and your children. Located within Tokyo in Arakawa-ku, the only public transportation access to the park is via Tokyo’s only working tram line, the Toden Arakawa Line. It’s very cute and you get to see a lot of the neighborhood.
The entrance fee to the park is almost nothing but you do have to buy tickets for the rides. When we were there in the summer of 2009, there was a prepaid card that you could buy from the vending machine at the entrance (which took 3 people from the park to work) which provided a discount and also refunded any money left on the card. It was a deal.
We were at Arakawa on a weekday and the park was nearly empty. The rides are old-fashioned but our girls had a lot of fun. There was a ferris wheel (very slow), teacup ride, a train, and a peddle push helicopter ride way above tree line. I was scared as I rode it with my younger daughter…imagining the helicopter tipping and tumbling off the tracks and smashing us below on the ground. I kept it together but I don’t necessarily want to do it again.
The most fun activity for us was fishing! There is a large stocked pond inside the park. You pay for your poles and bait. The old man manning the pond was extremely nice and so were the rest of the men fishing. One decided he wasn’t having much luck and took upon himself to help the girls put bait on their lines. He seemed to have a special kind of bait and the girls, with his coaching, out fished their dad and many of the men there. The girls caught 19 fish!! Their dad, and only with the help of the man in charge, caught 1!! We had so much fun. Highly recommended!
http://www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp/english/tourists/spot/area_spot/area_spot/area_spot10.html
Hibiya Koen
Hibiya is a large park near the Imperial Palace and diagonally across from the ritzy The Peninsula Tokyo Hotel. It is a very short walk from Kasumigaseki station. Since this park neighbors the financial and government districts, the park is enjoyed by many office workers. The park is perhaps not the first place to come to mind when looking for a park for children. However, it’s a great place to visit if you are looking for a break from shopping in nearby Ginza or if you happen to be staying nearby.
We decided to make the trek to Hibiya Koen on our last morning in Tokyo. My sister had mentioned that there was a children’s playground with a zip line. And so there was. A young Japanese girl, about the same age as my older daughter, befriended my girls and they had a ball playing on the zip line.
The park itself is pretty, with lots of greenery, fountains and ponds. There is also a large open air concert space. It’s a wonderful oasis in the middle of Tokyo.
Ueno Zoo
From Roppongi, it isn’t too difficult to get to Ueno Park. Once we are on the Hibiya Line, we ride it all the way to JR Ueno station. It was an extremely hot day. Luckily the walk to Ueno from the station was pleasant. There was a shady walk on a very broad path through the park.
The zoo is somewhat old-fashioned. Nothing fancy but we were all excited to see the panda. The kids got stamps. We also saw tigers, lions, monkeys etc. We had lunch at the zoo cafeteria and it was great! Air conditioned, clean with lots of nice high chairs, kid plates and spoons and forks, kid friendly bathrooms – could not ask for a better rest stop. I was so impressed. We take the monorail across the zoo – a very short ride, break for shaved ice next to a large pond.
The walk back to the station was a mini-disaster. We were all so hot. My younger daughter, then 2, was about to fall asleep. Although the walk to the zoo from the station took us about 10 min, it took us at least 40min to find the station. We exited the zoo from the opposite side that we entered and we were given bad directions. We finally find the station but it wasn’t even the JR station that we got off at that morning. Totally frustrating. We find our back nevertheless but next time, we are heading back to the main entrance through the park.
http://www.tokyo-zoo.net/english/ueno/main.html
No comments:
Post a Comment