Kiddy Land-Search for Beyblade, Omotesando’s Famous Crepes, and Jido Kaikan

Day 8 in Tokyo: A bit of a sad day today. My mother, my sister and her boys left today to go back to the States. We had about 4 ½ days in Tokyo together…the girls especially are missing their cousins already.

On the boys’ last morning, they wanted to do some more shopping so we all descended on Kiddy Land once again. The boys knew exactly what they wanted…the latest fad in Japan…Beyblade – expensive little suckers. I don’t get it, but then I am not an 8 year old boy. Even my older girl wanted one for no good reason until I talked her out of it.

Lunch was quick at a nearby kaiten sushi – conveyor belt sushi. Not great but quick and easy since the boys had to leave for Narita. We stayed in Omotesando and decided to indulge in Japanese style crepes. The crepes have been popular for so long here and they are good; filled with fruit, whipped cream, ice cream and many other toppings of your choice.

A sort bus ride to Shibuya found us once again at Jido Kaikan. The girls cannot get enough of it! They both wanted to do wood working again. This time my older girl made a boat. She sawed some of the pieces herself! The younger one made a box. They also spent time making more arts and crafts, slime and water color painting. We always have to pry them away from Jido Kaikan!

Kidzania Mania and Okonomiyaki in a Serene, Woodsy Oasis in Tokyo

Day 7 in Tokyo: Today is the day the kids have been looking forward to – trip to Kidzania! Today’s trip would make it our fourth visit over the last couple of years. Kidzania really engages the kids.

I first read about it a couple of years ago in the WSJ. It sounded intriguing…a place where kids can learn about different jobs, get paid, or pay for services and have loads of fun with no supervision from parents. Amazing!

Kidzania is very popular. A reservation is needed and can be easily made online. If you only have a few days in Tokyo, I would recommend making the reservation before you get to Tokyo.

We got off to a slow start but nevertheless arrived at Kidzania around 9:45am (opens at 9am). Kidzania is at Toyosu on the Yurakucho line. Take exit 2 for La La Port shopping center or you can just follow all the kids wearing their Kidzania green wallets around their necks.

We had our girls and our nephews and all were immediately busy. Some of the jobs they undertook – fireman, construction worker, mechanic, utility maintenance crew, sweet factory worker, baker etc…the girls also paid to be customers, one had a manicure and the other rented a car. There wasn’t enough time to do all they wanted to do so it looks like we are going back for another visit.

Dinner was at a restaurant that my mother recommended. The setting was beautiful and serene. I imagined myself being outside of Tokyo at a vacation home in Hakone; the only thing marring that vision was the screams and commotion from our kids. Oh well…

The compound houses two restaurants and a patisserie. We had dinner at the okonomiyaki restaurant, Konamon (03-5451-8800 near Sakurashinmachi station). Okonomiyaki is a Japanese style pancake filled with veggies and usually meat or seafood. The setting was wonderful, the service friendly and the food was good. It was fun to boot since the food was made right at the table. Highly recommended!

Visiting Our Old High School

Day 6 in Tokyo: It’s really hot and humid today. This is the kind of weather that saps your energy. The girls have not been getting their usual amount of sleep and they show it. So today is our easy day.

After breakfast we head out to Shibuya and enjoy picking out a gift at the department store for my old principal. We take the train and spend the rest of the morning catching up and reminiscing.

Lunch for us is at Mos Burger, Japan’s answer to McDonald’s. My husband claims it is better than In and Out and definitely better than McDonald’s. Mos Burger has a lot of variety when it comes to burgers, with different sauces and toppings. I think the sauces hide any taste of meat. Regardless, it is a nice change of pace.

Before we head back to our service apartment, we hit the local supermarket and stock up on snacks. Seriously, when in Japan, forget the no snacks rule. Snacks rule here!

Girls are tired so we decide on a short power nap. Thank goodness for a little rest. We are all tired from the heat, humidity and walking. My feet are swollen.

We meet up with the rest of the family and a friend at Meguro for sushi dinner. The restaurant is very popular and we wait for about 45min for a booth since we are a big group. The sushi is decent and it is very cheap. The location is great too…located on the first floor of a building right across from the Meguro station.

Tomorrow we are off to Kidzania!

A Day Around Shinjuku – Fire Museum, Shinjuku Gyoen, Takashimaya Times Square

Day 5 in Tokyo: This is our third visit to Tokyo with our kids. We’ve seen and done a lot already. One of the few things left on my list was the Fire Museum and a visit to the nearby Shinjuku Gyoen.

Is the Fire Museum a must? Most definitely not, but we had fun. More fun than I expected. Plus it is free so if you are looking for something to do in addition to Shinjuku with kids, not a bad place to stop in for a visit.

The Fire Museum houses a working fire house which is off limits for visits. But there are many other things to see such as a helicopter on the 3rd floor with a simulator (although I am not sure it was really a simulator). Kids spent a lot of time in the helicopter. I didn’t last too long…I found it hot and confining. There is another helicopter that you can climb into on the 5th floor terrace but it was closed due to weather (a few rain drops that stopped.) Definitely safety conscious at the Fire Museum!

There is also a dress up area and part of a fire engine you can climb on. There are also many other interactive exhibits. The displays of old time fire fighting in Edo period were actually beautiful.

Shinjuku Gyoen is an oasis in the middle of Shinjuku. One could walk to it from the Fire Museum but with kids in tow we opted for a one train station ride on the subway. A bus is also a possibility. We stopped for snacks in the park and enjoyed its immense lawn and beautiful trees. It’s really beautiful and we weren’t even there for its cherry blossom viewing parties.

For lunch we headed to Takashimaya Times Square Bldg which is a 10minute walk from the Shinjuku gate of the park. Our favorite tonkatsu restaurant, Katsukara, is located on the 14th floor.
To top of lunch the kids made a bee line to one of many convenience stores dotting Tokyo. Today’s choice was am pm. Their idea of a great treat? Ice cream or popsicle from the convenience store. For between $1-$2, you can buy heaven for about 10minutes – which is what we did.

http://tokyoq.com/weekly_updates/tqoole/fire.html


http://www.env.go.jp/garden/shinjukugyoen/english/index.html

National Museum of Nature and Science - Kokuritsu Kagaku Hakubutsukan

Day 4 in Tokyo: After a morning spent inline skating, woodworking and generally playing at the Jido Kaikan in Shibuya, we took the Ginza line from Shibuya to Ueno. Ueno Park houses a number of museums and the Ueno Zoo. The park itself is a nice place to stroll. However, our destination for the afternoon was the National Museum of Nature and Science.

I wasn’t expecting too much but my sister had said many good things about it. Her older son is into fossils and he loves this museum. After visiting it, I would recommend it too. The displays and exhibits are creative and beautiful. One of the more fascinating exhibits at the museum was the display of intestines of different animals. One of them was of a whale and another of a cow. You read about how long your intestines are but until you see it laid out, I don’t think you really appreciate how much of it is packed into your body.

The museum has a large collection of dinosaur skeletons and fossils that will mesmerize many kids. Our girls were just mildly interested…but my younger one loved being part of the exhibit on human evolution! At the end of a long line of humans at different stages of development, is an empty display, which one could walk into and become the ‘modern man’ exhibit. She thought it was hilarious!

Our visit wasn’t without some excitement, if you could call it that. We were all resting on a bench when my youngest calls softly out to me. I look over and her arm is stuck in a broken metal slats piece at the end of the bench. It had swallowed all of her elbow and more. Thank goodness my husband was right there and he was able to pry open the metal slats wide enough to pull her little arm free. Yikes! Glad it wasn’t any more serious than a very reddened arm.

The museum has a very nice gift store. We spent a lot of time there – it’s a great place to find gifts for kids back home. The museum charges JPY 600 for adults but children up to high school is free.

http://www.kahaku.go.jp/english/

Jido Yuen and Shopping and Strolling in Omotesando

Day 3 in Tokyo: Our girls’ favorite Tokyo things to do? probably Kiddy Land and Kidzania. The girls might beg to differ but we didn’t think we could spend the whole day at Kiddy Land so we decided to go to Jido Yuen in Meiji Jingu Gaien in the morning.

The first time we went, we ended up walking so long to find it. This time, we found a much shorter and easier way. Jido Yuen can be reached by a 5minute walk from either Shinanomachi station or Kokkuritsu Kyogijo station.

Last summer when we went by it, the park was closed for renovation. This time we were in luck and the park was open. There is a nominal entrance fee for the park; JPY100 for adult and JPY 50 for children. The park was still a lot of fun but I missed the old park with its wooden structures, dangerous looking climbing fort and bridge. The new one is brighter looking but looks tame than the previous version. But it still has some fun features like a zip line and a long roller slide. It also has very nice seating areas. One of the strangest features of the park is the beer garden right smack in the middle of it. Apparently the beer garden is only present during the summer months. In October, the beer garden is taken down.

After the girls burned off some of their energy, we headed off towards Omotesando. It’s a long walk to Omotesando from Jido Yuen so we took a train to Aoyama 1-chome but it still was a walk. The girls complained (it was very hot and humid) so we broke down for dim sum at a random Chinese restaurant on Aoyama Dori called Sweet Dynasty. (It was fine but I am not recommending it.) Another 5 minutes brought us to Omotesando.

I make three major stops here – Crayon House for children’s books (and an organic lunch buffet), Kiddy Land and Oriental Bazaar for souvenirs and gifts. I had a very productive day shopping and the girls found something they liked at Kiddy Land (not hard to do).

Even if you don’t shop, Omotesando is a great place to stroll. It’s very pretty with wide sidewalks, large trees and numerous shops. It’s also a great place to people watch

Hama Rikyu Gardens, Sumida River Boat Cruise and Asakusa

Day 2 in Tokyo. I have had the Sumida River Boat outing on my last on my last 3 trips to Tokyo and never got around to doing it. This time, we decided we just had to try it and it sounded like an easy relaxing way to spend a day with jetlagged kids.

Hama Rikyu Gardens was one of the stops of the river cruise and I knew exactly where that was; so we decided to catch the river boat from the gardens. From our service apartment in Roppongi, we took the Oedo line to Shiodome station, four stops away from Roppongi. From the station, 5-10 minute walk takes you to the Hama Rikyu Gardens. What I did not know was that you had to pay the entrance fee to the Gardens in order to catch the river boat from the Hama Rikyu pier. The Gardens are worth the admission price of JPY300 and worth the detour. We opted to miss the 10:30am boat and caught the next boat to Asakusa at 11:15am.

We had a wonderful time strolling through the gardens and the girls had fun trying to catch the many beautiful butterflies that were surprisingly abundant. (I definitely don’t see this many butterflies in the Bay Area.) Although short on time, we had to have green tea at the tea house in the middle of the tidal pond. The setting is gorgeous and serene. The green tea with sweet costs JPY500 per person. My older girl did not want any part of the green tea break but my 5 year old downed the whole bowl of green tea. The tea is not sweet, in fact it is a bit bitter so I was very surprised to see an empty large! bowl in front of my youngest. It’s a beautiful experience and we did not have enough time to truly appreciate it. With two kids in tow, I did not want to miss the 11:15 boat since the cruise to Asakusa takes 45minutes and missing it would mean a late lunch and a potential meltdown on my hands.

The boat ride costs JPY 720 for an adult and I highly recommend taking it. Our boat was large and comfortable. The air was refreshing and the scenery interesting…no, it is not picturesque like the canal cruise in Amsterdam or the Seine River Cruise but it is still really enjoyable. Our whole family had a wonderful time.

We landed right by the train station in Asakusa and very close to Sensoji temple with its famous gate with the large red lantern. After a very mediocre and expensive lunch of soba nearby we made our way to the temple. The temple may be the main attraction for most, but for our family, the shops along the way proved to be our main focus. We sampled many traditional Japanese snacks and the girls stopped to admire the souvenirs at nearly all the stores!

There is an old amusement park nearby which might be a fun stop for families with young children. We checked it out from the entrance and decided against it since the girls were tired but it may be worth a side trip for those with excess energy to burn.


http://www.tokyo-park.or.jp/english/park/detail_04.html


http://www.suijobus.co.jp/cruise/index.html


http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/tokyo/asakusa.html

Jido Kaikan Tokyo Metropolitan Children’s Hall, Shibuya

Our first full day back in Japan and it rained…a lot. We were jetlagged but the girls did not want to go to Tsukiji Fish Market. We opted for shopping at the nearby 24hr supermarket.

After waiting for everything else in the city to open, we took a bus from our place in Roppongi to Shibuya. In our previous visits to Japan, we had luck with Kaiten-sushi, Tsukiji Honten in Shibuya. However when we went back this time, the price was still cheap (most plates were JPY120) but the quality did not seem up to par. It was fine, not the same place I used to rave about.

We walked through the downpour after lunch to the Jido Kaikan. When we arrived, we were all soaked. The rain is nothing like the rain we get in the Bay Area….there is a lot of water!

The girls spent the next couple of hours playing instruments, making lots of arts and crafts, playing ping pong and enjoying a sing a long. They didn’t want to leave and that is pretty much their reaction each time we visit. What a treasure…and it’s free!

We went back to Jido Kaikan a few days later and the girls spent a lot of energy inline skating on the rooftop and making some toys in the woodworking workshop. Jido Kaikan has a very basic cafeteria (I am being generous calling is a cafeteria) but in a pinch it will do; which is exactly the position we were in on our second visit.

Jido Kaikan is a great place to go when you are looking for a fun, creative indoor outing for your children…and did I mention it’s free? It is about a 10minute walk from Shibuya station.


http://www.fukushihoken.metro.tokyo.jp/jidou/English/index.html