Any advice on this Tokyo itinerary?
Family of 4 with kids 9 and 4 years old. Itinerary is basically set up to treat each day like a daytrip to a different neighborhood. As much as husband and I would love to do the history and art museums, we're trying to keep this fun for the whole family. I've read bad things about the animal cafes and zoos so I've left those out, and there is still so much to do.
Arrival: Land at 7:15pm. Train to hotel in Asakusa and sleep. Not too worried about jet lag because we'll be coming from Singapore. If we're famished the hotel has a restaurant.
Day 1: Explore our home base neighborhood. Chazen Tea Ceremony at 10 AM. Lunch at Misojyu or other nearby restaurant. Walk to Miyamoto drum museum (closes at 3). Spend the evening shopping and checking out Kaminarimon and Senso-ji temple, eating on or around Nakamise Dori.
Day 2: Tokyo Cruise boat ride from Asakusa to Odaiba. Spend the day at Miraikan Museum, get tics for the movie a couple weeks ahead. Train to Toyosu for Dinner. Train back to Tokyo Cruise for return ride to Asakusa.
Day 3: Explore Yanesen Neighborhood. Cafe Neko-e-mon for craft. Yanaka Ginza for lunch and shopping. Maybe Asakura Museum of Sculpture, only if the kids are up for it. Rikugien Garden. Should we book a tour for this neighborhood to get the most out of its history?
Day 4: Sweets making experience in Asakusa at 11 am. Spend the rest of the day in the Sumida/Tokyo Skytree area. Options include signing up for kataoka byobu screen painting activity, Tokyo Skytree, the aquarium, and Fukagawa Edo Museum (has anyone been there, what did you think?).
Day 5: Ghibli Museum- We got Tics!!!!!!! Thanks Seann from Fiverr. 10 am entry, our tics are on a weekend so we can leave fairly early. After the museum hang out at Inokashira Park, maybe do the swan boats. Check out Shirohige's Cream Puff Factory and Satou steak house/butcher shop (no reservations on weekends).
Day 6: Day Trip to Mount Takao
Day 7: Shinjuku/Shibuya Options include Tokyo Toy Museum, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Meiji Jingu Shrine, Shibuya Miyashita Park Bouldering Wall (if kids are in the mood, my oldest loves rock climbing), Takeshita Street, and Kiddy Land Toy Store (the grand finale so we don't have to carry shopping bags around all day). I'm having a harder time planning this day than the rest of the trip, the things we are interested in are so spread out. After doing street food and shopping in Asakusa and Yanaka, maybe we can skip Takeshita Street? Do any bicycle rental options accomodate children?
Day 6 and 7 can be swapped depending on weather. I would have liked more flexibility to adjust based on weather, but so many things require advanced reservations.
Thoughts on the Grutto Museum Pass with our itinerary? I have some notes on restaurants of interest, but we'll mostly just stop and eat wherever looks good whenever we're hungry.
Day 8: Our flight leaves Haneda at 5:15 pm. Maybe have one last lunch in Asakusa at a place we missed previously then head to the airport?
Thanks for your tips and comments!!!
by Theobat