Hello, does anyone know of toddlers free playparks/locations around the JR line stations like Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ebisu Meguro? I know already a few e.g. 景丘の家 in Ebisu but maybe there are more gems. Can be either outside or inside, thank you!
They’re all kind of tiny. Sakurazaka park is popular, or there’s a larger and quite popular one in Tokyo midtown that I can’t remember the name of right now. Or just Yoyogi koen.
So we have recently been hunting for good parks. So far the best we’ve found (3 and 5 yo) are the Shinagawa Kumin Kouen (Shinagawa Kids Adventure Park in English I think). It’s huge, has a vibrant play area with about 10 slides (rainbow slides, a huge stone whale slide, and a long rolling slide), it has those bouncy hills, a zip line, a climbing wall, and you can rent bikes for kids to practice with. But the best part is that there’s a secluded part of the park with a massive mud area and running water with all sorts of tools and toys for the kids where kids can go nuts. The age range there is usually 1-6 ish.
Another great one is the Setagaya park. It has actual old locomotives kids can enter, pedal cars in an area with a track for them complete with traffic lights. It has a small train that goes round that you can ride. And like the Shinagawa park, it has a free play area where kids can saw and hammer and build all kinds of things and climb and explore things built there.
We’ve been going to both of these since the kids were 1 and 3.
We also love Asukayama park. It has a huge play area with tons of different attractions for younger kids including a huge elephant slide. It also has a real locomotive and a tram car that kids can play in. There’s also a viewing terrace where you can chill out and watch the shinkansen drive by. My kids love the park for the reasons above, but also because in the summer it has some of the best water play areas.
We’ve tried many parks and most of have been pretty cool and nice, but these are the ones we keep going back to despite the distance since there’s just so much to do and so many free play options. There are still a whole bunch of other parks we’re looking forward to trying like the dinosaur tyre park. My kids also really love Mabashi park, but that’s even further from Yamanote sen between Koenji and Asagaya than the other parks.
The robot park in Azabu Juban (Sakurazaka) was OK and nice if you live close by but not really worth the trek. Heiwa no Mori’s toddler area was cool, but both kids got bored after less than 30 minutes and wanted to do the elementary kid side which they aren’t allowed to for a few more years. Toyama has some nice areas too.
I keep googling best kids’ parks in Tokyo in different languages and combinations to see if there are some awesome ones we missed.
I hope some of these might work for you!
If you’re willing to transfer from JR at Meguro station to Meguro line for a 3 minute ride then rinshi-no-mori near musashikoyama station is fantastic. Multiple play areas and wide-open spaces in the middle of what feels like an actual forest compared to many of the urban parks in the area, it’s easy to forget you’re still in central-ish Tokyo. I’ve brought the nephews a few times and they love bouncing around the various areas within the park.
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They’re all kind of tiny. Sakurazaka park is popular, or there’s a larger and quite popular one in Tokyo midtown that I can’t remember the name of right now. Or just Yoyogi koen.
So we have recently been hunting for good parks. So far the best we’ve found (3 and 5 yo) are the Shinagawa Kumin Kouen (Shinagawa Kids Adventure Park in English I think). It’s huge, has a vibrant play area with about 10 slides (rainbow slides, a huge stone whale slide, and a long rolling slide), it has those bouncy hills, a zip line, a climbing wall, and you can rent bikes for kids to practice with. But the best part is that there’s a secluded part of the park with a massive mud area and running water with all sorts of tools and toys for the kids where kids can go nuts. The age range there is usually 1-6 ish.
Another great one is the Setagaya park. It has actual old locomotives kids can enter, pedal cars in an area with a track for them complete with traffic lights. It has a small train that goes round that you can ride. And like the Shinagawa park, it has a free play area where kids can saw and hammer and build all kinds of things and climb and explore things built there.
We’ve been going to both of these since the kids were 1 and 3.
We also love Asukayama park. It has a huge play area with tons of different attractions for younger kids including a huge elephant slide. It also has a real locomotive and a tram car that kids can play in. There’s also a viewing terrace where you can chill out and watch the shinkansen drive by. My kids love the park for the reasons above, but also because in the summer it has some of the best water play areas.
We’ve tried many parks and most of have been pretty cool and nice, but these are the ones we keep going back to despite the distance since there’s just so much to do and so many free play options. There are still a whole bunch of other parks we’re looking forward to trying like the dinosaur tyre park. My kids also really love Mabashi park, but that’s even further from Yamanote sen between Koenji and Asagaya than the other parks.
The robot park in Azabu Juban (Sakurazaka) was OK and nice if you live close by but not really worth the trek. Heiwa no Mori’s toddler area was cool, but both kids got bored after less than 30 minutes and wanted to do the elementary kid side which they aren’t allowed to for a few more years. Toyama has some nice areas too.
I keep googling best kids’ parks in Tokyo in different languages and combinations to see if there are some awesome ones we missed.
I hope some of these might work for you!
If you’re willing to transfer from JR at Meguro station to Meguro line for a 3 minute ride then rinshi-no-mori near musashikoyama station is fantastic. Multiple play areas and wide-open spaces in the middle of what feels like an actual forest compared to many of the urban parks in the area, it’s easy to forget you’re still in central-ish Tokyo. I’ve brought the nephews a few times and they love bouncing around the various areas within the park.
A google map search term of [children hall](https://www.google.com/maps/search/Children+hall/@35.6358023,139.7152076,14.75z/) or [児童館](https://www.google.com/maps/search/%E5%85%90%E7%AB%A5%E9%A4%A8/@35.6380551,139.7136665,15.5z/) should pull up many of the free indoor playrooms available in a given area. I’m not sure what the residency rules are for the other wards, but Shinagawa doesn’t seem to care. You can just fill out a form and go in.
The new [Ecoru Togoshi](https://ecoru-togoshi.jp/) building is pretty cool, with some interactive rooms and activities, but nowhere near a main JR station. There’s also [a free children’s centre just across the street](https://city-shinagawa-kodomomirai.tokyo/child/detail/944).