I’m an obsessive planner and I’ve been reading over others trip reports to help me plan this trip so I wanted to pass on what knowledge I’ve learned and some recommendations. I’m also such an obsessive planner thanks to anxiety so I like to know the nitty gritty details of every single step of every process, so if you are like me and need more information feel free to ask!
We are a family of 3. Me (F33), my husband (M 33), our toddler (2).
**General Tips/Experiences**
* We only stayed in Tokyo for the 10 days to help make things easier for us because it was very baby friendly there in regards to stroller access, baby friendly dining, and diaper changing areas.
* We used a Summer Infant 3Dlite+ stroller. We liked it because it was pretty small and had a reclining back so our toddler could nap while we still explored. If we had unlimited money to buy whatever stroller we want, I’d buy one that would be smaller when collapsed and able to be carried easily on our back because it was too big to carry on our backs when it was really crowded so we had to find a baggage storage nearby that would hold it for us in one situation.
* We arrived from Philippines after visiting family so we didn’t have the initial jet lag coming into the country. However, adjusting to the time change in Philippines took about 3 days.
* Husband used Suica on Apple Wallet and express transit and used phone to tap pay at restaurants/trains. I used physical Welcome Pasmo. Found that some vending machines did not work well with phone tapping so having the physical card/money on hand was helpful too.
* A lot of places took tap to pay. We used Amex at most places, Mastercard at a couple of places that wouldn’t take Amex, Suica at other that wouldn’t take either. Cash only at some places.
**Hotels**
Dec. 26-Dec.31
[B:Conte Asakusa](https://imgur.com/33Eozmg)
* This was probably my favorite hotel. It was right in the middle of Hoppy Street and a few steps from Don Quijote, a couple minute walk to the Tsukuba Express line, and like a 5-10 minute walk to Sensoji and Asakusa Station. We were going to switch out watching the baby while the other goes to the nearby izakayas but we were always so tired at the end of the night that we became too lazy. May be a good option for parents or non parents that are less lazy It’s a residential hotel so it has a small kitchen, fridge, separate toilet and bath rooms, king size bed, and washer/dryer combo in the room. This was a great option for us with our toddler.
Dec. 31-Jan. 1
[Cyashitsu Ryokan Asakusa](https://imgur.com/1Ovnp1L)
* This was our splurge hotel for my husbands birthday and it was so worth it. We wanted a ryokan experience but didn’t want to travel far. The staff was super friendly and went above and beyond to make us feel special for my husbands birthday. The place is styled after what the building used to be: a tea house. They gave us a [welcome drink and snack](https://imgur.com/h3k0zur). We took our shoes off before we went up to our room and we slept on futons. They had an open air bath on the roof that you could reserve for up to 45 minutes and they also gave you a yummy Japanese breakfast. They gave my husband a personalized happy birthday plate of matcha ice cream. It was a sweet gesture. Since we stayed during new year, they gave us a plate of traditional Japanese food and gave us mochi in like warm red bean soup as we departed. They waved us good bye down the road and stayed outside waving at us until we turned the corner.
Jan. 1-Jan. 4
[Henn Na Hotel Asakusa Tawaramachi](https://imgur.com/Y9PPCCu)
* This hotel was fine. There were no robots greeting us but rather projections on the wall that help you check in. We booked the Japanese twin and was good for us because my husband slept on one bed while me and the baby slept on the other bed together. They were on the same platform so there was no chance of the baby falling from the bed. They had a really [cool rooftop patio](https://imgur.com/pLiIY2h). The hotel had a buffet breakfast but we never tried it because we’re usually not hungry early in the morning. It was about a 10 minute walk from the more social area though.
**Tuesday December 26**
* Arrived in Tokyo Haneda at 8pm
* Picked up portable wifi (Japan wireless). Found out in Philippines that phone is locked so couldn’t get an e-sim. Download and check before you leave so you can set something up as a back up.
* Queued for only like 5 minutes to pick up my Welcome Pasmo. Took out cash at a 7-eleven ATM that was right by the Pasmo pick up counter. It took a little over an hour to get out of customs and immigration and to pick up all our stuff.
* Took all of our luggage on Keikyu Line from Haneda straight to Asakusa so we didn’t have to worry about transferring any trains on the first night. Took about an hour.
* We checked in, then wandered around [Sensoji at night](https://imgur.com/o4NMmEg) and we had it all to ourselves.
* We went Lawsons for some snacks before passing out at around midnight.
**Wednesday December 27**
* Tokyo Disney day! I think I had more fun than our toddler lol We rode 3 rides because we didn’t want to make her wait in too many lines. We ended up having to buy a blanket for her because it started getting really cold and had to carry a big blanket back with us. We brought a smaller blanket with us but lost it the first night. Don’t be like us and leave baby blankets who-knows-where. If you don’t know what to do while you’re at Disneyland, make sure you save time for the [Parade of Lights](https://imgur.com/iroO2FL). It was so good! The fireworks were the favorite part of the park for my toddler too.
**Thursday December 28**
* We slept in and in the afternoon we went to [Teamlab planets](https://imgur.com/yFO5sKZ). My toddler loved it there with all the lights.
* We then saw the [Gundam](https://imgur.com/fLJhxRB) in front of Diver City. We shopped around the mall for a little bit. We even unexpectedly stumbled upon a [Gyukatsu Motomura](https://imgur.com/r6dMLu2) here. We waited less than 5 minutes for a table there so if you’re looking to not stand in line for a couple hours I would suggest coming here on your Teamlab or Odaiba day. We then played at Round One until our toddler got grumpy then went back to Asakusa.
* We went to [Kura Sushi](https://imgur.com/qeBA27g) in Asakusa for dinner. This day for some reason they were out of a lot of stuff by the time we went to eat so there was limited inventory but we still drank and ate to our hearts content.
**Friday December 29**
* We went to Tsukiji Fish Market this day. I did not like it here at all. It was so crowded to the point of people pressed up against you pushing you. We had the stroller when we first got there and it was making me so anxious trying to navigate and I ended up ditching my husband and daughter to go find a baggage storage to leave the stroller while we explored. I used this place called Bounce and I wasn’t sure if it was a legit place because I couldn’t find it but it ended up being in the Ban Hotel, you just have to ask the receptionist there. They were really friendly.
* We ate a [few](https://imgur.com/riJXprv) [street](https://imgur.com/SL6QcxK) [foods](https://imgur.com/1BVIBX8) and went to a little park to let our daughter run around before our next thing.
* Next we went to the Ginza Art Aquarium Museum. Since we weren’t going to go to the aquarium at Skytree, this was great so our daughter could see [fish](https://imgur.com/qDEv2T3) and [lights](https://imgur.com/8O39W9I) at the same time. The grown ups enjoyed it too.
* Finally we went to Rainbow Karaoke in Asakusa. It was SO FUN. I had to order all our food and drinks over a phone so that was a little nerve wracking but google translate really helped with that. We stayed for 2 hours and wanted to stay more.
**Saturday December 30**
* We went to Dennys for breakfast/brunch. It was really child friendly so would recommend for other parents.
* Our plan was to go to the zoo in Ueno today but didn’t realized they’d be closed for 3 days prior to the New Year. Instead we just took a leisurely walk through the park and played at a playground as we let the baby run all she wanted. We then had [tea and soufflé pancakes](https://imgur.com/adMew9W) at Everyone’s Cafe right there next to the zoo.
* We then traveled to Akihabara to play in [arcades](https://imgur.com/IPC7K4T) and look at gachapon. It was the same anxiety for me as Tsukiji navigating with the stroller because all the buildings were so small and our toddler was asleep in the stroller so we couldn’t ditch it this time so we didn’t spend as much time as we wanted here.
* We ate ramen at Tokyo Jangara Akihabara in the Akihabara station. It was our first go at ordering from a vending machine with no English translation. All we basically knew was that we got some sort of ramen but was surprised in the kind we got. It was so good.
**Sunday December 31**
* We checked out of our hotel and held our bags at our next hotel. We then [walked to Skytree](https://imgur.com/jJoRXK6).
* We went up to both decks but honestly not worth it. The only reason I wanted to go up was to hit one of the stamp rally booths to complete my stamp card.
* Then we ate at the mall but had to head back to officially check into our hotel so we didn’t have time to hit up any of the stores I wanted to go to or let our toddler play at the play area.
* We checked into our ryokan and I highly recommend this place for anyone looking for the ryokan experience without having to travel out of Tokyo.
* We then went to Steakhouse Matsunami for my husbands birthday dinner. It was such a fun experience. We split a premium sirloin and Kobe beef. I’ve never eaten a more tender, softer piece of steak in my life.
* We then rested at the hotel and went to Sensoji to ring in the New Year with everyone. Do not try to get into the temple this night since everyone is trying to get in to do the first shrine visit of the year. It was fine around the back of the temple where there were a lot of [festival booths](https://imgur.com/a/tScYo2L). We ate so much even though we were stuffed. We took our hip carrier to avoid dodging people with the stroller. We waited off the side of the main entrance where it wasn’t super crowded. It was a really fun experience.
**Monday January 1**
* We checked out of our ryokan and dropped off our luggage at our last hotel.
* We then visited Sensoji once more to get our first fortunes for the year. We both pulled a bad luck and one of them even said go back to your home country 😐 so we went and bought some good luck charms to help us feel better about that.
* We then went to a park to let our toddler play. We checked into our hotel and got McDonald’s for dinner and just relaxed in the hotel room for the rest of the evening.
**Tuesday January 2**
* We went to the [Harry Potter Studio Tour](https://imgur.com/fmAynzP) in the [morning](https://imgur.com/QKAEJrY). We bought robes to explore the place. It made me really happy seeing the making of the films.
* Then we went to [Tokyo Mega Illumination.](https://imgur.com/nu9x1kD) We ate so much food at this place and the lights were really cool. By the end of this day our feet were really tired of walking but was worth it for all the fun.
**Wednesday January 3**
* We went to Shibuya this day and started out eating at a sukiyaki restaurant called Syabu-Yo. It was toddler friendly and the food was so good.
* We then went to Magnet and Parco shopping at the various stores.
* We then made our way to [Shibuya Sky](https://imgur.com/E2lXJwp) for sunset and preferred this observation deck over Skytree. It was in the city rather than on the far side of it.
* Afterwards we went back to Kura Sushi in Asakusa once last time. I’m glad we went back because they had a lot more to offer this time around and we went crazy ordering whatever we wanted for our last night.
**Thursday January 4**
* Stay in Asakusa to go souvenir shopping.
* Took a taxi to the airport to reduce stress and it was worth it.
* Did last minute souvenir snack shopping at the airport.
TLDR: Went to Tokyo during New Years with a Toddler and it was super fun and not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. There was plenty to do.
by YoureAMuggle