Itinerary
1. Imperial Palace
2- Tokyo Station and Tokyo Ramen Street
3- Zojo-Ji Temple
4- Tokyo Tower
5- Akihabara
6- Sushi Dinner in Akihabara
Although we slept 5 nights in Tokyo as we landed at Haneda Airport by night, our first experience of Tokyo was just the trip from the airport to our hotel, situated in the Kanda area (you can see here how to come from Haneda airport to the city center).
Tokyo is a
huge city, with several "centers", so 4 days is not a long time for, in a family trip with kids, to
get to know the city. And so, we had to program so that our family trip would
allow us to know as much as possible. So, we had planned our itinerary in advance, which we share with
you, in the hope that it can help you plan your trip, whether it's a
family trip with children or not.
1- Imperial Palace
After an early breakfast at the hotel, we headed to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The entry to the Imperial Palace is not usually possible, but a visit to the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, just outside the Emperor's Residence in Japan, is a great way to start your trip around Tokyo.
1- Imperial Palace
We just love that visit, the gardens are perfect and, do not
forget to pass by the Kokyo Gaien Square, to observe the palace outside.
There is
the possibility of a guided visit to the Imperial Palace, which is held free of
charge almost every day at 10:30 a.m. Tickets are given on a first-come, first served basis, and to be sure you get your place, you should be early, especially
in more touristy times. We did not make this visit but, if you wish to do it,
you can access more information on the official website here.
2- Tokyo Station and Tokyo Ramen Street
Our next stop was already planned and we went directly to Tokyo Station. This is an impressive station, one of the busiest in Tokyo but there was a specific reason for visiting it at lunchtime and, the reason is the existence of Ramen Street.
2- Tokyo Station and Tokyo Ramen Street
Our next stop was already planned and we went directly to Tokyo Station. This is an impressive station, one of the busiest in Tokyo but there was a specific reason for visiting it at lunchtime and, the reason is the existence of Ramen Street.
Yes, it is true, there is in the subway station a street that concentrates
a lot of restaurants dedicated to this delicious dish, Ramen (in Tokyo you can have great meals at the subway stations!). Some of the best ramen restaurants in the city were invited to set up branch offices at the station
and so we had a wonderful opportunity to eat this delicious dish.
The purchase of your Ramen was done through automatic machines (only in Japanese) but with photographs of the different dishes. Pay with money, you make your choice, receive a receipt and then just pick up your order. Fast and efficient, a great possibility to try this delicacy.
Although it
was not in our plans to go up to the Tokyo Tower, we wanted very much to see it
up close. The reason we chose to don't go up was only for financial reasons, and
because we had planned to go up to the Tokyo City Hall building, which we can do for free and that we talk about in another post.
To get from Tokyo Station to Tokyo Tower, we take JR Yamanote Line and exit at Hamamatsuchō Station. From here you will have to walk about 1.6 km to the station, but on the way you will be able to visit Zojo-Ji Temple, which is located in Minato, in Shiba Park.
And this was a great opportunity to get to know a beautiful Buddhist Temple whose visit is free and ends up being off the tourist route. Also, the whole garden around it deserves to be visited in a relaxed way before heading to the Tokyo Tower. This temple was rebuilt in 1974 after being destroyed during World War II.
Arriving at
Tokyo Tower was not difficult, because, in addition to finding several signs to
indicate, you can easily see the structure in the distance.
Of course it's not hard to notice the similarities with the Eiffel Tower, but it's still worth seeing. The similarities are not random, as it was even made to copy the Eiffel Tower but, unlike the original, which is made of iron, it is made of steel. With 333 meters, it was built in 1958 to transmit the TV signal to the city. At the moment it was replaced by Tokyo Sky Tree in these functions but, still is spectacular to see.
For those
who want to go up, you can access their website for prices and times here.
5- Akihabara
After seeing the Tokyo Tower, we again picked up the subway to catch the JR Yamanote line again towards Akihabara. This district of Chiyoda is famous for its great connection to manga and anime, computer games, gadgets ... all modern Tokyo that we are used to seeing on television and that is when we decided to spend the rest of our first day, as well as dinner. And this is, by excellence, the ideal place for fans of new technology, whether to see or to buy.
5- Akihabara
After seeing the Tokyo Tower, we again picked up the subway to catch the JR Yamanote line again towards Akihabara. This district of Chiyoda is famous for its great connection to manga and anime, computer games, gadgets ... all modern Tokyo that we are used to seeing on television and that is when we decided to spend the rest of our first day, as well as dinner. And this is, by excellence, the ideal place for fans of new technology, whether to see or to buy.
Also worthy of peeking is the "Maid Cafes". We did not get in, because they are expensive, but we peeked out and, all over the street, we sow countless "Maids", which gives an even more peculiar and interesting air to the whole neighborhood. We also give an outside look at the pachinko stores and, it's easy to see that they really attract the Japanese.
Of course a visit to Akihabara cannot be complete without a visit to the Yodobashi Akiba store, the "Disney" of electronic products. This 8-storey building has everything you could imagine, as well as what you never thought you could imagine. Well worth the visit.
6- Sushi Dinner in Akihabara
And what better way to end the day than with delicious sushi? For in Akihabara we discovered Uogashi Nihon Ichi Atre Akihabara. Not that it was the best sushi of our trip but it was actually very good and at a very good price. Not to mention they had a wonderful free green tea (which is often the case in restaurants in Tokyo). We highly recommend it. You can see your location on google maps here. Just one detail, you will have to eat standing but, the sushi is so fresh that you will not even notice that.
Address:
Uogashi Nihon Ichi Atre Akihabara
1-17-6
Sotokanda, Chiyoda, Tokyo Province
We hope our itinerary helps you plan your family trip to Tokyo. We would like to invite you to follow our experience with us for the 4 days of the trip, in which we describe in detail our entire trip and we believe that it will help you to plan your trip to Tokyo, you can see our next day in Tokyo here.
Don't forget that hotels can be very expensive in Tokyo and, you should start searching for accommodations early before the prices get really hight. We always do our reservations with booking, they are our partners and its with them that we get the best deals. You can look for the best deals by clicking here, it won't cost you any money and, it helps us to support our blog.
Booking.com
We hope you enjoy your family trip to Tokyo and, don't forget to leave your comment and share our Non Stop Family blog.
Pin it for Later
We hope our itinerary helps you plan your family trip to Tokyo. We would like to invite you to follow our experience with us for the 4 days of the trip, in which we describe in detail our entire trip and we believe that it will help you to plan your trip to Tokyo, you can see our next day in Tokyo here.
Don't forget that hotels can be very expensive in Tokyo and, you should start searching for accommodations early before the prices get really hight. We always do our reservations with booking, they are our partners and its with them that we get the best deals. You can look for the best deals by clicking here, it won't cost you any money and, it helps us to support our blog.
Booking.com
We hope you enjoy your family trip to Tokyo and, don't forget to leave your comment and share our Non Stop Family blog.
Pin it for Later
