We often get asked by friends and readers on Japan travel tips and itineraries so we try our best to share our Japan experiences on the blog. However, one city we didn’t have much travel content on was Tokyo. Why? Since Nami’s family only lives 7 miles (15 km) from Tokyo and 15 miles (23 km) to Shibuya, it never seemed like a “Japan travel destination” for us. As we get repeated request for Tokyo travel guide, we spent 6 days this past summer in Tokyo exploring different wards, activities to do, places to visit and eat. This is just the beginning of our Tokyo travel guide and we’ll continue adding to these posts as we explore new adventure and experiences. We hope you will enjoy traveling throughout Tokyo with our family. The reality is that it’s impossible to finish exploring Tokyo in 6 days, or even possibly a month. There are simply way too many options for dining, sightseeing, and entertainment! This is our first effort to share Tokyo with you and we hope you’ll enjoy our journey. There is something for everyone in Tokyo so pick and choose what your heart desires when you visit. For the Tokyo travel guide series, we’ll share the following posts:
Shinjuku 新宿 Meiji Jingu 明治神宮 Harajuku and Omotesando 原宿・表参道 Shibuya 渋谷 Roppongi 六本木ヒルズ Tokyo Tower (update) 東京タワー Ginza 銀座 Imperial East Garden 皇居東御苑 Akihabara 秋葉原 Ueno 上野 Kappabashi かっぱ橋道具街 Tokyo Dome City 東京ドームシティー Asakusa (update) 浅草 Tokyo Sky Tree (update) 東京スカイツリー Odaiba お台場
As our children are getting older, they love roller coaster rides and one of their favorite places to visit is Tokyo Dome City. The rides are just perfect for children between the ages of 7-13 years old and there are plenty of attractions to keep them entertained..
Getting to Tokyo Dome City
Tokyo Dome City is located just a bit north of the Imperial Palace and there are a few subway stations that are conveniently located nearby including Korakuen and Suidobashi station. Suidobashi station is a bit closer but both stations are just a short walk away from the amusement park.
When you get to Tokyo Dome City, it’s very easy to spot the most prominent landmark – “big egg”. It is the home of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team and holds music concerts and other sporting events.
As we continue walking towards the park, pretty soon we see the towering roller coaster track and the excitement takes over our emotion.
Rides At Tokyo Dome City
There are many rides for all ages at Tokyo Dome City and its signature roller coaster is the Thunder Dolphin roller coaster. The roller coaster travels at a high speed with views of Tokyo and skyscrapers, and the track goes through an opening the LaQua building as part of ride.
Tickets for Tokyo Dome City Rides
Like other Japanese theme parks, you can purchase either a pass for all the rides or tickets for individual rides at Tokyo Dome City. The all-day pass is 3,900 yen for adults and around 2,400 yen for children depending on their age.
Thunder Dolphin at Tokyo Dome City
On the day we visited, it was a weekday and before summer break started so the lines for all the rides were never more than 5-10 min long. Immediately from the very first ride our children and their friends wanted to ride the signature Thunder Dolphin.
If you are wondering, Thunder Dolphin is a thrilling roller coaster but there are no loops. It makes up for it with high-speed cruising through Tokyo providing unbelievable views throughout the ride, and of course when it goes through the LaQua building. Our children rode the Thunder Dolphin 9 times that day.
Other Rides at Tokyo Dome City
The other ride our children loved and enjoyed multiple times was The Dive. The attraction allows up to 3 players in a submarine, and as it goes through the track and different scenes players can shoot their weapon at targets to score points.
Other attractions include amusement park classics such as the Ferris wheels, race car, and the pirate ship (Super Viking SORABUNE). Have you sung karaoke while riding in a Ferris wheel? Some of the cars are equipped with karaoke machines! The singing made the ride extra entertaining but the bad part is there is nowhere to escape when the singing is horrible.
For me personally, one of the most thrilling rides is actually an oldie. It’s a simple ride where metal cages are lifted up by wires at a fast speed to about 10 stories tall, and also descends quickly when going down. It might seem like a boring ride, however, keep in mind there is no tracks, no harness, and the cage sways while going up and down.
Besides the outdoor rides, there’s an indoor part to the park as well. The indoor part includes a play area for younger children, superhero theater,
One of the indoor attraction was a maze where teams had to find matching objects in different rooms, it was fun as we all played together.
Restaurants at Tokyo Dome City
Besides the rides, there’s an unusual amount of restaurants and food stalls to enjoy. Instead of generic theme park food, many of the food choices are popular Japanese and Western restaurant chains. There is gyoza, sushi, ramen, ice cream, shaved ice, and choices galore.
Japanese Restaurant Shunpu Banri 春風萬里
After a long day at the park, we decided to enjoy Japanese dinner on the 9th floor of the LaQua building at Shunpu Banri.
Shunpu Banri restaurant is an izakaya and serves a bit of everything. The best seats are ones along the window where diners have an unobstructed birds-eye view of the park. The menu is wide range of Japanese food from sashimi to yakitori to yoshoku. The food were well prepared and all really delicious.
Other Just One Cookbook Tokyo Travel Guides
Thank you for reading our guide to Tokyo Dome City. Besides Tokyo Dome City, there are other places to visit nearby including Koraku Park, Space Museum, TeNQ, and The Baseball Hall of Fame and museum. It’s a great area of Tokyo to spend a day for school-age children. If you are interested in our other Tokyo post, you can click here or one of the links below:
Shinjuku 新宿 Meiji Jingu 明治神宮 Harajuku and Omotesando 原宿・表参道 Shibuya 渋谷 Roppongi 六本木ヒルズ Tokyo Tower (update) 東京タワー Ginza 銀座 Imperial East Garden 皇居東御苑 Akihabara 秋葉原 Ueno 上野 Kappabashi かっぱ橋道具街 Tokyo Dome City 東京ドームシティー Asakusa (update) 浅草 Tokyo Sky Tree (update) 東京スカイツリー Odaiba お台場
