Tokyo for The Family Explorers: a Friday-to-Monday weekend
Paper lanterns, concrete, and the long slow river.
A weekend the children will remember and the parents will survive. Short walks between real highlights, a boat or a tram instead of a museum queue, dinners at six, and room to run.
Friday: The zoo and the whale
- Ueno Zoo
Giant pandas, a monorail and a petting corner. It is cheap and large, and you can do the highlights in two hours.
- National Museum of Nature and Science
Dinosaurs, a blue whale and a gigantic gallery of dioramas. Children's favourite is the big theatre of the earth.
- Ueno Seiyoken
A park-side restaurant serving hayashi rice and omurice in a 1872 dining room. Order the kids' set and be out by seven.
Saturday: Light and a ship of science
- teamLab Planets
A wading, barefoot museum of light and water, with a room of flowers on the ceiling. Book a morning slot and bring shorts.
- Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai
An Edo-style food hall beside the market, with sushi counters and a foot bath on the roof. Children can have tempura and rice.
- Miraikan
The National Museum of Emerging Science, with a giant globe and a robot theatre. Allow ninety minutes and book the robot show.
Sunday: The old amusement park
- Hanayashiki
Japan's oldest amusement park, small and a little shabby, with a wooden rollercoaster. Cheap and quick for young children.
- Ganso Shokuhin Sample-ya
Make plastic tempura and lettuce from wax, taught by the makers. Children love it, and you take the food home.
- Asakusa Imahan
A sukiyaki house since 1895, with private tatami rooms and thin beef. Book the early sitting and let the staff cook at your table.
Monday: Animation and a last park
- Ghibli Museum
A house of the studio's films, with a rooftop robot and a cat bus. Tickets are timed and sell out a month ahead, so book early.
- Inokashira Park
The lakeside park next door, with swan boats and a small zoo. Rent a boat and eat an ice cream by the water.
- Satou menchi-katsu
A butcher's shop with a queue for the hot croquette and the menchi-katsu. Eat it on the street and walk it off in the park.