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One-Week Itinerary In & Around Tokyo, Japan - For the Kids at Heart

First published on TripZilla, in collaboration with ZUJI.

Read Parts 1, 2 and 3 before continuing.

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Day 1-4: Tokyo

Japan is known to be home to all things kawaii (Japanese for ‘cute’), but did you know you could dress up as your favourite character and take to the streets of Tokyo in a go kart? Yes, it’s Mario Kart in real life! 

Take your pick from a variety of costumes – I chose the classic Mario one; you can take your pick from dressing up as  a minion, Luigi or even Woody from Toy Story. The best part about this is that you’ll be driving on actual roads – I was rather intimidated by this at first, but the adept guide will even make driving through the busy Shibuya crossing a breeze! This is also a great way to sightsee.

Ikebukuro is also home to a Mega Pokemon Center, where my inner kid squealed at the amount of Pokemon merchandise available! Warning: lots of self control is needed, as I almost bought up the entire store.

Affectionately known as ‘Purikura’, neoprint machines are everywhere in Japan. The funny thing about the neoprint machines in Japan is that they give you an instant makeover – my eyes somehow became bigger, my eyelashes became curlier, my lips became a deep cherry red, and my complexion turned flawless. I also loved how I was able to decorate the neoprints before they were printed. These indeed make for a great souvenir to bring home!

Tip: There isn’t much lead time before the camera snaps the pictures, so do plan your poses beforehand. I didn’t know about this and landed up with some pretty awkward shots, a.k.a. the cringe-worthy second from the right.

Lastly, there’s no unconventional Tokyo without spending an hour (or two!) in one of the city’s many animal cafés. Be spoilt for choice with dog cafés, cat cafés, a penguin cafe, a hedgehog café, an owl café or a goat café where you can sign up to walk the goats through the busy streets of Shibuya. I heard that there’s even a café where a monkey doubles up as a waiter, and another where you can fish for your own lunch or dinner!

Do also check out the Studio Ghibli Museum, so popular that tickets have to be bought at least a month or two in advance. Namja Town, a Japanese-themed attraction, is always good fun as well, on top of a whirl at Odaiba’s many arcades.

Day 4-5: Disneyland + Disneysea

As the saying goes, one is never too old for Disney. Besides the classic Disneyland, Tokyo is home to the world’s ONLY Disneysea! I loved the unique sections of Disneysea – an entire area dedicated to the Little Mermaid, an Arabian section dedicated to Aladdin, as well as a cool Toy Story section. Be prepared to dedicate at least a day to each park – there’s just so much to see and do!

Tip: The two parks are located right next to each other, so I recommend staying a night in the Disney Resort to save on the commute to and from Tokyo. Guests of the Tokyo Disney Resort also receive complimentary passes for the Disney Resort Line, which circles the resort’s theme parks, hotels and other attractions.

How to get there: Take either the JR Keiyo line or JR Musashino line from Tokyo station directly to Maihama station (15 minutes).

Day 6: Fuji Q Highland

This isn’t one for the faint of heart. Fuji Q Highland is a theme park that overlooks Mt. Fuji, and is home to four monstrous death-defying roller coasters. The most terrifying of the lot, ‘Takabisha’, is even in the Guinness World of Records for being the world’s steepest roller coaster with a free-fall drop of 120 degrees! The other three roller coasters are no less thrilling – ‘Fujiyama’ is one of the world’s longest and fastest roller coasters, ‘Dodonpa’ is one of the world’s fastest roller coasters, and ‘Eajanaika’ is the world’s fastest four-dimension roller coaster.

The best part? You'll be able to feast your eyes on a majestic view of Mt. Fuji from wherever you are in the park!

Tip: Unlike most theme parks, Fuji Q Highland operates on a pay-as-you-ride basis. There is a basic entrance fee and you buy ad hoc tickets for the rides you wish to try.

How to get there: Take a Limited Express Train from Tokyo station to Otsuki station (78 minutes), then transfer to the Fujikyu Railway towards Fuji Q Highland (~55 minutes).

So, which itinerary for Tokyo and its surrounds has taken your fancy? Whichever you pick, you’ll realise that the best way to explore Japan is by train. In fact, taking the train is an adventure in itself! The train lines are a maze, and are owned by separate companies. To make things easier for yourself, download the Tokyo Subway app or use Hyperdia to check train routes and schedules.

The best thing about Japan is that everything within the country is a mere train ride away from each other and Japan is a mere plane ride away from Singapore - so really, what's holding you back?

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