Life

Wild and Wacky Tokyo – 5 Must See Spots To See With Kids

If you’re looking for a list of the most popular tourist attractions, the top temples, or info. on the major amusement parks, museums and zoos to take your kids to in Tokyo, this is not for you.  Yes, there is a Tokyo Disneyland, Legoland, museum of nature and science, and Ueno Zoo but there are also similar sights elsewhere.  If you’re looking for the wild, the wacky and the only-in-Tokyo experiences, you’ve come to the right place!  Here are 5 must-see spots to take your kids to while in Tokyo that are beyond wild and wacky.  These will leave you craving more of the colorful, crazy, and quirky “kawaii” that makes Tokyo the most memorable place to travel to.

1. Maid Cafe

2. Most typically found in the Akihabara district of Tokyo, these maid cafes promise to treat you as master as they welcome you into their girly, frilly world of cuteness.    With a diverse mix of families celebrating a birthday, giggling girls coming in for an after-school treat, to tourists and the random old man, the room is filled with a curious audience entranced by the spell these girls cast.  These happy-go-lucky maids dressed in stereotypical maid costumes only seen during Halloween in the States, dance, sing, play toys and games, pose for photos and encourage you to singalong and cast a spell onto your food.  What?  Yes.  Form your hands into a heart and in your most adorable voice, repeat after me…”“moe, moe, kyun!” I, as an American tourist did not understand.  But I didn’t care.  And neither did my 4 year old who was just as entranced as I was.  She had so much fun she even exclaimed that she changed her mind.  She didn’t want to be a doctor anymore.  She wanted to be a waitress!  Great.  Just great.  We left in bliss anyways. For more on Maid Cafes click here.

3. Animal themed Cafe

4. If dining with your family has become monotonous, don’t fret!  ‘Cuz in Tokyo you can choose to dine with an animal of your choice!  There are plenty of cat cafes, dog cafes, bunny cafes and even owl cafes to suit your fancy!  We chose the exotic-sounding owl cafe and weren’t disappointed.How is it that in the States, we were never allowed to touch owls?? Apparently they’re super friendly and enjoy being petted?! We got such a kick out of this place and couldn’t believe how many different owls there were..ones I didn’t even know existed.  It was surreal.  Every few steps, we met a wildly different owl. Check out this one that looked wooden!We got to pet (with the back of our hands) about 15 different owls that day.  How cool is that?  Juliet just learned about owls at school too and was super psyched.  Hoot Hoot!  What an amazing learning experience for the kids to learn fun facts about owls hands on.
5. Read all about our experience at the Mini pig cafe HERE.

6. Monster Cafe

7. Better than Xanax (I would imagine).  ‘Cuz how can anyone be sad in a room that looked like a rainbow just exploded there?  I think if Lisa Frank, 80’s rainbow sticker creator had a restaurant it would look like this.  A game of I spy in here could include unicorns, bunnies, and gigantic mushroom sightings that will have you feeling like you’re hallucinating in this trippy place.   Talk about wild and wacky Tokyo!And don’t worry, while the name of the restaurant may sound scary, there is nothing scary about this place.  It’s more of a dream than a nightmare!  I would love to know what sort of dreams little J had after experiencing this place…Address: YM square building 4F, 4-31-10, Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo. Opening Hours: 11.30am-4.30pm and 6pm-10.30pm daily.

8. Robot Restaurant

9. “Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto” as the song goes, this place (more like a cafe with parade style entertainment) is the definition of wacky.  And it’s WONDERFUL!  It’s so hard to find the words to describe how much I enjoyed this weird, highly Instagram-able wonderland.  It’s burning man on a sugar high! Think dazzling lights, estatic costumed performers, beaming laser lights and Transformer-like robots coming at you…”roboto roboto” their main song will be singing in your head for days!  It’s sensory overload in the most over-the-top fashion and you will wonder how you’ll ever go back to normal life again..I’m uploading some insider videos of this place and all our Japan adventures on our Youtube channel soon so subscribe to see all the wild details.  TIP:  secure reservations beforehand.  get the biggest discount from the Metro Magazine at the airport when you land or click here.  And if your child scares easily from loud noises or large mechanical creatures stay away.

10. Alice In Wonderland. Where else can you find not 1 but 5 (yes 5!) Alice in Wonderland themed restaurants in one city?  Tokyo, this is why we love you!  Diamond Dining (where these pictures are sourced from) owns Alice in a Labyrnith, Alice in Fantasy Book, Alice in Magical Land, Alice in an Old Castle, and Alice in a Dancing Land.  These super cute meals and fantastical scenes are bound to make your child squeal in delight while making the momarazzi in us all marvel at all the amazing photo opps. The Japanese are so amazing at inspiring us moms to try creating food art at home.   So what do you think?  Which of these 5 hot spots would you most want to try? What would YOUR kids most enjoy?

Fab Mom lunch with Meisterdish and JennAir

It’s always fun to get to see and hang out with my fellow NY mom bloggers but even more fun when I get to host it with fab title sponsors, Meisterdish and JennAir!  On March 20th, we gathered at the beautiful JennAir showroom on 59th street and collaboratively cooked up a storm using Meisterdish’s easy to follow recipes and instructions.

Meisterdish washes, cuts and delivers the freshest ingredients to your door and promises a gourmet meal in as little as 8 minutes! (currently serving Midtown East and UES with plans to expand soon).  I love this!  No more crying over chopped onions!  AND I get to look like a gourmet chef in minutes?!  It’s perfect for busy moms on-the-go who are tired of meal planning, and feeling the need to mix their menus up!  They have a terrific selection of options to fit every taste and dietary restriction.  And their Executive Chef hails from NY’s famed, Daniel restaurant!  Pretty impressive!  We all got to taste test a variety of their foods at the event AND take home a box to cook later!

Possibly the best and most surprising thing about this service is that it isn’t subscription based like the others.  No obligation and no pressure to conform to a set # of dinners to cook fits well into my unpredictable and event-filled lifestyle!

Thanks to all the influential NY mommy bloggers who joined us for this little lunch! 

And thanks to JennAir for letting us enjoy their beautiful kitchen appliances and showroom space! Did you know their luxury appliances now have a Nest and (Amazon) Alexa hookup?  Your smartphone can now connect to your fridge and you can preheat your oven by talking through Alexa!  Who else feels like we are living in the future here??  Click here to learn more!

Card a Mom was on-site welcoming guests and introducing  everyone to their clever app which helps moms get in touch with and meet other moms sort of Match.com style.

I wrote about my awkward experiences initially trying to make mom friends on my own here and really wish this handy app was around back then!  If you’re a mom, you NEED THIS!

Hope McGrath, a transformational life coach and stylist was also on hand addressing moms’ most pressing questions concerning everything from business, to balance, to wardrobe.  Everyone loved her grounded advice and insightfulness.  As her friend of 10(?) years, I can personally attest to her genuineness, great listening skills, and stellar style.  Check out the many ways she can help you achieve your goals on her site here.

After enjoying delectable dishes, trying our hand in the JennAir kitchen and nibbling on fresh baked cookies, each guest took home a goody bag filled with a Meisterdish box, wine pairing wheel and luxe notebook from JennAir, free class passes from Chaise Fitness, (my current, go-to workout), Buntoppers hair accessories, a Live Clean Baby bubble bath / wash (smells amazing!!) and $150 off NY Kids Club!

To see the buntoppers on my minifashionista follow us on IG!  Below is a close-up of their adorable product unpackaged.

And YOU readers (since you made it all the way to the bottom of this post) also get a code to NY Kids Club!

USE promo code ‘FABKIDS17‘ to save $50 on any class of your choice!  They offer every kids’ class including: sports, fitness, gymnastics, math, science, chess, engineering, art, dance, theater and music.  My 4 year old is taking classes there this summer and we are really looking forward to it.  They’re also a great venue for parties!  I’m throwing a Fab Kids series all year!  (more on that later, follow FB for details).

Please leave a comment if you were at this event or tell me what you thought of all these party details!  What goody bag item would you most covet?

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a sponsored post but all opinions as always, are 100% my own.

Save

Save