Keeping a toddler entertained on the weekends can be a challenge so I take her out to explore all the different parks & playgrounds in Tokyo. These are the ones we love, i'll keep updating this the more we visit.
Meguro City
1 min walk from Naka-Meguro Station
Not the nicest of parks but great when you want to grab a coffee from Onibus - which is one of our fav coffee places in Tokyo. This playground has everything you need besides a baby swing. If you walk a bit further down the path out of site there is a sandbox area as well.
✔️ Sandpit ✔️ Baby slide ✔️ Big slide ✔️ Seesaw ✔️ Big kid swing ✔️ Toilets - with change table ✔️ water bubbler
Minato City
5 min walk from Hiro-o Station
It's always fun going to Hiroo, it's a huge expat community and we love visiting Arisugawa park especially the Children's Playground. During summer this park is a sanctuary from the heat because of all the trees. A great place to get coffee before hand is Nem Coffee & Espresso, I always like to get a takeaway one and then sit in the sand pit and let her play while I drink it.
✔️ Huge gated sand pit ✔️ Baby slide ✔️ Big slide ✔️ seesaw ✔️ Jungle gym ✔️ Baby swing & Big kid swing ✔️ Toilets ✔️ water bubbler
5 min walk from Roppongi Station
This gorgeous park sits right behind Tokyo Midtown and is so luscious and green it's a great place to have a picnic and let the kids run away and play on the play equipment. During summer it will be great to also get soaked under the water fountain. There is a decent size pond with some great water features such as a small waterfall too. This Park does not feel like it's in the middle of Roppongi, it's an oasis from the whole Roppongi area.
✔️ Lots of green grass for picnics ✔️ Big slide ✔️ Baby swing & Big kid swing ✔️ Toilets ✔️ water bubbler ✔️ water fountain splash area ✔️ Basketball court ✔️ Pond
1 min walk from Shirokanedai Station
We love this tiny playground, well my daughter loves the swing at this playground and we have a hard time convincing her to share it with other kids. Normally after we finish playing here we walk to Kiwi Kitchen for lunch - if you aren't familiar with sausage rolls you must try - an Aussie can't refuse one.
✔️ Gated sand pit ✔️ Baby slide ✔️ Big slide ✔️ seesaw ✔️ Baby swing & Big kid swing ✔️ Toilets ✔️ water bubbler
8 min walk from Meguro Station
This garden is a sanctuary within Tokyo and not as busy as Yoyogi and Shinjuku parks. It's a great place for kids to run around and explore the Japanese Gardens and the sculptures in the main gardens. The Japanese garden is so nice with a big koi pond, bridge, small waterfall, pebble stones and even a small tea house. We had so much fun exploring the garden. There is an entrance fee of ¥200.
Shinagawa City
5 min walk from Musashi-Koyama Station
This park is about 20 mins walk from where we live close to Meguro Station, it's really pretty located south of Meguro River and perfect during cherry blossom season as it wasn't too crowded. It's small but also feels huge at the same time and it doesn't feel like your are in the centre of Tokyo. It has two play equipment areas for kids; one for smaller kids though no swings and one for bigger kids with a flying fox. It's a park for the them to get messy with a big sand pit or as everyone knows in Tokyo dirt pit. My daughter spent most of the time in it having the best time getting filthy. There is a cute little coffee van in the Kids Corner area too.
3 min walk from Fudō-mae Station
A tiny play area great for big kids and little kids. This playground was a hit for us - it seems fairly new as it's not the typical dirt playgrounds that most Japanese ones are. It has a soft rubber ground around most of the equipment, there is some dirt but mainly where the swings are.
✔️ Gated sand pit ✔️ Baby slide ✔️ Big slide ✔️ seesaw ✔️ 2 sets of swings (no baby swing thought) ✔️ Toilets ✔️ water bubbler
If you are looking for something to eat after we headed to Toner along the Meguro river for a coffee and lunch.
Shinjuku City
8 min walk from Shinjuku Station
Shinjuku Gyoen is a great park for a picnic and to spend a few hours relaxing. We grabbed some lobster rolls from Luke's Lobster and enjoyed our time having a picnic and letting Scarlett run around. I did not see a play area for the kids (I believe there is not one) but there is so much open space to run around it was not missed. There is a Starbucks in the middle of the park which has a great view from the patio and the architecture is beautiful and designed so well to fit into the surrounds of the park. If you happen to visit the park during Sakura season you have to book an entrance time due to corona virus you can find the park information here.
Setagaya City
The Pig park is one of the quirky parks Tokyo has, it is located inside Komozawa Olympic Park which is a huge park great for biking, walking, running etc. Like most parks here it's a dirt park so be prepared for the kids to get dirty.
It's not the most convenient park for us but it was still worth the trip.
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