Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea
The Tokyo Disney Resort is technically in Urayasu, Chiba, next to Maihama Station on the JR Keiyo Line, which leaves from Tokyo Station. Tokyo Disneyland is the classic castle park. Tokyo DisneySea, a short ride away on the Disney Resort Line monorail, is the one with no counterpart anywhere else, built around ports and lagoons with more for adults. Most people pick one park per day.
Tickets are for a set date and park, and the price changes with the day: weekdays outside school holidays are cheapest, peak weekends cost more. Buy online in advance on the official site or app, because popular dates can sell out. Inside the park, the official app shows wait times, and for some rides and shows you can pay for Disney Premier Access, a timed slot bought in the app after you enter. Plans and rules change often, so check the official site before your visit.
The big seasonal events run in both parks. Disney Halloween fills September and October, with themed parades and decorations; in recent years full costumes have been allowed only on set weeks during the event, faces must stay visible, and there are no changing rooms, so you dress at your hotel. Disney Christmas usually runs from mid-November to December 25, and spring and summer have their own programmes.
- The JR Keiyo Line platforms at Tokyo Station are a long walk from the other lines. Allow 10 to 15 minutes.
- Rainy weekdays are the quietest days of all. Pack a poncho, since umbrellas are hard to manage in queues.
Sanrio Puroland and Yomiuriland
Sanrio Puroland in Tama is the home of Hello Kitty and her friends, a few minutes' walk from Tama-Center Station on the Keio and Odakyu lines. It is fully indoors, so it works in any weather, and the day centres on shows, a parade and character greetings rather than big rides. Tickets are for a set date and are best bought online. It is small enough for half a day, and its seasonal events and themed weeks are popular with adults as much as children.
Yomiuriland sits on a hill in Inagi, on the western edge of Tokyo. From Keio Yomiuri-land Station a gondola called the Sky Shuttle carries you up over the park, or you can take a bus from Yomiuri-Land-mae Station on the Odakyu Line. It has proper roller coasters, a big summer pool area called Pool WAI, and in the cold months Jewellumination, one of the best-known illuminations around Tokyo, usually from autumn into spring with fountain and laser shows after dark.
- Puroland closes on some weekdays. Check the calendar before you go.
- At Yomiuriland, outdoor rides can stop in strong wind or rain. The illumination is best on a clear, cold night.
In the city: Tokyo Dome City and Hanayashiki
Tokyo Dome City Attractions, next to the baseball stadium near Suidobashi and Korakuen stations, is an amusement park in the middle of the city. Entry is free and you pay per ride or buy a day pass. Its best-known ride is the Thunder Dolphin roller coaster, which runs through a building and the centre of the Ferris wheel. It is easy to combine with a game, a concert or a hot-spring spa in the same complex.
Hanayashiki in Asakusa, a few minutes' walk from Sensoji, began as a flower garden in the 1850s and calls itself Japan's oldest amusement park. It is small and gently retro, with a slow roller coaster from 1953 that the park says is the oldest still running in Japan. It makes a fun hour for families after a temple visit, not a full day.
Day trips: Tokyo Summerland and Moominvalley Park
Tokyo Summerland in Akiruno, in the hills of western Tokyo, is best known for water. A big indoor pool dome stays open beyond summer, and in the hot months a large outdoor area with a wave pool and slides opens as well. It is reached by bus from Akigawa Station on the JR Itsukaichi Line or from Hachioji, and on hot summer weekends it gets very full.
Moominvalley Park is in Hanno, Saitama, by a lake in the woods. Take the Seibu Ikebukuro Line from Ikebukuro to Hanno Station, then a short bus ride. The lakeside metsä village with Nordic shops and cafes is free to walk around, and only the Moomin park itself needs a ticket. It is calm rather than thrilling, with exhibitions, a theatre show and paths through the trees, and works well as a slow day out of the city.
- Check the last bus back before you settle in. Day-trip parks depend on buses that thin out in the evening.
Planning: crowds, timing and practical tips
The rule is simple: weekdays beat weekends, and school holidays are the busiest of all. That means Golden Week in early May, the summer holidays from late July through August, the spring break in late March and the New Year period. The final days of a big seasonal event, such as the last weekend of Halloween, are also packed. If you can only go on a weekend, arrive before opening, since the first hour sets up the whole day.
Most big parks now run on their own apps for maps, wait times, show schedules and paid fast passes, so download the app before you go and keep your phone charged. Rides close for maintenance from time to time, so check the park's list of closures for your date. Several parks sell tickets mainly online or charge less online, so buy ahead. Summer days are very hot and humid, so bring water and a hat, while winter evenings at illuminations are cold.
- Bring a portable battery. Park apps drain your phone by the afternoon.
- Lockers near park gates fill up early on busy days. Travel light.
