Visiting Japan was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. And on our first visit to Japan we spent money like we were only going to do it once: shelling out for private tours, Express Passes at Universal Studios Japan, and saying yes to pretty much every souvenir the boys wanted!

But we fell in love with Japan. And now that our ‘once in a lifetime’ trip is fast turning into a ‘let’s go to Japan every year’ experience, we need to cut some corners. Which means we look for lots of free activities in Tokyo and budget-friendly family attractions that we can all enjoy.

Luckily, there’s more of these than you think!

I’ve said it before many times, but now I’m going to say it again. Visiting Japan doesn’t have to be expensive! There are so many cheap things to do in Tokyo and even free things to do in Tokyo that your kids will love, and that will still give you a fun, culturally enriching trip.

Here are our X favourite budget-friendly family things to do in Tokyo:

1. Visit The Senso-Ji Temple
2. See The Pandas In Ueno Zoo
3. Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
4. Go To The Top of the Tokyo Tower
5. Explore the Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Park
6. Walk Across the Shibuya Crossing
7. Cute Poop at the Unko Museum
8. Play in Tokyo’s Amazing Playgrounds
9. Ameyoko Market
10. Watching Morning Sumo Practice

Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!

Visit The Senso-Ji Temple

COST: FREE

Both the most well-known and iconic temple in Tokyo is also the busiest! But despite the huge crowds, the Senso-ji Temple is still well worth visiting. The Senso-Ji Temple is the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo and it has the most spectacular entrance with massive red lanterns.

We loved it here BUT you should either visit very early or very late in the day to avoid the unimaginable crowds. This is the most crowded place we went during our whole time in Japan.

The walk up to the temple is lined with little shopping stalls where the boys stopped and ate the blackest black vanilla ice cream (so dark that it stained their teeth). This is part of the cultural experience of visiting this part of the city, so take a slow walk and enjoy the shopping on your way to the temple.

See The Pandas In Ueno Zoo

COST: 600 yen (£3.04) per adult and kids under 12 go free

We could not BELIEVE how cheap it was to visit Ueno Zoo in Tokyo! We paid around £6 for our whole family of four to spend the morning at the zoo (we couldn’t even get one of us into our local zoo for that!)

We wanted to go to Ueno Zoo because we wanted to see the Pandas; Ueno Zoo has a male and a female panda, and they are by far the biggest attraction in the zoo. There isn’t anywhere you can see Pandas in the UK, so this was a huge draw for us.

As well as the pandas, you’ll also find other big animals that kids just love here. My boys were totally enamoured by the playful polar bear (splashing in the water), the tall giraffes, and the lazy tiger.

🐼 You can read my complete guide to Ueno Zoo in Tokyo here: Seeing the pandas, ticket prices, and more!

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

COST: FREE

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The best way to visit Tokyo (especially if it’s your first time in the city) is to get up high. We LOVE the Tokyo Tower (you can read our review here) and the Tokyo SkyTree is excellent too.

Both of these are wonderfully affordable. But if you want a great view without spending a penny? Then you need to visit the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building has an amazing observation deck that offers free panoramic views of the whole city. On a good day when the sky is clear, you can even see Mount Fuji. There’s also a shop and a cafe right next to the observation deck, so you can make a morning of it!

Go To The Top of the Tokyo Tower

COST: Start from £7.55 per person

If you don’t mind choosing a paid observation deck then please, PLEASE make it the Tokyo Tower! We all loved this experience so much. It’s iconic. Even seeing it from the outside makes me happy and sends my pulse rate up a little bit.

👉 You can buy Tokyo Tower tickets in advance here (if you want top deck tickets, book sooner rather than later!)
🎁 Use code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to get an extra 5% off ticket prices

I know the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is free, and the views are amazing, but the Tokyo Tower just looks and feels more iconic. And numbers going up to the top deck are limited, meaning that you have loads of space and time to really soak in the views without overwhelming crowds.

🗼You can read my full review to going to the top of the Tokyo Tower here

Explore the Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Park

COST: FREE

One of our favourite free things to do in Tokyo with kids is to explore the Meiji Shrine and then wander around Yoyogi Park. The Meiji Jingu was built in 1920 to honour Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken and the contributions they’d made to Japan’s modernisation efforts.

But what makes this shrine really special? That it’s surrounded by spectacular woodland. There are over 100,000 trees in this forest here, donated from across Japan. This looks beautiful, and creates a lovely shade that means this is a great place to cool down during the summer months.

The Meiji Jingu Shrine is located right next to Yoyogi park, which is also a bright, wide open space with beautiful trees and floral displays. Whilst this park doesn’t have a playground, it does have LOADS of space for kids to run and play. We went here after the shrine so the kids could let out all their energy (and I could enjoy seeing the cherry blossom trees!)

🎎 You can read our guide to visiting the Meiji Jingu Shrine in Tokyo with kids here.

Walk Across the Shibuya Crossing

COST: FREE

I keep using the word iconic, but another excellent iconic attraction you really can’t miss when you’re in Tokyo is walking across the Shibuya Crossing.

After you walk across the crossing, head up the the Starbucks that sits directly above it (as you can see in the photo) and you’ll be able to see the crossing from above too. There is a wide viewing window where you can sit and see the crossing, although in the spirit of fairness, I do recommend that you buy a coffee if you want to sit and enjoy the view.

Cute Poop at the Unko Museum

COST: £9.89 per person (Kids under 12 pay £5.95)

If you have school-aged kids (especially boys with a pre-occupation with all things poop) then they are going to LOVE the Unko Museum! Located in Odaiba, Unko is the Japanese word for poop, and now the one word that the boys will never forget!

🎀 You can read my full review of the Unko Museum here.

The Unko Museum is very much NOT a museum in the conventional sense. You won’t learn anything new here! It’s more like a kids play centre with an unusual twist. There is a ball pond where you can swim in pink poop balls, arcade games, dancing rooms and other interactive activity rooms, and an absolute abundance of photo shoot locations.

It’s random, affordable, and totally unique. That fun random Japanese brand of weird that I just love.

👉 Book tickets HERE before you go to avoid disappointment
🎁 Use code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to get an extra 5% off ticket prices

Play in Tokyo’s Amazing Playgrounds

COST: FREE

If your kids are anything like mine, then they’re going to need to let off some energy every now and then. Luckily, Tokyo is home to some of the BEST playgrounds!

You’ll find a whole list of our favourite Tokyo playgrounds in my travel guide, which you can read here.

Ameyoko Market

COST: FREE

This is an old and iconic street market that’s perfect for kids and adults alike (especially if you’re kids like to eat as much as my boys do!) This is a great place for shopping and eating epic street food, but if you don’t want to spend a penny it’s still worth exploring to soak up the atmosphere.

🍜 You can read my full post about the Ameyoko Street market here

Watching Morning Sumo Practice

COST: FREE

There are a lot of sumo experiences that you can enjoy in Tokyo. If you visit at the right time of year then you can watch a Sumo Tournament (these take place in January, May, and September) and no matter what time of year you visit you can go and see a sumo dinner show: these are awesome fun! But they’re also pretty pricey, especially if you’re booking for a family of four.

Want to see sumo for free? Some stables allow tourists to watch free morning sumo practice. You can watch through windows on the street level, and it’s supposed to be a fascinating experience. We haven’t tried this, but it’s very high up on our list of things to try next trip!

Do you have any other free or budget-friendly ideas to add to this list? I’d love some tips and ideas for our next low-cost trip to Japan! Pop your ideas in the comments below!

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Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!