Visiting The Tokyo Tower With Kids: Is It Worth It? How Much Does It Cost?
When it comes to things to put on your Tokyo bucketlist, one of the most iconic attractions is the Tokyo Tower. Visiting the Tokyo Tower with kids remains one of my highlights in the city, even after four visits and experiencing almost every attraction Tokyo has to offer!
From the outside, this huge red tower looks very similar to the Eiffel Tower (if we ignore the bright red colour, of course) but the experience of visiting these two towers is actually very different.
The Tokyo Tower has a much more modern feel, and the areas that are accessible to tourists are much bigger too. There’s even a virtual gaming lab (Red Tokyo Tower) and a huge shopping mall inside the base of the Tokyo Tower, helping you turn a smaller Tokyo activity into a full family day out.
But of course the very best thing you can do at the Tokyo Tower? Go to the top and enjoy the views! So is visiting the Tokyo Tower with kids worth it? How much will it cost and how do you book tickets? Here’s everything you need to know:
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Tokyo Tower Tickets: Where To Buy, What To Pay
There are 2 different ticket prices for the Tokyo Tower: the more you pay, the higher you get to go! We wanted to see the views of the city from as high as possible, so we paid the more expensive ticket price. I would recommend this option, especially for first time visitors, as you get a more impressive view and it’s much less crowded than the lower deck.
We booked our tickets via Klook as these are dated tickets and it meant we could guarentee entry on the day that we wanted to visit. I recommend choosing dated tickets over open-dated tickets, because otherwise you can still be refused entry if the viewing deck is full.
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Tokyo Tower Ticket Prices Table
| Adult (18+) | Youth (16-17) | Child (7-15) | Junior (4-6) | Booking Link | |
| Main Deck | £6.95 | £5.59 | £4.19 | £2.79 | Book Now |
| Main Deck + Top Deck | £15.29 | £14.55 | £9.85 | £7.05 | Book Now |
Not sure which deck is right for you? The main deck takes you 150 metres up, and the top deck takes you up to 250 metres.
Visiting The Tokyo Tower With Kids: Our Experience
The Tokyo Tower is one of the most iconic observation towers in Tokyo, but not the tallest! It held that title until 2012 when it was overtaken by the Tokyo Skytree. The Tokyo Skytree remains the tallest tower (but not building) in Japan to this day.
As I’ve mentioned, we went to the Top Deck of the Tokyo Tower, and being up there was the best part of the whole experience. We found that the top deck was much quieter than the main deck, and they were also so well decorated with a futuristic silver mirrored-effect. This served to emphasise the views and made the space feel even bigger.
But the facilities that you might be interested in, such as the cafe, toilets, shop, and even the Tokyo Tower shrine are all on the main deck. On the main deck there is also a section of transparent flooring that you can stand on to see straight down, and it really put just how high up we were into perspective. Our youngest wasn’t brave enough to try this, but the rest of us gave it a go!
You should allow a couple of hours to visit the Tower. It was very crowded on the day we visited (which isn’t unusual!) and there is a queue system in place to get into the elevators to climb to the tower’s decks, which can take a while. The staff were very happy to cram these elevators full too.
We then had to queue again to get up to the top deck. Time consuming, but worth it when we got to the top! There was a photo op at the top (for an extra charge) and the staff there were friendly and happy to take pictures with our camera too.
You might also want to allow time to visit some of the shops and attractions on your way back down: we loved the Tokyo Tower themed gift shop (yes, everything is shaped like the Tokyo Tower!) and there was also a huge gachapon area which the boys had to be dragged out of.
There are lots of other great attractions and shrines in the area too, so you could book 2 or 3 different experiences in the same spot and make a day of it.
Tokyo Tower Versus Tokyo Skytree: Which Is Better?
We’ve visited both the Tokyo Tower and the Tokyo Skytree. I love observation decks, and getting above a city so that you can really appreciate its scale.
For us? I really loved the Tokyo Tower. It’s a little older, and it isn’t as high as the Tokyo Skytree. But I think because it’s closer to the center of the city, the view is a little better. I also really liked the overall look and feel of the Tokyo Tower, with it’s distinctive red and white stripes.
And if you’re travelling with tweens or teenagers, like us, they will LOVE Red Tokyo Tower, an enormous indoor entertainment complex filled with gaming zones, simulators, VR experiences, and even the chance to box a robot. This sits inside the mall that’s at the base of the Tokyo Tower complex. Combining this with a visit to the very top of the Tokyo Tower is a great activity that will fill around half a day, and appeal to every member of the family.
Final Thoughts and Further Reading
I loved visiting the Tokyo Tower, and the boys really enjoyed it too. It felt so iconic to be climbing a building we had seen in every Japan guidebook we read before our visit.
The Tokyo Tower isn’t a full day activity(don’t block out one day of your itinerary for this) but that only adds to its charm: insert it around other activities to help maxmise your day. After all, visiting Tokyo isn’t ever a relaxing break!
Looking for other things to do in Tokyo with kids? I recommend these other family-friendly attractions for you to check out:
👉 Visiting the MiPig cafe in Harajuku.
👉 How To Book Sanrio Puroland (The Most Kawaii Place in Japan)
👉 Visiting the Unko Museum Tokyo (Yes, That’s A Museum Dedicated to Poop!)
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