7 Fun Activities in Tokyo

7 Fun Activities in Tokyo

Of course, you will visit all the must-sees in Tokyo like Asakusa with the Sensoji temple, the Meiji Shrine, the Shibuya Crossing, and Ginza for some (window) shopping. Doing one of our great city tours is also a great idea during your stay in Tokyo. If you spend enough days in the capital, you may also want to experience something that’s a bit different and you can easily do on your own. We made a list of fun activities in Tokyo that you can add to your travel plans to shake things up a little!

Jump into the world of VR fun

Japan is known as the creator of many amazing games, which is no wonder with Nintendo and Sony both based in Japan. This also means that you can find the newest VR game experiences in Tokyo. Being totally immersed in the game gives it a completely new dimension. And against popular beliefs, VR can be enjoyed by people of all ages!

We recommend Joypolis in Odaiba for a fun couple of hours for the whole family. You can not just play VR games here, but they also have cool rides such as a gigantic halfpipe and a very scary ghost house. If you want to give your experience a decidedly Japanese twist you should try Ninja VR Dojo Kanda. Here you will get a taste of the life of a ninja while competing with virtual enemies. It’s surprisingly refreshing!

Soak in a hot spring (swimwear allowed)

While hot springs (onsen) are some of the best places to visit in Japan, many people opt out of this particular form of relaxation because they don’t want to be naked in public. As the nude parts of onsen are usually separated by gender, this is not practical if you want to enjoy a bath with someone of the opposite sex. That is why it is so great that there are a few onsen in which you are allowed to wear a bathing suit! Not too far from Tokyo in Chiba there is Ooedo-onsen Monogatari Urayasu Mangekyo.

There are two parts, one is outdoor and the other one is indoor. The outdoor part is the largest and there are several baths with different effects. This is where you have to wear a bathing suit and men and women can go together. The indoor part is nude-only and separated.

Kids will love it too as there is a shallow pool with a slide where the little ones can play. Going to the onsen is often a half-day affair as many choose to eat here as well. You can get tasty and inexpensive typical Japanese meals in a traditional dining hall which is a fun experience too.

Hitting some balls in a batting cage

Baseball is the most popular sport in Japan, even more than also well-loved soccer.  While it is fun to watch a baseball game, sometimes you just want to hit some balls yourself. Just like the love of the game, batting cages were also imported ideas from the US. In Europe, they are a lot harder to find so they are especially worth a try if you’ve never done it before.

In a batting cage, a machine is throwing balls at you at a speed that you choose before you start. You just try to hit as many back as possible without having to fear the balls will fly all over the place, as the whole area is covered by a net. It is fun just trying to hit them, and if you get bored of hitting, in many batting cages there is also an area where you can practice your pitching skills. In this game, you have to throw out 9 numbers of a square situated around 15 meters away from you. And this is harder than it sounds!

So where can you go to have this fun experience? There is Rox Batting Stadium in Asakusa, a larger one in Tokyo Dome City at the Giants stadium, and there’s a dedicated center in Shinjuku.

Watch a sumo morning practice for free

You won’t really be active yourself, but this is such a quintessential Tokyo experience and one of the best parts is that you can do this for free. Of course, you can do an official tour to see a sumo morning practice, but if you want to keep it budget-friendly and watch as short or long as you like, going to Arashiobeya is a better option.

At Arashiobeya, you can watch the morning practice from a large window. While you still have to observe certain manners such as no flash photography and no making noise, it is a lot less strict than when you actually attend a training. If you don’t like sitting down for long periods of time, this might be the ideal compromise if you still want to see sumo wrestlers in action.

Immerse yourself in digital art

Even if you are not an art-lover, we are sure that you will love the teamLab exhibition in Toyosu (Planets). You walk around within the installations, some of which are highly interactive. The world of teamLab is dark but colorful and dreamy, and it is easy to feel like you arrived on a different planet.

See small galleries in one of Tokyo’s oldest buildings

The Okuno building is one of the best-kept secrets of otherwise touristy Ginza. Built in the early 1930s as a luxury apartment complex that had to withstand earthquakes and fires, it survived the destructive fire bombing of Tokyo during WW2. This makes it one of the oldest original buildings that is still standing in Tokyo and worth a visit for anyone with an interest in architecture.

But the main reason to add the Okuno building to your itinerary is to see the antiques and tiny galleries that are tucked away in this complex. There is so much to discover here, and if you are looking for something special to bring home with you, you will certainly find something interesting here.

Attend a performance by girl group AKB48

It doesn’t get more quirky than this. But if you’d really like to have an interesting experience that can’t be had in most other countries, attending a performance from all-girl group AKB48 is certainly intriguing. The girls are chosen based on their girl-next-door looks and personalities, and appeal to men with a certain taste. These performances are strictly non-sexual in nature, but many of the fans around you have a (love) interest in the group who they cheer on with colorful light sticks.

The way to buy a ticket is a lottery system, so you won’t be sure if you are able to get a ticket until 10 days before the performance is due to take place. You have to apply online exactly 11 days before the performance during certain hours, so if you’re serious about this you should plan this well. There’s an explanation about the process in English on AKB48’s official website.