Kidzania Tokyo — Attraction in Tokyo

This review is for foreigners/visitors and includes some tips before visiting. This was our first time here. It's a great place for kids ages 4 to 14 to explore and experience different types of careers. Even though it's crowded, the place is organized and clean. All the staff are very nice. I would say this place is worth visiting at least twice to experience most of the jobs.

The following are some tips if you don't speak Japanese:

You can buy tickets on their website ahead of time. Wednesday is the day when staff who speak English are available. It's worth booking on a Wednesday for a smoother experience. They have two time slots you can reserve. You can also book a premium English tour, which I believe includes a dedicated tour guide.

We took the Tokyo subway. KidZania is on the 3rd floor in the corner of the shopping mall. If you are going for the morning shift (9:00 AM – 3:00 PM), the shopping mall doesn't open until 10:00 AM. So once you get to the mall, you'll need to enter from the ground or 1st floor and walk across the mall. The 2nd and 3rd floors are not open yet. You'll see staff waiting in a bag-checking area.

To sign up for jobs, your kids will take a paper schedule and reserve a time slot. Very Important: Once you reserve a time slot—say 12:00 PM for policeman—you can't reserve any job that starts after 12:00 PM. However, you can reserve a job that starts before 12:00 PM, as long as it finishes before that time. For example, a bakery job might start at 11:00 AM and take around 40 minutes to complete. Most of the jobs are fun regardless, so I suggest letting your kids explore and try things they’ve never done. It’s okay if they miss out on a few jobs. Once you finish your 12:00 PM job, then you can go and sign up for jobs that are available after that, for example 1 PM job as a frozen food R&D.

Most jobs run around 35 to 50 minutes. But there are also part-time jobs available—like postman—which only take 10 to 15 minutes.

Each job has a sign outside or nearby. The top of the sign lists the time slots, how many kids can participate, how long the job takes, the suggested age, and how much money they can earn. Some jobs have a second sign below with information about part-time jobs. Also, some jobs involve real food ingredients—please check the allergy information carefully.

Please note that some jobs are only available to Japanese speakers, such as magazine editor. Unfortunately, if you don’t speak Japanese, you won’t be able to do these.

Once your kids earn money from jobs, they can either spend it at the department store (in the center of the venue) and shopping alley, or they can save it at the bank and receive a credit card. Remember, getting ice-cream is an experience that require a timeslot to sign up also!

Many kids want to drive the car, but they must pass a DMV test before they can sign up. I noticed that the driving activity still had availability near the end of the shift because many people didn’t take the DMV test in time.

If you like soccer, be sure to check out the soccer stadium—the jersey and magazine cover look really cool.

My kids were able to experience game developer, stock investor, police, dentist, postman, pilot, bakery, and subway. Overall, they love the place and had a great time.

Hope this...

I'm glad we went, but I don't think we'd return. I suppose being Japan w/ limited space, this Kidzania is smaller and doesn't have nearly as many options as our previous one did.

EAP (English Activities Program) was very streamlined and went smoothly. However, you can't mix and match other programs while the program is running. They will hold onto your after pass until the program is done, or you decide to leave early. For example, there was a 45 minute break and my kids wanted to do another activity during the break. That wasn't allowed unless you quit the program entirely. You also cannot trade activities if there's one activity your child wants to do instead of what's on the schedule.

The classes themselves were a good experience & deserves 5 stars. The workers were kind overall to the kids. I wouldn't expect this from anyone, & they did not have to, but they would bring out someone who spoke English when I mentioned that my kids didn't speak Japanese.

But I'd say once EAP was over, things worsened We didn't get to do all the activities we wanted. But unlike other reviews, it's not because it was crowded: their reservation system really needs improvement. Other parents and I found that we had unused time on our hands & this is why:

If your kid has 1 reservation, they cannot make another one until after that 1st class starts. & you cannot make one before your class starts either. This makes absolutely zero sense as there's no way you can make a later reservation w/out missing class. By the time he got out, a class would fill and they didn't offer any further classes for the night. W/ this setup, you really can only do one thing at a time, why have a reservation system? They really should allow for kids to reserve up to 2 classes. It was NOT crowded at all when we went, but instead, we had 20, 30 minute gaps of nothing in between.

They offered that you can ride the Hato bus as that does not require a reservation.......but my kid could only take so many rounds on that bus b4 he got bored out of his mind. They really need more non-reservation options to fill in the gaps like the Santiago location does (deliver packages, wash windows, dry cleaning, make food, more.)

Finally, the kidzo redemption store is a virtual nightmare for most kids who aren't Japanese-speaking and/or aren't doing math yet. They really should allow parents in for small kids. My 8 year was at least able to to work w/ the numbers & purchase something. However, my toddler was bumbling mindlessly. The worker at the door kept parents outside, asked how many kidzos we had and then told him which toys he could and couldn't have in his hands. I see how they're trying to promote independence, but imagine doing this for 20 other little kids at once? Seems exhausting &...

Excellent indoor facility for children to role play different occupations and earn kidzo (currency that can be used in all Kidzania outlets globally). It is located in a shopping mall and near to Toyosu station. Staff are friendly, helpful and patient, and they make instructions very simple for kids (young kids or kids who don’t speak Japanese) to follow. You can check in (best to buy tickets online before visiting) at the counter before the shift starts (2 shifts per day: 9am to 3pm and 4pm to 9pm) and you will be given a queue number card for entering. You can start to queue 45 minutes before the shift starts at the stipulated queue spot according to your queue number and admission begins around 30 minutes before the shift starts. Once inside, it is best to go to the popular activities (Nintendo, candy factory, pilot) to make a reservation so that you can come back for that activity later at the reserved time. You can only make the next reservation after you have finished the first reserved activity. In the meantime, You can do other jobs that are available (refer to the timing information displayed at each activity). For the theatre events, there’s only 1 session per event(example, there’s only 1 wedding ceremony per shift) so you might want to reserve for a particular type of theatre activity that your child really wants to do. Kidzania Tokyo does not use the B.Kidzania PaZZport so you cannot collect stamps in your PaZZport here. Instead they use the job reservations card and they give out a job card at the end of each completed activity, which is quite a nice collectible. They also have professionally taken photos of your child for certain activities that are printed out and displayed near the entrance and you can choose which one you will like to purchase. (Wish they can be more environmentally friendly though!) They have some F&B outlets for food and drinks purchases, with lots of seatings around. There’s also a parents lounge for parents to relax in. We went for the Speak English Wednesday 2nd shift event, and we heard from the staff that the speak English events are usually not as crowded. Overall it’s a unique and fun place for kids to try different...