Here’s my list of things to do in Yokohama with kids. This was my first trip outside of Hong Kong and I was less than 1 year old but I have an incredible memory and can tell you all about my trip to Yokohama.
Hakkeijima Sea Paradise is a huge theme park that includes Aqua Resorts, Pleasure Land, shops, restaurants, and even a hotel! The Aqua Resorts includes three different things – the Aqua Museum, Dolphin Fantasy, and the Fureai Lagoon, and UMI FARM. There’s also the Aqua Theater that shows a short movie of marine life from around the world. That’s not three things but let’s not fester on pedantic’s.
The Aqua Museum aquarium is several floors high and hosts a lot of marine life including penguins, sea otters, polar bears, sharks, and the usual fish. Depending on the time you go, you might be able to see staff getting friendly with the sea creatures during feeding time. The Aqua Museum has two gigantic tanks across several floors. It’s cool to ride up the escalator directly through the tank and watch the fish swim around you while you’re going up.
The other tank contains the largest fish in the world which we all know are whale sharks. At the top you can check out the marine life show. It’s all in Japanese, but who cares, you don’t really need to know what they’re saying do you. If you see the show, you’ll have a lot of fun seeing sea lions catching rings around their necks, walruses blowing kisses and a whole lot more.
Dolphin Fantasy is an aquarium filled with dolphins, viewable through a glass tunnel. It feels like you are underwater as dolphins swim above you, the sun glistening through the water. The dolphins are okay to watch but they’ve never been my favourite. Also, there is a giant ocean sunfish, I loved him and he’s still one of my favourites.
And here’s some other things to do in Yokohama with kids:
Yokohama Cosmo World – The kids area is big and has a number of family-friendly rides in the “Kids Carnival Zone,” with things to do for all ages. Mum’s and Dad’s are allowed to ride with you. There’s also a two-level merry-go-round, several car-and train-riding attractions, and the Cycle Monorail, which gives brave kids like me the chance for a bird’s eye view of the area. A kids’ game arcade called Cosmo-Fantasia Kids includes plenty of games and machines geared towards the younger audience. This is a fun thing to do in Yokohama with kids that doesn’t cost a lot.
Yokohama Zoological Gardens – This is a different zoo which employs as few a fences as possible so that kids can see the animals living in an environment similar to their natural habitat. The zoo is divided into zones of different climates such as Asian Tropical Forest, Subarctic Forest, Amazon Jungle, Japanese Countryside and African Tropical Rain Forest. There’s also a grass park and the “Wanpaku Forest” with playground.
Nogeyama Park – Located on a hilltop in a quiet residential area, Nogeyama Park is a great place to escape the crowds, get out of the city (well at least feel like you) and enjoy the peaceful greenery and wide open spaces. When walking around it’s hard to believe that you are only a few minutes away from one of the busiest parts of Yokohama. A short distance away from this park is another interesting place worth visiting, Nogeyama Zoological Gardens.
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