Beat the summer heat at these water parks in and around Tokyo. They make a perfect day trip for family with kids as well
Summer is here. Just as restaurants and cafés are pushing out cooling treats like kakigori and ice cream to help hot and sweaty Tokyoites cope with the heat, Tokyo's many water parks are kicking into high gear.
So when the heat gets unbearable, grab your swimsuit and sunblock and go a-splashing at these water parks. They feature jumbo-sized pools, twisting and turning slides, elegant fountains and spectacular manmade waterfalls, providing a fun day out for adults and kids alike. Unfortunately, tattoos, even fake ones, are prohibited at all water parks.
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Showa Kinen Park is so vast that it's split into five separate zones. Families with small kids who are after a refreshing dip in an outdoor pool should head straight for the Water Playland. This kid-friendly area, located close to the park's Akishima gate, features a selection of five small-sized pools.
Open daily until August 28. Note that the Rainbow Pool area is closed this year.
In summer, Yomiuriland amusement park opens its five outdoor pools for some wet and wild fun. You can pretend you’re swimming in a particularly choppy sea in the giant wave pool (complete with a sandy 'beach'), or hurl yourself down one of three different slides. The Giant Sky River may feel a bit intimidating as your scale its stairs, but it's undoubtedly the highlight for thrill-seekers: the 25m-high and 386m-long mega-slide is navigable only with the reassuring presence of a large rubber float.
Kids will love the adorable Soreike! Anpanman pool, which features the rosy-cheeked heroes of the popular comic series.
Open until September 11 (closed Sep 1 & 8).
This popular amusement park on the western fringes of the city boasts not just an indoor pool (March-November) but also a vast summer outdoor area with multiple pools, water slides, fountains and manmade waterfalls.
If you’re feeling bold, the dazzling Dekasla will hurtle you through a tube while you sit in a rubber boat. The next time you see daylight you’ll be spiralling around a giant zebra-coloured funnel, until you emerge safely, if somewhat breathlessly, at the bottom. At night, Adventure Lagoon is nicely lit up, providing some Insta-worthy photo ops.
Open until September 24 (closed Sep 21-22).
The popular Seibuen theme park, which lies just north of the Saitama-Tokyo border, is only 50 minutes from Shinjuku by train. Its outdoor pool, open during summer, covers a large area and features no less than four tubular water slides, the obligatory wave pool and plenty of shallow splashing spots for the little ones.
The highlight is the Water Battle event, taking place daily at 11am and 2pm in the wave pool. Participants are divided into two teams for a fun water gun fight.
When you're taking a break from the water, you can fuel up on typical Japanese summer food, including yakisoba (fried noodles; ¥700), somen (cold noodles; ¥800) or okemori (¥1,200), a generous bowl filled with yakisoba, fried chicken and takoyaki (octopus dumplings).
A day at the pool costs ¥2,900 (primary school students and children aged 3 and older ¥1,900) and tickets can be purchased here.
Open daily until September 4.
At the summer pool of Kawagoe’s Aquatic Park, you can get ‘slammed’ by 2m-high waves, which is considerably more pleasant than it sounds, and dive from the platform of a giant ship protruding from the middle of the pool. Your friends can view your plunge into the pool from the boat’s large underwater windows, so make sure to pull out some cool moves. Also, don’t miss the colourful curvy slides, perfect for racing against your friends. Note that the diving pool and slides are only accessible to primary school students and older.
Open daily until August 28.
Take your kids to this outdoor water play area at the Sagamiko Resort Pleasure Forest amusement park. Kids up to primary school age can enjoy seven inflatable wading pools shaped as elephants, crocodiles, giraffes and other fun animals. Most of the pools even feature slides, with the biggest one measuring 15-metres in length and can be used by up to six kids at the same time. Smaller children will love the elephant pool that comes with a water fountain sprouting from the elephant’s trunk.
Open daily until August 28.
Visiting Tobu Zoo? Pack a swimsuit and make a detour to its large summer-only water park. Here you can take an unhurried float along the lazy river, splash around to your heart’s content in the giant wave pool, watch the impressive fountain shows – and, if you’re not of a nervous disposition, ride a ring-float and let gravity do its thing on Tobu’s rapid river-style waterslide.
Kids, meanwhile, can frolic in the pleasant Jabu Jabu Adventure area, complete with mini slides, shallow pools and a huge splash bucket, which releases a torrent of water every five minutes.
Open daily in August and on September 3 and 4.
Designed to look like a tropical holiday resort, this kid-friendly attraction on the Shonan coastline offers a water park experience with sea views to boot. The facilities here are aimed more at young families, with a tame 140m-long waterslide, a wave pool plus a 500m-long lazy river-style pool at the centre of the park.
Open daily until September 11.
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