Legoland in Tokyo

My oldest daughter had a modeling audition in Tokyo the other morning, and since we were making the long trip for just a few minutes of "work," I decided to surprise the girls with a trip to Legoland before going home.

I had heard LOTS of good things about Legoland. Everyone said their kids loved it and that it was fairly easy to get to. I know some who have driven there (and prefer to drive), but we were taking the train. Legoland is in Odaiba and you need to access the monorail to reach it. Once you get into Odaiba, look for Decks mall and Legoland will be inside.

Here is some information about Legoland if you're planning a visit:

Tickets: Children age 0-2 are FREE; children age 3 and up (including adults) are 2000 yen each. You can save 700 yen each by purchasing tickets online.

You can also purchase annual passes - they are 5000 yen per person, or 18,000 yen for a family. 

Hours: Legoland is open from 10am - 9pm daily, with last admission at 7pm. Allow 2-3 hours for your visit.

Address: 
Odaiba 1-6-1 Decks Tokyo Beach Island Mall 3F,
Minato-ku, Tokyo, 135-0091, Japan

 Now, for our visit....

Refueling before we tackle Legoland!

Mini-Tokyo made completely from Legos.

The whole room cycles through day and night.

Asakusa (with Fuji in the background)

Ready for our 4D mini-movie (in Japanese, of course).

This is what happened only 3 stops from our house. They were NOT happy when I woke them up....

Her purchase from Legoland (with her own modeling money!).

 What we liked:

•  Legoland had a GREAT 4D movie. I had never been to a 4D one before, and it was really cool! Not only were the visuals great, but they also used wind and mist to make you feel like you were IN the movie. The girls loved it. Every minute of it was in Japanese, but the storyline was easy to follow and it was so entertaining that the language barrier was insignificant.
• Legoland was located inside Decks mall, so after we were done, there were still other things to see. There were also other dining options than just the cafe offered inside Legoland.
• The playground was a lot of fun for the girls.

What we didn't like:

•  My girls are a bit scared of rides that seem dark (we can thank the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride at Disney Sea for that...) and there was a ride like that at Legoland that they refused to go on. 
• I was there by myself with 2 kids, both of which were too small to ride independently on another ride. And because the ride only had 2 seats each, I could only ride with one of them at a time. So, we skipped that one too. 
• The play/building areas weren't quite as big as I had expected.

Verdict:
We didn't buy tickets online (which would have been cheaper) because we weren't sure what time we'd be getting there that day. [When you buy tickets online, you have to choose a time slot for your arrival. And because my kids weren't able to ride two of the rides, I feel like our visit to Legoland was pretty darn expensive - between $50-$60 US Dollars for a couple of hours. I know a lot of people who are in Tokyo all the time, and they have annual passes to Legoland and love going there. But it wasn't somewhere that we absolutely loved and we probably won't be going back for a while. Should you go? Yes, at least once. However, I think opinions will vary.