8 themed and quirky hotels in Tokyo for kids

Looking for a quirky hotel in Tokyo for your family? Kids will love these themed hotel rooms. From Hello Kitty to Godzilla and Snoopy-themed rooms, writes Alison Godfrey and Aleney de Winter.

While considerations like location and price are what most families look for in a hotel, quirky hotels in Tokyo can be added to the selection process. Themed hotel suites in Tokyo are dedicated to everything from robots and Godzilla to kawaii (cute) kitties.  Kids will adore ditching the beige and boring for one of these quirky rooms.

Park Hotel Tokyo’s artwork

The Park Hotel gave Japanese artists free-range to decorate 31 rooms on its artist’s floor and the result is stunning. Intricate paintings cover the walls, the ceiling and even the furniture in each room. You can sleep in a painting of an onsen, a field of cherry blossoms or under the shadow of Mount Fuji. Guests also have access to their own personal Art Concierge who can explain the meaning of each of the artworks.

Robots at Henn na Hotel

Henn-na Robot Hotel in Nagasaki has been certified by Guinness World Records as the first hotel with working robots. A multilingual dinosaur robot mans the front desk, handling check-in and check- out. Unibo, the robot concierge, offers helpful tips for exploring Tokyo and the cleaning robots keep the hotel spotless.

It may sound like the stuff of sci-fi novels but here it’s a reality. The hotel has 72-rooms staffed by around 80 robots. Rooms are comparatively more subdued, featuring clean, modern designs and all the features you’d expect from a human hotel. There’s some cool tech, including a machine that will steam clean your clothes to keep them wrinkle-free. There’s no need for techno-fear here, with a few behind-the-scenes humans just in case something doesn’t compute.

The hotel is part of the Huis Ten Bosch theme park, which is devoted to all things Dutch (yes, it just gets weirder and weirder).

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Asakusa Tobu Hotel’s hello kitty room

Asakusa Tobu Hotel’s Hello Kitty rooms are pastel pink with a modern design.  The Sakura Tennyo Room features cherry blossom-pink hues and Hello Kitty dressed as a celestial maiden, while the Japanese Modern room opts for darker aubergines and Hello Kitty sporting a trendy kimono. Both rooms also offer a traditional zashiki sitting area, with a low table on tatami mats.

Fun fact: Hello Kitty is not a cat but a 3rd-grade girl.

Disney Hotels’ character-themed rooms

Tokyo Disneyland Hotel has three enchanting character-themed rooms. Leaves and trinkets abound in the Tinker Bell room, or step into The Beast’s castle in a Beauty and the Beast room. The Cinderella room is a swirl of enchanted blue fit for a princess, or you may prefer to fall down the rabbit hole into an Alice in Wonderland room filled with playing cards, red roses and that cheesy Cheshire Cat. It’s truly as though you’ve stepped into a fairytale.

Keio Plaza Hotel Tama Hello Kitty rooms

The Keio Plaza Hotel Tama hotel has three rooms dedicated to Hello Kitty and her friends. The rooms prove there’s no such thing as too much of the world’s favourite plush puss. Located in Tokyo’s lively Shinjuku district, there are three types of room to choose from. With wall-to-wall cartoons and plushies, the Hello Kitty Room is the most popular. Everything from the carpet up – including the giant Hello Kitty that dominates the room and vibrant wallpaper – is an ode to the Sanrio character.

We love the lush green butterfly and rainbow-filled My Melody Room, which pays homage to Hello Kitty’s best friend.

In the outrageously pink Little Twin Stars Room Kiki and Lala – the Twin Stars – ride a unicorn above the bed. The room has more of a fairytale feel.

In each room there are special touches like a red bathroom mirror sticker and take-home Hello Kitty amenities like water bottles, a plush Hello Kitty toy, tote bag, toothbrush, skincare and slippers add to the feline fun. The experience doesn’t end at the décor, however, with novelties including themed mocktails and a Hello Kitty Room Original Breakfast that’s almost too cute to eat.

Imperial Hotel’s Snoopy room

If you’re inspired by the Hello Kitty rooms at Keio Plaza Hotel but are more of a dog person, then head to the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo’s salubrious Ginza area (and in Osaka). Their Snoopy-themed rooms are dotted with everything from slippers and robes to cushions, rugs, cups and chef Snoopy plush toy. The bed runner has the whole Peanuts crew stitched into it.

Book the limited edition Grand Chef Snoopy package and you’ll also enjoy a pup-themed bento for breakfast complete with a take-home Snoopy Bento bag, unique to the hotel. You can also pick up the ever-so-cute ‘Doorman Snoopy’ at the Imperial Hotel’s gift shop to take home to family and friends.

Hotel Gracery’s Godzilla room

The final of these quirky hotels in Tokyo but possibly the most exciting. There’s no character that is as uniquely Japanese as Godzilla. Now you can have a sleepover with him at the Hotel Gracery. The hotel, located in Tokyo’s popular Shinjuku district, has two room types themed around the not-so-jolly green giant. A giant Godzilla’s head is on display on level 8. It roars at 6 pm and 8pm each day. The lobby showcases scenes and memorabilia from the films.

You can choose to wake up to the sight of a giant reptilian eyeball peering into your bedroom in the Godzilla view room. It looks out directly onto a replica of the movie monster. The room is very small and has one double bed.

Or sleep alongside a man-sized Godzilla statue on a bed that’s shadowed by an enormous green claw in the Godzilla room. Roarsome!

Outside of Tokyo

Thomas the Tank Engine

Toot toot! While we’re on the subject of cute, why not book a stay with Thomas and his friends at Highland Resort Hotel & Spa? It’s the official hotel of Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park, a theme park located at the foot of Mt. Fuji.

The Thomas- and Percy-themed rooms are family-sized and have detailed murals of Thomas and his friends. The room also has maps of Sodor and character sofas. It also features a full, incredible view of Mt. Fuji (which is literally right outside your window). There are three beds in total. Two super singles and one standard single.

If too much Thomas is never enough for your little trainspotters, Thomas-themed kids meals and children’s utensils are also available.

This article originally appeared in Holidays with Kids magazine. Subscribe to the latest issue here.