Tokyo Odaiba Fun Guide: 3 Family-Friendly Shopping Malls That Are Great for Strolling and Shopping

Text & Photos /Daddy Qian, excerpted from “Your First Tokyo Family Trip Is Super Fun” by Chengshi Culture

Shopping with your kids won’t be boring either. Daddy Qian recommends 3 great family-friendly shopping malls in Odaiba

Daddy Qian from Odaiba recommends 3 top family shopping malls:Venus Fort, DiverCity Tokyo Plaza, and AQUA CiTY Odaiba— bringing your kids here for shopping will never be boring. There’s plenty to see and buy, fun zones for kids, and toy shopping too. Both adults and children can have a blast here.

Recommended Family Shopping Mall 1: Venus Fort

Recommended visiting time: 2–4 hours
Nearest station: Aomi Station (direct access via the skywalk from the north exit)
Nearby attractions: Toyota City Showcase, Daikanransha Ferris Wheel, DiverCity Tokyo Plaza

Venus Fort is part of Palette Town in Odaiba, located right across from the MEGA WEB Toyota City showcase. It boasts a vast area with open-style retail spaces, all indoors—no need to worry about sun exposure. With air conditioning in summer and heating in winter, it’s extremely comfortable for strolling. It's an ideal spot for families to rest, dine, and shop after enjoying MEGA WEB.

Additionally, the History Garage, a classic car exhibition from Toyota City Showcase, is located here. Its free exhibition area connects directly with the store, showcasing a variety of vintage cars. My kid and I spent quite a long time just taking photos there—it's definitely worth a visit.

▲ Venus Fort faces Toyota City, separated by Palette Plaza. There's a FamilyMart at the first-floor entrance.

▲ The mall offers plenty of seating areas for visitors to rest and dine.

INFO
Phone: 03-3599-1671
Address: 1-3-15 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Business Hours:
Venus Fort
Shopping area: 11:00–21:00
Dining area: 11:00–23:00 (last orders at 22:00)
History Garage
General operating hours: 11:00–21:00
Other: Free Wi-Fi is available in the mall. SSID: Wi2premium. After connecting, send a message to 03H-guest02-E@forguest.wi2.ne.jp, then enter the customer code you receive to log in and enjoy 3 hours of free Wi-Fi.

@NOTE
In recent years, Japan’s subway stations and malls have significantly improved their signage and family-friendly facilities, making it easy for visitors to find what they need. Even the men’s restrooms in Venus Fort have diaper-changing stations, so dads can help with baby duties too. Most of the malls recommended in this book by Daddy Qian feature such family-friendly amenities.

Fun for everyone. A great place for shopping and strolling

Shopping here is enjoyable for both adults and kids. The spacious, fully indoor open-layout walkways are not crowded, even with children. The centrally located Venetian-style Venus Fountain in the plaza is a popular photo spot for visitors. Furthermore, over 80% of the shops in Venus Fort (excluding restaurants) offer tax-free shopping. If you spend above a certain amount, you can get a refund—just look for the large signs at participating stores and show your passport to claim your refund.

▲ The centrally located Venus Fountain in the plaza, designed in Venetian style, is a favorite photo spot for tourists.

▲ Stores offering tax refunds will have large signs posted at their entrances—you can get a refund with your passport if you meet the minimum spending requirement.

▲ They also sell Japanese-made school backpacks. Though pricey, they are high-quality and very durable.

History Garage (Free Admission)

Connected to the VenusFort shopping mall, History Garage is a branch of the Toyota City Showcase and is completely free to enter. The venue displays many classic vintage cars, some of which you can actually sit in and take photos with. The lighting inside is intentionally dimmed to create an antique car appreciation atmosphere. Stepping into History Garage is like traveling back to the 1960s and 70s, reliving the glamour of your grandfather’s youth.

▲ Unlike the main Toyota showroom, History Garage uses darker lighting to highlight the elegance of the vehicles on display.

▲ The model car exhibition room has tons of miniature cars, most of which are available for purchase and can be taken home as collectibles.

▲ Some cars allow you to climb in and sit, paired with a Wild West-style setting — perfect for taking stylish photos.

▲ QinQin: Need a refill? I’m your friendly Ding Xiaoyu, at your service XD

▲ Shopping at VenusFort feels great and is especially family-friendly. There are plenty of photo spots, so kids will always have something fun to do and won’t get bored at all.

Recommended Family-Friendly Shopping Mall 2: DiverCity Tokyo Plaza

Recommended visiting time: 3–4 hours
Nearest station: Odaiba Station (accessible via the south exit skywalk)
Nearby attractions: Toyota City Showcase, Odaiba Cosmo Clock 21, DiverCity Tokyo Mall

DiverCity Tokyo Plaza is just one street away from VenusFort, about 300 meters apart, and is the shopping mall that houses Tokyo’s iconic life-sized Gundam. The mall has seven floors. Aside from the popular Gundam Base and Gundam Front Tokyo, there are over 100 stores in the entire building. It’s a modern shopping center that opened in 2012, featuring spacious layouts and bright interiors, making for a very pleasant shopping experience. Thanks to the new tax refund policy, 84 stores in the mall are eligible for tax refunds (with more being added), including Matsumoto Kiyoshi, Uniqlo, and Zara. Even 7-Eleven convenience stores and Seijo Ishii supermarkets qualify (note: items consumed on-site are not eligible for refunds)!

▲ With its vast indoor space and numerous floors, DiverCity Tokyo Plaza is the top choice for Gundam fans to shop and dine after visiting the Gundam attraction.

INFO
Phone: 03-6380-7800
Address: 1-1-10 Aomi, Koto City, Tokyo
Business Hours:
Shopping area: 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Food court: 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Restaurants: 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Other Info:
The mall offers free Wi-Fi with the SSID: MSP_Wi-Fi. After connecting, register with your email to access the network (up to 4 times per day, 30 minutes each session).
Baby strollers are available for free rental at the general information counter on the 3rd floor.

Recommended Floor Guide

The 2nd floor features Hello Kitty Japan and Matsumoto Kiyoshi, making it convenient to shop for Kitty merchandise and health & beauty products. The 3rd floor has H&M, the 4th floor has Zara, the 5th floor has Uniqlo, and the 6th floor has Daiso — all great spots for clothes and daily necessities. Additionally, parents with older kids can head to the Round 1 Stadium on the 6th floor for some fun entertainment.

Recommended Floor Guide
Floor
2nd Floor – Matsumoto Kiyoshi: A great place to buy Japanese health and beauty products. Not only can you get tax refunds for purchases over a certain amount, but you can also enjoy extra discounts when paying with a Rakuten credit card.
3rd Floor – H&M & 4th Floor – Zara: Both stores are quite spacious, allowing you to buy clothes for your kids all in one go. Zara also offers tax refunds for purchases over the threshold.
5th Floor – Uniqlo: The iconic Japanese brand Uniqlo has a large store here, offering clothing for men, women, and children. Since 2014, it has also implemented the new Japanese tax exemption policy for foreign customers meeting spending requirements.
6th Floor – Daiso: Japan’s leading discount variety store, Daiso offers a wide range of practical everyday items, all priced uniformly at ¥100, and many are made in Japan — definitely worth checking out.
6F Round 1 Stadium: This is a large indoor amusement center with numerous arcade machines, prize redemption games, and claw machines, making it a great place for older children to have fun.

Half-day tour recommendation: See Gundam + shopping + dining

The Diver City Tokyo Plaza food court covers a large area with a wide variety of meal options, making it the perfect spot to eat and rest after viewing the life-sized Gundam statue in the outdoor plaza and going shopping. This diverse shopping mall also offers thoughtful free stroller rental services, suitable for families with children of all ages. It’s recommended to come here for Gundam, shopping, and dining, and you can easily spend half a day here.

▲The 2nd floor has a food court and several restaurants, while the 6th floor has over ten restaurants. At Diver City, you’ll definitely not go hungry.

▲A full plate of Japanese fried foods plus hot spring egg udon costs only about ¥1000—great value and very filling.

Recommended family-friendly shopping mall 3: AQUA CiTY Odaiba (Odaiba Marine Park)

Recommended stay duration: 2–3 hours
Nearest station: Odaiba Station (direct access via the skywalk from the North Exit)
Nearby attractions: Fuji TV Building, Odaiba Statue of Liberty, Odaiba Seaside Park

Facing Odaiba Seaside Park, AQUA CiTY Odaiba can be reached by taking the Yurikamome Line to Odaiba Station and walking via the 2nd-floor skywalk, or by arriving via Tokyo Water Bus from the waterway. Although the mall is older than Diver City, it houses a large Toys "R" Us, and Japanese-brand goods are generally more affordable. With its beautiful view of Odaiba Seaside Park, the famous Statue of Liberty, and the vast Tokyo Bay, it’s a great spot for night photography and for purchasing baby products, toys, and enjoying the Odaiba scenery with your kids.

▲After exiting Yurikamome Line at Odaiba Station, you don’t need to take the elevator down to ground level—just walk through the connected skywalk to enter AQUA CiTY Odaiba on the 3rd floor. (You can also walk from the direction of Diver City via the skywalk; please refer to the Odaiba map on page XX of this guidebook.)

INFO
Phone: 03-3599-4700
Address: 1-7-1 Odaiba, Minato City, Tokyo
Business hours:
Shopping area: 11:00–21:00
Dining area: 11:00–23:00 (some restaurants may have different hours)
Other info:
Free Wi-Fi is available, currently limited to designated areas on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th floors. SSID: AquaCityOdaibaFree. After connecting, register with your email to access the network. No daily limit on connections, but each session is 30 minutes.
Strollers are available for free rental at the general service counter on the 3rd floor.

Fun and great for shopping—must-visit Toys "R" Us

AQUA CiTY Odaiba’s 1st floor features a large Toys "R" Us and an attached Babies "R" Us. If you haven’t planned to visit Akachan Honpo or Shimamura, you can still find many Japanese baby and toddler products here. Toys "R" Us has several play zones for kids, offering parents a chance to take a break and shop separately.

Additionally, the store often has discounted promotional items, such as TOMICA toy cars, Licca-chan dolls, and My Melody merchandise, sometimes at surprisingly low prices—cheaper than at many other family-friendly malls in Tokyo. Of course, there are other affordable toy stores in Tokyo, but their smaller spaces may not be as convenient when shopping with kids.

▲AQUA CiTY Odaiba’s 1st floor has a large Toys "R" Us and an attached Babies "R" Us. Even if you don’t visit Akachan Honpo or Shimamura, you can still find many Japanese baby and toddler products here.

▲Toys "R" Us has several play zones for kids, allowing parents to take turns supervising while shopping.

▲The store frequently offers discounted promotional items—if you’re looking to buy toys, be sure to check it out.

@NOTE
In addition to Toys "R" Us, if you visit GAP around the end of the year or before seasonal changes, you’ll often find extra discounts beyond the sale prices. For example, I once got a half-price coupon—not just an original discount, but an additional discount on already reduced items, which was amazing.

Nearby attractions to explore: Odaiba Seaside Park + Statue of Liberty

Fans of Japanese dramas will surely be familiar with Odaiba. This green park facing Tokyo Bay has served as the backdrop for many classic drama romantic scenes, most notably in “Love Generation” starring Takuya Kimura and Takako Matsu, where many scenes feature the park and Rainbow Bridge. In addition, the park houses a replica of the Statue of Liberty, installed in 1998 to celebrate Franco-Japanese friendship. It’s just a street away from AQUA CiTY Odaiba, making Odaiba Seaside Park a great stop after shopping.

▲At night, Odaiba Seaside Park is a fantastic spot for photos, with the illuminated Statue of Liberty and Rainbow Bridge complementing each other, along with the lights of Tokyo across the bay.

▲Zoom in a bit—can you see the red Tokyo Tower behind the Rainbow Bridge, and the water buses gliding across the bay? All these elements make Tokyo’s nights even more enchanting.