Our kids love Lego and theme parks so what better than to combine both activities into one? Here’s our review of Legoland Japan resort. We live in Kyoto which isn’t that far away from Nagoya. We took a hire car east and arrived about 2 hours later with four very excited people on board.
Legoland Japan Rides & Attractions
Before heading to any amusement park we usually take a look at the list of rides and attractions to see how many are suitable for our little ones. Our 3 and 5 years old were 90cm and 115cm respectively at the time we went to Legoland Nagoya.
Is Legoland Japan for adults?
What’s great about Legoland theme parks is that they tend to cater for younger kids like ours. Whereas Universal Studios Japan for example has more of a mix of attractions that are fun for kids and others which are solely for adults. We like it when there’s a good mix but we feel Legoland Japan is a little bit too much biased towards little kids. I think older kids might find it a bit babyish. Anyway it was perfect for our two.
Splash Battle
Ride Restrictions Height restrictions: No limit. Guests under 130cm must be accompanied by an adult
Splash Battle in Legoland is a real highlight. The kids we’re initially not that keen after seeing a few riders getting a little bit wet. But, after we had promised them they would be kept dry via the use of the Mum and Dad human shield, they soon relented.
The aim is to ride a pirate ship and shoot people the other ships in front and behind you as well as those people brave enough to watch. It was great fun for the kids. They squealed with excitement as they squirted other people and got a dose in the face themselves. It’s so much fun to shoot others including the Lego pirate people! The water cannons work by winding a handle and after 5 minutes of furious battling your arm really feels the burn. Needless to say we got a little bit wet. That’s ok though because they have people drying machines at the exit and these can dry you off quickly for about 300 yen ($3, £2). In fact this ‘drying ride’ was a lot of fun for the girls.
Flying NINJAGO®
Ride Restrictions Height restrictions: 125cm Maximum weight for this attraction is 120kg
The flying Ninjago ride is for taller kids and adults. It’s a bit of fun for parents and we took it in turns whilst the kids were tired out towards the end of the second day. It’s not at all Legoland parks. It’s unique to Legoland Deutschland and Japan resorts. This is a very new ride for the Japan park so we expected it to be busy but actually it wasn’t. I suspect that’s because it’s got a high height restriction. The ride rotates you around on a large arm. You have control of wings at either side of you. Moving them in opposite directions rotates your seat clockwise or anti-clockwise. It’s an amazing feeling and well worth a try.
Kai’s Sky Masters
Ride Restrictions Height restrictions：90cm. Guests 90cm～130cm must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Kai’s Sky Masters was a lot of fun both of our kids. Our 3 year old was just 90cm when we visited so that meant she got to experience a good proportion of the rides. The aim of this ride is to shoot blasters at targets which react if you hit them. Like the Lost Kingdom Adventure, this ride really brought out the competitiveness in all of us. The riders at the front shoot the targets and the riders at the back control the height of the vehicle.
Dragon’s Apprentice
Ride Restrictions Height restrictions：>90cm. Guests 90cm～130cm must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
This rollercoaster we perfect for both of our kids. It was actually the first rollercoaster that our 3 year old has ever been on. Our eldest loves the runaway train at Alton Towers and this coaster was a little bit more tame than that one. It’s a compact ride but an adult and a child can site comfortably side by side. It’s very smooth which we’ve found is a key element for our kids enjoyment. We went on a roller coast at the excellent Suzuka theme park called Batto’s Adventure Drive and it was obvious that it had seen better days. The jolting and jarring ride made our eldest very tearful despite it being a relative basic ride. Dragon’s Apprentice however, was voted one of the best rides at Legoland Japan by our kids.
Rescue Academy
Ride Restrictions Height restrictions：>90cm. Guests 90cm～130cm must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Another highlight of the park is the Rescue Academy which is in the Lego City area. Our family loves a good head to head competition and this ride delivers on that front. The aim of the game is to move a fire truck by pumping levers up and down. This moves the truck forwards towards the buildings which are ‘on fire’. Then you have to jump out of the truck and run to the fire hydrant and try to put the fire out. One person pumps the water while the other points the fire hose. I was teamed with our 3 year old and to say I was slightly disadvantaged would be unfair. Normally one person pumps the water and the other points the fire hose. I must have looked looked odd doing both!
Submarine Adventure
Ride Restrictions Height restrictions: No limit. Guests under 130cm must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
This ride is really unique and we recommend getting here early to book your time slot. I haven’t seen a ride which combines a dark ride experience with an aquarium. You board a submarine and head into the deep. Inside there are information panels that explain the types of fish you’ll see. Once you round the first corner you see a brilliant underwater world with sharks, fish and – of course – Lego creatures swimming around you. It makes the Tokyo Disney Sea ride 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea look amateurish. We definitely recommend this ride. We loved it so much we rode it twice!
Lost Kingdom Adventure
Ride Restrictions Height restrictions: No limit. Guests under 130cm must be accompanied by an adult
This is an indoor ride which has a strong Indiana Jones feel. 4 people go in a desert cart and shoot targets to rescue some treasure. It’s suitable for all ages. This is another ride that brings out the competitive family. Shoot the various monsters and characters and keep an eye on the score which is displayed on a screen in front of you.
I was paired with my youngest and she had a great time pretending to shoot the targets and anything else she wanted to – including the back of her sister’s head.
Coast Guard HQ
Ride Restrictions Height restrictions No limit. Guests under 130cm must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
This is basically a boat ride around on a Lego lifeboat play area. It’s also in Lego City. This ride had the longest queue. We suspect that is because they limited the number of boats on the ride to manage the low volume of visitors. To be honest it wasn’t really worth the wait. It’s a nice gentle ride around an impressive Lego play area. But, the steering is way too tough to control and there’s limited fun to be had here. We would suggest this ride is low on the priority list.
Miniland Japan
Before I came to a Legoland park I didn’t think I would have much time for the Miniland areas. But now that we’ve been to a few I can honestly say I love looking at them. The creative master builders at Lego make incredibly fun scenes. I especially like seeing places we know represented as miniature sets. We live in Kyoto and seeing the Kiyomizu Dera and Toji temples and a Gion street scene made out of Lego is brilliant. There’s also usually a little back story to what’s playing out in the scene. The kids love pressing the buttons which starts a animatronic routine.
Food & Drink
Legoland Japan food.
Brick House Burgers
The food at Legoland Japan was a bit of a let down to be honest. We stopped for burgers in the Lego City area at Brick House Burgers. I thought it would be fun to have the Lego Burger meal. It looks like a Lego brick alright, but there’s no flavor! The burger patty, the cheese and all the ingredients are bland. The same goes for the Lego fries. My daughters thought they looked really fun and actually ate quite a few. But they didn’t have a taste to speak of and they felt very processed.
We go into more detail about the food at the hotel here which was also pretty poor.
It’s a real shame the food isn’t tasty. We didn’t want to leave the park to find food because it would take time out of our visit. There are some restaurants just the other side of the Lego Hotel on the way to the car park. You will pass them if you park in the car park. Some looked quick good like the Grill & BBQ place. But we didn’t try them.
The food in Japan and the attitude around food is excellent. Quality of ingredients and attention to detail is paramount here. So we can’t understand why the management of the Legoland Japan park would allow such poor taste.
Top Tips To Get The Most Out Your Visit To Legoland Japan
Does Legoland Japan have a Fast-Pass or a Skip-Pass system?
Yes it does. However, it’s only available for annual pass holders. Get your annual pass and then head to the shop to buy your Skippass.
Does Legoland Japan operate a family pass system?
Yes it does. Ask at the shop. Parents and guardians with more than one child can take turns riding with their children. The parent swap allows the parent to ride with one child, whilst the other waits. Then the parents swap without having to queue twice. We didn’t see this advertised though so it’s worthwhile knowing beforehand. On our visit we didn’t feel the need to use it though because it was relatively quite. However, we could imagine it’s vital on busy days.
Do You Have To Book Time Slots For Rides?
Yes you do for some popular rides like the Submarine Adventure. On busy days Legoland operate a time booking system. You head to the ride and find a terminal. Input your desired ride time and it prints out a ticket. Then simply show this ticket to the park attendant at your ride time to join the queue. At Legoland Nagoya it was applicable for the Submarine Adventure ride.
How long do you need at Legoland Japan? Is one day enough?
No, we don’t think so. The park is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and there are so many rides and attractions that one day just simply isn’t enough. We recommend coming for two days at least.
Can you come on a rainy day?
Yes! The park is open on a rainy days. Plenty of outlets sell Ponchos. Many rides and activities are indoors like Build and Test and the Lego Factory Tour.
Can you rent a stroller?
Yes. There are places to rent a stroller at Legoland Japan so tired legs can take a rest.
How do you get to Legoland Japan?
Legoland Japan is located in Nagoya. If you come by car we recommend using the highways and paying the tolls. The tolls are about ¥2,500 ($25, £21) but they cut down travel time by half. We drove our hire car from Kyoto to Nagoya in 1:45 hours. The park is on a man made land at the estuary of Nagoya’s industrial dock lands. It’s away from Nagoya city on a docklands industrial estate (called Kinjofuto) where one section has been designated as a theme park.
By train, Nagoya is only around 50 minutes from Kyoto or Osaka by shinkansen (bullet train). So, it’s possible to visit the park as a day trip from those cities. However, it would be tough to fit it in from Tokyo as it would be a long day!
How to get to Legoland Japan from Tokyo
- By train Take the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Nagoya Station. This takes 2 hours and 21 minutes. Transfer to the Aonami Line and travel to Kinjo Futo Station. Walk from there to the park entrance.
- By Car It takes between 4 and 5 hours depending on the level of traffic and isn’t recommended. It’s also toll roads all the way so it’ll be quite expensive.
Does Legoland Nagoya have a car park?
No. Instead, the park directs visitors to use a private car park close by called Nagoya Shiei Kinjofuto Parking Lot. Google maps will navigate you to the entrance of the park – which is also the entrance of the hotel. So if you’re staying at the hotel this is ideal because you can drop off your luggage. However, if you’re simply coming for the day then you’ll be redirected to the car park. Here is the google maps location of the car park. The price of parking per day is ¥2,000 ($20, £14).
How much does it cost to go to Legoland Japan?
Legoland Japan tickets. 1Day Pass: Adults start from ¥4,600 ($40, £30), Kids (3-12) start from ¥3,400 ($30, £22.5)
| Peak | Regular Price | 10% Off | 20% Off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult (+13 years old) | ¥7,100 | ¥6,400 | ¥5,700 |
| Child (3~12 years old) | ¥4,600 | ¥4,200 | ¥3,700 |
| Off-Peak | Regular Price | 10% Off | 20% Off |
| Adult (+13 years old) | ¥5,100 | ¥4,900 | ¥4,600 |
| Child (3~12 years old) | ¥3,800 | ¥3,600 | ¥3,400 |
We paid ¥30,200 ($265, £200) in total for 2 kids, 2 adults and 2 days and booked in advance from the official website.
Can You Book Park Tickets In Advance?
Yes you can. It’s advisable too as the price is higher if you buy them from the ticket booth on the day. Book peak-day tickets 2-7 days in advance and save up to 20%.
Legoland Japan Map
The park is quite compact and every bit of space is used for an attraction or a fun activity. Below is the park map.
This button takes you to the pdf file. It’s 32mb is size so it might take a while to download.
Hotels Near Legoland Japan Resort
Legoland Japan resort has a hotel onsite. Read our Legoland Japan hotel review. One extra special benefit of being a guest at the Legoland hotel is that you get given a special treasure map to use in the park. If you can find all the clues and make the secret word you can claim a special prize at the information desk.
Hotels near Legoland Japan
We don’t have experience of these hotels so we can’t offer any recommendations. There doesn’t appear to be many near the actual resort so all of the ones listed below are a few minutes drive away.
