Japan with children: 12 days that work for everyone
Japan is one of the easiest countries in the world to travel with children, and one of the easiest to get wrong. The mistake is not the destinations, it is the density. This route has four hotel changes in twelve days, no travelling day longer than two and a half hours, and at least one thing every
- Duration
- 12 days
- Pace
- Relaxed
- Hotel changes
- 4
- Best months
- Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov
- From
- $3,450 per person
Who it suits: families with children roughly 5 to 15. We adjust it for younger.
Day by day
Day 1: Arrive Tokyo. Private transfer, a hotel with connecting or four-bed rooms in a walkable district. Nothing scheduled.
Day 2: Tokyo: parks and the tower. Ueno Park and the zoo in the morning, Asakusa in the afternoon with a rickshaw ride the children will remember longer than the temple, and Sumida river views in the evening.
Day 3: Tokyo: choose one. Either teamLab’s digital art museum, which is the single most reliable hit we have found for any age, or DisneySea, which is genuinely better than the Florida version. Whichever you skip becomes the free-day option.
Day 4: Tokyo: Shibuya and free time. The crossing, a short guided walk, then an afternoon that belongs to the children: a games arcade, a craft workshop, or a swimming pool at the hotel.
Day 5: Tokyo to the Fuji lakes. Under two hours. An afternoon by the lake with Fuji behind it, a ropeway, and a family-friendly ryokan with a private family bath so that everyone can use the onsen together.
Day 6: Fuji to Kyoto. Morning at the lake, then rail to Kyoto with luggage forwarded ahead. Easy evening.
Day 7: Kyoto: the fun way round. Fushimi Inari early, which children love because it is a tunnel rather than a temple, then a hands-on session: samurai and ninja experience, or a wagashi sweet-making class.
Day 8: Nara. Deer, an enormous bronze Buddha, and enough open space to run. Half day in Nara, afternoon free in Kyoto.
Day 9: Kyoto: Arashiyama. Bamboo grove at opening, the monkey park on the hill above the river, and a boat or a bike along the Hozugawa.
Day 10: Kyoto to Osaka via Iga. A stop at the ninja museum in Iga on the way, then Osaka in the afternoon. Dotonbori after dark is a spectacle for any age.
Day 11: Osaka. The aquarium, one of the best in the world, in the morning. Afternoon free, or Universal Studios Japan for the whole day if that is your family.
Day 12: Departure. Transfer to Kansai airport.
What is included
Family rooms or connecting rooms throughout, all rail with reserved seats, private transfers on arrival and departure, two guided days chosen for children, the family-onsen ryokan night, luggage forwarding, restaurant bookings at places that welcome children, and a WhatsApp group with our Tokyo office.
What we change for younger children
Under six, we cut Nara, add a second night by the lakes, and swap one guided day for a hotel with a pool. Strollers travel badly on rail stairs, so we route around the stations that need them.
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