Know Before You Go: Traveling to Japan with Kids

If you're traveling to Japan with your kid, hotels are your best option for where to stay. However, hotel rooms in Japan, especially in big cities like Tokyo, are quite small—so small, in fact, that there isn’t room for a cot or a fold-out couch. So you’ll need to book a room with enough actual beds for everyone in the family. It turns out that co-sleeping is pretty common in Japan, even with older kids (up to around the age of 10). If you’re not comfortable cozying up together for the night, make sure to book a room with enough beds for all.

Another thing to keep in mind is the perks that family travelers can enjoy at Japanese hotels. One of the cutest things I’ve ever seen while traveling was a mother-toddler pair at the luxurious Hoshinoya resort in Karuizawa. They were dressed in matching samue (traditional top and pants) and geta (Japanese wooden clogs)—all courtesy of the hotel—sharing a red bean–smothered shaved ice from the property’s roving cart. These kinds of perks aren’t the standard, but many hotels and resorts offer lots of kid-friendly amenities.

Look for places that have dedicated playrooms or kid-friendly activities—upscale properties with lots of amenities may be the best bet for extra family oriented perks. Some will even let you drop your kid in the playroom at dinner so that you can dine in peace.

Insider tip: If you’re booking a traditional ryokan with tatami mats and futons, you won’t have to worry about the bed issue; the rooms are designed to accommodate a number of different configurations.

Japanese convenience stores are famously useful: They’re on practically every street corner, and you can find everything from clothes to stationery to whiskey alongside the snacks and bottled green teas. But the real godsend, for families, is the prepared foods case. All konbini (convenience stores) are stocked daily with fresh foods of all kinds. There are onigiri (filled rice balls), of course, but also lots of sandwiches, a variety of salads, and some ready-to-heat dishes including Italian-style pastas.

Will you need convenience food in a country full of katsu and udon? Maybe not. But just because your kid likes sushi in the US doesn’t mean they’ll have the same experience while traveling (especially if what constitutes “sushi” at home is maki rolls—which are not nearly as common in Japan). If a meal is a fail, it’s incredibly helpful to know that there’s a cheap, kid-friendly, pretty nutritious meal at an always-nearby market.

Related: A Beginner's Guide to Japanese Convenience Stores (and What To Buy There)

If you’re used to having to fold up a stroller before getting on a bus (or carrying the whole thing down long flights of stairs), you’re in for a pleasant surprise. Japanese public transportation of all kinds is designed to be very family-friendly. Kids’ fares are pretty low, there are lots of ramps and clean elevators if you look for them, and many buses even have a dedicated space to strap in an open stroller—with your kid in it. (You’ll find illustrated instructions on the bus wall.)

Sure, your kids will hopefully be excited to see some cool temples (and ring the big bells) or to visit fun cultural events and cute stores. But at some point, if they’re under a certain age, they’re going to need to run around. Thankfully, while Japan boasts many perfectly manicured formal gardens, most cities also have plenty of playgrounds with swings, slides, and climbing structures. Some are even exceptionally creative: The Heiwa no Mori Park in Tokyo’s Ota-ku area, for instance, has a huge obstacle course that will keep kids busy for hours.

If you’re just looking for a good place to run around or relax and enjoy the picnic, the cities’ green spaces are also very kid-friendly. Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, for example, requires reservations on weekends (to avoid overcrowding) but lets families with kids enter without a reservation.

While public parks bend reservation rules for families with kids, and big sights like temples sell tickets at the front gate, some activities require advance planning. Tokyo Disneyland®, for instance, requires visitors to book tickets in advance and also make reservations for their desired date. The Ghibli Museum requires even more effort, as tickets sell out within minutes (maybe even seconds) of when they go on sale, at 10am Japan Standard Time on the 10th of each month. (The museum is actually quite charming, so set yourself an alarm for the month before you plan to go, and have your browser open and ready to go!)

You’ll also want to plan ahead to get a discounted, foreigners-only Japan Rail Pass, which offers unlimited travel on JR trains within a specified time period. This pass is only available to short-term visitors with foreign passports, and after you book online you’ll need to pick up the pass in person. Once you have your pass (or the reservation) you’ll also need to use it to reserve seats on each train you want to travel on.

If you’re hoping to enjoy Japan’s onsen (hot spring) culture, you’re in luck; most of them are extremely kid-friendly. Going to the hot spring is considered a part of living a healthy life, and parents introduce the practice to their kids starting when they’re still infants. Little kids of any gender often go to the women’s side with their moms, though dads also take kids to the men’s side. (Onsen is typically enjoyed without clothing and is gender segregated; many places also have a mixed area where guests wear towels for modesty.)

Hot springs’ facilities usually include some kind of small crib or baby seat in the changing rooms. Some even have small plastic baby tubs—the kind you’d put inside a bathtub for a newborn—so even the tiniest members of the family can enjoy the water safely. Make sure to check the spring’s temperature before your kids get in, of course, and you’ll all need to follow the standard practices of washing off at the stations around the hot pools before bathing. As long as you observe the traditions, your kids will be perfectly welcome to enjoy the onsen experience.

Free public restrooms are quite common and easy to find in Japan, and many have changing stations for particularly small children. Places like train stations, shopping malls, and department stores generally have good bathroom facilities.

However, although some upscale Japanese mall bathrooms have electric hand-dryers, most don’t have paper towel dispensers because they’re considered wasteful. Instead, you'll have to grab one of those cute handkerchiefs or washcloths you’ll see sold everywhere (including in your nearest market). Who knows—maybe they’ll inspire your kids (and you!) to keep up the environmentally-friendly practice when you get home. While you’re at it, grab a bottle of hand sanitizer, as some bathrooms also lack soap dispensers.

Did you know?: Public breastfeeding is legal in Japan.

While I’ve seen plenty of toddler meltdowns in Japan, the loudest kids I encountered on my trip were from the US. Not that anyone seemed to mind. In fact, no one seemed bothered at all when my friend’s two-year-old planted himself in a train seat and shouted “No!” repeatedly, or when a little girl we encountered banged repeatedly on a door while calling to her dad at the top of her voice.

While there’s absolutely no reason to worry if your kids are loud on your trip, I found that it helped my daughter to know that the social expectations are different in Japan than they are at home. Once kids reach a certain age, they can be embarrassed if they find they’re breaking social conventions. Plus, knowing how things work in Japan also presented a good opportunity to practice adjusting to different kinds of situations.

If you’re hoping for a date night while you’re traveling, so you can enjoy a fancy meal, street food tour, or bar-hopping experience, it will likely be tricky to find childcare. Most Japanese families do not use babysitters. Mothers are expected to (mostly) stop working when they have kids, and extra childcare comes from grandparents and other extended family. That said, if you put in the work ahead of time, you can, in fact, find local babysitters in places like Tokyo and Kyoto, including caregivers who speak English. Check out expat-facing sites, and make sure to plan ahead.

Japan is becoming increasingly accessible, and big cities should be relatively easy to navigate with elevators in train stations and wheelchair-friendly cabs (book through taxi apps to request one). Many temples and other sites also have back entrances with ramps, if the entrance is dominated by stairs. Rural areas, however, may be harder to explore: Some towns and cities do not have sidewalks (or even pavement) in all areas, and smaller restaurants and sights may not be wheelchair friendly. Many onsens and ryokans may not have appropriate accommodations. If you need an accessible room in a hotel, you should book early, as they are limited—and be aware that some accessible rooms will still be hard to navigate.

While Japan often feels more formal than some other countries, it’s fine to dress your kids (and yourself) in sneakers, jeans (or shorts), and T-shirts. You will, however, probably want to make sure the clothing isn’t ripped or stained (Japanese kids tend to look very tidy), and you’ll want nicer clothes to wear to good restaurants or upscale neighborhoods. You’ll want to have shoes that are both comfortable to walk in all day and also easy to take on and off when you go indoors; consider sticking to sturdy slip-ons and sneakers with velcro.

• What's the most kid-friendly city in Japan? Tokyo is widely considered one of the most kid-friendly cities in Japan to travel to with children. Not only are there tons of things to do to keep kids of all ages occupied, it's got an incredible dining scene and plenty of history and culture to explore.
• Is it expensive to travel to Japan with kids? Airfare excluded, traveling to Japan with kids is not all that expensive compared to other places. Transport costs less for children, and you can order smaller portions for a lower price.
• Is it worth traveling to Japan with kids? Yes, absolutely. If it's a destination you've always wanted to explore, don't feel like you can't do so with your children.
• What's the deal with trash cans in Japan? Japan has an extremely elaborate system for recycling that everyone is diligent about using, and, as a result, you won’t see trash cans on street corners unless you’re in a tourist-friendly area. Prepare to carry your kids trash around with you all day, until you reach a public restroom or your accommodation.