We’ve always loved Japan. Personally, this is my fourth visit. But if you plan to a Japan travel with kids, we’ll be honest and tell you: it’s both a hit and a miss. We spent 14 days in Tokyo and Kyoto, with side trips to Osaka, Nara, Kinosaki, and Mt. Fuji.
What’s a hit with our kids? Tokyo, Nara, and Mt. Fuji. And what’s a miss? Kyoto. We knew from the get-go that Kyoto, with its temples, shrines, and parks, will not appeal to our kids. But since our travels do not revolve solely around them (they are, after all, family vacations, which offer something to everyone in the family), we went ahead anyway.
For one, our eldest daughter (an otaku of anime and whose first name is Japanese), wanted to go to Japan before she turned 13. And my wife and I have very fond memories of Japan (I went there when I was 10, 15, and 30).
So Tokyo, with Akihabara, Shinjuku, and Harajuku, was a must for our otaku tween. As for my wife and I, we’ve never been to Kyoto, so that was a must for us as well.
We skipped the Disney parks because we decided we needed a Disney break. We also decided to visit Ghibli Museum another time and wait for its theme park to open in 2022.
Our 14-day Itinerary
Overall, our 2-week Japan travel with kids itinerary is a comprehensive tour of the modern and the historic, the quirky and the traditional, and the adult-appealing and the kid-friendly. Below is our Japan travel with kids itinerary:
Day
Location
Activities
1
Tokyo
Arrival Skytree Solamachi
2
Tokyo
Solamachi Shinjuku
3
Tokyo
Tsukiji Market Akihabara
4
Tokyo
Odaiba
5
Tokyo-Kyoto
Train to Kyoto
6
Kyoto-Osaka
Shinsaibashi Dotonbori
7
Kyoto-Nara
Nara Park Todaiji
8
Kyoto-Kinosaki
Kinosaki Onsen
9
Kinosaki- Kyoto
Kinosaki Onsen
10
Kyoto
Southern Higashiyama Arashiyama
11
Kyoto- Tokyo
Arashiyama Train to Tokyo
12
Tokyo
Harajuku Yoyogi Park
13
Kawaguchiko
Mt. Fuji Oishi Park Fuji–Q Highland
14
Tokyo
Departure
Read more about our itinerary below:
Day 1: Tokyo
For your Japan travel with kids, it’s best to start in Tokyo to get them all pumped up. In fact, if you only have a few days, skip Kyoto and stick with Tokyo. This is what your kids will enjoy the most.
Highlights:
Visit Tokyo Skytree, the tallest tower in the world, and Tokyo Solamachi, its attached shopping mall with over 300 stores and restaurants
Eat at Tori Ichimi at the Tokyo Solamachi food court for yummy grilled chicken oyako-don, yakitori, and karaage (really, the food court here is top-notch; you can’t go wrong with any of the restaurants here)
Stay at Smi:re Stay Oshiage, which we loved for its minimalist design and great location
Day 2: Tokyo
Because our hotel was just 5 minutes away from Tokyo Solamachi, we decided to do a bit of shopping and eat there. Our kids were thrilled about the character shops, especially Jump Shop (for anime fans like our eldest daughter) and the Rilakkuma store (for our youngest daughter, who loves the adorable bears).
At night, we explored Shinjuku as I wanted to take photos, eat yakitori, and drink beer at the historic and atmospheric Omoide Yokocho (aka Piss Alley) and Golden Gai.
Highlights:
Shop at Tokyo Solamachi (there’s something for everyone, so your kids will have fun too)
Eat at Kururu for delicious takoyaki (better, in fact, than the one we had in Osaka), and Tendon Tenya for cheap but yummy tempura
Eat at Kameya Shinjuku Tentama Soba for the best soba you’ll ever have and at one of the dozens of izakayas in Piss Alley for yakitori and beer
Day 3: Tokyo
We made sure a food trip to Tsukiji Market was on our itinerary. Your trip to Japan won’t be complete without trying out the freshest sushi and seafood here. Our kids enjoyed trying out exotic food like uni, unagi, and baby octopus on a stick!
Highlights:
Eat at Tsukiji Market (really, you can’t go wrong with any of the stalls, but if you have to choose, go where the lines are)
Shop in Akihabara, the mecca for anime/manga otakus (die-hard fans) and electronics aficionados (we went to Mandarake, Don Quijote, Cospa, and Animate, but there are plenty more to explore)
Watch a hyper projection play for your favorite anime/manga series, in our case the popular volleyball series “Haikyuu” (this is a new kind of show that combines live theater, music, dance, video projection, and images from the series)
You can easily spend the whole day in Odaiba, a man-made island that has become one of Tokyo’s main entertainment districts. In fact, if you have time, you can allot two days here if you want to do a lot more. There are loads of things for your kids to do here.
Highlights:
Explore Odaiba with its museums, malls, and eccentric buildings and statues
Check out the giant Unicorn Gundam statue (make sure you wait for it to transform into battle mode)
Visit the mesmerizing teamLab Borderless interactive art exhibit, a must-do in Japan
Visit Miraikan, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, as your kids will definitely get entertained and educated by robots and the latest exhibits
Explore Dōtonbori for the famous Glico running man digital billboard, the canal, and the dozens of competing over-the-top restaurants
Eat at Mizuno, a Michellin star restaurant specializing in okonomiyaki (the kids enjoyed having the pancakes cooked in front of us)
Eat Cremia “softcream”, hands-down the best soft-serve ice cream and cone
Day 8: Kinosaki
If there is one truly unique experience we had in our Japan travel with kids, it’s visiting Kinosaki’s 7-Onsen Town, a 1,300-year-old hot spring town famous for seven different public hot springs.
It was a bit weird for our kids, but in the end, they really had fun going to an onsen, staying at a ryokan, and walking around the quaint town in their yutaka. If you want your kids to experience traditional Japan, this is your best bet.
Highlights:
Stay at Kinsui, probably the most affordable ryokan in the area (it’s basic, clean, and strategically located)
Visit one or two hot spring bath houses and take a dip butt-naked in the healing spring waters (we managed to go to three out of seven)
Eat at Kinosaki Kinako for fried seafood snacks and Gubigabu for mouth-watering Takima beef steak, pizza, and pasta
Day 9: Kinosaki
Kinosaki is as beautiful early morning as it is atmospheric at night. We could have stayed another day to fully immerse ourselves in this onsen town.
Highlights:
Visit another onsen early morning, as check-out time is at 10 am
Eat at Inaba Sengyo for fresh seafood sushi bowl and tempura soba bowl, as they also own the adjoining seafood market
It’s time to explore the best areas of Kyoto, which would be Southern Higashiyama and Arashiyama
Highlights:
Explore Southern Higashiyama with the beautiful streets and alleys of Nene-no-Michi Lane, Ishibei-koji Lane, Sannen-zaka,and Ninen-zaka , as well as Maruyama-koen Park, Chion-in Temple, Kodai-ji Temple, and Kiyomizu-dera Temple
Harajuku is a must-visit with its hip fashion stores, kawaii street food, and cool crowd. We also made sure to go to the nearby Yoyogi Park to enjoy the Shibuya Blue Cave Illumination.
Highlights:
Shop in Harajuku as you and your teens/tweens will have a blast
Visit Cat Café Mocha and Owl’s Garden because these animal cafes are going to be one of the highlights for kids
We were having second thoughts about seeing Mt. Fuji up close, but we were glad we went ahead with our plans. It’s one of the highlights of our Japan travel with kids. Our girls immensely enjoyed seeing it, taking pictures of it, and doing silly poses with it.
Highlights:
Explore Oishi Park, which offers unobstructed and uncrowded views of Mt. Fuji
Eat at Brand New Day, definitely one of the best pizzas we’ve ever had
Visit Fuji-Q Highland if not for the rides (as our kids weren’t roller coaster fans) and then for the absolutely charming La Ville de Gaspard et Lisa (a park based on the charming French children’s book and animated series Gaspard and Lisa, which recreates a Parisian neighborhood
Day 14: Tokyo
Tokyo Station can be a nightmare during rush hour, but it has gems as well if you’re patient enough to explore it. We did a bit of shopping for souvenirs and anime merch before we headed off to Narita Airport.
As you can see, our 14-day Japan travel with kids is packed with a lot of sightseeing, eating, shopping, and activities. But frankly, there were still quite a number of places we planned to visit but weren’t able to because we were pressed for time and we underestimated the amount of time we spent at each area and all that walking and riding trains.
Particularly in Kyoto, we were not able to do our planned evening walks in Gion and Pontocho Alley. We weren’t able to check out Nijo Castle and Nishiki Market even though they were a short walk from our hotel. We didn’t have time to explore Northern Higashiyama or see Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion). We were not able to do a side trip to Himeji Castle.
There is still so much to see, but we’re happy that at least we got to visit our top-priority places. Besides, our kids weren’t too thrilled with Kyoto, so I guess it’s okay if we missed some of those places.
We toyed with the idea of taking them to at least Universal Studios Japan since they’re also Harry Potter fans, but we felt they might get a better experience in Universal Studios in the U.S. We did go to one amusement park (Fuji-Q Highland), which you wouldn’t experience any place else.
If your kids aren’t tired of Disney theme parks, then we recommend you go visit at least Disney Sea (for us, we already went there before we had kids). We might do the same the next time around. And certainly include Studio Ghibli (when the theme park opens).
If you just have a week, stick to Tokyo. But if you can do two weeks, then you might as well spend a couple of days in Kyoto. But you must include side trips to Nara, Osaka, and Mt. Fuji, all of which our kids enjoyed.
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