Children introduce unique challenges to travel planning, but luckily Japan is a destination that is easy and safe to explore with kids. The following are some things to consider that can make your family's experience in Japan smoother, cheaper and more enjoyable. Also, check out our Traveling with kids in Japan blog series.
For the purpose of fares and admission fees, children in Japan are typically classified by their school year rather than their ages. But because school systems differ from country to country, children of foreign travelers are more commonly classified by their age: Children aged 12 or older (junior high school and above) commonly pay adult prices while children aged 11 and younger (elementary school and below) qualify for discounts. Children below the age of 6 (pre-school) are often free.
Sanrio Puroland theme park
Transportation
Trains
Trains are a convenient way to explore Japan, however train stations can be crowded and busy, especially at urban stations during the morning and evening rush hours (typically 7:00-9:00 and 17:00-19:00 on weekdays). Platforms and trains often become packed with travelers around these times, and it is easy to get caught up in the surging flow of people as they move about the stations and get on and off trains, especially in the mornings and in Tokyo and Osaka.
It is important to keep small children close lest you become separated from each other in the foot traffic. Or better yet, try to avoid rush hours altogether. Even outside of rush hour, make sure to hold small children by their hands when boarding trains and give yourself extra time for transfers, especially when traveling with a baby stroller or pram. Most major stations are equipped with elevators to access the platforms, however they may not always be conveniently located.
Many local trains offer priority seating for pregnant women and those traveling with small children. Most trains (except some urban ones) carry at least one car equipped with a toilet. Note that toilet paper is usually provided, but paper towels are not.
Adult (12 years old and older)
Children twelve years old and older pay the full adult fare.
Child (6-11 years old)
Children 6 to 11 years old pay 50% of the adult fare. On JR trains, limited express and seat reservation fees are also half off, but green car fees are charged at full price.
Young child (1-5 years old)
Up to two young children, 1 to 5 years old, can travel for free when accompanied by one adult (e.g. two adults bring for free up to four young children). Additional young children are charged the regular child rate (50% of the adult fare). The child fare also applies to young children who occupy a reserved seat.
Infant (less than 1 years old)
Infants travel for free unless they occupy a reserved seat, in which case the child fare applies.
Additionally, most rail passes offer 50% discounts for children aged 6 to 11.
Buses
Child discounts for local buses generally follow the same pattern as for trains. On highway buses, discount fares are not always available. If they are available, they are usually less than 50 percent. Infants that do not occupy a seat on their own generally travel for free.
Car seats, child seats or booster seats are not required on local or highway buses, and in some cases, are even prohibited. Infants, for example, must be carried by an adult when riding a highway bus and may not occupy their own seat, even if placed in an infant carrier.
Rental cars
Children under the age of six must be buckled into a child seat in the rear seats when traveling by car. Car seats are available for rent at car rental outlets.
On trains, look for the stroller and wheel chair symbols as well as the priority seating sticker
Accommodation
Western-style hotels in Japan generally charge by the room, however they limit the occupancy of each room. Children under twelve are usually allowed to co-sleep with a parent or another child. While triple and quadruple rooms are only rarely found, extra beds and cots are available at many hotels for an additional fee. Each hotel varies on their specific policies regarding children, so please contact your hotel for more information.
Traditional Japanese-style inns, such as ryokan and minshuku, usually include meals in the price of accommodation and use different systems to calculate children's rates based on the age and type of meal the child needs. Again, details differs from place to place, but the following options are commonly encountered:
Adult meal Children 12 years and older and those who have an adult meal pay the full rate.
Child's meal Children under 12 years old who are served a child's meal pay a discounted rate.
No meal Some establishments allow young children, who occupy a bed but share their parents' meal, to stay for an even more discounted rate.
Infants Most establishments allow infants who are not served meals to stay for free.
One more option to consider is vacation rentals which are furnished houses or apartments available for rent on a short term basis. Though often less centrally located than hotels, vacation rentals may be a more economical choice, especially for larger families.
Food
A wide variety of restaurants can be found throughout Japan, and most establishments are welcoming to those with young children. Family restaurants and chain restaurants tend to be the most family-friendly, as they usually offer special children's menus and child-friendly booths or traditional-style zashiki seating. Most of these types of restaurants are good at listing food ingredients on their menus and offer segregated smoking and non-smoking sections. Conveyor belt sushi also tend to be popular, child-friendly restaurants.
Shokudo and other casual restaurants also tend to be pretty family-friendly; however, there is a lot of variation, and drinking places might become smoky or rowdy later in the evenings. Small eateries and food stalls are probably best avoided as they are often cramped, smoky and tend to have limited, counter-only seating.
High chairs or booster seats are often provided, although they are not often equipped with restraining belts. A scarf or luggage strap may come in handy to secure your child in the seat.
Changing, nursing and public toilets
Changing stations are becoming increasingly more common in public restrooms, and may be found in both women's and men's toilets. Public toilets in Japan are free and numerous. They are commonly found in department stores, shopping malls, train stations and many convenience stores. Large handicap toilets are also often available for use by families with small children and almost always provide a changing station.
Breastfeeding in Japan is allowed in public, but it is best to be discreet. Department stores, shopping malls, outlet malls and theme parks often provide special rooms equipped with private booths for nursing mothers, as well as providing changing stations.
Modern public toilet with nursery room at a train station
Hot springs
Many hot spring lodgings and bathhouses offer private baths (known as kashikirifuro or kazokuburo) where families can bathe together. They often must be reserved and may require a fee to use (typically 2000-5000 yen per 45 minutes). The number of ryokan that offer private onsen baths on the guestrooms is also increasing. They tend to be expensive.
Children who still use diapers should not enter onsen baths. Note further that the water at many onsen may be too hot or too strong for young children. At gender-segregated baths, young children may enter the baths of the opposite sex when accompanied by a family member. The maximum age to which this is allowed varies by region, but it is usually allowed up to the age of nine.
Baby bed provided at an onsen
Sightseeing
Admission tickets to museums, theme parks, amusement parks and other sightseeing spots are often discounted half price for children below the age of 12. Many educational museums also offer discounts for junior high school, high school and college students.
Find below a short list of child-friendly tourist attractions:
Tokyo Disney Resort is made up of the two theme parks: Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. The two parks are filled with Disney themed rides and attractions, and are some of the most popular family vacation destinations in Japan.
Opened in 2001 in the Osaka Bay Area, Universal Studios Japan is a fun filled theme park that features a variety of attractions and rides based on popular movies such as Spiderman, Terminator 2, Jurassic Park and Harry Potter.
Multiple locations
KidZania
Kidzania are indoor theme parks for children where kids can play all the roles and jobs of grownups, such as firefighters, paramedics and news anchors, or "work" at some of Japan's most recognized companies. A limited number of English activities may be available.
The first Kidzania park opened in the Lalaport shopping center in Toyosu, Tokyo, followed by one at Lalaport Koshien near the Hanshin Koshien baseball stadium outside of Osaka and one at the Lalaport shopping center in Fukuoka.
Fuji-Q Highland is a popular amusement park situated in the Fuji Five Lakes region at the base of Mount Fuji. The park mainly focuses on thrill rides and features four major roller coasters, each of which held some kind of world record when it debuted.
Located in Nagoya, Legoland Japan is separated into seven themed areas, matching the different universes in the Lego world. Right in the middle of the park is "Miniland Japan" which highlights the iconic attractions across the entire country and is constructed out of millions of Lego bricks.
Located in Odaiba's Decks Tokyo Beach shopping mall, the Legoland Discovery Center is a small Lego-themed museum that features rides and lego models of famous sights and characters. In the same center is the Sega Joypolis theme park, Madam Tussauds wax museum and a trick art museum.
A wider selection of amusement parks and theme parks around Japan can be found on our amusement parks page.
The Ghibli Museum is the popular animation and art museum of Miyazaki Hayao's Studio Ghibli. The small museum has a lot of nostalgic displays featuring characters from the movies My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away and Ponyo among others. The museum requires advance reservations.
The Fujiko F. Fujio Museum in Kawasaki is also informally known as the Doraemon Museum after the whimsical robotic cat that is the most famous character created by Fujiko F. Fujio. The museum is aimed at younger visitors and requires advance reservations.
Centered around Sanrio's most famous creation, Hello Kitty, Sanrio Puroland is an indoor theme park for younger children and features Hello Kitty's house, a boat ride and various theaters and live shows. There are also stores that sell Sanrio products.
This small ninja-themed park in Nagano is located at Mount Togakushi, the legendary home of the Togakure Ninja School. The park consists of a village set in the forest and features obstacle courses, jungle gyms and trick rooms with trapdoors. Visitors can also try their hand at throwing ninja stars or blow darts.
Edo Wonderland Nikko Edomura near Nikko is a history theme park recreating Japanese town life during the Edo Period. The park buildings feature Edo style architecture and are populated by townspeople in period costume. Visitors can participate in a variety of fun activities such as exploring a trick museum and ninja maze, dressing up in costume or watching ninja shows.
The Toei Uzumasa Eigamura is a film set and theme park in Kyoto. Recreating a town of the Edo Period, the park' is occasionally used as a backdrop for historical movies and dramas. Actors roam the streets in period costumes, and visitors can dress up as well. Some activities include live action shows, viewing a sample filming of a TV show, and one of the scariest haunted houses.
The Railway Museum in Saitama north of Tokyo is the train museum of JR East. The museum exhibits a large collection of retired trains, shinkansen and freight cars that recount the history of railway in Japan. Visitors can also try train simulators and view a large diorama with many model trains.
Another outstanding railway museum called the SCMAGLEV and Railway Park is located in Nagoya. As the railway museum of JR Central, it focuses more on high speed rail in Japan, especially the shinkansen (bullet train) and magnetic levitating trains (maglev).
Located within walking distance of Kyoto Station, the Kyoto Railway Museum covers the history of Japanese railways from steam locomotives to the shinkansen. It is well known for its large collection of steam locomotives.
This museum in Ueno Park covers both science and natural history with hands-on exhibits, an impressive collection of mounted animals and a 360 degree virtual theater.
Located in Tokyo's Odaiba district, this excellent, bilingual science museum is highly interactive and includes exhibits about environmental issues, robots (starring Asimo among others), information technology, biology and space exploration.
Nature and sports
Monkey parks
Multiple monkey parks are located across the country where visitors can get an up close look at some cute Japanese macaques. Some of the most popular are the snow monkeys of the Jigokudani Monkey Park which can be seen bathing in a hot spring. Other good parks include the Monkey Park Iwatayama in Arashiyama and the Takasakiyama Monkey Park near Beppu.
From December to March and beyond, the mountainous areas of central and northern Japan get covered in deep white fluffy snow. Skiing and snowboarding are popular winter activities during this time, and many ski resorts set up play areas where younger children (and young-at-heart adults) can enjoy themselves playing in the snow. View our where to find snow page for more details.
Located in subtropical Okinawa, Churaumi Aquarium is unequivocally Japan's best aquarium. Its massive tank is one of the largest in the world and home to several whale sharks. The aquarium also has a variety of different exhibits such as a shark tank, bioluminous fish and several animal shows.
Widely considered Japan's second best aquarium after Okinawa's Churaumi Aquarium, Osaka Aquarium introduces the sea life of the Pacific Rim. Visitors enter on the 8th floor and spiral their way downward around a large central tank which houses a whale shark. Several of the tanks span multiple floors making it possible to observe the animals from different perspectives.
