Kaiyukan
One of the world’s biggest aquariums, built around a whale shark tank.
Osaka BayIndoor
Travelling with kids
Room to run.
Nap time sorted.
Homes with separate bedrooms and a kitchen, and many with a washing machine (some with a dryer), so small travellers keep their routines. Each listing shows what it has. And for rainy days, Japan is full of indoor fun.
Where to go with kids
Big days out, small legs
Dale Cruse · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsLEGOLAND Discovery Centre Osaka
Build, ride and watch 4D films in an indoor LEGO world next to Kaiyukan.
Osaka BayIndoor
Suicasmo · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsKids Plaza Osaka
A hands-on children’s museum with a giant play town inside.
North OsakaIndoor
Chainwit. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsOsaka Science Museum
Four floors of hands-on science and one of the largest planetarium domes around.
NakanoshimaIndoor
Aaron Lai · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsNintendo OSAKA and Pokémon Center
Mario, Zelda and Pokémon under one roof at Daimaru Umeda. The Pokémon Café is in Shinsaibashi.
Umeda · ShinsaibashiIndoor
chee.hong · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsCup Noodles Museum Osaka Ikeda
Design your own cup, pick the toppings and take your noodles home.
IkedaIndoor
Dick Thomas Johnson · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsNIFREL
Half aquarium, half zoo: white tigers, hippos and lemurs that walk past your feet.
North OsakaIndoor
茶家川 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsKidZania Koshien
Kids try real jobs, from pilot to pastry chef, in a city built to their size.
NishinomiyaIndoor
Tokumeigakarinoaoshima · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsRound1 Spo-Cha
Trampolines, batting cages, roller skating and arcade games under one roof.
Around OsakaIndoor
Cheng-en Cheng from Taipei City, Taiwan · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsKyoto Railway Museum
Real steam locomotives and a roundhouse, with a short steam train ride.
Kyoto StationIndoor
Photo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsKyoto Aquarium
Giant salamanders and a dolphin show, next to the railway museum.
Kyoto StationIndoor
Kyoto International Manga Museum
Thousands of manga to read, and picture books for the little ones.
Central KyotoIndoor
663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia CommonsKobe Anpanman Children’s Museum
Stage shows, play zones and bread shaped like Anpanman.
KobeIndoor
Kobe Animal Kingdom
Pet capybaras, meet owls and walk among birds indoors, rain or shine.
KobeIndoor
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsOsaka Museum of Housing and Living
Walk an Edo-period street rebuilt indoors, and try on a kimono.
North OsakaIndoor
Universal Studios Japan
Super Nintendo World, Harry Potter and a whole day of queues worth it.
Osaka BayOutdoor
Tennoji Zoo
A century-old zoo next to Shinsekai, with a see-through hippo pool.
Near TsutenkakuOutdoor
Expo ’70 Commemorative Park
Huge lawns and the Tower of the Sun, with NIFREL next door.
North OsakaOutdoor
Nara Park
Hundreds of deer roam free. Buy crackers and watch them bow.
NaraOutdoor
Minseong Kim · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsArashiyama Monkey Park
Climb the hill to feed wild monkeys, with Kyoto spread out below.
ArashiyamaOutdoor
Osaka Castle Park
Wide lawns, moats and a castle to run around.
Central OsakaOutdoor
Spa World
A giant onsen and pool complex by Shinsekai, with water slides for kids.
Near TsutenkakuIndoor
Family homes
Bedrooms, laundry, bathtubs: see each home
Whole houseGuest favouriteSleeps 8110 m² of sunny rooms, 4 minutes from Imamiya
Koyo no Yado★ 5.00 (19)
Imamiya Sta. · 4 min walk
from ¥25,740 ¥24,453/night · whole home Member price
VillaGuest favouriteSleeps 5A tatami house in Higashiyama
Kyoto Higashiyama @Maison Le Rouge Enji★ 5.00 (16)
Kiyomizu-Gojo Sta. · 8 min walk
from ¥49,500 ¥47,025/night · whole home Member price
VillaGuest favouriteSleeps 8A forest-green house with room for the whole crew
Tengachaya @Maison Le Vert Wakatake★ 4.99 (81)
Shotenzaka Sta. · 5 min walk
from ¥26,021 ¥24,720/night · whole home Member price
ApartmentGuest favouriteSleeps 6Two bedrooms, a lift, and Namba one stop away
HOPETREE Namba Imamiya★ 4.91 (40)
Imamiya Sta. · 3 min walk
from ¥15,226 ¥14,465/night · whole home Member price
Whole houseGuest favouriteSleeps 6Three bedrooms, three big beds, five minutes to Ebisucho
Kinzhou House Yi (Shitadera)★ 4.90 (16)
Ebisucho Sta. · 5 min walk
from ¥11,299 ¥10,735/night · whole home Member price
Whole houseGuest favouriteSleeps 8Four double bedrooms over three quiet floors
Tabitime Kishinosato Kasuga★ 4.88 (83)
Kishinosato-Tamade Sta. · 4 min walk
from ¥19,360 ¥18,392/night · whole home Member price
Whole houseGuest favouriteSleeps 8A timber-ceilinged townhouse for eight
Tabitime Tamade-Higashi★ 4.88 (82)
Kishinosato-Tamade Sta. · 4 min walk
from ¥19,250 ¥18,288/night · whole home Member price
VillaSleeps 14A garden house for fourteen in Higashiyama
Kiyomizu Kozuki★ 4.84 (19)
Kiyomizu-Gojo Sta. · 15 min walk
from ¥159,500 ¥151,525/night · whole home Member price
ApartmentGuest favouriteSleeps 7Two minutes from Dobutsuen-mae — Tsutenkaku on your doorstep
Regent Tenno★ 4.83 (51)
Dobutsuen-mae Sta. · 2 min walk
from ¥18,919 ¥17,974/night · whole home Member price
Good to know
Japan with little ones
Under-6s ride trains freeOn JR and most lines, up to two preschool children travel free with each paying adult. Ages 6 to 11 pay half.
Strollers and stationsMost stations have lifts. Avoid the morning rush, roughly 7:30 to 9:30, when trains are packed.
Nappies and baby food at every konbiniConvenience stores and drugstores near every home stock the basics, day and night.
Shoes off, slippers onKids love the genkan rule. Pack socks with grip for wooden floors and stairs.