Japan With Kids: Things We Wish We Knew Before Our Trip
Traveling to Japan with kids can involve understanding a lot of little things to make your trip easier. We spent several weeks traveling throughout Japan with our 3 and 6 year olds, have a ton of info to share with you to help you plan and avoid mistakes along the way.
Japan With Kids: Arriving and your first 24 hours
Start preparing for your Japan trip before you arrive to make getting through the airport and to your accommodation seamless. Here are a few things to do before you arrive.
Apps to download before you go
Before our trip, I downloaded all of these and placed them in a “Japan” folder to make things a little easier to access.
Airalo: esim that works well in Japan, and the one I used on the trip. It’s easy to purchase and manage with the app. To install, just follow the tutorial they provide!
Google translate: We used google translate to get through a majority of our interactions in Japan. Fortunately, people you communicate are quick to use it as well. The camera feature was really useful to translate menus as well. Keep this one handy!
Google maps: This is a must have for navigating public transportation. Some of the addresses we used were in Japanese (Hiragana or Katakana), so we would just copy and paste in the destination and hope for the best, which always worked!
When using this app, make sure you click on the “directions” button to choose how you will be getting around, as you can choose from various modes of transportation, including walking.
Complete your Immigration forms Electronically
Japan has a site for immigration and customs that allows you to complete everything online. You can also do the paper if needed. Complete all forms on Visit Japan Web before you arrive to save time.
I knew about this trick and waited until the last minute, which was not ideal! I would do this ahead of time in the future.
Cash is Essential
Many places only take cash, so be sure to always have some on hand. There are ATMs at the airport, which is how we got cash instead of going to the currency exchange booths to save money on fees.
We kept about 20,000-30,000 Japanese yen on hand initially, which was plenty to get us through any cash only transactions. Make sure to notify your bank before you travel so your card doesn’t flag any fraud alerts.
ATMs were not widely available, so make sure you utilize them when they are, if needed.
Setting up your IC Card for you and your Kids
Before you leave the airport, ensure your IC card is ready to go if you will be using the trains. The most common cards are Suica and Pasmo. If you have an apple wallet, you can install your Suica card from the US and add funds to it!
For kids without a smart phone, they will need a physical card which you can get (with cash only) at the airport. Reloading their cards can only be done with cash as well.
Kids ages 6-11 ride for half price, so their card will have their name on it. These cards can also be used for the vending machines all over Japan, which is fun for them to use for snacks and drinks.
When you use the cards, be sure to scan them at the beginning and end of each leg of your ride.
Ship Your Luggage
There are a few services in Japan that allow you to ship your luggage to make travel a little easier. This service can be used from the airport to your hotel, and between hotels and vacation rentals.
Yamato transport is the company that we used three times on our trip, and it went so smootlhy! If you travel with kids, lugging a suitcase is a huge inconvenience, so we did this was a game changer. Shipping takes about 24 hours, so be sure you plan accordingly.
I also drop an airtag in my suitcase to track its progress. You also need to ensure a person will be able to receive your luggage, so if you’re staying at a vacation rental, be sure to schedule a time frame (2-hour delivery window) that you will be there for.
Getting Around Japan with Kids
Japan is well connected with a variety of options to get around. We solely used public transportation and taxis for our trip. For this trip, we brought ride safer vests, but never used them!
Public Transportation: Using suica and Pasmo Cards
Once you’ve got your IC cards ready, trains and subways in Japan are incredibly efficient, even with kids. We relied on Google Maps for exact routes, and the IC cards made hopping on and off seamless.
Kid pricing: Ages 6–11 are half price, so make sure their name is on the card.
Tip for parents: Hold your child’s hand while scanning in/out; it’s super easy to forget to tap out, which will cause an error. We used a lightweight travel stroller, and it was easy to get through the train stations, through kiosks, and onto trains. All of the stations had elevators that were really easy to access as well.
Taking Taxis in Japan with Kids
Go Taxi: Go Taxi is the official app for Japan taxis. Downloading it ahead of time saves you the hassle of having to enter your credit card when trying to get a cab. Unless you find a taxi stand at a train station or airport, this is often the only way to get a taxi. Go Taxi works like any American rideshare app and was really easy to use.
Taxis are pretty inexpensive, and car seats are not required for kids in Japan.
Car rentals in Japan
During our trip, we did not rent a car because it wasn’t necessary. Even when we went to more rural locations like Hakone, we were still able to get around easily with public transportation.
The steering wheel is on the right side of the car and lanes are opposite or the US. If you do plan on driving there, keep this in mind.
If you do plan on driving, you will also need an International Driving Permit, which you can get at any AAA before you leave!
Taking the Shinkansen (bullet train)
The bullet train, or Shinkansen is unique train travel experience that can save you a ton of time. It does take a little extra planning for the best experience, as they are a little different than the other trains.
If you plan on taking the Shinkansen for longer legs of your trip, it’s best to plan out your routes ahead of time to decide which train makes the most sense. In some cases, the JR train or even flying might make sense as well.
Reserve ahead if possible, especially if you want to be seated together. You will have the option to reserve specific seats or sit in the cars with unreserved seats for a slightly cheaper price. You can book online or at the station. Tickets were more expensive than we anticipated, costing us about $300 USD for all 4 of us to get from Tokyo to Kyoto with reserved seats.
You can fold strollers and store them in the designated areas at the end of train cars. There isn’t a lot of space for large luggage, so shipping luggage is a good idea here.
Snacks & drinks are not sold on board. Be sure to bring snacks or pick up a bento box from the station before you leave.
Also be sure to get to the train 30 minutes early to get settled with kids and luggage. If you miss your train, you will be allowed to catch the next train to the same destination without a fee, but you will lose your reserved seat if you purchased it.
Finding Food, Snacks & Drinks Your Kids Will Actually Eat
My younger daughter is a little picky, so I was worried about this going into the trip. Fortunately, we were able to find plenty of options for her.
Convenience Stores (7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson)
“Konbini” markets are Japanese convenience stores that are everywhere, including rural areas and train stations. They have a lot more than convenience stores in the US, and can be used for everything from quick meals, to photocopying, to souvenir shopping.
Their chicken nuggets were a favorite of both of my kids, specifically the ones from Lawsons.
Vending Machines are Everywhere
Literally. No matter where we were, we never went far before seeing several machines full of drinks, ice cream cones, and snacks. We didn’t even really need to bring our water bottles here! Kids can use their IC cards to purchase drinks as well.
Using Tablelog to Find Kid-Friendly Restaurants
Tableog is the “yelp” of Japan. Any score about 3.5 is considered very good, and it came in handy when trying to find good places for dinner.
This is a separate app, so be sure to download it before you go.
Final Helpful Tips for Parents Traveling Japan with Kids
Japan has a lot of unique things about it, and after we got there I realized that we made some mistakes with packing. Here are some tips I wish I had before my trip.
What to Pack
Do not overpack. It was really easy to do laundry in Japan, and every place even provided laundry detergent. We packed enough clothes for about 10 days when we really only needed four.
Be diligent about checking the weather, including humidity, when deciding what to pack. We didn’t use a single sweater in October because the humidity made it so hot.
Leave your outlet adapter at home if you live in the US! The outlets are the same in Japan.
Hotel/Airbnb Tips
Use the amenities of your accommodations to help guide what you pack.
Every place we stayed provided umbrellas, slippers, laundry detergent, and even pajamas!
Don’t forget to drop a labeled Air Tag for your luggage in your bags, especially if you plan on using a luggage delivery service.
How Japan Treats Kids (What Surprised Us In the Best Way)
We were surprised about how family friendly restaurants were in Japan. Even ramen bar type places all provided cute kids bowls and flatware for them.
Family bathrooms were also common, and most stalls even have a little seat to put your baby!
I hope you enjoy Japan as much as we did!
FAQ
We learned so much in Japan and can’t wait to go back. Here are some other common questions we get about Japan travel with kids.
Which part of Japan is best to visit with kids?
We went to four cities on our recent trip: Tokyo, Kyoto, Hakone, and Kamakura. We also did day trips to Nara and Osaka! Each one offered a completely unique experience and different things to do.
If you want a guide for Nara, check out our post here!
Personally, of these four cities, Kamakura was the best for our family with young kids. Kamakura is close to Tokyo, had a nice, laid back beach town feel, great restaurants (some of the best food on our entire trip), and even had playgrounds for young kids which were hard to come by. Tokyo had a TON to do, so these would be my top picks.
Is Japan a good Trip for Kids?
To be honest, this was a hard trip with really young kids. I think some of it had to do with the mistakes we made and not planning enough for our three year old to burn off energy. If I were to go back and do anything differently, I would wait until they were a tiny bit older (5 or more) and plan with more kids activities in mind.
Take Aways
Japan is an incredible place with a huge variety of places to see and experience with kids! There is really something for everyone, and making the most of your trip is totally doable with the right type of planning.
