Family Travel Unpacked: Make the Most of Travel With Kids

Japan with Kids: Planning Tips & What to Expect

• Melissa Conn • Season 1 • Episode 18

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Planning a family trip to Japan? In this episode, Melissa shares honest insights from her family's 10-day Japan adventure with kids ages 8 and 11. She covers what worked, what didn't, and why Japan became one of their most memorable trips despite being the hardest to plan.

In this episode:

  • Why you need to plan early
  • Transportation strategy
  • Kid-approved Japan activities
  • Real talk about jet lag, language barriers, and managing expectations
  • Why you can't see everything in one trip (and why that's okay)

Whether you're dreaming about Japan with kids or actively planning your itinerary, this episode gives you the realistic, practical guidance you need.

Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Family Travel Unpacked
02:31 Challenges of Planning a Japan Trip
08:46 Must-Try Activities and Experiences
13:00 Japanese Cuisine: A Culinary Adventure
15:02 The Realities of Traveling in Japan
20:12 Final Thoughts and Resources

Activities:

Japan planning resources:

Don't miss this inspiring, practical travel with kids podcast hosted by family travel expert Melissa Conn, founder of The Family Voyage, certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, and mom of two who proves family travel is achievable for everyone.

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Melissa:

Hey there and welcome back to Family Travel Unpacked. I'm your host, Melissa, and in case you're new here, you can always find tons of detailed destination guides, travel tips, hacks, and more on my website, thefamilyvoyage.com. Today we're talking all about Japan, and I have to tell you, planning our Japan trip was one of the hardest things I've done in all our years of travel. We've been all over the world; we even traveled full-time for two years with young kids. But planning Japan was still a really challenging puzzle to work out. But here's the thing, it was also one of the most unique and memorable trips we've ever taken. Our son, said at best: everything there's just so cool and honestly, he's not wrong. So today I wanna give you the real story about our 10 days in Japan, not just the highlight reel, not an"everyday was perfect" version, but the actual experience- from the challenges to the incredible moments. Because if you're considering Japan with kids, you deserve to know what you're getting into and why it's absolutely worth it. Let me start by giving you the big picture overview of our itinerary. We had 10 nights total in Japan, traveling in March during spring break with our kids who were 11 and eight at the time. Technically it was a little early for cherry blossoms, but it's still incredibly busy at that time of year, and actually we got really lucky and hit the peak bloom toward the end of our trip. We started off with five nights in Tokyo, and that was intentional. We wanted to arrive, settle in, and get our bearings in one place before we started to move around. And honestly, with the time change on the jet lag, it was a smart call. While we were in Tokyo, we snuck away for a day trip to the nearby town of Hakone, which I definitely recommend, at least as a day trip, if not an overnight. Then we went down to Miyajima Island for a couple of nights with Stop in Hiroshima on the way there. This was the whirlwind part of our trip: trains, boats, various cars and our own two feet all in one day. It was intense, but definitely worth it for us. We finished off our trip with a few nights in Kyoto, which sits right between Tokyo and Hiroshima, and we even squeezed in a day in Osaka on our way to Kyoto. Kyoto was the perfect way to end our trip. It's calmer than Tokyo, but still so much to see and do. But don't expect peaceful empty streets unless you're up at 6:00 AM. I'm just being honest with you. It was definitely a fast-paced trip, but we managed to get a taste of all the most popular tourist areas in Japan, except the theme parks- we'll have to hit those on another trip. We'll also be sure to visit some of the smaller cities in the less touristed areas next time we go. For links to all of the articles and travel tips I've put together about Japan, be sure to visit thefamilyvoyage.com/japan. Before I dive into what we did and what we learned, I wanna talk about why planning Japan felt so different from other destinations. First, everything needs to be booked way in advance. I'm talking four to six months out, especially if you're visiting during peak season, like we did in March. Some hotels were already sold out of their family size rooms when I was booking four months ahead, when I tried to shift part of our itinerary three months before the trip, our Tokyo Hotel had doubled in price. Our planning timeline was pretty compressed because we went at the tail end of the COVID Pandemic and it wasn't clear whether or not Japan was gonna be open for tourists If we were going today, I would definitely start planning at least nine to 12 months in advance. But it's not just the hotels, it's the attractions too. Things like Team Lab Tokyo, which we did get tickets for, can sell out a month in advance. Pokemon Cafe, good luck. We couldn't get in. Even the onsen we visited in Hakone had just a few time slots for private rooms when I was booking a month out. One hot tip to keep in mind is that a lot of really popular activities tell you on their website exactly when they'll start selling tickets. Like the Pokemon Cafe says, we accept reservations at 6:00 PM 31 days before your desired reservation date. You're definitely gonna wanna send an alarm for yourself, but keep in mind that you're talking about a different time zone that doesn't use daylight saving time and crosses the international dateline. It can get really confusing, especially if you're buying tickets a few weeks before we change clocks in the us. We were surprised at how many things, especially in Tokyo, have timed admissions. You need to lock down your schedule really far in advance, which can feel overwhelming when you're first planning. The second thing that made it challenging is the sheer complexity of the transportation system. Amazing, but confusing. Japan has over 180,000 miles of rail lines- that could circle three quarters of the globe if you laid it end to end. You've got bullet trains, regional railways, local subways, and even within a single city, there can be multiple overlapping transit lines run by different companies that could require separate tickets. I'll be honest. The first few times we took local trains in Tokyo, we were a little lost. I'm sure we accidentally dodged the fair a few times before we realized which trains were included in which passes. A 20 minute trip easily took us 30 minutes or more because we struggled to find the platform for our connection or figure out which exit to use to get out of a station. It is not your fault when this happens. It's just part of being new to this massive system. So my advice is to build in a buffer, especially if you have those timed reservations. And third, the language barrier is real. We encountered plenty of people who spoke very little English, which is completely understandable since it's their country, that's fine. But it does mean you need tools to bridge that gap. Google Translate became our best friend. And I mean, all day, every day. We'd type sentences into our app, japanese people would type back into theirs and we'd use the camera function to translate menus and signs. Be sure to download the Japanese dictionary within Google Translate before you go. Your translations will be faster and you won't burn through your mobile data. So, yeah, Japan takes more advanced planning than most places, but I promise you it's worth every minute of that effort. One of the biggest planning decisions you'll make is whether or not to get the Japan Rail Pass. This pass gives you access to nearly every Japan rail operated line in the country for a specific number of consecutive days. The keyword there is consecutive. You probably won't need it for the entire trip. We made sure we only needed ours for seven of our 10 days, which saved us a lot of money since the passes only come in seven, 14, and 21 day options. Here's how our math worked. We rode the high speed Shinkansen trains four times beginning on our third day: for our Hakone Day trip from Tokyo down to Hiroshima, back up to Osaka, and then finally to Tokyo for our return flight. We also used the pass for some local trains owned by Japan Rail once we had activated it. Based on the fares and pass prices at the time, we saved a lot by buying the pass. But the crazy thing is that a few months after our trip, they raised the price of that 7 day pass by 70%. It's a lot harder to break even on the pass at the new price, so you really should sit down and calculate the cost of the tickets you think you'll need. It's not a slam dunk these days, not at all. Thankfully, kids six through 11 travel at half price and kids five and under are free. And that's true whether you buy the pass or individual tickets. But here's what you need to know. You have to decide whether or not you want the rail pass at least a month before your trip, but not more than 90 days out. So it's one more thing that requires advanced planning. Now one thing to keep in mind is that bullet trains only run between major stations. So even though we could zoom from Tokyo to Hiroshima at 200 miles an hour, we still needed local trains or taxis on both ends. That's something to factor into your planning. The transit time and cost isn't just the bullet train ride itself. The other transportation pass we bought that was absolutely clutch was the 72 hour Tokyo subway pass. It covered nearly every train we needed in the city as long as it wasn't owned by Japan Rail, including the one right underneath our hotel. The cost just can't be beat, and the convenience of not stopping at a ticket machine every single time was huge. That one's just 10 bucks for adults and five bucks for school age kids. For Kyoto and the Kansai region, there's a similar Kansai Railway pass for two or three days. It covers nearly all rail lines. Again, not Japan rail, but unfortunately they took buses off last year and made it way too expensive, in my opinion. Personally, I'd skip it unless they make some changes in the future. One more transportation hack for you. The Ta-Q-Bin luggage forwarding service. Think of it as Transportation for your bags rather than for you, but it was a game changer for us. We had a really busy 48 hour stretch when we were taking trains, buses, boats, and taxis from Tokyo to Hiroshima to Miyajima Island, and then back up to Osaka and Kyoto. Yeah, that was all in two days. I'm not gonna lie. It was kind of crazy in retrospect, but it actually worked fine. Part of that is because we didn't have all of our stuff with us. For just$50 we sent both of our suitcases plus a box with the kids carry-on backpacks all the way from our Tokyo Hotel to our Kyoto Hotel. The bags were just waiting in our room when we arrived two days later. Having the freedom to move through the busiest part of our itinerary with just one big backpack and a day pack was amazing. Like we were able to just shove our stuff in a locker while we went to the aquarium in Osaka. There's no way we could have done that with all our stuff. Some people even use Ta-Q-Bin on Arrival Day. If your flight lands early enough, you can drop your luggage at their storefront at the airport and go straight to sightseeing without stopping at your hotel first. Okay, let's talk about what we actually did in Japan, because this is where it gets really fun. First up, all things Pokemon. Now, I'll be honest. Pokemon tourism isn't something that gets me and Ronnie particularly excited. But for the kids, it was magic. I've got a whole article linked down in the show notes with ideas for Pokemon themed activities, if that's what your kids are into. And here's the cool thing about taking your kids to Japan: pokemon is just one example of the character experiences available. You can find anime hotels, hello kitty attractions, Kirby trains, and tons of other themed options depending on what your kids are into. We stayed at what the kids called the Pokemon Hotel in Kyoto, and it was probably their favorite accommodation of the entire trip. I'm talking Pokemon themed rooms with giant Pokeball pillows, decorations everywhere, Pokemon themed everything. There was even a giant Snorlax on the bed. You can also find Pokemon Hotels in Tokyo and Osaka if one of those is a better fit for your itinerary. Just keep in mind that the theme rooms book up really fast. They're run by the Mimaru chain, which is super family friendly, even if you're staying in a regular non decorated room. We also hit up the Pokemon Center stores, which are basically enormous Pokemon merch shops. Even if you're not buying much, it's really fun to walk through and see the exclusive Japanese Pokemon stuff you can't get anywhere else. Now moving on to something that got all of us excited: sumo. We caught a tournament into Osaka and the kids absolutely loved it. Here's what you need to know about Sumo. It's not just a sport, but it's a whole cultural experience. It goes back almost 2000 years and takes pieces from agricultural rituals, the Shinto religion, samurai history, all of it. The tournament was really cool. Everyone sits on the floor in these boxes lined with cushions. You're all shoeless and people are eating fried chicken and drinking beer that they brought in from the convenience stores outside the arena. It's like a huge all day Japanese indoor picnic. Even though each match only lasts about a minute, it's suit counting. The sponsors. There are six tournaments throughout the year in different cities. Tokyo in January, may and September; Osaka in March; Nagoya in July; and Fukuoka in November. Each tournament is 15 days and you can go near the end to see the highest rated wrestlers competing, but buy your tickets in advance because some of them do sell out. We also went to a baseball game at the Tokyo Dome, the Yomiuri Giants versus Hokkaido fighters. Baseball is actually the most popular sport in Japan today, even though Sumo is the official national sport. The season runs from late March to late October with preseason games starting in late February, basically the same schedule as in the US. Going to a baseball game in Japan is such a different vibe from some American games. It's calmer and more orderly. Definitely the cleanest stadium you'll ever visit. No one's shouting, profanity, or getting into fights, but the fans are definitely engaged and having a great time. Everyone sings their team's fight song together, and they're even brass bands in the superfan sections. It is safe, fun, and relatively affordable. Plus it's a great opportunity to sit down after walking 10 miles in a day. Perfect evening activity with kids. We also did a tea ceremony and calligraphy class on Miyajima Island, where we all dressed up in kimonos And learned about the different styles of kimonos, all the different layers- there were a lot of them, it's really hard to move around. But it was one of those experiences that looked amazing in photos and also felt really special, connecting with Japanese traditions in a hands-on way. I have to give the bullet train its own discussion because for our kids, especially our son, this was a huge highlight. Nothing captivates a suburban kid's imagination quite like blazing through the Japanese countryside at 200 miles an hour. Even the regular economy car is spacious and comfortable. There's plenty of leg room, reclining seats, tray tables for your bento box. It's like flying but a hundred times more comfortable and fun. Before you board pick up a Bento box and some treats at the train station. There are a million options and it's all part of the experience. If you're taking the train between Tokyo and Osaka, be sure to pick the side of the train where you'll have a view of Mount Fuji: that's the right side when you're leaving Tokyo or the left side when you're coming back. The kids were glued to the windows watching Japan zip by and honestly, so were we. It's just really, really neat. Totally recommend it. One of the coolest things we did was an in-home cooking class on our second day in Tokyo. We made Udon from scratch, and it was perfect because it gave the kids an appreciation for one of the foods they'd be eating throughout the trip. Since we were the first ones to book the cooking class for that day, we got to pick the menu. We let each kid pick one dish, so they were really invested. Now, let's talk about food more broadly because this is important. Most kids visiting Japan won't have tried a huge range of Japanese cuisine back home. That's totally okay. There are options for both adventurous and more particular eaters. For skeptics. Start with noodle dishes like udon and ramen. We also found that fried chicken is everywhere and most of it is really, really good- Even some of the convenience store versions. There were a few times that fried chicken saved us at lunch. Kushiyaki are skewers of grilled food, and they were a hit with our family. You can get everything from simple cubes of chicken breast to these incredible miniature chicken meatballs or Wagyu beef. At lots of restaurants you sit at the bar and watch them cook, which the kids loved. We had a few kushiyaki dinners and everyone walked away happy. If you want something more adventurous, conveyor belt sushi is a fun way to do it. These aren't the highest quality cuts of fish you'll find in Japan, but they're a great way to engage kids and get them to try something new. Here's a pro tip for you. Don't just grab the plates as they rotate by. Use the tablet at your table to order fresh. It'll come out on the upper track and it won't have been sitting out for an hour. Plus it lets you be more specific about what you wanna eat. In Osaka and Hiroshima, you'll probably encounter okonomiyaki, which is our son's favorite food after we made it in the cooking class I mentioned before. It's basically Japanese comfort food: a savory pancake with tons of cabbage, some egg, meat, and either fried noodles or a buckwheat based, depending on the region. The name literally means grilled how you like it, so there's room to customize. You could do vegetarian, chicken, beef, and more. Also, don't be afraid to try the street food. My kids loved grilling their own Wagyu beef skewers at one of the food markets. And in spring, you can pick up skewers of beautiful, massive strawberries too. For a treat, be sure to hit one of the Japanese pancake restaurants. They're huge, fluffy and served with just about any topping you can imagine. But give yourself time: sometimes the popular spots have a line, and once you order, it can take a while for your pancakes to come out since they make them all fresh. And when all else fails, seven 11 and Lawson convenience stores are pretty solid. Japanese people grab lunch there all the time. You can pick up sandwiches, snacks, drinks perfect for a picnic in one of the thousands of beautiful parks you're sure to stumble across. Okay, time for some honesty. Japan is incredible, but it wasn't always perfect. The jet lag was rough, like really rough. Even with older kids, that time changed from Ohio, hit hard. On our first evening in Tokyo, we did a food tour and our son had a complete meltdown. He was exhausted, overwhelmed, overstimulated. It wasn't his fault, it was just too much too soon after a long day of travel across so many time zones. My advice? Build on some downtime that first day or two. Don't pack your schedule, just let everyone adjust. The other thing I need to mention, we went to Japan before our daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease. She has it now, and I'll be honest, Japan would've been so much harder with her new dietary restrictions. There's hidden gluten everywhere. It's in sushi rice, in sauces and things you just wouldn't expect. If you have celiac or serious dietary restrictions, Japan takes extra research and planning. You might wanna pick up a pre-printed allergy card that you can bring to restaurants so that it's really clear what's not safe for you. The language barrier can be challenging in moments when you need to communicate something specific like those dietary restrictions. Google Translate helps, but it's not perfect. We had one frustrating meal when we were trying to explain what we couldn't eat, but honestly, in retrospect, we should have pivoted to telling them what we could eat instead. Some of the idioms or specific words we use in English just don't come across the same way in Japanese. And the planning intensity, which I talked about earlier, is real. Some people thrive on that level of detailed planning and others find it too stressful. Know yourself and give yourself grace if you're feeling overwhelmed. Now we visited in March, which is one of the busiest times of year, and the crowds during that peak season are no joke. 46 of the world's, 50 busiest train stations are in Japan, and you'll be navigating those huge crowds, especially during rush hour. I guess the upside is that there are more people to ask when you're switching platforms and get lost. But here's what I want you to hear. Every single one of those challenges was manageable. And none of them made us regret going, not even close. I wanna talk for a minute about some things that genuinely surprised us in the best way. First, how kind and helpful Japanese people were. Despite the language barrier, we encountered so much warmth and generosity. People went outta their way to help us, like a businessman who spent 10 minutes walking us to a hidden train station, or the young people who saw us picnicking and offered us a spare tarp to sit on. There's a cultural difference in how people approach public life in Japan. It's quieter and more reserved than what we're used to in the US. But don't let that stop you from interacting. We had wonderful conversations, either in English or using Google Translate, about favorite restaurants, sports teams, all the normal aspects of daily life. Private and small group tours were a great way to forge those connections. You get to ask your burning questions about life in Japan and hear an insider's perspective from someone who's eager to be a bridge. In light of that public shyness in Japan, one thing that was really surprising and totally charming is what happened to my son every time we rode the metro. He was in a hardcore Rubiks cube phase at the time. Like he would solve it over and over and over and ask us to time him to try to beat his best record, full deal. I don't know if Rubik's cubes just aren't popular in Japan, or if they were surprised to see such a young kid blazing through one in a few dozen seconds, but he would have an audience of young Japanese people around him every single time we rode the train, whispering to their friends, pointing at him, and all smiling. I think they just got a kick out of it, but it felt really welcoming. The second surprise is how clean everything is. The Tokyo Dome was the cleanest stadium I've ever visited. Train stations are basically spotless. The streets are immaculate, and there are virtually no public trash cans. You gotta carry your trash with you, so throw a plastic bag in your day pack and get ready. You can usually empty it at your hotel or in a convenience store. Third, this is my favorite. Food can be really affordable if you want it to be. You can get excellent Yaki Tori, Sushi or fried chicken for just a few dollars. We had one of our most filling and satisfying breakfast at Denny's of all places, but it was a delicious chicken and rice porridge for us and broiled salmon with rice for the kids. You could eat for 15 to$20 per day per person and really enjoy a huge range of Japanese food. Obviously you can also splurge on fancy meals, but the point is that you don't have to. Let me rapid fire some practical things we learned. First, pack light. If you're taking trains around the country, there's limited space for huge suitcases. Carry on sized bags and travel backpacks fit easily in the racks over your seat. Bring a portable phone charger. You'll use your phone all day long- directions, photos, translations. We love the kind that plugs directly into the phone without a cord. Get one for each parent, minimum. You probably wanna bring a small washcloth and some hand sanitizer, while the public restrooms are clean. Plenty of them don't have paper towels or hand dryers. While you're at it, don't forget to throw in a plastic bag for your trash. The outlets are the same as the US but I brought a multiport USB charging hub that saved tons of space when it was time to plug in everyone's devices. Download Google's Japanese dictionary before you go for fast offline translations as soon as you land. And if you have kids who still need car seats, bring folding car seats or vests. We used taxis several times and we were glad we had them for the kids to ride safely. I'm a car seat technician, so I have a link to my recommended options below in the show notes. Here's the thing about Japan that I need you to understand. You can't see everything in one trip. It's just not possible. We spent 10 days there and barely scratched the surface. We didn't make it to Nara to see the deer. We didn't get to Tokyo Disney, or Universal in Osaka. We didn't explore Northern or Southern Japan at all. We also miss plenty of temples and gardens and neighborhoods and experiences. And you know what? That's okay because trying to see everything would've been exhausting and overwhelming, and we wouldn't have enjoyed it. Instead, we picked a few key regions. We built in some flexibility, and we said yes to the experiences that excited us most. We let go of FOMO about the rest. Honestly, we're all itching to go back and we already would've booked it if it weren't for some of the dietary restrictions. I told our daughter that as soon as she likes eating raw fish and eggs, which are two of the best bets for someone with celiac, I'll start looking for flights that day. Personally, I wanna head down to Kyushu or even Okinawa next time, although my son is pushing to check out the skiing in Hokkaido on a winter trip. Japan shouldn't be a one and done destination for most people. It's a place you'll wanna go back to, to dig deeper and explore differently every time. So if you're on the fence about whether Japan is right for your family, here's my advice: start planning. It's challenging and it requires more advanced work than a lot of destinations, and there will be plenty of moments of jet lag and confusion and sensory overload, but it's also one of the most unique, memorable, and incredible places we've ever visited as a family. The culture, the food, the experiences, the kindness of the people, it all adds up to something really special. Your kids will talk about it for years, and you'll look back at the photos and marvel that you were really there. Then you'll start researching dates for your next trip back. All right, before I let you go, I wanna make sure you have all the resources you need to start planning for your own Japan adventure. Like I said, you can go to thefamilyvoyage.com/japan to see all the articles I've put together and download some freebies to help you get started. You'll also find resources down in the show notes for this episode. I've linked a bunch of the specific experiences I mentioned: the cooking class we did, the tea ceremony, details on the Japan rail passes. I've also included links to some of my Japan articles that'll be most helpful when you're starting to plan. If you're only beginning to think about Japan and wanna get organized, I have a free downloadable Japan planning workbook that you can grab from my website. It's a great first step to help you figure out your priorities, timeline, and budget before you dive deep into the planning. I hope you've enjoyed this episode as much as I have. If it was helpful to you, I'd absolutely love it if you could take 30 seconds to leave a rating and review wherever you're listening to this podcast. It really helps other families find the show when they're planning their own trips. And if you know someone who's been dreaming about Japan with kids, share this episode with them too. Sometimes it just takes hearing one family's real experience to give you the confidence to book the flight. Thanks for listening to this episode of Family Travel unpacked. Until next time, happy travels.