• Accommodation in Japan October 2 - 5:38 am

• Airlines and Airport Related April 18 - 2:53 pm

• Airplane travel with young kids. July 25 - 3:22 pm

• Amusement Park News November 21 - 2:25 pm

• Any infant friendly onsen recommendations? October 24 - 10:09 am

• Babysitting Services at Vacation Spots May 10 - 9:24 am

• Beach house summer rental wanted. June 10 - 4:21 pm

• Bicycling in Japan May 29 - 6:54 am

• Buy High Quality Dcuments August 21 - 5:31 am

• Car Rental / Car Hire July 2 - 11:18 am

• Car Seat Rental October 19 - 6:00 pm

• Changing diapers in a public restroom and more questions April 16 - 8:32 pm

• Commuting in Greater Tokyo/Yokohama February 3 - 10:49 am

• Day Trips from Tokyo April 5 - 12:52 am

• Destination: Bali (from Japan) July 17 - 8:40 pm

• Destination: Guam August 6 - 1:14 pm

• Destination: Hokkaido  July 6 - 3:01 pm

• Destination: Nagoya and vicinity April 27 - 11:52 am

• Destination: Niigata July 13 - 9:34 pm

• Destination: Omiya City (Tokyo Suburb) February 25 - 10:06 pm

• Destination: USA December 18 - 11:58 am

• Domestic Air Travel (Japan ) November 21 - 1:01 pm

• Driving a Car in Japan (License, violations, etc.)  January 14 - 9:56 am

• Driving to Narita Airport March 11 - 5:24 pm

• Dual-nationality: Which passport? June 4 - 8:18 pm

• English Language Homestay in Australia January 16 - 11:30 pm

• Finding a baby seat useable in an airplane March 9 - 8:55 pm

• Finding a family travel helper and sitter January 19 - 12:01 pm

• Getting from Narita to Nagoya September 6 - 1:35 pm

• Hotel Childcare/Babysitting April 20 - 11:05 am

• Immigration, entering and leaving Japan October 16 - 1:40 pm

• Kid friendly holidays June 3 - 1:03 pm

• March 12th 2008 hope to travel: help! January 13 - 11:26 am

• Outdoors Japan, Camping, Hiking, etc. September 16 - 5:43 pm

• Parking at Haneda Airport February 12 - 6:41 am

• Parking at Narita airport December 1 - 9:36 am

• Permission for 1 parent to fly w/kid December 10 - 3:45 am

• Pokemon/Nintendo tour September 6 - 3:41 pm

• Reviews of family camping  September 6 - 10:12 am

• School Holiday Ideas March 25 - 3:05 pm

• Summer Travel in Japan with Kids 8 & Under June 8 - 12:42 pm

• Tokyo Streets Map – while I drive November 22 - 10:13 am

• Tokyo with 2 Year old Boy - Suggestions? March 18 - 3:24 pm

• Tokyo with 5-year-old May 20 - 7:28 pm

• Tours / Packages INSIDE Japan March 10 - 11:49 am

• Trains February 29 - 7:56 am

• Transportation from Narita June 28 - 12:47 pm

• Travel Agencies June 14 - 12:07 pm

• Travel Agents May 27 - 8:53 am

• Travel Fairs March 4 - 4:10 pm

• Travel insurance? August 30 - 5:11 am

• Travel Within Japan August 28 - 9:33 pm

• Traveling with a pet January 13 - 7:29 am

• Travelling by taxi with a baby January 13 - 8:35 pm

• Travelling with baby July 23 - 8:20 am

• Using a Stroller in Tokyo May 2 - 4:00 pm

I don't know about most of you out there in cyberspace, but our little girl is getting to the age where we can actually take trips with her now. We have found that traveling with kids in this country be you Japanese or foreigner can be a real drag as there are a lot of organizations out there that just don't want your money if you are traveling with kids. On the other hand, there are a lot of NEAT things to do -- the problem is finding them. If anyone has any information on ideas about excursions or trips that would be good to take with your kids (and hotels, etc. that are recommendable or should be avoided when making plans for traveling with your kids), that would be nice to hear. Is anyone else interested in this topic?

I lived in Munakata, near Kyushu, just before my daughter was born five years ago. She and I are coming back for a 2-week visit in June and plan to spend a week there with friends, plus a few days in Tokyo. I am looking for all sorts of suggestions, please: 1)survival/enjoyment of long plane ride on JAL tips 2) "things a 5-year-old might love to do in Japan that a grownup wouldn't have imagined" 3)"how to keep a SUPER lively American kid reasonably within politeness boundaries" 4)how to help her get the most out of the time although she can't understand more than the very basics in Japanese 5) the best Tokyo spots for someone her age. She adores tofu, sushi, ramen (those 5 months in utero in a small Kyushu town did the trick!), so food shouldn't be a problem. Like the author of the article, I, too, understand why someone can long to go back, even for a visit. (And won't there be quite an "Ehhh???!!" when my ex-neighbors find out this "nice middy" age 46 has a 2-year-old as well!)

Well, we're off Tuesday morning (EDT time) for Fukuoka, Yokohama and Tokyo. If anyone cares to give me any advice on fun for 5 year olds in these locations, warnings, etc.,etc. I'll be reading my e-mail for one more day at least.

We have a family of 6. Four kids - 9 yrs, 7 yrs, 5 yrs, and 3 yrs old. One successful and fun day trip was visiting Yokohama. An all day affair for us. We got the idea from the "Kids Trips in Tokyo" book by Maeda/Kobe et al.

We took the train from Shinagawa to Yokohama. You can catch a rapid and make it in less than 40 min. We got off the train at Yokohama Station and wandered through the Sogo department store. The store is huge and has everything. Right outside the Sogo you can catch the Sea Bass Harbour cruise. We rode around to Yamashita Park. The skyline is neat, the trip is quick and the kids enjoyed being in a boat. We toured the Hikawa-maru, an ocean liner famous for trips between Yokohama and the Northwest US. Right across the street from the boat is the Yokohama Marine tower. They say on a clear day you can see Mt Fuji. We didn't.

From there it is a 10min walk to Chinatown. A large and busy place - the kids had a blast walking in and out of the many stores. We made our way to one of the major shrines - good picture opportunity. Lots of places to eat. Our kids can be picky so we can find it hard to eat sometimes. We found a restaurant across from the shrine with a buffet.

From the west gate it was a 10 min walk to Ishikawacho station and back home to Shinagawa.

Hello, American family here on business with two girls 3 and 5 looking for fun things to do. If anyone has children same age boy or girl and would like to join us on a trip to a park, museum etc. Let me know, my kids miss their pals!

Had a blast in Japan, mostly revisiting friends. My 5 year old mastered shoes, bathrooms, all the challenges...and wants to know why the "Gomen Ne" drink is so named. "Mommy, can I have an I'm Sorry drink again?") Space World in Kokura was fun, as was the aquarium at Umi-No-Nakamichi in Fukuoka, and the small, pretty onsen in Wakita. The Yokohoma aquarium is good, but SOOO expensive. The dining car on the shinkansen made the Tokyo-Hakata trip bearable. And JAL service made the lack of a child's discount irrelevant...they are top-notch. Anna is impressed with the idea of omiyage, and has more erasers than any 3 American 5-year-olds. Thanks all for your advice. (one cute moment: she visited a friend's hoikuen in Yokohama, and was asked whether she had yet chosen who she would marry!) Yakitori was a fave, maybe since the portions are small. And kaki-gori...you should have seen her face at her first huge portion!

Re the JR pass. I made a reservation each time, and she only had to share my seat with my little girl for part of the the return trip Saturday. The Monday trip to Tokyo was not a problem. The unreserved cars were really crowded in both directions. (My daughter wanted to go green car on the way back. Might have been fun, but you can't just pay the surcharge if you have a pass. )

Hi guys. This is Kayoko Omori speaking. I am a little curious about how a family with a toddler deals with traveling.
We just don't know if we can entertain our little guy in a hotel or a ryokan, especially at night. Other than just taking a little walk inside and outside the hotel, I guess taking bath is one idea (it should tire him a
bit). With everything closing pretty early in the evening in Japan, itlooks like it's going to be me (mother) who would have to take him out for a walk at night...just like always (so it wouldn't be like traveling
really..). I just wonder whether there are better places than others, within or in the vicinity of Kanto area. My son is going to be one year-old and he's a fast crawler.

Here's a great book on one-day family outings (from Tokyo) -- includes maps, travel tips,details on excursions and outings you can take with kids from 6 months to teen:

Kids' Trips: A Family Guide to One-Day Outings by Ivy Maeda, Kitty Kobe, Cynthia Ozeki & Lyn Sato

We are planning a family trip to Kyoto and Nara in Spring 00. We have a family of six - with kids aged 4, 5, 7, and 9.

We would like any ideas or recommendations on places to stay and any side trips for the kids.

Hi!
We're planning a Christmas trip to Okinawa with our 18 month old.
Any recommendations for good places to visit, things to do, child friendly facilities etc?
Thanks a lot!
Fiona

Hello, It has been very educational just reading about people's experiences traveling with children. We have two boys, almost 6 and 2.5 and have just moved to Tokyo (Yoyogi-Uehara area).
My guys are very used to their parent's crazy travel - we've done multiple trips to Europe and around the States. But we've found unexpected challenges here. The biggest is simply the number of places where children are not welcome. Does anyone have insite into what is and is not possible when traveling the country with children? I am sort of worried about whether we can even go to a ryokan or onsen with the kids, and if it is usual for people to have "family vacations" here.
Finally, my eldest has been asking constantly about skiing here in Japan and I was wondering if any of the ski resorts fairly close to Tokyo accomodate children (particularly gaijin children with no real Japanese skills)? We took the kids to Colorodo last year so he has had some lessons and we are used to the great kid-friendly atmosphere there.

Thanks. Jason Freedman Jason_Freedman@hotmail.com (username still being registered as jfreedman)

I have a three year old born here. We go to hotels about 6 or 7 nights out of every year in Japan.

We have never had any problems in hotels or ryokans, even when she accidentally marches in without me having had a chance to remove her shoes first. I have had staff ask me to watch my child once or twice at Denny's or Royal Host. They are afraid that something hot may be dropped on her. Some staff are more tolerant than other staff. It is impossible to know this in advance, and some eating experiences go better than others, but I never feel guilty. My daughter is just extremely high energy and doesn't stay long in her seat.

My worst experiences have always been on United Airlines in flying domestically in the USA. I sweetly told a passenger in front of me who complained quite vehemently, that escalated action on my part would amount to child abuse in the USA, and that fortunately for him the flight would be over in another two hours, but that I would have to deal with her for the next few years, but please accept my sincerest apologies for having no choice but to travel with a very young child. And quite truthfully she was abominable on that flight. I really sympathized with him and felt sorry for myself.

I have found Japanese are in many ways more tolerant of young kids than in the US. I have never had anyone tell me to leave. In fact usually someone steps in and helps out. A 6 year old is of course already supposed to be quite a bit more self-disciplined.

Kids can go just about everywhere, limitations are usually imposed for safety reasons (such as rides at an amusement park being off limits.) Though the way of assessing safe vs. not safe is different from the way we do it in the USA. Note the common practice of carrying infants and toddlers along on a bicycle. See feature article on this topic:
http://www.tokyowithkids.com/features/momsinfastlane.html

Naturally very fancy restaurants and concert halls or theaters have the same wish for peace for all their customers that similar places in the rest of the world have.

I believe 6 and under ride the JR trains for free, or is it "under six"? Usually they stay free at hotels. I recommend the Lonely Planet Japan book if you plan to travel extensively throughout the country.

I tried to take my daughter ice-skating a few days ago, but the smallest size rental skates were 16 cm. My daughter needs 14 or 15 cm. I did not try to make do with the 16cm since that would be quite dangerous. Usually with young children a parent is required to be with them. Skiing will probably have the same restriction. There was a piece on snow boarding in the Tokyoclassified a week or so ago (it would be on their web site). Some ski slopes this year are experiencing lower attendance and are trying to make up for it by opening their slopes to snow boarders.

The JR travel office has packages including train, accommodation and lift tickets for overnight and one-day ski trips. They would also be able to tell you the details about having children along. They are in every major station and even some smaller ones.

As for Japanese skills lacking, well that's a tough one. Almost everyone under 45 has had English in school but really has trouble hearing and speaking it. Sometimes writing on a pad of paper helps. Ski slopes are relatively easy to figure out (as compared to rural train connections).

Hi!

At the end of next month I'm going on a 10 days trip to Japan with my wife and our 5 month old baby.

Is there someone there can give us some tips og information on getting around/eating/sleeping in Tokyo and Fukuoka with a 5 month old baby. Some "do/don't" hints are allso very welcome!

Thanks!

Here's another recommendation for "Kid's Trips in Tokyo" Book.

We've been taking some trips from the book
Kid's Trips in Tokyo and we've had a great experience each time. On a warm day in January we went to the Kodomo no Kuni farm/park (south on Shin Tamagawa line near Nagatsuta station), and had a great time. We also went to some of the recommended spots on the Arakawa streetcar line, as well as the Kichijoji area.

We haven't been steered wrong yet - many of the places they recommend aren't the kinds of places that will appear in standard English guidebooks, and
the book is organized into one-day outings with several choices of places in a specific area, making it very easy to change plans if something happens to be closed or the weather turns bad.

I've been collecting links to WEB pages that provide information on the Kumamoto area in English. Now all of that information is up at the following address:

http://www.kumagaku.ac.jp/teacher/~masden/links.html

It's not carefully organized yet. Very useful sites are mixed in with sites that are only minimally useful. I'll try to organize it a bit better in the future.

There is a surprising amount of information in English out there. If you have some free time please browse a bit.

Hi! We have four children, aged 3,6,9,10 and are looking for interesting trips out of Tokyo, yet still within Japan. We aren't nearly as adventuresome as we could/should be so we've been reluctant to venture too far. Any suggestions for overnight kid-friendly excursions? Any advice would be appreciated!! ps we just started our Japanese lessons and can't be counted on to come up with the right words at the right time!

This website was mentioned in last week's Int'l Herald Tribune. They offer some general info and interesting resources re: traveling & living abroad with kids.

www.travelwithyourkids.com

Some good stuff in there Marybeth! Thanks for mentioning it:

"Real tips from real parents on how to travel internationally (or just long distances) with your children."
http://www.travelwithyourkids.com
Contact: webmaster@travelwithyourkids.com (Peter Van Buren)

Joine a Bus Tour in OSAKA & get paid! - 12th & 13th of July for a TV show

We have an interesting Bus Tour job opening now for
people in their 40's and up in Osaka area. Please kindly check
below for details and if you are/know a interested person, simply
reply stating your/your friend's name, gender, contact #,
nationality & age. It would be a good treat for yourself/your
friend(s). (If you could kindly forward this message to your friend,
please kindly let him/her mention your name when they contact
us.) Sorry, no previous bus tour participants with SmaSTATION
cannot apply for this one...


* Show: SmaSTATION-2 - Special segment studying Japanese
culture from a different perspective together with Bus Tour
participants.
* Theme: Filming a Bus Tour With a Japanese Celebrity
* Date: 12th-July (Sat) AND 13th-July (Sun)
(Filming all day on the 12th and there may be an dditional filming
on the 13th if necessary, so we need you to be able to clear the
said two dates.)
* Hours: T.B.A. but tentatively booking one of the actual whole
day bus tour (from morning till late afternoon)
* Payment to you: JPY10,000 & JPY3,000 for transportation/
meal per day plus free tour (equivalent of 2,000yen)
* Deadline for application: 7th-July
* Content: attending a famous Bus Tour in OSAKA with a
Japanese celebrity, acting as if you're a tourist who just arrived
in Japan . Your job is to enjoy the tour.
* Requirement: Responsible individuals of any nationality besides
Japanese in their 40's, 50's or older, a couple is a big plus, new
to Japan is a plus, inexperienced & not well known persons
preferred, English ability required to communicate with the
celebrity, No Japanese ability required: Japanese cannot be
spoken during the this tour (We're trying to gather 30 people
of many different nationality), cooperative & pleasant personality
preferred, Able to commute to Osaka
* No audition is held
* Paper selection might be conducted at the SmaSTATION side,
so please kindly e-mail us your photo with your information or
send it by post to "OSPlanning Co., Ltd. - Attn: Ryu Yamagishi -
Minamiotsuka 3-6-5 2nd Ichikawa Bldg. 4F, Toshima-ku, Tokyo
170-0005".

Should you require any clarifications, please do not hesitate to
contact us!

E-mail: info@ospweb.com
Tel: 03-5956-2991 (Mon thru Fri, ask for Ryu or Keiko)
Fax: 03-5956-2950


Thank you and warm regards,


OSPlanning Co., Ltd.
Tel: 03-5956-2991
Fax: 03-5956-2950
E-mail: info@ospweb.com
Web: http://www.ospweb.com

Joine a Bus Tour in HIROSHIMA & get paid! - 17th of July for a TV show


We have an interesting Bus Tour job opening now for
people in their 40's and up in Hiroshima area. Please kindly check
below for details and if you are/know a interested person, simply
reply stating your/your friend's name, gender, contact #,
nationality & age. It would be a good treat for yourself/your
friend(s). (If you could kindly forward this message to your friend,
please kindly let him/her mention your name when they contact
us.) Sorry, no previous bus tour participants with SmaSTATION
cannot apply for this one...


* Show: SmaSTATION-2 - Special segment studying Japanese
culture from a different perspective together with Bus Tour
participants.
* Theme: Filming a Bus Tour With a Japanese Celebrity
* Date: 17th-July (Thu)
* Hours: T.B.A. but tentatively booking one of the actual whole
day bus tour (from morning till late afternoon)
* Payment to you: JPY10,000 & JPY3,000 for transportation/
meal per day plus free tour (equivalent of 2,000yen)
* Deadline for application: 11th-July
* Content: attending a famous Bus Tour in HIROSHIMA with a
Japanese celebrity, acting as if you're a tourist who just arrived
in Japan . Your job is to enjoy the tour.
* Requirement: Responsible individuals of any nationality besides
Japanese in their 40's, 50's or older, a couple is a big plus, new
to Japan is a plus, inexperienced & not well known persons
preferred, English ability required to communicate with the
celebrity, No Japanese ability required: Japanese cannot be
spoken during the this tour (We're trying to gather 30 people
of many different nationality), cooperative & pleasant personality
preferred, Able to commute to Hiroshima
* No audition is held
* Paper selection might be conducted at the SmaSTATION side,
so please kindly e-mail us your photo with your information or
send it by post to "OSPlanning Co., Ltd. - Attn: Ryu Yamagishi -
Minamiotsuka 3-6-5 2nd Ichikawa Bldg. 4F, Toshima-ku, Tokyo
170-0005".

Should you require any clarifications, please do not hesitate to
contact us!

E-mail: info@ospweb.com
Tel: 03-5956-2991 (Mon thru Fri, ask for Ryu or Keiko)
Fax: 03-5956-2950


Thank you and warm regards,


OSPlanning Co., Ltd.
Tel: 03-5956-2991
Fax: 03-5956-2950
E-mail: info@ospweb.com
Web: http://www.ospweb.com

We're planning a week long vacation to Japan from sunny Saipan from June 18. We arrive into Nagoya, and plan to take the train down towards Fukuoka, stopping along the way to see the sights. We're intrigued by Kyoto and Nara, but none of the guidebooks we have give much information on what to do with a 3 1/2 and a 5 1/2 year old. Any suggestions on the highlights for kids this age along this route? And places to stay in Kyoto/Nara?

By the way, Saipan is a beautiful tropical island to visit during those Japanese winters, and we're only 3 1/2 hours from most cities in Japan!

Regards,

David

to "Saipan Family":
I live in Nara and have a 4-year-old boy and 1-year old girl.

For kids amusement parks may be fun. There are two: Nara Dreamland and Skyland Ikoma. To the former you can take a bus from JR/Kintetsu Nara station. It is about 15minutes, I guess. Admission is about 1300yen/adult and 700yen/kid, and you need more if you want to enjoy some rides.

The latter is on the top of Mt.Ikoma so you have to take a cable car unless you go by car. But taking a cabel car might also be fun for children. Admission seems free according my guidebook.

Maybe your guidebook mentions Nara park? It is a big national park where deer is walking around here and there. You can actually feed them! (You need to buy deer crackers "Shika Senbei")

I hope this information will help you even a little. Please have a safe trip to Japan and enjoy!

I recently visited the Science Museum in Tokyo with my 3 year old - it was fun but some of the exhibits didn't work and neither did the elevators. Are there any other suggestions for science based museums to visit in the tokyo area?

http://www.japanvisitor.com

Hi John,

There are two quite new science museums in Odaiba - I posted about them on this site under the "general - family entertainment" category here:

http://www.tokyowithkids.com/discussions/messages/8/157.html

Your three-year-old would most likely prefer the Sony one, which has more exhibits and hands-on stuff for younger kids. There is also the Transportation Museum in Akihabara (trains, cars, planes, boats etc) which is popular with most three-year-old boys I have come across.

I am guessing that you went to the Science Museum in the Imperial Palace area. The National Science museum is in the Ueno Park area http://www.kahaku.go.jp/english/index.html and the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation is in Odaiba http://www.miraikan.jst.go.jp/index_e.html. This has been my children's favorite but they were older (10-12). In the same area is the Maritime Museum and there is a new science museum that I haven't been to - http://www.sonyexplorascience.jp/english/index.html. There is also a car theme park in Odaiba but I haven't been there. http://www.megaweb.gr.jp/English/
There is also a good science museum in Yokohama http://www.ysc.go.jp/ysc/e-menu.html Behind this museum in the park is a log cabin which is so much fun for all children up to 10 or 12 to play in.

Jill

Dear Bethan and Jill,

Yes, I did go to the Science museum near the Imperial Palace. Thank you for the excellent tips - the Transportation Museum in Akihabara sounds just the job - he's in to trains in a big way. Thank you, I'll get round the other recommendations, too.