Japan Family Holidays

Sightseeing in Tokyo 

Hop aboard a sightseeing tour by bus, foot, train and/or boat. The city’s ‘Big Three’ sights are the Tokyo Tower with its views as far as Mount Fuji, the Imperial Palace with its moats, 17th-century walls and gates, gardens and lovely Nijubashi Bridge, and Asakusa and its Buddhist temple Senso-ji (and neighbouring carnival complex), reached by boat ride along the Sumida river.

Cultural Experiences in Tokyo

• Discover Meiji-jingu, a major Shinto shrine in a city forest, the dazzling neon jungles of the shopping and entertainment districts of Shibuya and east Shinjuku by night, and the hip shopping area of Harajuku. 

• With older kids, experience traditional Japanese culture by attending a tea ceremony at Happo-en Gardens, where you can also admire the oldest known bonsai trees in existence (some about 500 years old). Read more about things to do in Tokyo with teens.

Odaiba: Leisure Island Adventures

Take a waterbus across Tokyo Bay (best seen from the Seaside Top observatory deck 150m up the World Trade Center Building) to the new leisure island of Odaiba with its replica of the Statue of Liberty, its park (with a huge ferris wheel, an aquarium, a bird sanctuary and lots of cherry blossoms in spring), its shopping malls (one of them Venice-themed) and its urban (non-swimming) beaches. Odaiba is also home to Miraikan, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, with attractions including data from seismometers across the country (showing it constantly vibrating) and the Honda robot. There’s also the Museum of Maritime Science, with hands-on experiences including the chance to canoe and ride in engine-powered rubber boats.

Tokyo Disney Resort

Spend a day or two at Tokyo Disney Resort (Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea), an awesome blend of Americana and Japan that leaves kids lit up like lightbulbs.

Indoor Fun: Namjatown and KidZania

Try out the surreal, great fun, indoor Namjatown, based on the adventures of a cat called Navajo, and the hugely popular Kidzania, an ‘edutainment town’ where children can take on ‘real’ jobs.

Osaka Attractions for Families

Head to Osaka for one of the world’s largest aquariums, Kaiyukan. It's in Tempozan Harbour Village, where you’ll also find one of the world’s biggest ferris wheels (the colour of which changes according to the weather forecast for the following day), a ‘festival market’ with restaurants, food booths and shops , street performance and entertainment spaces, a reproduction of Columbus’ ship the Santa Maria, offering day, night and dinner cruises, and the Suntory Museum, with an art gallery and an IMAX cinema. Read our piece on things to do in Osaka with teens.

Universal Studios Japan

Have some theme-park fun at Universal Studios Japan, offering many of the same rides as its namesake in Orlando.  

Kyoto: Temples, Gardens, and World Heritage Sites

 Venture about 30 minutes from Osaka by shinkansen to Kyoto, former capital of Japan, ringed by lovely temples, gardens and palaces. An incredible 17 of them are World Heritage sites, including the famous glimmering gold Buddhist pavilion of Kinkaku-ji.

Activities for Outdoor Adventure Holidays in Japan

• Get a total change of scene in Okinawa, Japan’s unspoilt and spectacular semi-tropical south-west islands, where activities include hiking mountain trails or ogling colourful coral reefs. You can fly to Okinawa from major cities or take a 25-hour ferry from Tokyo harbour, with accompanying dolphins almost guaranteed. If you do fly (including between the different islands), we can include a flight pass as part of the bespoke Japan family itinerary we can create for you.  

• Head up into the mountains for some first-class skiing. There are more than 600 ski resorts in Japan, with some of the most reliable snow anywhere, fantastic facilities and a long season. From Tokyo, you could take the train to the Japan Alps National Park, where, after a day on the slopes, you can soothe your aches away in style in an onsen (hot spring). Or west of Tokyo and north of Osaka, Shiga Kogen consists of 21 interlinked resorts. It's also famous for the snow monkeys (Japanese macaques) in Jigokudani Yaenkoen Park, where you can watch the creatures sit or swim in the hot springs.

Getting Around Japan

Travel within Japan can be excitingly futuristic, from the famous 300km/h bullet trains to Tokyo’s Tama monorail. Japan’s train services are not only fast but incredibly efficient and punctual. 

If you plan to use the train a lot, ask us about including in your Japan holiday package a Japan Rail Pass (you need to book it before you come). It includes travel on most trains, from little mountain railways to long-distance sleepers to the north, and will save you lots of money as well as queueing time.

Car hire in Japan is only necessary if you’re going to explore rural areas or sparsely populated Hokkaido; if you need it, we can book it as part of your bespoke Japan holiday.