Osaka Castle | Courtesy of OMO7 Osaka by Hoshino Resort
OUR 10-MONTH-OLD son slept peacefully in his stroller as we crossed Tokyo’s famous scramble crossing in Shibuya, unfazed by the blaring digital billboards and rush-hour crowds swirling around us. It was a fitting metaphor for a family trip to Japan with a baby in tow: there’s chaos, but there’s calm—often in tandem.
Why even tackle such a challenge? Well, Japan is clean and safe, people are polite and friendly, and you get to fully immerse in a culture that blends hyper-modernity with age-old tradition. For these reasons, my partner and I decided to take our son to Japan for his first international trip, and we invited my parents along, too.
Multi-generational travel is on the rise, with families choosing to have “bucket-list” experiences together rather than trade travel stories—grandparents get to spend time with the littles, and for parents, a few extra sets of hands don’t go astray, either.
For our trip, rather than racing between distant destinations in two weeks, we chose just three cities connected easily by train: Osaka, Tokyo and Nara.
1. Osaka
Shinsekai | Courtesy of OMO7 Osaka by Hoshino Resorts
Compared to the polish of Tokyo or the poise of Kyoto, Osaka is grittier and has more “Sunday afternoon” than nine-to-five vibes. Osakans are relatively laidback, the atmosphere is fun, and sampling the local street-food delicacies of takoyaki (octopus balls), okonomiyaki (cabbage pancakes) and kushikatsu (deep-fried meat, seafood and vegetable skewers) is a cornerstone experience.
A 40-minute train ride from Osaka’s Kansai airport delivered us to the OMO7 Osaka by Hoshino Resorts (doubles from JPY11,000 per night, including breakfast). The hotel’s playful design—from its huge manicured lawn strung with colorful lanterns to its neighborhood-map mural that encourages exploration—sets an upbeat tone for families. We also appreciated its free walking tours, nightly light projection show, and daily shuttle to Japan’s Universal Studios. Our suite, with one king-single bed in each corner (complete with privacy walls) and a central lounge area was perfect for our family to gather in at the end of the day.
Courtesy of OMO7 Osaka by Hoshino Resorts
Map mural | Courtesy of OMO7 Osaka by Hoshino Resorts
Courtesy of OMO7 Osaka by Hoshino Resorts
Lanterns at the hotel | Courtesy of OMO7 Osaka by Hoshino Resorts
Outside the hotel, the retro theme park-like streets of Shinsekai—complete with giant cartoonish animals and figures jutting out from façades and signs bordered by Hollywood lights—pulsed with energy, and the scent of sizzling takoyaki wafted through the pedestrianized alleys. We strolled the shopping streets, then took a train to Osaka Castle and let the baby crawl in the park with the iconic fortress behind him.
When we returned to Osaka at the end of our trip, we stayed at the Swissôtel Nankai Osaka (doubles from JPY 126,000 per night, including breakfast), directly above Namba Station—an unbeatable location when traveling with luggage and a stroller. Here, we were close to the action, with Osaka’s main dining and entertainment district, Dōtonbori, a 10-minute walk away. Prime location aside, the hotel gave us access to a lap pool, sauna and public bath, where Mum and I relaxed after a morning shopping, and six dining options, including theatrical teppanyaki restaurant Minami (chef’s course ¥21,000 per person) with a kids’ menu, and a kid-friendly bar with a multi-colored disco floor and arcade games.
Stroller-ing through Shinsekai | Emily McAuliffe
Baby loves disco at Swissotel’s bar | Emily McAuliffe
For more of a splurge in Osaka, there are plenty of luxury offerings, including the new Patina Osaka, landmark InterContinental Osaka, and St. Regis Osaka.
2. Tokyo
Riding the shinkansen | Emily McAuliffe
A first-time family trip to Japan just isn’t complete with a visit to the capital, so next we headed for the bright lights of Tokyo, staying at the MIMARU in Ikebukuro (doubles from ¥89,700 per night), conveniently located on the JR Yamanote rail line, which loops around the city. Known for pioneering the apartment hotel concept in Japan, MIMARU rooms have a small kitchen and dining/lounge area, and some a washer-dryer. Anyone who’s traveled to Tokyo knows that finding an apartment-style hotel room can be a challenge, so having this full apartment setup to ourselves felt luxurious, and made traveling with a child much easier. A breakfast of onigiri, warm pork buns and cut fruit came from the konbini a few doors down, then we walked eight minutes to the train station to explore for the day.
At the 634-metre-tall Tokyo Skytree we glimpsed Mt Fuji amid the shifting cloud from the observation deck and gazed out at the dense sprawl of the world’s second-largest city. We then took a pleasant 20-minute stroll from the Skytree to Tokyo’s old town of Asakusa and its grand Senso-ji Buddhist temple, which dates back to the 7th century, making it the city’s oldest temple.
Courtesy of MIMARU
Courtesy of MIMARU
En route we stopped for lunch at the ever-popular CoCo Ichibanya. We found high chairs hard to come by in Japan, but the booth seating was more family-friendly than the bar seating of small izakaya bars that dominate the cities—an unfortunate reality of traveling with a baby is that you just have to skip some of the cool stuff. I found that our best bet was to head to the hotel restaurant or the upper floors of a department store to find somewhere to eat comfortably with a child.
Staying in Ikebukuro meant we were just a 30-minute train ride from Kawagoe, known as “Little Edo” for its rows of traditional Japanese houses, now fitted out as shops and fronted by food and sweets stalls. Walking the main avenue gave pleasant reprieve from downtown Tokyo, as did our trip to Kichijōji the next day, where we walked around the peaceful Inokashira Park. Perfect for a family trip, here you can even hire small boats to paddle on the lake or visit a petting zoo. Though known for its cherry blossoms in spring, the well-shaded park is stunning at any time of the year.
Tokyo Skytree observation deck | Emily McAuliffe
Tokyo exploration | Emily McAuliffe
Senso-ji temple | Emily McAuliffe
If an apartment-style accommodation isn’t required for your family trip, Tokyo has myriad upscale options. The Palace Hotel Tokyo (doubles from JPY 85,000 per night) and the just-renovated Park Hyatt Tokyo (doubles from JPY 130,000 per night) are two iconic stays.
3. Nara
The author and baby in Nara | Emily McAuliffe3. Nara
Seeking out a quieter pace, we made our next stop Nara (around three hours from Tokyo on the train, with a transfer in Kyoto). Famous for its free-roaming deer, which politely bow in exchange for deer crackers, Nara’s draw is its collection of UNESCO-listed temples and shrines, with some of the world’s oldest surviving wooden structures. We regretted bringing the stroller to view said attractions, given the hills and bountiful stairs, but enjoyed wandering through the forest past rows of concrete lanterns carpeted in moss, and finding pockets of stillness away from the tourist crowds. Later, we moseyed through the old town, Naramachi, browsing craft stores and tea shops dotted along the narrow streets.
Kid-proof guest room at the Novotel | Courtesy of Novotel Nara
Baby room | Courtesy of Novotel Nara
Public baths at the hotel | Courtesy of Novotel Nara
While many people visit Nara as a day trip from Osaka, we stayed three nights at the Novotel Nara (doubles from JPY 15,000 per night, including breakfast). Though the hotel is removed from the town’s main hub (it was a 30-minute walk or 10-minute train ride to the park), we chose it for its family-friendly accommodation and on-site dining—the international buffet was an easy option for three generations after a day of exploring. The hotel also features a public bath, massage chairs and a cushioned play room, where my son revelled in rolling around. If you’re after something more atmospheric, Nara Hotel is a luxurious heritage stay—currently undergoing a full renovation—that puts you a five-minute walk from Nara Park.
Meeting the deer | Emily McAuliffe
A bowing Nara deer | Emily McAuliffe
Spending three nights in Nara reinforced one of the trip’s biggest lessons: on a multigenerational family trip, no matter where, time matters more than tick-boxes. The moments we remember most aren’t always sightseeing at the major landmarks, but the in-between, spontaneous bits: finding a tiny cafe in Tokyo’s backstreets where coffees were poured with utmost precision, our son playing peekaboo with people on the train, and searching for elevators in train stations that feel like small cities. Japan for us proved a mix of the quiet and the chaos, but ultimately provided the ideal family trip destination for connecting our three generations.
Note:
The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
We may earn an affiliate commission when you shop through links on our site.
Share:
Written By
Emily McAuliffe
Emily McAuliffe is an award-winning travel writer, based ..Read Morein Melbourne, Australia. She has written and photographed for many global publications, including The Telegraph, BBC News, The Sydney Morning Herald, Lonely Planet, Time Out, Tripadvisor, and 10 inflight magazines. She has also appeared as a travel expert on a number of Australian radio programs and podcasts, and is a member and former board member of the Australian Society of Travel Writers.
Read Less
AloJapan.com