Located in East Asia, in the Pacific Ocean, Japan lies to the East of China, North Korea,
South Korea and Russia. Japan is truly one of the most fascinating places you will visit
in your lifetime. A culture of delicious cuisine, stunningly natural beauty and beautifully
polite people. It is famous for advanced technology industry (motor vehicles, electronics,
machinery), samurai warrior history and sumo wrestlers plus much more. We focus mainly
on cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.
In this review:
* Our favorite things to do with the children in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka
* How to get there
* When to visit
* Where to stay
* A little more about Japan
Where exactly is Japan?
Coordinates: 35°41′N 139°46′E
Click on the map to the Right to zoom
in to the Town using Google Maps.
Our Top Favorite things to do in Japan with the kids includes:
TOKYO
Tokyo Disneyland Shibuya-crossing Tokyo Tower Miraikan The Railway Museum
Tokyo Disneyland
Definitely the happiest place in the World. Tokyo Disney has two Parks, of which you need two admission tickets as you
pass through each of the gates. Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DiseySea.
Where is Tokyo Disneyland ?
It is located at Maihama Rail Station. There are various forms by which you can reach the Parks.
For more details take a look at the Tokyo Disneyland website.
At Tokyo Disneyland you can expect to see attractions including Adventureland, Westernland,
Critterland, Fantasy land (Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella's Fairy Tale World, It's a Small World,
Winnie the Pooh, Snow White's Adventures, Tomorrowland (Buzz Lightyear, Star Wars, Monsters Inc)
Read more here for what to do at Tokyo Disneyland.
At Tokyo DisneySea you will find American Waterfront (Toy Story Land, Tower of Terror),
Mediterranean Harbor (DisneySea Transit Streamer Line), Arabian Lagoon and Mermaid Lagoon
(Princess Ariel).
To take a look at prebooking rules and the reservation site, read more here.
Shibuya-crossing
A shopping district that surrounds Shibuya Station (an extremely busy railway station in Tokyo).
It is a fashion center within Japan and is a popular area for young people.
Keep in mind, this is a fun activity just to watch the mass of people hurriedly walk across the
street crossing. The kids love the rush of just walking quickly amongst so many pedestrians.
Find out here where this crossing is.
Tokyo Tower
Tokyo Tower ((東京タワー Tōkyō tawā?) is a comunications and observation tower located in the Shiba-koen
district of Minato. At 333 metres (1,093ft) it is the 2nd tallest structure in Tokyo, second to the Tokyo Skytree.
There are 2 observation decks, the main observatory is located at 150m (490ft) with the special observatory
reaching the height of 250m (820ft).
Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan)
Wonderfully interesting for everyone in the family!
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (also known as Miraikan) embraces the scientific
point of view of what is happening in the world today. There are permanent displays and also temporary
exhibitions. The kids can have hand-on contact with much of the displays giving them a great display of
Science and Technology.
Learn more and how to reach the Museum, at their website - here
The Railway Museum (Saitama City)
If your children are into trains and everything Railways, they will love the Railway Museum - so will you
actually. The Railway Museum in Saitama, outside Tokyo, is almost entirely geared for kids, with mini-trains
to drive around (school age kids on their own, any age with a parent), train simulators, train-themed outdoor
playground, a room filled with model trains to play with, train-shaped boxed lunches, etc. As a bonus, you can
even ride the Shinkansen to get there.
It can get very busy on the weekends and holidays... perhaps
make your visit on a weekday.
My favorite display is the Shinkansen exhibition... it's very cool !
Learn more and how to reach the Museum,
at their website - here.
MOUNT FUJI
Mount Fuji and returning to Tokyo by Shinkansen (Bullet Train).
Whilst Mount Fuji is not within Tokyo, it is absolutely worth a visit if you are in Japan.
You get to experience the visit to Mount Fuji, all whilst being escorted there by a 2+ hour
bus ride and a return Shinkansen Train ride - which is thoroughly enjoyable in itself.
It is definitely worth taking a day out of your travels.
KYOTO
Kiyomizu-dera Kinkakuji Heian-jingu shrine
Temple (The Golden Pavilion)
Kiyomizu-dera Temple
Kiyomizu-dera (meaning Pure Water Temple) is the 16th of the Western Japan
33 Kan'non pilgrimage sites and is the most popular place in Kyoto.
The Kita-Hosso-Shu sect temple has more than four million visitors annually.
This temple and gardens will amaze you. You will witness
many many Kyoto local people visit this sacred site on
their pilgramage. It is also a popular site for many
newly-weds.
The children will mostly love seeing many Japanese
in their traditional dress.
A wonderful sight to see, and a must-see if you are in
Kyoto.
For Tour Information, check out Viator here.
Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion)
Kinkakuji (金閣寺, Golden Pavilion) is a Zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors
are completely covered in gold leaf. The temple was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga
Yoshimitsu, and according to his will it became a Zen temple of the Rinzai sect after his death in 1408.
Learn more Tour Information here.
The children will love walking through the beautifully stunning temple gardens.
Along the way there are also little souvenir shops which are a great way to collect
some small items.
Heian-jingu shrine
At Heian-jingu shrine you will walk through the most beautiful zen gardens you could possibly
imagine. Its main halls represent 5/8 scale replicas of the first Imperial Palace built in
Heian-kyo (Kyoto) in 794 and convey the atmosphere of elegance of the Heian period (794-1185).
Heian-jingu was founded in 1895 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of establishing
Kyoto as the capital of Japan. The shinto shrine originally was dedicated to the 50th Emperor
Kanmu who founded Kyoto as the capital of Japan in 794 and later the 121st Emperor Komei,
the last Emperor in the capital Kyoto, was added for dedication.
Try stepping across
the stepping stones in the
rear garden...
BUT ... don't FALL in !!
OSAKA
Osaka Castle
Absolutely Stunning and exciting to see !!!!
The construction of Osaka castle was started in 1583 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi,
who wanted to unify the whole of Japan. The observatory on the 8th floor offers an
unbroken view of the whole city, and between 1 – 1.3 million people visit the castle
per year.
Remember to catch the Time Capsule in front of Osaka Castle.
It will blow your mind.
Our Hints to traveling within Japan:
Buy a Suica or Pasmo card for getting around Tokyo (and the rest of Japan). You can purchase these at subway stations and can be used on JR trains, subways, and buses in Tokyo and Japan (but not the Shinkansen). You scan the cards as you enter the station. If you don’t have a card you need to calculate the fare for your trip and buy the ticket from a kiosk before entering.
Become extremely familiar with the Tokyo Metro - it will be very handy to "get around".
Become accustomed to the most basics of the Japanese language, even if it is just thank you and please.
Manners are very important to the Japanese.
Click here to find some great language converter Apps.
Local Japanese bits and pieces:
Currency
Japanese currency is the Yen.
For your own conversion (from your own currency) use our basic currency converter here.
For every $1 US = 119.40 Yen.
For a tip scenario, consider a $3-$4 (US) tip, this would be the equivalent of 360-480 Yen.
Weather
Japan experiences very broad weather throughout the year.
The coldest period of the year is between Dec-Feb (their Winter). Temperatures can typically be as low as
5 °C (41°F) and in Summer (June-Aug) can reach temperatures of approximately 25° C ( 77° F).
The rainy season starts generally in May and lasts for a couple of months.
Definitely remember your umbrella and wet weather gear.
Late summer and early Autumn can typically bring heavy rain and typhoons.
Time Zone
Japan is at UTC +9.
To convert this relevant to your home country,
refer to Time and Date's World Map.
How to get there?
Click here for some options on how to get to Japan.
Where to stay?
We have many options for where to stay in Japan.
Learn more here or Search for Hotels in our Search Box here -->
Photo source: Miraikan
Photo source: The Railway Museum
Photo source: The Railway Museum
