Japan With Kids: The Only Guidebook You'll Need

How to Use This Guide

This is the plan nobody gave us before our first trip to Japan with a one-year-old. Think of it as a week-long framework you can stretch or compress depending on your kids' ages and your sanity levels. It covers Tokyo, a Kyoto day trip, and enough konbini wisdom to get you through almost any meltdown.

One assumption: you have a stroller. Japan is more stroller-friendly than its reputation suggests, but only if you know where to look for the elevators.

Before You Leave Home

Book a Suica card (IC card) through the Suica app or pick one up at Narita or Haneda on arrival. It covers trains, buses, and most konbini purchases. Children under six ride trains free. Older kids need a child Suica.

Pack a baby carrier alongside your stroller. Narrow temple paths, crowded market streets, and staircases where elevators are "around the corner and three corridors away" all demand it. More on that below.

Day 1 — Arrival Day: Narita or Haneda to Tokyo

Morning/Afternoon Land, clear customs, and immediately hit a FamilyMart or Lawson inside the arrivals hall. This is your first konbini education: grab onigiri (rice balls), pouched fruit jelly (ゼリー / zerī) for toddlers, and a bottle of warm formula if you need it — convenience stores stock Meiji and Morinaga liquid formula near the baby aisle. Diapers are here too. Japanese diapers (omutsu / おむつ) run slightly slimmer than Western cuts; Merries and Goo.n are excellent quality.

Take the Narita Express (N'EX) or Keikyu Line from Haneda to central Tokyo. Both trains have luggage spaces and accessible cars. Ask station staff for the erebētā (エレベーター / elevator) — signs exist but are small. Platform elevators are always at the far ends of the platform.

Evening Check in and do nothing ambitious. Walk to the nearest konbini, buy dinner, and put everyone to bed by 7 p.m. Jet lag with small children works in your favor on night one — they will crash early. You will not sleep. Accept this.

With-Kids Reality Check: Toddler jet lag typically peaks on days two and three, not day one. Build your lightest itinerary day there.

Day 2 — Tokyo: Ueno and Asakusa

Morning Ueno Zoo opens at 9:30 a.m. and is reachable from most central Tokyo hotels in under 20 minutes by metro. Stroller-friendly paths, animal encounters toddlers actually care about, and a large nursing room (junyū shitsu / 授乳室) near the main gate with a diaper table, private curtains, and a microwave for formula.

Afternoon Walk or take a short taxi to Asakusa. The main approach to Senso-ji Temple (Nakamise-dōri) is wide and manageable with a stroller. Skip it on weekends before 9 a.m. unless you enjoy gridlock. Buy ningyo-yaki (small cake-filled sweets shaped like figures) — they are warm, soft, and toddler-approved.

For lunch, Matsuya or Yoshinoya gyudon (beef bowl) chains have high chairs at many locations and rice-heavy menus toddlers eat without negotiation.

Evening Return to the hotel before 5 p.m. Dinner from the konbini or a nearby ramen shop — most ramen restaurants are loud enough that a crying baby blends right in.

With-Kids Reality Check: Major department stores like Isetan (Shinjuku) and Mitsukoshi (Ginza) have dedicated baby lounges (akachan휴憩室 / baby rest rooms) on upper floors with nursing chairs, bottle-warming stations, and toy corners. These are genuine rest stops, not just changing tables.

Day 3 — Tokyo: Shibuya and Harajuku

Morning Yoyogi Park before 10 a.m. for open grass, picnic snacks, and zero agenda. Japanese parks are immaculate and safe. Let toddlers run.

Afternoon Walk through Harajuku's Takeshita Street — narrow but passable single-file with a stroller — then up to Omotesandō for wider sidewalks and calmer energy. The Omotesandō Hills shopping complex has reliable elevators and a nursing room on B2.

Transport Note: If you're navigating the Tokyo Metro today, use Google Maps set to "accessible route" — it will route you to elevator-equipped exits automatically. This single setting changes everything.

Evening Dinner in Shibuya. Ippudo ramen and Ichiran (solo booth ramen) are chains with enough ambient noise to mask a toddler at full volume.

With-Kids Reality Check: The famous Shibuya Scramble crossing is fun for approximately 90 seconds. Do it once, then leave before someone loses a shoe.

Day 4 — Day Trip to Nikko or Kamakura

Morning Choose based on your child's walking tolerance. Kamakura (1 hour from Tokyo by JR Yokosuka Line) has the Great Buddha (Daibutsu), wide paths, and seaside air. Nikko (2 hours by Tobu Nikko Line) has ornate shrines and forest atmosphere but more stairs.

Both are manageable with a carrier-plus-stroller combo. Stow the stroller at the station coin lockers (koin rokkā / コインロッカー) and use the carrier for shrine areas.

Afternoon/Evening Return to Tokyo by 4 p.m. Early dinner, early bed. This is your buffer day.

With-Kids Reality Check: Shinkansen rules apply on the bullet train later — book the first row of a car (bulkhead seat) for stroller footwell space, or the last row so the stroller parks behind you without blocking the aisle.

Day 5 — Shinkansen to Kyoto

Morning Take the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station. Journey is approximately 2 hours 15 minutes. Board early to claim luggage space. Kids under six: free. Pack snacks, a new small toy you've been hiding, and a downloaded show.

Afternoon Check in, then do one thing only: Fushimi Inari Shrine lower gates (the photogenic tunnel section). The full hike is 4km and unnecessary with small children. The first 15 minutes of the gate walk is enough for photos and wonder, then retreat before crowds thicken after 3 p.m.

Evening Dinner on Nishiki Market (Kyoto's covered food market) — grilled skewers, tamagoyaki (rolled omelette), and fresh tofu are all finger-food friendly for toddlers.

With-Kids Reality Check: Kyoto taxi drivers are generally willing to help with stroller loading. Taxis are sometimes easier than buses here.

Day 6 — Kyoto: Arashiyama

Morning The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove at 7:30 a.m. before tour groups arrive. Stroller-accessible main path. Then rent a jinrikisha (rickshaw) for a 20-minute narrated ride — toddlers find this thrilling.

Afternoon Tenryu-ji Temple garden is flat and stroller-accessible. Feed koi, watch herons, eat bento from a nearby convenience store on a bench.

Evening Return to Tokyo by Shinkansen or fly home from Osaka Itami/Kansai Airport.

Day 7 — Buffer or Departure Day

Use this for last-minute shopping at Don Quijote or a department store basement food hall (depachika / デパ地下). Stock up on Japanese snacks, pocky, and baby food pouches to bring home.

Japan With Kids Packing Checklist

• Stroller (lightweight, reclinable) + soft structured baby carrier
• Portable white noise machine or app (hotel rooms echo)
• Collapsible silicone bowl and spork set
• Snack pouches from home for the first 48 hours
• Small first aid kit with infant acetaminophen — Japanese pharmacy dosing labels are in Japanese
• Travel document folder with vaccination records
• IC card (Suica) loaded before arrival if possible
• Portable changing pad — some older train station restrooms lack changing tables
• One new small toy per travel day, rationed like gold