Taking a trip to Japan? Here are 12 things all families need to give a go:

1. Osaka Castle Museum.

Walking into the gardens and then over the bridge to the base of the castle was breathtaking. You have to see it to appreciate the absolute beauty and size of it and your mind will drift how they managed to build it without the machinery of today.

2. Universal Studios Osaka

Universal studios caters well for families, favourite locations for kids under six would be Universal Wonderland, Hello Kitty, and Sesame Street. Snoopy’s Great Race Rollercoaster was a firm favourite.

Our boys also loved the Spiderman and Jurassic Park boat ride where they got to see huge dinosaurs. Jaws was also a favourite, even though this ride was made even scarier by our Japanese hosts high pitched commentary on what was happening. Harry Potter is a very popular ride, but our boys were too small

3. Nara to visit the deer

Nara Park has gorgeous temples and tame deer along the walk. They are super friendly and your kids will love to see and feed Rudolph the Reindeers friends. There is a Buddha which is the largest wooden structure in the world and over 1000 years old. It was amazing.

4. Kyoto to find a Geisha Girl

Kyoto is one of the oldest cities in Japan. There are lots of temples, shopping, and great food to try. We went to the Kiyomizu-Dera Temple area (the main temple) there was a lovely market and lots of cute gardens, and pretty girls dressed as Geisha girls. They may not be the real deal, however they are more than happy to have a photo with you (unlike the chances of a real Geisha Girl).

5. Shinkansen Bullet Train

This is the fastest train in the world, the “Shinkansen” or Bullet Train in English. Heading to Tokyo is much faster by the Bullet Train than travelling to and from the airport when considering check-in times and flying time, it only takes three hours.

6. Karaoke Time in Tokyo

You can’t go to Tokyo and not try out a Karaoke booth! You pay by the hour, and if you are going early (around 6pm) some of them are more than happy to let you take your kids in. It

 

7. Odaiba Island-Tokyo;

This island is a monorail ride from Tokyo. There is heaps to do here and our kids loved it. Legoland was our favourite but you do need to get here early or book in advance online to guarantee entry. The Sony Explora science museum was also a hit. The museum focusses on teaching children about light and sound. Here you can see how your voice works as a visual, try the motion censored puppet whereby a character on screen will do the same moves and facial expressions as you, and even have a “smile fight” with mum or dad to see who has the best smile.

8. Ueno Zoo-Tokyo

This zoo had lots of animals to see including the infamous Panda. It is a very busy place and you do feel sad for the animals, but it is an opportunity to teach your children about zoo’s and animals. We saw monkeys, bears, penguins, tigers, birds and even a Kangaroo.

9. Tokyo Toy Museum

This place was amazing. Our kids LOVED all the traditional Japanese wooden toys. There are three levels, and each will encourage your children to play, create, and learn. We were the only non-Japanese family here on the day, and the staff speak very little Japanese- but this was no barrier. There is a Toy Factory where we paid a little extra ($10) to participate in a workshop and make a Babushka doll.

10. Tokyo DisneySea

This is part one of Disneyland and has a more rustic and Mediterranean feel to it.

The rides were great, there were a few that our youngest couldn’t go on as he wasn’t over 117cm. That said, there was plenty of others. The favourite for our 6 year old was the Volcano, and the Indiana Jones Raging Spirits which was a roller-coaster with a 360 degree loop.

11. Tokyo Disneyland

Is everything Disney you can imagine, but in Japanese of course! A running theme in Japan is that you won’t understand much of what is being said, however it really doesn’t matter, especially at Disneyland. We found the lines a little easier here and Toontown was a favourite area where you can get your photo taken professionally with Mickey Mouse at his very cute house. There was a great rollercoaster here for the littlies-my boys loved it so much they went on it five times in a row. This lead to going on bigger rides and their favourite ended up being the Space Mountain rollercoaster which was a pretty fast roller-coaster but in pitch black!

12. Shinjuku Goen National Garden-Tokyo

Stop at a bakery and grab some yummy food and head to the gardens to have a picnic. This park has the biggest gardens in Tokyo and they were beautiful. We saw a traditional Japanese garden and if you are there in early spring you will see the 65 varieties of Cherry Blossom bloom.