Image by Curtis anf Juanita via Flickr
Family vacations are the stuff from which legendary and apocryphal stories come. Of course, if you’re going to have any stories to tell, you want them to be good ones, and for everyone to have a great time, not just certain family members.
If you’re planning to visit Japan, here’s a list of family-friendly must-sees:
- Pokemon Centre Mega Tokyo
- Sanrio Puroland
- Tokyo Tower – the world’s tallest self-supporting steel tower
- Kubukiza in Ginza – Kabuki Theatre
- Akihabara Electric Town – in this area, you’ll find the largest collection of electronic appliances and devices in the world
- Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySEA, Chiba – at 115 acres, Tokyo Disneyland is the first Disney Park outside of the United States and opened in 1983; Tokyo DisneySea is the fourth most visited theme park in the world and has seven themed “ports of call”
- Toyko Skytree – 634-meter tallest tower in Japan
- Tsukiji Market – the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world
- Imperial Palace & East Garden – main residence of the Emperor of Japan
- Meiji Jingu – Shinto shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken
- Nakamise – one of the oldest shopping centres in Japan, selling souvenirs and traditional local snacks
- Senso-ji – Tokyo’s largest ancient and oldest Buddihist temple, dedicated to Bodhisattva Kannon, a.k.a. Guan Yin or the Goddess of Mercy
- Himeji Castle, Himeji – Japan’s largest castle; most buildings are from the 17th century and features mazes, secret rooms and massive towers
- Nara Park, Nara – features 1500 wild deer you can feed
- Miraikan, Tokyo – a future-focused national science museum
- Todaiji Temple, Nara – the world’s largest Buddha; weighs 500 tons
- Hitachi Seaside Park, Hitachinaka – a park with millions of flowers, playground, ferris wheel, water playground, putting green, and more
- Matsumoto Castle, Matsumoto – built 1594 and has a wide moat
- Shinjuku Gyoen, Tokyo – a park with 20,000 trees and garden making it ideal for families
- Nippon Maru, Yokohama – a tallship built in 1930 in Kobe which travelled more than one million kilometres
While the Japanese are a lovely and accommodating people, you may have some issues with a language barrier in some places. Not just because of this, but because you want to be sure you have the time and energy to visit the spots you’ve long wanted to, you should consider consulting with knowlegable professionals. Try http://www.japanjourneys.co.uk/ Traveling to any foreign country represents challenges, but there’s absolutely no reason you should handle each and everyone “alone.”
You can get assistance and advice from a reputable agent. Try to contact them and ask for their tour and holiday packages. They can provide you with all the information you need and guide you in every aspect of your tour. By speaking to an expert and asking for help, you can be certain that you and your entire family will be able to enjoy your trip.
The Japanese love family and it makes sense that there are superb family holidays in Japan. You can consult with your family and plan together the places you want to visit. Don’t just dictate where you’re going – and if there’s a destination that you absolutely must stop at and one in which you will brook no dissention, then let your family know why this particular stop is important to you. Be open and communicate. Go online together and look at photographs, try to figure out if there are any special annual festivals or events which are happening at the time your family will visit.
There are family hotel guides you can find online such as the one published at My Little Nomads which offers up what they call The Ultimate Guide, Tokyo With Kids. Guides like these tell the reader which tours are great for kids, the best time of the year to visit Japan, the best family hotels, a colouring book to enhance your children’s tour of Japan, a map of the Tokyo Subway System, Toyko’s best parks and even a gluten-free guide to Japan.