I was nine during my first trip to Japan. Places I remember going to and loving:

Deer Park in Nara. Culture for the parents, feeding the deer for the kids.

Tokyo Tower.

Try to find out what festivals are going on at the time. I went to a midwinter festival in Kyoto with wonderful dancing and elaborate costumes that children would enjoy.

Depending on your kids' personalities, think about spending some time in a ryokan. I found it tremendous fun to run around barefoot inside, wear the too-big bathrobe, sleep on the floor, etc. Ryokan also usually serve breakfast and dinner to the family in your own room, which is a nice way to relax together.

Shows aimed at children can be very enjoyable even when there is no translation. We went to an "ice capades" type show where Japanese folk tales were performed on ice. Everything was in Japanese, but we loved it.

This trip when I was nine changed my life, making me a huge fan of all things Japanese -- a decade later I was studying the language in college. I hope your children have as wonderful an experience as I did.

The five things my kids liked best when they first visited Japan when young:

1. Ramen

2. Ramen

3. Ramen

4. Shinkansen rides

5. Wild Blue Yokohama (a water theme park that has since closed)

Was that before ramen was easily available over here? Apparently there's a ramen museum in Yokohama, speaking of which. And Sankien Gardens?

Naw, you could get ramen here then, but they hadn't tried it before they got to Japan. I've heard very mixed reviews of that ramen museum, it seems many pay for admission mainly so they can wait in a long line for one of the restaurants.

http://www.bento.com/phgal3.html EDIT: please see post 22 (&25) if you're planning a visit. Museum's own website is here.

I suppose that's the secret of its longevity - it's been going for about 10 years now. I guess the entrance fee for many is a cover charge to eat in this environment: photo
I have no idea how long it would have lasted if it relied only on museum visitors to survive. So many other museums/attractions have come and gone since 1994.

I wanted to bring my mother here on the only occasion I ever stopped at Shin Yokohama - but it was late, we'd just arrived from Kyoto and we were extremely hungry. My parents decided not to go as I wouldn't have been able to get anything for myself there (I don't eat meat, just fish) - we ended up at Mosburger at Sakuragicho. (WARNING - Blasphemous comment coming up - For most of the things I can eat, I don't like the seasoning they use at MOS - I much prefer Lotteria)

All this as a roundabout way to say that I've wanted to go to this museum for years, but not being able to eat there has undermined my motivation. Hopefully I should make it there, finally, some time late October when I'm in the area. It helps that it's open until 11pm.

I was thinking about this thread and considering where I'd want to take my own children.

I think my top choices would be:

Tokyo Edo Open Air Museum
http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/497/art.asp

and

the wonderful Nihon Minka En
http://www.city.kawasaki.jp/88/88minka/home/minka_e.htm
It's possible to go inside many of the houses here - the woodfire smells of the iriori (cooking pit) are embedded into the beams. Look for a strange bamboo made cage that served as a rudimentary cable car to haul people over ravines and japanese sandals for ice skating. The whole place is in a wonderful parkland setting.


One last tip.



Can I strongly urge anybody going to Japan with children to get them a good notebook with plain paper - it will need to be at least A5 size.

At almost every location there will be, somewhere, a rubber stamp and inkpad for you to take a souvenir impression. Even train and subways stations have them (the one at Ryogoku is especially nice!). Stamps are free. It's often quite fun to locate them.
More info and examples here:
http://www.dotpattern.com/artwerk/ru...er-stamps.html
and here:
http://www.dotpattern.com/artwerk/ru...r-stamps2.html

Ask for "Stamp Rally" (Sutampo Rarri) and show your book (hopefully with some already in there) if you need help finding them.

As an example, they are dotted all around the Nihon Minka En and are in little houses like this one: http://www.pref.nara.jp/narakoen/sr-2.JPG

Stamp Rallies are part of the culture in Japan and are often used for promotional purposes - here's a photo diary of some children who went on a special event train journey themed on Anpan Man - a popular cartoon character. It shows the stamps they collected in their commemorative booklets.
http://ww82.tiki.ne.jp/~mchome/stamp...003_5_17_3.htm
(makes you feel sorry for any commuters caught on one of these whilst nursing a hangover - no wonder one of the stations is called Gomen)

Of course, you don't have to be a child to collect the stamps. There are some truly gorgeous ones around (my favourite is one from Tsukiji tourist information office). Temples have them, all the museums do, sometimes shops have them... you find them in the strangest places.

I first found out about them on my first trip to Tokyo when a couple of German psychiatrists who were staying in the same hostel as I was showed me their own collection - they'd been travelling throughout Japan staying mainly at Temple lodging. The books they'd made up were beautiful.

Happy hunting!!!

That web page on the ramen museum says you can take the shinkansen from Tokyo station to shin-Yokohama for Y800 extra over a regular train. Don't believe it, it's more like Y2,000 extra each way!

would they recommend the shinkansen from T to Y? That's like taking a 747 from LA to San Diego.

Ramen reminds me, the meal you get before landing in NRT when you fly United Business is a Cup A Soup, with the UAL logo on it. Which is pretty appropriate, just amuses people when I tell them because they figure every course up front has caviar in it somehow.

I've never gotten instant noodles on United C or F to/from Japan except sometimes as one of the mid-flight snacks on the westbound stretches. The meal served before arrival generally is either a hot dish with a small fruit bowl or a fruit/yoghurt plate, passenger chooses. Are you sure?

That bento site that says that bit of info, the page looks dated to me, I don't think they recommend that on the official ramen museum website.

I've visited the ramen museum myself, I think most people do go for the resturants found downstairs.
For kids there is this make your own cup of noodles thing. You buy a empty cup of noodle styrofoam cup, then over at the tables they have markers etc that you can decorate the cups with, then you bring it to the assembly line, where you can see them put the ramen in the cup, you can choose what toppings you want, then they seal it and shrink wrap it, then there's this interesting balloon type thing the entire sealed cup goes inside that you blow up yourself (lol sorry hard to explain). Kids (and adults alike) seem to love it.

Is the place a must visit? No, but if you have spare time in Yokohama, I think its a good place to stop by, and try some ramen in the crowded basement.

That is also my recollection. I've always received a hot meal option before arrival.

JR

I thought the aquarium in Osaka was terrific - and there's a giant ferris wheel there too. Could take the bullet train to Osaka from Tokyo. Note that the Ritz Carlton in Osaka is priced very reasonably - and I think it would be a very comfortable place to stay for a family with small children. Robyn

They recommend Shinkansen because the "raumen museum" (sic) is a short walk from Shin-Yokohama station. I regularly take the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Shin Yokohama. In this way, I can reach my client at Shin Yokohama in about 20 minutes - rather than almost one hour by regular trains and subway connections.

It's in no way comparable to taking a 747 to anywhere, since it takes longer than that for a jumbo to board and make its way to the runway.

My biggest gripe with the raumen museum is that it felt like a rip-off to me. Paying an entrance fee for the privilege to stand in line in a 1950s-theme yatai-mura with rather expensive ramen shops... not my idea of fun. The person I went with did say that the ramen were the best he had ever tasted. I think I've had equally good ramen in other places.

Thank you everyone for your responses, the information has been great so far. We are also thinking of visiting somewhere other than Tokyo for a couple of days. Somewhere that would give us a different flavor than the city, any suggestions as to somewhere within easy access of Tokyo and from Narita as we may go back to NRT from this destination rather than going back to Tokyo. Thanks, once again, for all the suggestions ^

As I mentioned the bento website mentioned isn't an official website, they don't recommend it because its a short walk, as they say you can get there via regular or shinkansen:

Shin-Yokohama can be reached from central Tokyo in about 45 minutes, or a very comfortable 15 minutes if you splurge and take the bullet train for an extra Y800

Thats whats wrong with the site, in reality its more like 2000+ yen, and what originally brought it up here in the thread.

Of course if you have an expense account its good to take the Shinkansen (man that'd be the life wouldn't it? lol) ..

Stictly timewise speaking, it would depend where in Tokyo you started from, for example if you are staying in Shinjuku, the amount of time to get to ShinYokohama by regular trains would be about the same amount it would by taking a Shinkansen (as you have to make a local connection to Tokyo from Shinjuku then connect to the Shinkansen). About 45-50 minutes in both cases.