We spent 15 days in Japan with our teens — here's why it's the ultimate family holiday

From samurai to skyscrapers and sushi to shrines, this Asian archipelago is the ultimate destination for families with teenagers, discovers Jillian Bolger

People in the streets of Omoide-Yokocho in Shinjuku Tokyo Japan

It's 9am and Tokyo is on fire. A heatwave has swept across the country, sending the mercury north of 36C by midday. Taking shade within Senso-ji, the city’s oldest Buddhist temple, we wait patiently to see what the future holds. 

One by one, we drop a 100 yen coin into a slot, vigorously shaking a metal container, tilting it and pulling out a numbered stick. Turning to a wooden chest with numbered drawers, we open the ones that match ours, to withdraw a small piece of paper — our fortune, our omikuji. Handing each to our guide to translate, we learn our fate. Four of the five of them are bad.

And just what does one do with bad fortune on their first day in Japan?

Carefully fold up the paper and tie it to a rack, alongside hundreds of others, leaving it behind to transfer its misfortune to this object rather than to its unlucky recipient.

The 645-year-old temple complex was built to honour the goddess of mercy, which seems fitting, as Tokyo seems hell bent on atoning for the bad fortunes it’s
regrettably bequeathed us.

The consolation comes by way of distraction tactics: First there’s the Five-Storey Pagoda, a vermillion tower that reaches the height of an 18-floor building. Graceful and iconic, does anyone ever forget the first time they spy one? It’s a pulse-racing moment, in what turns out to be a holiday full of them.

We are here with our three teenagers, each one happier than the next to be holidaying in the Land of the Rising Sun. A family trip we’ve long dreamed of, we held off for several years, wanting our kids to be old enough to appreciate it. (And, full disclosure, wanting independent companions who could delve into the experience with as much enthusiasm as us.) What unfolds is a holiday as much dictated by their interests as ours. The collective wish list runs deep, five personalities all with unique agendas. There’s a need for history, shopping, bullet trains, swimming, people-watching, samurai, hiking, architecture, art, temples, nature, kimonos, a theme park, good food, and beautiful hotels. And, above all, it must be fun for everyone.

Naked bathing, micro pigs, and ginger tempura may not be on everyone’s bingo card, but Japan over-delivers and keeps all eyes firmly off phones for 15 intoxicating days.

Tokyo thrills

After the crowds of Senso-ji, and snacks of pillowy melon bread, the Imperial Palace Gardens offer a gear change and history lesson amongst immaculately pruned trees. It might be our first introduction to the world of Japan’s emperors, shogun, and samurai, but we’ll learn more about all three throughout our stay.

Amongst all its history and heritage, Harajuku, in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, makes a whimsical interlude. A whirl of street culture, commerce and neon signs, youths in platform boots, frilled minis, and piercings cut a colourful dash. After first encountering Tokyoites as a sea of commuters in understated monochrome tailoring, there’s an urban energy here that feels free and fun.

We stroll Takeshita Street, the city’s most famous, with its hectic mix of 100 yen stores, souvenir shops, and animal cafes. It’s the micro pigs that win out over resident capybaras, hedgehogs, and otters, and we spend 25 bizarre minutes sitting on the floor of a “pig cafe” while dozens of mini pigs snuggle in people’s laps. I’m a reluctant participant — and the animals don’t seem to like me much — but the teens prove popular, making comfortable seats for the snuffling little creatures.

Views from Hotel New Otani Tokyo ‘Executive House Zen, Japan

With jetlag neatly handled, and the kids ready for more fun, we drift to teamLab Planets the next day, an immersive museum — the most visited in the world — where visitors interact to become a part of the fantastical displays. Here, amidst howls of laughter and moments of wonder, we negotiate a mirrored hall of pulsing crystals, bounce through an athletics forest on huge balls, slink through a mirrored garden of thousands of suspended orchids and wade knee-deep in water beneath rainbow colours. It’s like family playtime and feels wonderfully uplifting and unifying.

Later that night, we dash giddily across Shibuya Scramble Crossing when the pedestrian lights turn green, dodging hundreds of snap-happy tourists, before greedily slurping noodles in a tiny halal ramen shop. Hectic and high-octane, we reset back at our hotel with a late-night swim before cocktails and snacks looking out across the capital’s twinkling skyline.

Natural highs in Hakone

Leaving Tokyo, we’ve been looking forward to sampling Japan’s high-speed trains and steel ourselves for the frenetic bustle of Tokyo Station at 8am. Some 4,000 trains pass through here daily, and it’s an exercise in discipline as we navigate the maze dragging five suitcases behind us. Turnstiles thrum with the throngs of commuters and we marvel at the clockwork precision of departures, boarding, cleaning. Bullet trains speed past in the blink of an eye, a blur of speed and engineering brilliance.

At Odawara, we swap into an oddly familiar Swiss train, with narrow-gauge carriages plucked from the Swiss Alps, that takes us up to Hakone for mountain views and cooler climes. An audio guide on the Hakone Yizan cable car tells us that Hakone Open Air Museum houses works from Picasso, Rodin, and, unexpectedly, Irish man Henry Moore.

Disembarking at Gora, a small mountain town with chilled alpine vibes, we check into a cute Airbnb which makes an ideal base for exploring the national park around us. Over three days, we surrender to the fresh air and wide open spaces, cruising across the crater lake of Ashino-ko on a bizarrely-styled galleon, exploring the woods and hiking up Mount Ashigara, which reveals breathtaking views in between the clouds — though sadly no money shots of Mount Fuji.

Early morning boat ride on Lake Ashi with Mount Fuji and iconic torii gate framed by dense forest in Hakone, Japan.

The news that Gora’s public bath offers a naked experience results in three firm “nos” from the teenagers. There’s no way they’ll strip off in front of each other — or anyone else for that matter.

A solution is found at Yunessun hot spring bath, where water slides, hot tubs styled like giant bowls of ramen, and a 40m hot spring bath outdoors deliver a fun family spa session together, all with swimsuits.

Ninjas and monks in Kyoto

Next morning, we wake in warm, damp Kyoto, a fever dream of a city that was the country’s capital for over 1,000 years and offers up 17 Unesco World Heritage sites. Compact and walkable, we hide from the rain in the Samurai Ninja Museum, learning the ways of these impressive warriors. Afterwards, we play dress up in armour, and get to throw ninja stars, something, it seems, my husband is alarmingly good at.

Dress-up is a theme in Kyoto as kimono-clad visitors flock to Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka, two narrow, sloping cobbled streets in the historic district of Higashiyama. Lined with traditional wooden houses and merchant shops with low-slung roofs, it feels like stepping onto a movie set, as we weave from the magnificent 46-metre tall Yasaka Pagoda up the street to the ruby red Kitomizu-drea Pagoda overlooking the city.

Yasaka Pagoda and SannenZaka Street, Kyoto, Japan.

Leaving the sea of pretty kimonos behind, the next day we travel out of town with a guide and driver, taking switchback roads through wooded hills, past stands of leggy pines and clusters of houses with silvery tiles. Ginko trees and layers of maple overhang crystal rivers, while ferns and grasses cloak the banks.

It’s the peaceful setting for Jingo-ji, an ancient Buddhist temple above the Kiyotaki river. We are the only visitors — though that changes in autumn when crowds flock to see the fiery maple trees. A kind monk shows us around the red cedar temple, pointing out the original 800-year-old wooden Buddha, before our guide leads us to a ceremonial well. Here we buy tiny discs of fired clay and are instructed to throw them over the cliff edge into Kin’unkei gorge to cast off any bad luck. After Tokyo’s prophecies, we eagerly oblige.

Hidden in the forest below us is Momiji-ya, a century-old hotel above the river that we reach by descending hundreds of steps. It’s our wedding anniversary today and we are treated to a spectacular meal of traditional foods that look so beautiful but challenge the younger taste buds. Our Summer of Kitiyama lunch is served like a jewel box, with dozens of unfamiliar elements including tiny and delicate wheat bran jelly sashimi, grilled sweetfish with salt, somen noodles with ice, and pretty pickled vegetables.

That night, back in Kyoto, we dine à deux on delicious waygu beef while two of the kids beg us to let them eat dinner in a Japanese McDonalds. We devour our date night steaks while they return talking about the McFizz and macarons.

Nude in Nara

Our next stop is Nara, a tiny, provincial town that was once the country’s ancient capital. Checking into a ryokan, a traditional inn — requested by one teen who loved the idea of screens, tatami mats, and low beds — we swap our shoes for socks with toes at check-in and walk on tatami mats to our rooms. There are few Westerners here and the hotel is delightfully traditional.

Deer relaxing in Nara Japan.

Three of us brave the onsen, the hotel’s bath house, but onsens are single sex, so I end up alone, feeling tentative and self-conscious. My first nude experience in public, I make a few etiquette errors, the worst of which is sitting bare bottomed in the sauna (you’re meant to sit on a cloth). Happily, no-one was present to witness my faux-pas.

That evening, gentle deer wander up to us on the main street, catching us off guard. They are everywhere, grazing, resting, cavorting. As luck would have it, there’s a festival that night and, following the crowds towards Nara Park, we find a space illuminated by lanterns as hundreds of deer mingle with young women dressed in exquisite kimonos taking selfies and eating everything from milk fish to churros. Otherworldly and magical, we sense the Phoenix Park deer will need to raise their game.

Adrenaline in Osaka

It’s rush hour when we emerge from Osaka Station the next morning.

The bustling Namba area in Osaka, Japan.

Outside, a shiny new world greets us, all gleaming towers, pavilions, and open spaces pulsing with life. Before taking in the country’s third-largest city, we’ve come to say hello to a colleague from Mayo, who is here helming Japan’s first Waldorf Astoria. It’s a luxe layover on a family itinerary, and we drink in the views from our glamorous 36th floor bedrooms overlooking Osaka Bay and the far-off mountains. With a swimming pool on the 30th floor, Eggs Benedict with lobster for breakfast, and excellent sushi at the new Time Out Osaka market minutes away, we’re ready to take on Osaka.

The bar at the Waldorf Astoria Osaka Japan.

Across town, OMO7 Osaka is in a grittier neighbourhood, and our giant family room is a lesson in fine Japanese design. The hotel’s ranger takes us on a walking tour downtown, revealing the sights before dropping us off for dinner in Jin, a traditional izakaya near the city’s iconic Tsutenkaku tower.

A smart family room at OMO7 Osaka

We have a fun night in the downtown bustle before returning to our hotel to dress in traditional yukata, supplied to all guests. All five of us then head to the gardens for PikaPika night, a free evening of beer and octopus balls, pinball games, and digital fireworks that dance across the side of the hotel.

Next day, it’s rollercoaster time, something that made sense to save for the end of our trip. Swapping history for hysterics, we embrace the high-octane thrills of Universal Studios, all five of us shrieking and whooping and laughing through the rides. It’s a day of highs and happiness, and we fall home exhausted.

With one final night in Tokyo, at a sister property, OMO5 Gotanda, we do some last-minute shopping before an early night ahead of an early flight home.

The lobby at OMO5 Tokyo Gotanda

Along the way, we’ve learnt of emperors and ninjas, monks and Harajuku kids. There’s been monkeys and micro pigs, shrines and shopping. And there’s been so much laughter and learning. Ancient and futuristic, traditional and edgy, wild and regimented, Japan is more than we could have ever dreamed. Thinking back to our bad fortunes in the temple, we laugh. Could we be any luckier, we wonder, having the immense fortune of this unforgettable family adventure in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Escape Notes 

Where to stay

TOKYO

Luxury

Hotel New Otani Tokyo’s Executive House Zen, a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ prestigious Legend Collection, offers an easy intro to Japan. The luxe hotel-within-a-hotel includes brilliantly designed rooms, a 10-acre Japanese garden, and complimentary meals and drinks all day. Rooms from around €560.

Preferredhotels.com

Value

Omo5 Tokyo Gotanda is a cool, family-friendly modern hotel with rangers to help you plan your days and book restaurants. From around €173 per room per night (two sharing, room only).

Hoshinoresorts.com/en/hotels/omo5tokyogotanda

Plan a Tokyo trip at GoTokyo.org

HAKONE

Harmonious Light South is three-bedroom holiday renatl in Gora, from €341 a night.

Exploring Hakone

The Hakone Free Pass is an invaluable discounted excursion ticket between Shinjuku Station in Tokyo and Hakone-Yumoto Station, offering unlimited coverage of Hakone’s popular sightseeing spots while saving money. Choose from two- or three-day passes. The Hakone Free Pass allows you to get on and off the local transport within Hakone, Kanagawa and also provides discount admission to various attractions. Adult tickets €42, children €21.

Japan-experience.com

KYOTO

Kabin Taka, Kyoto Modern, a comfy hotel chain popular with European families. From €226 a night for two rooms.

Kabinhotel.xyz 

Plan a Kyoto stay at Kyoto.Travel

NARA

Onyado Nono Nara Natural Hot Spring, €339 for two rooms.

OSAKA

Luxury

The Waldorf Astoria Osaka is Japan’s first, with glamorous deluxe rooms overlooking Osaka Bay, from €782 per night.

hilton.com/en/hotels/osawawa-waldorf-astoria-osaka

Value

OMO7 Osaka is a fun, family-focused hotel with free shuttle to Universal Studios. From around €324 per night for two sharing, including breakfast and dinner.

hoshinoresorts.com/en/hotels/omo7osaka

• Jillian’s trip was supported by GoTokyo.org, Kyoto.Travel, and Japan-experience.com, along with Hoshino Resorts, Preferred Hotels, and Waldorf Astoria.