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.