With kids · Kyoto · Japan
Kyoto with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: DXR, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Kyoto works for families who mix temples with active sights: climbing Fushimi Inari's gates, the Railway Museum, Arashiyama's monkeys and boats, and squeaky nightingale floors at Nijo Castle. Crowded buses and long temple days are the main challenges for young children. Top picks: Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto Railway Museum and Iwatayama Monkey Park. Families usually base themselves in Kyoto Station area.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 6
- Best area for families
- Kyoto Station area
- Rainy-day options
- 1
- Busiest months
- April and November
Best things to do with kids
Religious site · Fushimi
1.Fushimi Inari Taisha
The head shrine of Inari, god of rice and commerce, is famous for the thousands of vermilion torii gates donated by businesses that tunnel up Mount Inari. The full loop to the 233-metre summit takes two to three hours, but most visitors turn back at the Yotsutsuji intersection, which has a view over the city. The grounds are free and open around the clock.
Arrive before 8am or after dark for empty gates; the crowds thin dramatically above Yotsutsuji.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Photo spot
- Active
- Kids
- After dark
Museum · Kyoto Station area
2.Kyoto Railway Museum
Japan's largest railway museum displays more than 50 trains, from steam locomotives in a working roundhouse to early shinkansen, with driving simulators and a short steam-train ride. It is about a 20-minute walk west of Kyoto Station.
Check the steam-train ride schedule on arrival, and book simulators early on school holidays.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
Park · Arashiyama
3.Iwatayama Monkey Park
A steep 20-minute climb from the south bank of the Oi River leads to a hilltop clearing where more than a hundred wild Japanese macaques roam freely. Visitors can feed them from inside a wire-fronted hut, and the view looks back over the whole city.
Wear good shoes for the climb and do not stare directly at the monkeys or show food outside the hut.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Views
- Nature
- Active
Castle · Nakagyo
4.Nijo Castle
Built for the first Tokugawa shogun in 1603, Nijo Castle's Ninomaru Palace has painted sliding doors and 'nightingale floors' that squeak to warn of intruders. Moats, stone walls and gardens surround it, and it is where the shogunate returned power to the emperor in 1867.
Walk the Ninomaru Palace corridors slowly to hear the nightingale floors chirp underfoot.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Architecture
- Kids
Nature · Arashiyama
5.Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and Tenryu-ji
A short path between towering bamboo stalks leads from the north gate of Tenryu-ji, a UNESCO-listed Zen temple whose 14th-century pond garden borrows the hills behind it as scenery. Nearby, the Okochi Sanso villa garden and the Togetsukyo bridge over the Hozu River complete a day in Kyoto's western hills.
Walk the bamboo grove soon after sunrise, then visit Tenryu-ji's garden when it opens.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Nature
- Photo spot
- Couples
- Kids
Palace · Kamigyo
6.Kyoto Imperial Palace and Gyoen
The emperor's residence until 1869 stands inside Kyoto Gyoen, a large park of gravel avenues and lawns. The palace grounds can be visited free on a set route past the Shishinden ceremonial hall, and the park is a favourite for picnics and plum and cherry blossom.
Bring a picnic and look for the early-flowering weeping cherry trees near the Konoe residence site in late March.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Outdoors
- Kids
Rainy-day ideas
- Kyoto Railway Museum — Check the steam-train ride schedule on arrival, and book simulators early on school holidays.
Where families should stay
$$ · Best for first-timers, families and budget
Kyoto Station area
Around Kyoto Station, hotels of every size cluster near the shinkansen, the Haruka airport express, JR lines to Nara and Arashiyama and the subway. Sights within walking distance include To-ji, Higashi Hongan-ji and Sanjusangen-do. It is practical rather than charming, and evenings are quiet.
- Good
- Direct trains to Kansai Airport, Nara and Osaka; Wide range of hotel prices; Easy with luggage
- Watch out
- Little traditional atmosphere; Bus queues to the main sights
- Nearby
- To-ji, Higashi Hongan-ji, Sanjusangen-do, Kyoto Railway Museum
Family travel tips
- Use trains rather than crowded buses where possible; strollers are hard work on packed buses.
- Children under 6 travel free on trains and buses when accompanied; older children pay a child fare.
- Limit temples to two or three a day and build in park time at the Imperial Palace grounds or the Kamo riverbank.
- Kyoto Station area hotels have the most family rooms and the easiest transport links.
- Rowing boats on the Hozu River in Arashiyama are a popular break in spring and autumn.
Day trips for families
- Nara (About 45 minutes by train) — Japan's first permanent capital has Todai-ji with its giant bronze Buddha in one of the world's largest wooden buildings, Kasuga Taisha's lantern-lined paths and Nara Park, where more than a thousand deer roam.
- Osaka (About 15–45 minutes by train) — Kyoto's brash neighbour is a food city of street stalls in Dotonbori, with Osaka Castle, the Kuromon market and Universal Studios Japan.
- Himeji Castle (About 1 hour by shinkansen) — Japan's finest original castle, a white UNESCO-listed keep from the early 17th century, stands a 15-minute walk from Himeji Station.
When to go with children
The best months overall are March–May and October–November. April and November are the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Kyoto good for kids?
Kyoto works for families who mix temples with active sights: climbing Fushimi Inari's gates, the Railway Museum, Arashiyama's monkeys and boats, and squeaky nightingale floors at Nijo Castle. Crowded buses and long temple days are the main challenges for young children.
+What can kids do in Kyoto?
Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto Railway Museum, Iwatayama Monkey Park, Nijo Castle and Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and Tenryu-ji.
+Where should families stay in Kyoto?
Kyoto Station area: Transport hub with big hotels, Kyoto Tower and department stores.