Getting About Japan as a Family with Kids

Last Updated: November 28, 2022

One thing you can really count on in Japan is efficiency and punctuality. And the transport system is a prime example of that.

The whole network runs like clockwork. Outlined by a Japanese rail company famously apologising for a train accidentally leaving 20 seconds early a few years ago!

So travel around Japan will certainly be a reliable and efficient experience. It’s not always the cheapest, but if you do some research and plan ahead a bit, even the budget travelling family can navigate this great country at a reasonable cost.

National Transport

There are many options for taking the long journeys around Japan. It will be a compromise of speed and cost as to which you choose. But whichever method you go for, all options are extremely comfortable, safe and efficient.

Going from town to town is easily done on public transport with very little fuss. But there are also some great rural areas of Japan to explore. So if you want to head to these areas you might need to put in a little more effort and maybe some more cost, but there will still likely be some options for getting there via the public transport system.

Train

Japan is famous for it’s high speed bullet trains or ‘shinkansen’ as they’re called. This is certainly the quickest way to get about, but it is not cheap.

Individual journeys on bullet trains cost hundreds of dollars per journey. So if you intend to travel on the bullet trains across Japan you should almost certainly get a JR Pass.

With a JR pass rather than pay train by train, which will be very costly, you pay a lump amount and then can use the bullet trains (with some limitations) that are ran by Japan Rail as much as you want. You can get them for 1, 2 or 3 weeks costing around £200, £315 or £430 respectively.

You can purchase them on the website before you enter Japan and then collect it when you arrive. Or you can just purchase them once you arrive in Japan at the ticket office. You will need your passport for all travellers when you do this. Once you have the pass you can then reserve seats as you go. Again either on the website or at ticket offices.

The pass has the added bonus of being able to use some of the local transport as well, but be aware that this isn’t an all in gig. Some of the lines on the metro in Tokyo for example are not owned by Japan Rail and so the pass doesn’t work everywhere. So don’t get caught out by this.

For a large family, even with a JR Pass the bullet train costs still rack up, especially if you are in Japan for a long duration. We were looking at over £1,000 for a 21 day JR Pass for our family (even with our youngest being 3 and free!). So even with the pass it can still be a bit out of some budgets.

There are slower ‘normal trains’ which are a lot cheaper. You can purchase these journey by journey as the JR Pass is only economical if you decide to go on bullet trains. But the normal trains are quite slow (in comparison to bullet trains) and sometimes require a lot of changes. But can work well for some routes.

Coach

The coaches are a really great alternative to the bullet train, the obvious disadvantage is time, but as long as you’re not going on particularly long journeys and have enough time to play with they are a great way to travel around Japan.

Below shows roughly how long each journey took us on our Japan Itinerary and a comparison to the bullet train. They can vary by coach provider and type of bullet train, but this gives you a rough idea.

As you can see the bullet train saves a lot of time. But coaches are a lot cheaper. The total cost for all the journeys above for our family of 4 came to around £300 so well under a third of what the 21 day JR pass would have cost us!

So if you are comfortable with the longer travel times and have the time then the coaches will save a massive amount of cash.

The coaches are also just as comfortable and clean as the trains. Most of them have a toilet on board, but even if they don’t they tend to make a 15-20 minute stop every 1.5-2 hours. Which is ideal if you have kids.

Most routes can be booked online via various companies. We mainly used Japan Bus Online and Willer Express. These seemed to be the easiest to use with English websites and covered most major routes.

The only exception we came across where we couldn’t seem to book online was from Hiroshima to Fukuoka due to it not being one of the ‘main’ routes. But it was very easy to head down to the Hiroshima coach station and book it in person. So no drama if you have to manually book some of you journeys. Just take a translator app if you have one in case the ticket officer doesn’t speak English. This can help a great deal.

Car

Hiring a car is an option in Japan. It’s probably an unnecessary cost if your going from major town to major town as the public transport options will likely be cheaper and just as efficient.

But if you are looking to get a bit more off the beaten track into the more rural areas that might be tricky or expensive to get to on public transport then a car hire might be a good option.

The roads are very safe. Signs can sometimes be a bit confusing, so check you can master this before you head off. And using a GPS system will aid you a lot.

The Japanese drive on the left, so great if you’re from a left driving country like us from the UK. It will be a bit harder if your used to the other side, but nothing you can’t handle.

There are a number of car hire companies that are tailored for tourists and the cost usually start at a round £40 per day. You will need a car seat if travelling with younger children as this is law in Japan. Some hire companies may provide them, but if not it will be a case of bringing your own or purchasing one once in Japan.

Plane

There are some budget domestic air companies, that can actually be cheaper than the individual bullet train tickets. But as the country is reasonably small and the other options are vast it’s probably not advisable to take a flight. Also with the added cost of getting to/from airports, it can nudge you back over the bullet train prices and wont save much (if any) time.

Local Transport

There are many options to choose from to get about locally. Varying slightly between rural and urban areas. But as mentioned before you can expect efficiency pretty much everywhere!

Metro

Lot’s of the larger cities such as Tokyo and Osaka have extensive metro systems which are by far the quickest way to get around. The metro stations have lots of maps with English writing so planning your route is pretty easy, especially with a bit of help from Google Maps!

But the lines can sometimes be a little complicated. Tokyo’s metro network has lots of different privately owned lines, this can make journeys a little complex even if you buy day tickets or have a JR Pass as you might only be able to get on certain lines with them.

The way to take away these complications is by getting one of the pre-paid top-up cards. There are lots to choose from depending on where you buy them. We purchased a Pasmo card immediately when we arrived at Tokyo airport, the other main card in Tokyo is the Suica, either is fine as they both work the same way.

Adult ones can easily be bought at the machines at the airport or in metro stations, children ones require a member of staff to validate the child’s age when initially purchased.

Other cities have different cards you can purchase, but they essentially all work the same. Most of them are also interchangeable across the country. We used our Pasmo card in every city we went to for the whole month once we had it from day one in Tokyo.

They work like any other top up card that you may have come across. You take them to machines, which are dotted around the city and in most metro stations, top them up with cash or your bank card, and then just scan in/out of stations, buses, trams etc. and top up again when you get low on funds.

This means the complication with the variously owned private lines is an irrelevant factor as you just pay as you go on the lines. You won’t get the discounts you do on day tickets, but it means less of a headache when trying to work out your route.

And they’re not just used on transport. You can use them in stores and at vending machines. So getting one as soon as possible when you arrive will really make your Japan visit much easier.

Bus

Buses are also a great way to get about as an alternative on the metro for some routes. Traffic can be heavy in some of the major urban areas, so they’re only really worth getting if you don’t have a metro to get you to your destination. But they are still a great way to get about.

Using your top up card of choice will again be the simplest way to pay for a bus journey. Some buses are a flat fee and others are charged by distance. Flat fee buses you will only need to swipe once when you enter, variable fee buses will need a swipe off as well so the machine knows where you got off.

This can sometimes be confusing, but one way to tell is how you get on the bus. Most of the variable fee buses board from the middle/back and alight from the front. Whereas the flat fee buses usually board from the front. If in doubt, ask the driver or just watch the locals and do as they do.

If you don’t have a card you will need to pay cash. This will either be done when you get on into a machine by the driver (usually for flat fee buses). Or by taking a ticket when you board from the machine near the door and then paying the fee as illustrated on your ticket and the board when you alight. Again check with the driver if you are unsure of what you need to pay and ensure you have small notes where possible.

Tram

Trams are also in some of the towns and cities and work similarly to the bus, with the option to swipe on and off the trams with your pre-aid cards. Or using a ticket system or straight cash.

Taxi

There are many taxis in the bigger towns and cities and Uber is available in some areas. Taxis come in a few shapes, sizes and colours depending on the company. Most will have a light on top that indicates the availability, green usually means occupied and red, vacant. The can usually be flagged on the side of the road, but if you see a taxi rank use that instead.

But, taxis are very expensive in Japan. Even if you’re a large family it still might be cheaper getting public transport. And probably as efficient in getting to your destination.

To give you an idea, a taxi from Tokyo Airport to the city is approximately 21,000 Yen (£140). Whereas a train will be 3,000 Yen (£20) per person, with discounts for the kids dependant on age. So even with a family of 4, you will still be a lot better off getting the train whenever possible.

Walking

Last but not least, walking is a great way to get around locally in Japan. The streets are very clean and safe with pedestrian crossings in vast supply, which are all well respected, unlike some other parts of Asia.

The local parks are also lovely to take a stroll through when getting from A to B so if you can incorporate this when you are heading somewhere it can add a treat to the journey.