We went to Kyoto late March with the kids and were lucky to land right in the middle of cherry blossom season. It's what we'd hoped for, of course — but unlike the flights, it's not something you can book! In case you happen to be there at the right time, you'll find a list of the best cherry blossom spots at the end of this post.
We went as two families — eight of us in total, four adults and four kids aged 2 to 7. Three full days in Kyoto followed by three days skiing in Niseko, which may not sound like the most obvious combination but worked surprisingly well.
The Basics
We stayed at the Cross Hotel Kyoto. I selected this hotel as it has a very central location with public transport nearby, modern Japanese style, family rooms, and – as per online reviews – good breakfast. They were also very helpful in making dinner reservations for us, which can be a challenge given the language barrier.
A word on restaurants in Japan with a group and small kids: many places are tiny, not all take children, the food can be hit and miss for kids (ten-course meals not really our way to go), and turning up as eight without a booking is optimistic. Check with your hotel concierge — ask them for advice or do a little research on preferred restaurants and let them reserve a table. It saved us a lot of walking around with hungry kids trying to find a spot. The one evening we didn't sort a booking in advance we ended up in a local fast food place, which was not ideal but an experience in itself.
If you pay a bit of attention with the menu selection, a lot of the food works well with kids — ramen, BBQ, sushi, gyoza, edamame, noodles, fried chicken, rice. And people eat dinner early, which is great with tired children (and parents).
Getting around Kyoto was straightforward — we mainly used the subway and bus between sights, easy enough to navigate. Not for the airport transfer however: a 1.5 to 2 hour drive from Kansai Airport after a long flight with four kids is worth doing in a private minibus.
Day 1: Getting to Kyoto
This was mainly a travel day getting from Singapore to Kyoto. We took an 8.30am flight from Singapore to Kansai International Airport (KIX), landing at 3.40pm. Add getting luggage, clearing immigration (make sure to do the online pre-arrival forms so you get the QR code) and the 2 hr transfer - including quick toilet and snack stop – it was evening by the time we arrived in the hotel.
Day 2: Castles, Ninjas, and Japanese BBQ
We started at Nijo Castle — 15 minutes by subway from the hotel. The castle has spacious outdoor grounds, and in late March the grounds are covered in cherry blossom trees. It may be worth managing expectations with the kids — Japanese castles don't look like European fairytale castles from the outside. The interior and grounds are the interesting part, and to be honest, probably more for adults than for kids.
A fun fact at Nijo Castle is that the floors inside squeak when you walk on them, built as a security measure against intruders — our 7-year-old found this considerably more interesting than the shogun history. Allow 90 minutes in total, there can be a queue inside which you just follow along.
Lunch at Ramen Fukuchian near the castle exit. A small informal place with a kids menu. What makes it fun: you order via a vending machine at the entrance — pick your meal and drinks, pay, hand over the ticket. You can guess who were fighting over doing our orders.
Afternoon: Ninja Museum. One hour, interactive English tour, with ninja dress-up and star throwing. We booked tickets online earlier that morning — and it actually filled up quickly. We didn't have high expectations and were a bit worried the tour might be boring for our active kids, but it was the opposite: well-run, properly interactive, and the dress-up and star throwing session was enjoyed by the adults as much as the kids!
From there we walked to Nishiki Market — five covered blocks of food stalls, snacks, and general sensory overload. We came hungry, which meant the kids wanted to try everything: yakitori, sweets, whatever was on skewers (sometimes I'm not sure I wanted to know). Works as a rainy-day option too, given it's fully covered.
Dinner: the hotel concierge booked us into Gyu-Kaku Kawaramachi Sanjo, a Japanese BBQ place 150 metres from the hotel. We had our own booth for eight, and doing the BBQ ourselves was a nice dinner activity.
Day 3: Traditional Streets with Treats, and Cherry Blossom fun
The big walking day. Higashiyama district — a peek into historic Japan, with old town streets and good geisha spotting opportunities.
We took a taxi from the hotel (public transport routes did not work that well) and started at Kiyomizu-dera Temple — UNESCO site, wooden viewing platform over the hillside, cherry trees in full bloom below. We arrived early, and by 10am it was already busy.
We walked down from the temple through Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka — cobbled lanes, traditional wooden shopfronts. It was still before lunch when we came through but we couldn't resist: everyone ended up with one of the soft serves from the stalls along the lane. Well-earned considering the up-and-down hill walking.
From there we continued along Nene's Path to Kodai-ji Temple and its bamboo grove. If you can find Ishibei-koji Lane (the entrance is only marked in Japanese — ask one of the rickshaw pullers on Nene's Path), it's worth the detour. Two hundred metres of well-preserved traditional Kyoto, and much quieter than the main streets.
We had lunch at Maruyama Park — open green space, café with outdoor seating, duck pond, cherry blossom trees, and a shallow little stream running through it. The kids immediately entertained themselves by jumping across the stones, which ended predictably with wet shorts. The sun was out so they dried quickly, but I'd suggest packing a spare pair just in case.
We spent the afternoon in Gion — Kyoto's old geisha district. We walked the main streets, particularly Shirakawa Minami-dōri as the lanterns came on over the canal in the evening. There's also a small playground at Matsubarabashi Park nearby for when a bit of running around is required.
Dinner: we wanted to go to Katsukura Sanjo, 200 metres from the hotel, famous for its Tonkatsu. They don't take reservations — go very early if you don't want to queue. This is where 5.30pm turned out not to be early enough, and we ended up at a fast-food noodle place somewhere near the hotel.
Day 4: Nara Day Trip – Oh My Deer!
Nara Park is about 45 minutes by train from Kyoto. It has several hundred deer that roam freely through the temple grounds. We bought special deer cookies at the park entrance — the kids loved it, though the deer can be a little persistent and cheeky when they know you have food. Our 2-year-old was very excited until a deer came up right behind her looking for cookies and she turned around to find herself face to face with it. Some damage control was required before we could enjoy the rest of the day.
The deer are gentle overall, but they will follow you. Worth knowing before you hand the cookies to a small child — and keep an eye on them when you do.
Both kids got to pick out a souvenir at one of the stalls in the park. Our son chose a headband with deer ears you can inflate and deflate with a hand pump. Our daughter chose a stuffed toy deer. Both are still in use at home, which by the standard of holiday souvenirs is a strong result.
We had lunch at Mizuya Chaya inside the deer park — small, quite local feel, and tasty udon noodles with soup. After lunch we took a slow walk back through the park to the station and picked up some snacks for the train back.
Dinner back in Kyoto was planned to be at Mushashi Sushi — conveyor belt sushi, 130 metres from the hotel, affordable. However, we had not made reservations and by the time we were back at the hotel and did a quick change, the idea of standing in a queue was not an appealing one after all the walking we did. Instead, we looked around right outside the hotel, and our eyes were drawn to the inviting stairs of Capricciosa - Kawaramachi VOX just across the street. This turned out to be the right choice considering the vibe of the moment; it was a friendly, quiet Italian restaurant with good pizza and pasta. And convenient to be back in our room within 5 minutes after paying the reasonable bill.
Day 5: From White Blossoms to White Snow
As we were continuing our trip to go skiing in Niseko, we went to Osaka (Itami) airport for our 10am flight to Sapporo (Chitose). To continue reading about our adventures there please go to this next blog.
The Cherry Blossoms
Late March is within the typical bloom window but it shifts by a week or two each year — there's no guarantee. Late March to early April is your best bet.
Best spots we found:
- Nijo Castle grounds — trees throughout, easy to combine with the visit
- Maruyama Park — the famous weeping cherry tree, illuminated at night
- Philosopher's Path — canal-side walk lined with trees, we did a section of it
- Okazaki Canal — boat rides under the blossoms if you can get on one
- Shirakawa / Gion — blossoms over the canal in the evening with the lanterns on
What We Skipped and Why
- Fushimi Inari Shrine — the famous orange gates. 4km mountain trail, hundreds of steps. With a 2-year-old and no carrier (only a stroller), not the trip for it.
- Arashiyama Bamboo Grove — beautiful, but an hour from central Kyoto and it didn't fit the schedule. Both are on the list for when the kids are older.
From Kyoto we flew north to Sapporo and took a transfer to Niseko for three days of late-season skiing — that's a separate post. Read the Niseko post here. The combination of cherry blossoms and powder in one trip was a bit of a gamble, but it paid off.
Trip taken March 2023.