Nagoya with Kids – In-Depth Travel Guide 2025

If you are planning to visit Nagoya with kids, this is the ultimate guide for you.

Family travel can be a real paradox. It is both the most exhilarating and rewarding thing you can do with your kids, particularly for those challenging things you do, especially if you are visiting an unusual and unique country like Japan. Careful preparation and planning is everything.

As a full-time travel blogging family, we have lived in Nagoya and explored the area extensively. We have pulled together this super helpful guide based on that first-hand experience, exploring the area with our own kids, finding the very best things to do, the best places to stay with kids, and practicalities such as traveling around Nagoya with your kids and some of the challenges of exploring Nagoya with kids.

1 Nagoya Castle

This is a must-do attraction if you are visiting Nagoya with kids. Nagoya Castle is one of the most prominent and important landmarks in Nagoya. It is also a fantastic spot with kids. There is plenty of outdoor space for kids to run around and explore. We particularly recommend the foundation stones on the northeast corner of the castle. This is a great spot for kids to jump around and play, and you can also get some awesome castle photographs from here. Nagoya Castle is a surprisingly affordable activity, costing only 500 yen (roughly £2.50 or $3) for adults. Junior high school and under are free.

LEARN MORE – Nagoya Castle Full Visitor’s Guide

2 Mirai Tower

Although this is not the cheapest activity in Nagoya, it is still iconic and interesting. Mirai Tower (also known as Chubu Electric Power Tower) is situated right in the heart of Nagoya. This tower is open to the public with a viewing deck where you can get a stunning view of the surrounding area (including Nagoya Castle). This activity is slightly more expensive, costing 1,300 yen for adults (£6 or $8) and 800 yen for kids elementary and junior high. Preschool children are free.

FIND OUT MORE – Mirai Tower Visitor’s Guide

3 Oasis 21 Floating Lake

Very close to the Mirai Tower, you can also visit the Oasis 21 Floating Lake, which is a glass-bottom lake on the top of a shopping mall. It is free to visit the Floating Lake, and you can get some very beautiful views of the surrounding area (including the tower). This area is also beautifully illuminated at night – it makes for a very memorable experience. Our kids loved visiting the Floating Lake and running around it. It is also called Spaceship Aqua.

4 Skyboat

Don’t miss the remarkable Skyboat Ferris Wheel at Sunshine Sakae shopping mall. This is a fun, quirky, unique, and memorable experience for a family. You can share a capsule with your family and enjoy watching the view as you travel around the wheel (600 yen per person for one complete rotation of the wheel). The full experience takes around 10 minutes, and during this time, you can enjoy listening to cheesy J-pop music. We actually really enjoyed this activity as a family and made sure that we took a moment with a drink and some cheeky snacks.

5 Nagoya Science Museum

This really is one of the best things to do in Nagoya with kids. The Nagoya Science Museum is genuinely remarkable (having visited many science museums around the world, this is genuinely one of the best). The Science Museum is packed with interactive displays, activities, and experiments. The range of learning experiences and information is genuinely very impressive. If possible, we recommend planning a full day here with your kids (there really is so much to see and do). The Nagoya Science Museum is open from 9:30 am to 5 pm and closed every Monday and every third Friday of the month. It costs 400 yen for the museum only (free for junior high and below). For the Museum and Planetarium, it costs 800 yen. We strongly recommend that you arrive early to book a slot at the planetarium and special lab sessions.

FIND OUT MORE – Nagoya Science Museum In-depth Guide

6 Udon Field Den

Just a couple of blocks north of the Nagoya Science Museum, don’t miss this amazing authentic local ramen restaurant. It is situated on the corner of Nagashimacho-dori and Irecho-dori. They serve a selection of supremely fresh, tasty, and delicious ramen dishes. This is the perfect opportunity to connect with local culture and enjoy a special Japanese meal with your kids.

7 Kura Sushi

Another unique must-do activity with kids is visiting a computer game sushi belt restaurant. We highly recommend that you stop by Kura Sushi. The whole experience is very unique and fascinating. When you first arrive, you need to use a touchscreen machine to register and get a ticket. You will then be allocated a seat (just keep an eye on the screen). Up to this point, you may still not have seen a human member of staff. Once you take a seat, you can start taking plates straight off the belt.

Sushi plates cost a standard price of 125 yen, which is excellent value for money considering the high quality of the sushi. When you have finished, you just post your plates into a slot at the end of the table, and if you post five plates in, your kids can play a computer game with the opportunity of winning an egg prize. Even the payment process and billing is done by computers (so it is possible to go through your entire experience without interacting with a human member of staff). We actually found ourselves visiting this sushi restaurant a lot. It is fun, unique, great value for money, and the food quality is very impressive for the price.

8 Legoland Japan

Don’t miss this! Our Full Guide to Legoland Japan

This one is a classic if you are visiting Nagoya with kids. There is a good chance you will want to visit Legoland Japan. Although this is one of the more expensive activities in Nagoya, it is a lot of fun for families, especially if your kids are over 105 cm tall (at this height, they can go on most of the rides accompanied by an adult). There are some very fun and exhilarating rides at Legoland and plenty of Lego-themed experiences. As a family, we had an amazing day at Legoland Japan. It is also pretty easy to travel to Legoland from the center of Nagoya. All you need to do is take the Aonami line to Kinjofuto (360 yen each way). This is a JR line, which you can find at Nagoya Central Station.

9 Nagoya Aquarium

If you’re looking for indoor activities in Nagoya with kids, why not visit the Nagoya Aquarium, which has an impressive array of sea life? It is also a great place for kids to connect with and learn about ocean life. The Nagoya Aquarium has dolphins, sea turtles, and you can even see a killer whale. It is also excellent value for money, costing around £10.

10 My Gym Kids Fitness Gym

If you are visiting Nagoya with active and energetic kids and you are looking for somewhere for them to burn off some excess energy, then check out My Gym Kids Fitness, which is situated right in the heart of Nagoya, a short walk north of the Mirai Tower. This is not a childcare service, so you do need to stay with your kids. They offer a wide range of classes. A single one-off session costs around 6,000 yen (which is roughly £30 or $35). This activity is particularly good for families with younger kids ranging between 1-4 years old.

11 Tokoname Pottery Village

And last but definitely not least, make sure that you fit in a visit to the Tokoname Pottery Village, which is around 30 minutes south of Nagoya by train. This village is an absolute hidden gem and seriously underrated. The Pottery Village is very beautiful with small winding alleyways, pottery artwork, quaint Japanese gardens, and wonderful viewpoints. So scenic is this village that it was actually chosen for the setting of the “A Whisker Away” anime (if you watch this film, you can genuinely spot lots of scenes from around the village). Don’t miss our free self-guided walking tour of Tokoname Village.

There are plenty of things to see and do in Tokoname, including pottery studios, pottery workshops, visiting the iconic waving cat statue, and visiting the step kiln. If you have time, we also recommend visiting the INAX Pottery Museum about pottery, terracotta, ceramics, and tiling. We recommend allowing a full day for a visit to Tokoname (the journey is likely to take you 30 to 45 minutes each way, and you need to allow several hours to explore the Pottery Village). The whole experience really is super family-friendly and a lot of fun with kids.

The best and cheapest way to travel around Nagoya with kids is to use the subway system. The subway system is extensive and well-networked, with stations at all of the main attractions. The subway is also surprisingly affordable, with single tickets costing between 200 – 350 yen (you only buy one ticket even if your journey covers several different subway lines). Exploring the subway with kids is a lot of fun; however, we do recommend avoiding busier rush hour times, particularly between 8 am – 9 am and between 5 pm and 7 pm (a very crowded subway system with kids can be extremely stressful and challenging). Children need to pay the same price as adults on the subway; pre-elementary school kids are free of charge (generally speaking, kids start elementary school around 7 years old in Japan). 

It takes a little getting used to, but overall it is quite intuitive and user-friendly with plenty of maps and signs in English. In order to purchase a ticket, you need to go to a self-service machine. You will see a price map above the vending machine; find your destination on the map and it should tell you the correct price. Select this price on the vending machine and then just pay. The vending machine will spit out the ticket, which you can use at the automated ticket gate. Keep hold of your tickets throughout the journey because you will need them at your destination station.

Top tip: When you are exploring Nagoya with kids, you are likely to do a lot of walking even if you do use the subway system to get around. Make sure that you bring comfortable shoes for yourself and your kids. If you are traveling with young children, we recommend traveling with a pram or sling (personally, we prefer using a sling, but Nagoya is perfectly accessible for a pram).*

What Are the Facilities Like in Nagoya for Families?

Japan has a well-earned reputation for some of the best facilities in the world, and Nagoya is no exception. It is almost as if the Japanese people think through every possible situation and then come up with an ingenious solution. For example, public toilets in Japan almost always have baby seats attached to the wall. The baby changing mats are extremely well designed with straps and edges to keep your baby safe. Special family bathrooms and breastfeeding rooms are widespread around Nagoya. Public toilets are also impeccably clean (in stark contrast to most of Asia!), making the many toilet trips you have with young kids much less stressful. So if you are traveling around Nagoya with kids, you really do not need to worry about facilities.

Shopping for Kids in Nagoya

Japan also has plenty of convenience stores where you can buy supplies for kids, including snacks, drinks, nappies, wet wipes, and much more. Family Mart and Lawson are the most common brands, and you can find them widespread in Nagoya. If you’re traveling around Nagoya on a low budget, then convenience stores are a fantastic place to feed your family with fresh, healthy, tasty, and affordable food. Some convenience stores also have indoor seating so that you can eat inside with your kids.

Nagoya also has a good range of clothing stores with kids’ clothes available; however, it is worth being aware that new clothing in Japan is relatively expensive. We recommend that you bring all of the clothes that you need before your trip (unless you like the idea of getting some unique Japanese clothing for your family). If you are traveling on a low budget, you can find the occasional second-hand clothing store in Japan where you can find great deals on second-hand clothes (including kids’ clothes!)