We Hiked & Climbed in Japan With Our 7-Year-Old – And You Can Too!

Having kids doesn’t mean you need to stop exploring and not all adventures need to be epics (but this one was *wink*). Bec shares the ins and outs of adventuring as a family of three in Japan.

When I used to think of Japan, I would mostly think of Tokyo, specifically the Harajuku neighbourhood – perhaps a sign of my age and teenage interest in the subculture of the ‘Harajuku girls’ during the early 2000s. While exploring Tokyo was an important part of our two-week family trip to Japan, as an adventure-loving family we knew we also wanted to spend time outside of the major cities.

Hello Family Adventure!

Flights booked, we settled into planning. This started with a list of key things each family member wanted to do;

• Explore Tokyo and go rock climbing (Bec, 35)
• See a sloth and visit a Studio Ghibli site (Elke, 7)
• Find some spectacular trail runs and share Japan with family (Tristan, 40)

Oh, and eat our fill of one of our favourite cuisines.

Tucking into some delicious ramen in Shibuya

The two main outdoor adventures we decided on were to hike part of the Nakasendo Way and rock climb in Japan’s premiere climbing destination, Ogawayama.

Read more: Japan is a Hiking Oasis in Summer

Getting Around Japan With a Fam

Japan is blessed with fantastic (fast, clean, timely) public transport. Helpfully, ticket machines have an English option, stations and stops are announced or written in English and, when you do run into trouble, station staff are able to help you out using translating devices.

Waiting patiently for the train with an audiobook

We primarily travelled by train, especially the high-speed Shinkansen. This meant we could all relax and enjoy the ride, rather than trying to navigate unfamiliar roads. This was a highlight of the trip for Elke.

Hitting the road

We hired a small car for the final five days we spent in Ogawayama, as no public transport gets you all the way to the Kinpusan Mountain Lodge. Getting out of Tokyo was action-packed, thanks to Siri pronouncing Japanese street names as if she were speaking Mandarin. Not helpful. Once we were out of Tokyo, driving got easier and the roads felt safe.

Hiking Part of Nakasendo Way

The Nakasendo Way is an historic trail from the Edo era (1603-1867) that covers 530km and runs between Tokyo and Kyoto. We chose to walk the section between restored post towns Magome-juku and Tsumago – approximately 8km and achievable in a day.

We set off from Kobe, dropping everything but two small backpacks at lockers in Nagoya Train Station.

We arrived in Magome on a small bus, walking our way up the beautifully restored main street. Magome is like a scene from a Studio Ghibli film, which definitely added to the sense of adventure and magic for our 7-year-old. Who needs Disneyland?

We stayed in a traditional Chaya (Edo period rest stop) and pre-booked the dinner and breakfast. This was lucky because there was only one other restaurant in the town open past 5pm.

Chilling out in the Chaya

Chaya’s have traditional Japanese rooms for sleeping, where you lay futon mattresses on tatami mats and it’s your own responsibility to set them up. You make use of slippers to walk around the Chaya, taking them off at the door to your room.

Magome dinner, clockwise from bottom left: egg pudding, soba noodles, pickles, hotpot, tempura, broth, horse sashimi, salted cod, and rice

Dinner was an impressive spread of traditional Japanese foods and a great way to try something new.

The next morning, we woke up surrounded by mountains.

Read more: 5 Best National Parks in Japan

Good morning from Magome

Breakfast included salmon, omelette, rice, and nori sheets. Yum!

We started our hike straight after breakfast, looping back down the main street to the only coffee shop in town open at 8am. We weren’t completely sure how long the walk would take (it took us two hours) but had a handful of different bus times we were aiming for.

A unique part of the Nakasendo Way is the presence of numerous bear bells along the path. The intention of these is to ward off the local Japanese black bears.

While some people have questioned whether the bells instead work to indicate that it’s dinner time, there haven’t been any bear sightings or interactions recorded along this section of the Nakasendo in recent years.

Scaring off bears? Or letting them know where to find us?

Many locals carry their own bells, but we had a lot of fun ringing the permanently installed ones as we came across them. Getting to the next bell became an activity that helped keep our seven-year-old going.

The hike took us along babbling streams, by fast-flowing rivers, past an ancient tea shop, alongside the stunning Central Japanese Alps, over a pass, through ancient forests, and other small towns all the way to Tsumago. The scenery was jaw-dropping.

Beautiful Tsumago

Tsumago is a short bus ride from a train station where we caught the local train back to Nagoya to collect our bags. We hopped on a Shinkansen back to our accommodation in Shibuya and on to our next mountain adventure.

Rock Climbing in Ogawayama

Ogawayama is often labelled a climber’s playground. This is no lie.

Getting the balance just right

It’s still hard to get over how extensive the available climbing is here, and this is the case across all styles (trad, sport, and bouldering). Driving in is breathtaking as you’re surrounded by mountain after mountain after mountain.

Climbers’ mascot

As you approach the campsite and lodge you start to make out the different walls. Then you notice the local area mascot – a dog wearing lettuce (a primary local crop) and going rock climbing. It’s a joy to see local authorities accept, welcome, and support climbing!

Looking across at the Ani Iwa crag, opposite the lodge

We’re primarily a family of sports climbers! To prepare I printed the only English crag guides I could find online. This proved a little confusing once onsite and made it hard to cross-check which route we were on with Japanese climbers.

Bec leading Tajiyan IV (5.10a)

Despite this, the three days of climbing were an absolute trip highlight. Elke put me to shame, breezing up routes I’d fought to finish. Her favourite was the 30m high ‘Road to Eleven’ a 5.10d (Eubank 20/21).

Being the person responsible for leading and finishing a route definitely made me push myself. Getting to the top of some of the 30 and 20 metre climbs was a huge confidence boost. Looking out at the valley below from ‘Road to Eleven’ while I took my breath and checked my anchors is a memory that still puts a smile on my face.

Climbing at Phoenix crag

The crags are mostly within easy walking distance from the lodge. Most bolts and anchors were in good condition and climbing, and for the most part, felt pretty safe. Having crags within walking distance is a huge plus when climbing with kids and it means you can spend more time working on your projects!

Elke on top of the 30m high ‘Road to Eleven’, waving back at the lodge

Logistics of Climbing in Ogawayama

Instead of dragging our camping gear around Japan for two weeks, we chose to book a room in the Kinpusan Mountain lodge, where breakfast and dinner were included. Apparently, you can add lunch on weekends. The Kinpusan Mountain Lodge provides traditional Japanese rooms with tatami mats, futon mattresses, and bean-filled pillows. The in-lodge bath house is unbeatable at the end of a day of scaling rocks.

Kinpusan Mountain Lodge

It’s a 20-minute drive to the nearest town, Kawakami, making dinner at the lodge invaluable. We bought snacks and fruit from Kawakami every couple of days to serve as lunch.

Kawakami is also home to Calafate, a climbing shop where we managed to pick up the Ogawayama climbing guidebook. While mostly in Japanese, there’s enough English to locate the route and know what grade you’re about to hit.

Tristan getting sendy

Dinner and breakfast were Japanese, although the very kind chef did adjust what he was giving Elke after realising she wasn’t eating her breakfast fish. The food was outstanding and the perfect complement to spending the day outside on the wall or running a trail.

We spent an afternoon exploring the forest, river, and nearby crags and three days climbing. Tristan also fitted in an epic trail run to the top of Mt Kinpu, one of his trip bucket list items.

Running up that ‘hill’

Tips and Tricks For Family Adventure in Japan

• Don’t pack more than you and your kids can carry
• While clean and orderly, Japanese train stations are busy and have lots of steps. Plus using lifts adds time and limits which exits you can use. Tristan helped people carry their cases up (and down) station steps and load suitcases into the luggage racks numerous times
• We planned our trip to have access to a laundry halfway through meaning we only needed one weeks’ worth of clothes

Carrying what we packed

• Train station lockers have limits! We thought we’d be able to ditch the 16kg of climbing gear in one of the many lockers found in Japanese train stations, picking it up before we drove out to the mountains. Until we realised these lockers have a three-day use limit. After this they’re emptied by station staff. Luckily, everything was packed in a backpack we could carry as an extra bag
• Pack kid-friendly snacks. While our daughter loves rice and noodles, getting her to try and eat a variety of other foods was harder when we were in more remote areas. She did a good job at trying new things but it’s probably worth picking up a few backup snacks. 7/11’s are a great place to stock up on bananas and other portable food

Read more: Remember to leave no trace

A wholesome breakfast at Magome-Chaya

• BYO pillow. Traditional Japanese pillows are not that comfortable! Because it was summer, we were able to use the doona’s provided instead. If pillows are integral to you getting a good night sleep, or you’re visiting in a cooler month, maybe investigate how you could pack your own

Mountainside caffeine hit incoming

• Pack your own coffee! While you can find cans of coffee everywhere, I found that it didn’t pack the caffeine punch I was used to. I travel with Laughing Pug Drip bags which pack down small and just need hot water to brew a delicious mug of coffee
• Treat everything like it’s an adventure, because it is! Walking 8km over a mountain pass? Look out for Totoro or soot sprites or a cat bus! Tired after hours of travel? Behold an electronic toilet that opens on approach and has a heated seat. Done climbing for the day? Be my guest untangle coil the rope

Let them help!

• Schedule in down time, for everyone! We packed headphones, a battery pack to help keep everything charged, journals, books, and colouring pens. Our daughter kept a daily diary, printing a picture from her Instax mini each day. The time taken to choose a picture, print it out, and write something about the day gave us a chance to have some ‘space’ even if it wasn’t physical. Train travel provided good downtime
• Most importantly, give it a go. Travelling with kids can feel intimidating. Japan felt like a really safe and friendly place to travel as a family. It also offers a lot of different activities to suit a range of interests and ages

Read more: Everything You Need to Know About Visiting Japan in Cherry Blossom Season

Train to the airport: tired but happy