A restful week in Osaka and Kyushu with kids

Like many other Singaporeans, we enjoy traveling to Japan for holidays. On this trip, we flew into Osaka, took an overnight ferry from Osaka down to Beppu in Kyushu, then took the high-speed Shinkansen back from Fukuoka to Osaka before catching our flight home to Singapore.

As usual, our family prioritises authentic experiences and quality time together over “hitting” all the must-see’s and must-do’s. If that’s your style of travel too, read on!

Having been to Osaka a few times before and without the kids, we knew that we didn’t want to spend the bulk of our time (if any at all) at the touristy areas, as they are crowded and overwhelming. This meant skipping Dotonbori (note: we did actually end up walking through it one day, but didn’t spend much time lingering), Universal Studios Japan, etc. The only very touristy thing we did was the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, and will share more thoughts on that below.

The first leg of our trip was in Osaka, having flown in on a Scoot flight from Singapore. (Side note: flying low-cost carriers is one of our biggest hacks for making family travel accessible. On this trip, we paid a total of S$1,400 for return tickets for our family of 4. Read more about why we choose to fly budget airlines here.) It was our first trip traveling without check-in baggage, and it was so freeing!

Upon arriving at Kansai International Airport, we made our way to the train station to hop on to our direct train connection to Osaka. We pre-purchased tickets for the Nankai Limited Express Rapi:t for 2 adults (kids under 6 travel free) via Klook, which made it super convenient. We were issued links to QR codes (you can’t print in advance, they are generated live on the spot when you enter the train station) and we could scan the codes to enter the station, as well as later on to validate our tickets when the conductor came around on the train.

A note on free train travel with children in Japan: while kids travel free before elementary school, they are not allocated any seats of their own. This means that you have to be willing to share your seat with your child(ren), which may be okay for a shorter ride but uncomfortable for a much longer one. We try to book our 2 seats in a row of 3 seats, hoping that no one else will book the single seat — this works in most, but not all cases. If you want the assurance of having a seat for your child, it is still better to pay for a full priced ticket.

For this trip, we chose to stay in a lovely Airbnb apartment located at Shinsekai, an area known for retro feels and nightlife. Our apartment was located outside of the busy area, so we didn’t find it too noisy or bustling at night. However, this meant that us adults could take turns to go out on a walk and soak in the atmosphere after the kids had gone to sleep!

Osaka Kizu Market (an alternative to Kuromon Market)

If you’re headed to Osaka, you’ll surely hear of Kuromon Market and how it’s a must-go. We’d been there on previous trips and wanted to visit a smaller, more local market this time around. Kuromon can get overcrowded with tourists, and the prices are tourist prices too.

The Osaka Kizu market was within walking distance of our apartment so we headed out as soon as we were ready, to buy some food for breakfast! The market is certainly smaller than Kuromon, and doesn’t have the cooked food stalls and souvenirs that you’d find in the former. However, it did have lots of fresh seafood, which was what we were there for! After walking around, we (with much difficulty) narrowed down what we wanted to get. We also visited the large supermarket located in the market, to pick up some local snacks and ingredients. Local ingredients are my kind of travel souvenir.

There are a few designated eating areas in the market, where you can find tables and chairs and sit to eat (it’s not polite to stand around in the walkways and eat). However, we wanted to buy some rice and drinks to pair with our fresh fish, so we stopped by a combini on our way back to the apartment, and picked up some microwave rice and drinks. We then had an enjoyable and luxurious breakfast in the comfort of our apartment! We have gotten so used to the conveniences of staying in Airbnb apartments — the kitchen equipment, laundry facilities — hotels just feel so limiting these days.

Kids Plaza Osaka

We enjoy visiting local museums when we travel. Kids Plaza Osaka is a science Center, discovery centre and play area all in one. We bought tickets on Klook (you can purchase without stipulating a particular date, which is great for young families who need flexibility!), and it’s easy to validate at the ticket counter for entry.

There were many local kids around, and most of the activities and exhibits were in Japanese language only. However, it’s easy enough to understand without knowing the language. I mean, dropping a ball down a ramp, or allowing yourself to be trapped in a bubble, or even purchasing items from the supermarket, don’t require much language. The kids (and us adults) had so much fun here — it’s definitely minimally a half-day, if not full-day affair. Kids Plaza Osaka is next to a public park, which also has an amazing playground. Pack a picnic and spend your entire day in the area.

Family-friendly food in Osaka

When traveling without the kids in Japan, we love to visit hole in the wall joints, izakayas, and to queue for good food. But once kids are in the equation, everything changes. In the city in particular, it’s hard to find quaint local spots that are suitable for kids, without being a nuisance to others. We tend to eat at fuss-free spots that balance value, quality and convenience.

Yakiniku Watami is an affordable, conveyer-belt buffet-style yakiniku restaurant in the Umeda area, where we sat in a private booth and could cook our own food. Some dishes were bigger hits than others, but overall it was a very enjoyable meal. We enjoy the freedom of being able to prepare food the way we like it, and the conveyer belt kept the kids excited and entertained.

Kura Sushi is one of the largest kaiten sushi (conveyer belt sushi) chains in Japan, and you’ll find it just about everywhere. It’s easy to duck into, find a seat at the booth, and get your food within minutes. They also have a “game” where for every 5 plates you return you get a chance to win a prize. Definitely a favourite of the kids.

A random note about restaurants in Japan — they almost always serve cold drinking water, and have wet tissues for your use, at no extra charge. We carry small water bottles with us when we travel in Japan, as we know we’ll always have access to water when we stop for meals.

We also embrace combini meals for times when we are on-the-go, want a quick picnic lunch, or just need a snack. The kids love the onigiri and sandwiches, and we often get iced coffee or the fruit smoothies from 7-11 as a perk-me-up. The functioning of the smoothie machine is in itself an attraction.

LEGOLAND Discovery Centre

We didn’t plan to visit, but ended up here anyways because our tickets for the aquarium were for entry in the afternoon, and they are very strict about entry timings. Opposite the aquarium, there is a mall with plenty of eating options, some limited shopping, and LEGOLAND Discovery Centre.

In short, LEGOLAND Discovery Centre is extremely underwhelming. There are two rides which operate at certain times during the day — one “Dumbo” style ride where you sit in a carriage that goes round and round, and you can control to go up and down, and another shooting game where your vehicle is moved through a story about a knight who has to battle goblins and skeletons, and you shoot at certain targets with your gun. Both are very slow paced and suited to young children. Other than the rides, there are LEGO building areas, and you can build racers and test them on the tracks. If you’ve been to the LEGOLAND in Malaysia like we have, this is a narrow sliver of what you’d find there. That said, our kids had zero words of complaint about the place, and kept saying it was one of the highlights of the trip for them. I suppose it’s all about expectations, and it makes me realise how much adulthood has tainted my sense of wonder.

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

Okay, I have such mixed feelings about this one. It is extremely popular so do remember to buy your tickets in advance, and choose your entry timing (which they are very strict about!).

There are amazing sea creatures to view here, and lots to marvel at. But, it’s extremely overcrowded, and appears to emphasise entertainment over education. When we first entered (at the time stipulated on our ticket), we were ushered into a mass of people, and it was hard to view anything at all. This was a random weekday afternoon, so I cannot imagine if it gets any more crowded that this.

One good thing that we discovered as we explored the space is that there are actually multiple viewing windows for most tanks. So whilst the crowd tends to stop at the first window, if you take a few more steps you might find a less crowded viewing area. There were also a few viewing areas that were off the main walking course, so you could stop there to watch the creatures for longer without feeling pushed forward by the crowd. The crowd did dissipate the further we ventured into the aquarium, and it became much more pleasant.

There was overall a lack of signage providing information about the creatures, and we could mostly only find the names without more. A pity, since it is such a great opportunity to educate the public about these majestic beauties!

All in all, I’d say we enjoyed it but probably won’t go back.

Taking the overnight ferry from Osaka to Beppu

The Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan is located next to the port where the ferry for Beppu leaves from. We had left our luggage in the lockers at the train station, and after retrieving them, hopped on a tram to get to the port.

Booking the ferry was fairly easy via the website, but they clearly don’t cater to foreign tourists often as most information requested assumed you were a local resident. At the ferry terminal, we exchanged our booking confirmation for our tickets. They were QR codes printed on ticket stubs, which we’d use for entry on the ferry and would function as our door keys for the night.

There is a great variety of “seats” that you can book on the ferry, from a berth in a shared bunk, to a private suite. We chose a Japanese style private room with en-suite toilet, as we had kids with us and wanted that convenience. I think we could have done fine without the en-suite, as there were many clean and spacious communal toilets available on the ferry. There’s also an onsen, which the boys enjoyed!

As the ferry departed, we headed to the open deck to watch the sunset and the buildings grow smaller as we set sail. It was our first time taking such a long ride on a ferry and I’m glad none of the family is prone to motion sickness.

We had packed our own dinner, a combination of convenience store foods and snacks, which we heated up with the hot water kettle in our room. We saw many groups of local tourists having “picnics” with much food in the communal areas! There were also vending machines that sold everything from hot food to drinks and ice cream, and microwaves and hot water for guest use. Apart from these, there is also a buffet restaurant on board where you can get dinner (and breakfast the next morning) for really affordable prices. We chose not to eat at the buffet restaurant mainly because of timing — the boarding time of the ferry was slightly later than our usual dinner time and we were concerned that the kids might get hangry waiting!

We slept well that night, and woke bright and early to disembark in Beppu. The arrival was so early that we didn’t see the need to wake earlier to eat, and woke up just before it was time to disembark.

For the Kyushu leg of our trip, we were going to self-drive, so next on the agenda was to pick up breakfast, and our rental car. We didn’t realise it prior, but we could have arranged with the car rental company to pick us up from the ferry terminal. It looked a short walk to the car rental shop on the map — but it was not. We stopped halfway at a lovely little bakery for breakfast, then Ben carried on the walk to pick up the car (it was pretty far for the kids to manage, with our bags), and drove back to fetch us.

From the busy city of Osaka to the quiet rolling hills of Kyushu, our trip took a change in pace here.

Kyushu Wildlife Safari

Before heading over to Yufu Child Farm, we had some time to kill, so we decided to head to the Kyushu Wildlife Safari. It’s a self-drive course where you can see African animals up close. They also have jungle bus experience, where you can sit in one of their caged buses and feed the animals morsels of food via tongs through the mesh of the cage. We weren’t sure if the jungle bus felt right for us — feeding lions bite-sized bits of meat with tongs? — so we skipped that but did the self-drive part only.

It was truly amazing to witness the animals up close, and so many of them in such a short span of time! Again, Japanese animal tourism does leave one with a lot of questions, but we tried not to be distracted by that and enjoy the animals that were before us. It is possible to question the ethics of such experiences, while also appreciating the beauty of God’s creation. Both can be true at the same time.

4D3N at Yufu Child Farm

Our first visit to Yufu Child Farm was such a memorable one that we knew we’d come back someday. In fact, this entire trip was planned around our visit to the farm to spend time with Emma-san and Riku-chan.

You can read about our first experience at the farm, when our kids were 3.5 and 1.5 years old, in my previous post.

As there is too much to share to contain in this article, I’m going to write a separate piece about our experience at Yufu Child Farm, and will link it here when it’s ready.

Fukuoka Toy Museum

After our time at Yufu Child Farm, we were going to spend the rest of the trip at Itoshima, before heading back to Osaka via high-speed rail to catch our flight home. On the way to Itoshima, we stopped by the Lalaport Fukuoka mall, to visit the Fukuoka Toy Museum.

If your idea of an indoor playground is an overstimulating, noisy, dazzling and hectic place, this is the complete opposite. The whole toy museum is made using local sustainable wood sources, and the toys (mostly made of the same wood) are both beautiful and fun to play with. There are all kinds of toys, from ride-ons and push-alongs for toddlers, to complex games and puzzles for adults. We had so much fun here, expending some energy from the long drive and soaking in the goodness of the wood scents and zen vibes.

The kids also participated in a wooden spoon carving workshop, where they used Sakura wood to carve a dessert spoon under the guidance of an instructor. This was a separate experience for a small fee, which we all enjoyed together. The spoon now serves as a nice little memento of the trip.

Visiting the coastal town of Itoshima

Our last few days were spent at the quiet coastal town of Itoshima. We weren’t traveling in peak season, so there were hardly any tourists around. Our Airbnb host provided a list of recommendations, and we noticed a soba restaurant walking distance from the home, which appeared to offer soba making lessons, but only in Japanese. In fact, the website expressly stated that they only accepted groups which had Japanese speakers. We reached out to our Airbnb host to see if he could help us ask for an exception, and he told us that the soba chef was his personal friend and was happy to make an exception for us.

The soba making class was such fun, and the chef was full of enthusiasm and cheer. He didn’t speak English but we managed to communicate well enough with gestures, pictures and some Google Translate. We learnt about the soba flower, how the dough is made and rolled out, and got to try our hand at making our own noodles. Thereafter, he cooked a portion of the noodles for us as part of a course meal, and packed the rest for us to bring back to eat the next day.

Attending local cooking classes is something we try to do, as we love to spend time in the kitchen as a family, and learning about different culture’s cuisines helps us understand them a little more.

We also spent time at the beach, and hiking up a short peak, just soaking in nature. It was a quiet, restorative time for us all.

Some other things we did in Itoshima include visiting the Kitai Soy Sauce Factory, where we were told that we needed to call ahead to book if we wanted a tour, so sadly we missed that, and the Ichiran Museum, where we could view the factory lines making the noodles, and learn more about Ichiran’s story. We also had our one and only bowl of Ichiran Ramen for the trip here.

What we would have done differently

On our final day, we had to wake up bright and early, drive an hour into Fukuoka to return the car, get onto the Shinkansen, and spend almost 4 hours commuting on the trains, to reach Kansai International Airport. We then checked-in for our flight, waited some more, and took the plane back to Singapore. The whole day was spent traveling and it was exhausting.

For certain, one of the things we would have done differently would have been to fly out of Fukuoka Airport directly, instead of going back to Osaka. We had booked the round trip tickets before planning the itinerary, and Scoot doesn’t fly to Fukuoka, so we had to work around the tickets we already had. It was certainly a transport-filled trip, and the kids did very well on the long commutes, but it was tiring for everyone.

Hopefully, this post has given you some inspiration for your next trip to Japan. We’ve been so many times and there is still more to explore every time we visit. While the big cities like Tokyo, and tourist-laden areas like Kyoto are overcrowded and not our cup of tea when traveling with the kids, the quieter neighbourhoods and more rural areas have so much beauty to uncover.

If you enjoyed this post and are interested in family travel, do check out our other posts about Chiba (just outside Tokyo), Kyushu and Jeju!