Akita with a toddler (2–3) 3 spots
Akita is rice, snow, and the home of the Akita dog. Its namahage ogres call at houses on New Year's Eve, and a museum on the Oga peninsula shows the masks year-round.
A theme park the size of four Tokyo Domes, from craft workshops to a planetarium.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
A stone museum holding more than 150 Namahage masks actually used in Oga's villages.
Stroller OK · Family restroom · checked Aug ’26
Japan's first museum devoted to original manga artwork, with about 490,000 sheets.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
Four of the facilities are grouped as places to play; of those, Wanpaku Hiroba and Wonder Castle — packed with trick art and play equipment — are where a toddler can move around. The Max Train charges a child fare from age three (300 yen for ages 3 to junior high) and runs from mid-April to mid-November.Wonder Castle and the Spacia planetarium both require children up to third grade of elementary school to enter together with someone of junior-high age or older. Wonder Castle is open 9:30-16:40 with last entry at 16:10, and the Max Train's last run is 16:00 on weekdays and 16:15 at weekends and on holidays — so on a day you arrive late, do the rides first. Tickets are sold until 16:30 and in cash only.
On the screen in the Namahage Densho Hall, a film about the New Year's Eve custom in Oga, A Night of Namahage, plays every 30 minutes from 8:30 to 16:30. The masks along the wall are all different, so after the film a child can walk the room hunting for the face they like.About half an hour covers the museum. A passage runs from the exit to Oga Shinzan Denshokan next door with no steps, though it does slope a little. The Denshokan is an old farmhouse with a step at the door and tatami inside, but a ramp at the back lets you come up and watch from the wooden-floored room.
Preschool children get into the special exhibitions free as well; through 27 September 2026 that is The World of Thomas & Friends. Books in the Manga Library cannot be borrowed, but they can be read inside the museum. And on the Manga Cafe wall, the blank panels get filled in one frame at a time by the artists who come through.While you are looking at the works in the exhibition rooms, reception asks you to hold a small child's hand. Eating and drinking are not allowed inside the exhibition rooms, and photos and video are in principle not allowed either — some exhibits do permit them, so follow the signs in each room. The special exhibition lets you re-enter the same day, so if you need to step outside partway through, show your admission ticket at the exhibition reception and go in and out. The Manga Cafe closes at 16:00, with last orders at 15:30.