Kagoshima with a toddler (2–3) 4 spots
Kagoshima faces Sakurajima, a volcano that smokes across the bay in full view of the city. At Ibusuki you get buried to the neck in sand the ground heats from below, and ferries cross to the volcano itself.
About 130 species live in this zoo, which also has a Ferris wheel and go-karts.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
Kagoshima City Aquarium (Io World)
An aquarium of 800 species from Kinko Bay to the Nansei Islands, whale shark included.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
Kagoshima Municipal Science Hall
A science museum about the Sakurajima volcano and space, with a 280-seat planetarium.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
The cafe that invented shirokuma shaved ice in 1947, now serving over ten kinds.
Elevator · checked Aug ’26
At the touching corner children handle rabbits and guinea pigs, and at the petting corner goats and sheep; both run at set times. Inside the park is an amusement area with a Ferris wheel, go-karts, a merry-go-round and a flight tower, where a ride costs 50 to 100 yen. Children walk straight from the animals to the rides.Ride tickets are sold until 16:40, and a book of eleven 100-yen tickets costs 1,000 yen. Nine restrooms have a toddler urinal, among them the women's room beside the entrance gate, the one at the ride corner in the amusement area, the Animal Learning Hall restroom and the children's toilet inside the women's room in the South America Nature Zone. Packed lunches can be eaten on the lawn at the Rest Plaza or at four roofed rest shelters: in front of the Africa Zone, at the amusement area, at the Rest Plaza and in the India Forest Zone. From 15:45 some animals go back to their houses and cannot be seen, and the hippo pool is cleaned on Tuesdays and Fridays, so the hippos are off display those afternoons. Last admission is 16:30, so putting the animal contact early in the day is the sure way. Reckon on about two hours to go round.
The first floor has three areas built for children: the Wakuwaku Discovery Square, the Iokko Square and the Wakuwaku Observation Pool. The seal tank, the mangrove tank and the dolphin pool are all on that same floor, so this age can keep going without changing levels. The whale shark swims in the great Kuroshio tank on the second floor, and the Dolphin Time event moves according to the day of the week.Loan strollers stop at age 2; from 3 the loan becomes a wheelchair. Reckon on about an hour and a half inside. Flash photography is asked to be avoided at the great Kuroshio tank on the second floor, the sawshark tank on the fourth and the seal tank on the first. Packed lunches can be eaten on the outdoor lawn or at the Dolphin Stand indoors, though not at the Stand during Dolphin Time and other events. Re-entry is allowed on the same day only; show the stub of your ticket to a staff member. Baby keeper seats are in the women's restroom on the first floor and in both men's and women's restrooms on floors 2 to 4, and the men's and women's restrooms also have a wide booth that a wheelchair or stroller can go into.
On the third floor, Sakurajima Walk-Through is a giant 1:2000 diorama of the volcano split in two, and children walk through the gap between the halves. On the fourth, Mysteries of the Sun projects the sun onto a two-meter dome, and the image follows a trackball as it turns. On the second, Ball Jump sends a ball up at the press of a button and then from platform to platform, easy to follow with the eyes.Preschool children enter free and must have a parent with them. The Earthquake Experience on the third floor is loud and is sometimes paused for that reason. A Space Theater screening runs about 45 minutes; a seat costs the child rate, while a lap seat is free, one child per parent. The nursing room is on the fourth floor, a diaper changing table and a baby keeper on the third, and another changing table on the fifth. The fourth floor has a rest area with a water cooler and vending machines, and the second has a food and drink corner, coin lockers and vending machines. Re-entry is allowed on the same day: speak to the staff at the second-floor reception both when you leave and when you come back. There is no dedicated car park, but the neighboring Kamoike Park car park is free for up to three hours - take your parking ticket into the museum. Otherwise it is 150 yen an hour for an ordinary car.
In the shop the shirokuma comes in two sizes, regular and baby; the baby size (700 yen for the standard one) is about one serving. Freshly shaved ice is covered with the house milk and syrup and topped with fruit such as mandarin and peach, and beans. Apple juice is 300 yen.If you order only shirokuma there is a one-order-per-person rule, but children of elementary-school age and under are exempt, so you need not order a separate one for the child — the regular size is one to two servings and can be shared. Soft Shirokuma and Purin Shirokuma come in the regular size only during Golden Week and in July and August, with no baby size. What goes into each shirokuma differs by type, so check allergies item by item on the menu list page.