Kumamoto with a baby (0–1) 3 spots
Kumamoto has a live volcano with farms and grassland across the floor of its crater. Kumamon the black bear belongs to this prefecture and turns up in person at his office in the city. Boats off Amakusa find wild dolphins year-round.
Kumamoto City Zoo and Botanical Gardens
About 110 animal species and 700 plant species share 24.5 hectares beside Lake Ezu.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · checked Aug ’26
An outdoor amusement park with 77 rides, celebrating its sixtieth year in 2026.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
A hillside zoo in Aso where Bear Valley holds about 130 bears of three species.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · checked Aug ’26
The Ferris wheel and the children's train are open to every age, with a parent riding along for anyone under 4; both are 200 yen a go. Strollers are lent free, for children aged 7 to 24 months. The grounds run to 24.5 hectares on the shore of Lake Ezu, and just inside the zoo-side main gate come the monkeys, with tigers, elephants and giraffes further in.The loan strollers are free but limited in number and are not lent to groups; they are for children aged 7 to 24 months. There are three nursing rooms - just inside the main gate, near the information office and near the children's train - and the one inside the main gate keeps hot water for formula. Preschool children enter free. Luggage can be left at the shop near the main gate for 300 yen a piece, and there are coin lockers, 100 yen small and 200 large, near the west gate on the botanical side and in front of the Komono House by the Ferris wheel. The park closes on Mondays - the next weekday when that is a public holiday, and on the Tuesday after the fourth Monday, which stays open - and from 30 December to 1 January.
Children 0 to 2 pay nothing, neither admission nor the rides; only the adult going with them pays. On lawn areas such as the Omatsuri Plaza ground you may lay out a picnic sheet or put up a small tent, so you have a place of your own to rest between carrying the baby around.There are four nursing rooms: beside Iyashi-no-Mori, in the Event Hall, inside the restroom near the giant Kumamon statue, and inside Hotel Blanca. The ones beside Iyashi-no-Mori and in Hotel Blanca also give you hot water free; to use the Hotel Blanca one, tell the restaurant staff. Of the 17 restrooms in the park, 9 have a multipurpose restroom attached, and baby beds are set up inside some of them. Rental strollers are for children from 3 months to 2 years, 500 yen a day, 30 of them on a first-come basis, and the park recommends bringing the stroller you use every day. There are two first-aid rooms, at the Main Gate, where a nurse is normally on duty during opening hours, and at the North Gate.
The Bear Valley area is roofed, so you can watch the bears with the baby in your arms, though a few spots still need an umbrella. From the Glass Bridge that crosses over Bear Valley you look down on the bears from a different angle. Beside the Little Ones' Animal Plaza stands a monument of a brown bear about three meters tall.There are three nursing rooms in the park. Strollers rent at the entrance for children from 1 month to 4 years (48 months) and up to 18 kg: 500 yen for three hours, 100 yen per extra hour, with a 1,000 yen deposit refunded when you return it. The park map includes a recommended wheelchair route. Parking is free.