Things to do in Kyoto with kids 21 spots
Kyoto was Japan's capital for a thousand years, and temples and shrines still sit around every corner. When the kids run out of patience, escapes like Kyoto City Zoo — Japan's second-oldest, opened in 1903 — wait right in the sightseeing core. It suits families who want the temples without losing the children.
A shrine whose grounds take in a whole mountain, lined with about 10,000 torii gates.
Stroller OK · Family restroom · checked Aug ’26
A 400-meter path walled on both sides by tended bamboo, from a shrine to a villa.
Stroller OK · checked Oct ’26
A Zen temple, properly Rokuonji, whose garden keeps its 600-year-old form.
Stroller OK · Family restroom · checked Aug ’26
Built by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603, the only Japanese castle that still keeps its palace.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
One of the few railway museums in Japan that runs a steam locomotive every day.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
An aquarium that recreates a Kyoto river and the sea, with a rice paddy indoors.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
A Zen temple from 1339 around a pond garden, Japan's first Special Place of Scenic Beauty.
Stroller OK · Changing table · Family restroom · checked Aug ’26
Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist temple founded in 778, set halfway up Mount Otowa in Kyoto.
Stroller OK · Changing table · Family restroom · checked Sep ’26
Nintendo Museum is a hands-on museum in Nintendo's former factory in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Oct ’26
Kyoto shrine founded in 947 for Sugawara no Michizane, head of some 12,000 shrines across Japan.
Stroller OK · Changing table · Family restroom · checked Oct ’26
A Rinzai Zen head temple in Kyoto, founded in 1291 from a retired emperor's villa.
Stroller OK · Changing table · Family restroom · checked Oct ’26
Toji: World Heritage temple founded in 796, a 15-minute walk from Kyoto Station's Hachijo exit.
Stroller OK · Family restroom · checked Oct ’26
Kifune Shrine is the head shrine of water deities across Japan, set along the Kibune River.
checked Oct ’26
Higashi Honganji is a Buddhist head temple, a 7-minute walk from Kyoto Station.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Oct ’26
Per the tourist association, Ine Funaya has about 230 boathouses lining a bay in Kyoto Prefecture.
Stroller OK · checked Oct ’22
Ryoan-ji is a Zen temple in Kyoto, listed as a World Heritage site in 1994.
Stroller OK · Changing table · Family restroom · checked Oct ’26
Chion-in is the head temple of the Jodo school of Buddhism, in Kyoto's Higashiyama district.
Elevator · Family restroom · checked Jan ’22
A sightseeing train running 7.3 km along the Hozu River, 25 minutes one way.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Oct ’26
Togetsukyo is a 155-meter bridge over the Katsura River in Arashiyama, Kyoto.
Stroller OK · checked Oct ’26
Daikakuji is a Kyoto temple that was once Emperor Saga's retreat palace.
checked Oct ’26
Eikando, a Kyoto temple, is known for maples and a Buddha looking back over its shoulder.
Stroller OK · Changing table · Elevator · checked Oct ’26
