Shimane with a baby (0–1) 3 spots
Shimane is where Japan's oldest myths are set, on the quiet far coast of Honshu. Stone rabbits are scattered across the grounds at Izumo Taisha for children to find, and the boat around Matsue Castle's moat passes under bridges so low the roof folds down.
One of only twelve original castle keeps left in Japan, and a National Treasure.
Nursing room · Changing table · Family restroom · checked Aug ’26
A hillside park of glasshouses in bloom all year, with about 90 kinds of birds.
Stroller OK · Changing table · Family restroom · checked Aug ’26
A museum given over to sand, with the world's largest hourglass standing in it.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
You do not have to climb the keep: the grounds from the Otemon gate up to Honmaru are free to walk. Honmaru opens at 8:00, half an hour before the keep starts admitting at 8:30, so you can be in early. A gravel detour takes wheels all the way up to the upper level of Ninomaru, though it is unpaved and the ride can get bumpy.For nursing, the Buratto Matsue tourist information centre lends a small room; it is on the right as you come through the Otemon gate, on the lower level of Ninomaru, open all year, and you just speak to the staff. The baby bed for diaper changes is in the restroom near the Nimon gate, on the upper level of Ninomaru. Inside the keep there is no elevator and no restroom, and the stairs are steep. From the upper level of Ninomaru up to Honmaru is stairs.
A 140-meter moving walkway carries you past one bird after another the whole way along. In the Tropical Aviary, penguins walk beside you, and in the Waterfall Aviary crested ibises and swans are right there in front of you. Four glasshouses and the observation tower are linked by roofed walkways, so on a rainy day you push the stroller through the whole park without opening an umbrella.Strollers are lent free at the main entrance; ask at the desk. There is exactly one staircase on the route, and there a shuttle car carries stroller, wheelchair and walker users past it. The shuttle needs no booking, costs nothing and runs on demand, and staff will also drive you from the Tropical Aviary down to the Fumaian soba restaurant or the waterfowl pond. Diaper-changing tables are in the wheelchair-accessible private restrooms at six places in the park: Center House, Kunibiki Observatory, the Waterfowl Glasshouse, the lawn plaza, the Tropical Aviary and Fumaian. Children under elementary school age enter free. You may bring a packed lunch and eat it at the designated spots on the first floor of Kunibiki Observatory, the lawn plaza or the Tropical Aviary, but you carry your rubbish out. Every hall entrance has a disinfectant mat and sanitizer that you must use. There is no re-entry.
You can go in with the stroller; there is a ramp at the entrance and a lift inside, and the museum says families with babies and small children are welcome. Sunagoyomi, the world's largest one-year hourglass, is a glass vessel about 5.2 meters tall and 1 meter across, something to look up at with the baby in your arms. The building itself is six glass pyramids of different sizes.The diaper changing table is inside the multipurpose restroom and free to use. There is no dedicated nursing room, but staff will open up an empty room if you ask: in April 2025 a visitor with a six-month-old asked at reception and was shown to a room with a long table and a whiteboard, where a chair and a screen were set up. Two strollers are lent free of charge, along with two wheelchairs. Wednesday is the regular closing day, but other days do fall closed as well (in August 2026 the 5th, 17th, 19th and 26th), so check before you go.