Shimane with a toddler (2–3) 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
A toddler can walk the whole way from the Otemon gate up to Honmaru, and you only decide whether to climb the keep once you are standing there. At the keep you take your shoes off at the entrance and carry them up in a shoe bag yourself. From the main entrance (Otemae) up the keep and back is reckoned at 40-50 minutes.There is no restroom inside the keep, so use the one near the Nimon gate on the upper level of Ninomaru before you go up. The stairs are steep. A March 2026 notice announced partial closures inside Shiroyama Park and restricted access around the north gate and the Mizunote gate, so check the official notices before you go.
In Paradise Hall, the hands-on glasshouse, tropical birds come right up to you and you can feed the colorful ones. In the Tropical Aviary you can walk alongside a penguin, and on weekends and holidays from 14:15 to 14:45 the same room hosts the Wakuwaku Petting Plaza, where a penguin or a duck sits on your lap and a parakeet draws a fortune slip. Out in the open, Vogel Farm has emus.Because this is a place where you touch the animals, a bird may nip or peck and cause an injury, and the park asks that small children be supervised by their guardian. Feed the birds and animals nothing but the food sold inside the park. Hands-on sessions end at 16:45, last admission is 16:00, and the moving walkway runs until 16:15. For tired legs, strollers and walkers are lent free at the main entrance, and the shuttle car takes you past the one staircase on the route, with no booking and no charge. Children under elementary school age enter free. Packed lunches are allowed, but at the lawn plaza and the Tropical Aviary you eat outside show times. Use the disinfectant mats at every hall entrance. There is no re-entry.
Right beside Sunagoyomi stands a model hourglass of the same shape, and this one you can turn over yourself. In the Fureai Koryukan, the first floor holds the glass workshop and a display of Czech Bohemian glass, and the second floor has the entrance and a souvenir corner selling hourglasses and accessories.The glass workshop desk takes applications from 9:00 to 15:00, and everything except the burner work needs no reservation as a rule. The clear candle, 1,600 yen including one glass ornament, takes about 30 minutes to make, and the finished piece is handed over about 30 minutes after that, so allow for the wait. The museum is open 9:00-17:00, with the desk closing at 16:30.