Yamagata with a baby (0–1) 3 spots
Mountains ring Yamagata and the valleys between them are orchards. Cherries ripen in June on branches low enough for a child to reach, and Ginzan Onsen is one short street of wooden inns lit by gas lamps.
An amusement park in Yamagata with Japan's first Hello Kitty Ferris wheel.
Stroller OK · checked Aug ’26
Mogami River Boat Ride (Basholine)
An hour-long boat ride 12 km down the Mogami, through a prefectural natural park.
checked Aug ’26
About ten attractions take children aged two and under, and as a rule a parent rides with them, so you go on together. Children start paying from age three, so at this age there is nothing to pay. The park map filters for rides for kids, so you can settle on where to head before you go in.Strollers and wheelchairs are not lent here, so bring your own stroller. There are no restrooms in the parking lot, so take care of that before you arrive; the lot opens an hour before the park does. Bringing in your own food, packed lunches included, is not allowed, so you eat at the places inside the park. There are free rest areas and open-sided pavilions, and the event hall has heating and air conditioning and holds 400 people. Bags go in the coin lockers inside the park, and anything too big for a locker is held at the entrance gate for 500 yen per item. You can go back in after a trip out to the parking lot by showing your ticket to a staff member.
The upper line's gondola, a funitel, hangs from ropes set wider apart than the cabin itself, so it sways very little and the 360-degree view comes to you while you stay seated. You can sit with the baby in your arms for the 10-minute climb of 329 meters.On the upper line there is no step or gap between the platform and the cabin, and the operator states that wheelchair users and older people who mind steps can ride it (no such note for the lower line). Anything you cannot hold on your lap counts as a carry-on at 300 yen per section, and the only item stated to ride free is one pair of skis or one snowboard, so ask at the ticket window how a stroller is handled. Fares are split into adult (junior high and up), child (elementary school) and toddler (preschool), and the table lists amounts only for adult and child. Service is suspended in bad weather.
In rain a vinyl roof goes over the boat, in summer there are sunshade blinds, and from December 1 to the end of March the whole boat is enclosed and heated — so an hour of sitting still works in the height of summer and the depth of winter alike. For that hour the boatman sings boat songs while taking you 12 km downriver. Preschool children ride free.It is about 100 m on foot from the desk to the jetty, and 40 to 50 steps down to it — the number changes with the water level. Nothing is written about what to do with a stroller, so ask at the window before boarding. Wheelchairs can board: there is a ramp and staff to help, with two chairs to borrow at the boarding pier and one at the landing pier. The downriver boat leaves Furukuchi and lands 12 km away at Kusanagi, so it does not bring you back to the pier where you parked. The bus back is 500 yen for adults and 250 for primary schoolers, paid on board, and it runs irregularly, timed to the scheduled boats — check its times at the window before you board. Luggage is only held at the window if you are coming back to the boarding pier. The desk closes 10 minutes before departure, and 20 minutes before for people who booked.