Kitakaruizawa
Family-Friendly Hotels in Kita-Karuizawa: Highland Stays by Toy Kingdom
A family break in the cool highlands, right next to Karuizawa Toy Kingdom
10 family-friendly hotels in Kita-Karuizawa, verified by Kids Stay: 8 with tatami rooms, 3 with crib rental, 3 with indoor play rooms, 4 with private cottages and villas and 3 with toddler meals. Every listing is checked against the official hotel website or Rakuten Travel.
Looking for a family-friendly place to stay in Karuizawa, you quickly run into the downside of a popular area: everything is booked out in high season, and hotels that actually suit children are surprisingly hard to find. That is the moment to widen your search to Kita-Karuizawa, a short way out from central Karuizawa.
Kita-Karuizawa is a highland area spreading out at the foot of Mount Asama at around 1,000 meters above sea level, cool even in summer and perfect for escaping the heat with children. Its greatest strength is having Karuizawa Toy Kingdom, where a child can play all day, right nearby. Part of it is indoors, so the weather does not decide your day, which many families are glad of.
Looking at facilities for children, of the Kita-Karuizawa properties listed on this site, 3 have an indoor play area and 4 have somewhere outdoors for children to run around. Some have an indoor heated pool with a slide and a jacuzzi just for children, so there is water play on a rainy day or a day of strong sun. A few sit close to places for snow play in winter, so there is pleasure in coming back in a different season.
Facilities for families with babies have grown too. 1 properties hold Welcome Baby certification, a Japanese standard that grades how well a property serves families raising young children, and 3 lend cribs, while some also advertise loans of baby bathtubs and strollers, baby food, toddler meals, and food allergy accommodation. Two have a large communal hot spring bath, and 1 have rooms with their own open-air bath, so you can soak without hesitation even with a small child not yet ready for the big bath.
There are also whole-house cottage rentals with a kitchen, which suit families who want to cook and take it slow. From large resorts to homey pensions to whole-house rentals, this is an area you can match to your family's style.
Highlights
- checkKaruizawa Toy Kingdom, where a child can play all day, is right nearby. Part of it is indoors, so there is somewhere to play even in the rain
- check3 properties have an indoor play area, and some have an indoor heated pool with a slide and a jacuzzi just for children, so the weather does not stop play
- check1 are Welcome Baby certified and 3 lend cribs, and others offer baby food, toddler meals, and allergy accommodation, so families with a baby are looked after
- checkTwo properties have a large communal hot spring bath, 1 have rooms with an open-air bath, and there are whole-house rentals with a kitchen, so you can choose by the kind of stay you want
Family-friendly features in Kita-Karuizawa
Recommended hotels (10)
Hotel Green Plaza Karuizawa
Karuizawa Club Hotel Karuizawa 1130 / Hewitt Resort
Kitakaruizawa Blueberry YGH
Villa Kitakaruizawa Elwing
Tsumagoi Prince Hotel
Villa Shewlin
Runesu Karuizawa Vacation Rental
Kitakaruizawa Pension Eden
Kishu Tetsudo Karuizawa Hotel
Yutoriro Garden Kitakaruizawa with DOGS
See all hotels in Kita-Karuizawa (10)expand_more
Kid-friendly facilities at family hotels in Kita-Karuizawa
Kids Stay checked the official information of 9 family hotels in Kita-Karuizawa and found 33 kid-friendly facilities on site. Here is a sample by category so you can compare facilities before choosing a room.
Indoor playrooms and kids' spaces(4 hotels, 4 items)
- Hotel Green Plaza Karuizawa · Kids' playroom: A kids' playroom near the front lobby, the restaurant and the Baby Rooms, with play equipment, picture books and toys that even young children can use with peace of mind. There is
- Kitakaruizawa Blueberry YGH · 1,000 picture books, DVDs and a toy corner: Inside there are around 1,000 picture books and children's books, a DVD player with around 1,000 DVDs, and a toy corner on the terrace. Parenting books and materials on the local a
- Karuizawa Club Hotel Karuizawa 1130 / Hewitt Resort · Kids' corner: The kids' corner behind the shop on the second floor of the guest-room building has a small slide, stuffed animals and other items. It is a space where young children can drop in a
- Villa Kitakaruizawa Elwing · Playroom: A shared playroom inside the hotel. It is an indoor play space with a slide, a ball pit and a bookshelf of picture books, with interlocking foam mats on the floor. No information o
Pools and water play(2 hotels, 2 items)
- Kitakaruizawa Pension Eden · Spa house jetted pool (currently out of service): The annex has a spa house with a small jetted pool, a sauna and a shower room, where guests could swim against the current or walk in the water. It is currently out of service.
- Karuizawa Club Hotel Karuizawa 1130 / Hewitt Resort · Indoor heated pool comori Park: An indoor heated pool with a slide that is popular with children and a kids-only jacuzzi. For staying guests, the rate is 800 yen for children ages 3 through elementary school age,
Baby gear you can borrow(5 hotels, 7 items)
- Hotel Green Plaza Karuizawa · Baby items to borrow at the front desk: The front desk lends out a wide range of baby items free of charge, including an A-type stroller, bed guards, baby lotion, a baby scale with a feeding-volume function, plush toys f
- Kitakaruizawa Blueberry YGH · Bed guard and electric kettle available to borrow free of charge: A bed guard and an electric hot-water kettle are available to borrow free of charge.
- Kitakaruizawa Pension Eden · Cribs available to borrow: Cribs for use in the room are available to borrow for families traveling with a baby. Numbers are limited, so it is best to ask about one when you book.
- Karuizawa Club Hotel Karuizawa 1130 / Hewitt Resort · Free rental of baby items: Bath chairs, baby baths, diaper bins, step stools, baby blankets, toilet-training seats, strollers, bed guards (for around 18 to 60 months) and cribs (for around 0 to 24 months) ar
- Kishu Tetsudo Karuizawa Hotel · Leisure items and games available to borrow: At Ressha-mura Plaza, in the Ressha-mura (Train Village) marked by its Blue Train, leisure items for playing with children are available to borrow. Games the whole family can enjoy
Kids' meals and baby food(5 hotels, 6 items)
- Hotel Green Plaza Karuizawa · Kids' menu and baby food: The buffet of about 50 Japanese, Western and Chinese dishes includes a kids' menu and hotel-made baby food by age in months, with 3 kinds for each stage, and the 8 major allergens
- Kitakaruizawa Blueberry YGH · Free toddler meals and a bath in every room: A toddler meal is prepared free of charge for preschool-age children. Every room has its own bath and toilet, so the family can bathe together without worrying about other guests.
- Karuizawa Club Hotel Karuizawa 1130 / Hewitt Resort · Children's corner (restaurant): The dinner buffet has a children's corner alongside its corners for nigiri sushi and Joshu beef teppanyaki, and the breakfast buffet has a kids' corner as well. Dishes are prepared
- Yutoriro Garden Kitakaruizawa with DOGS · Dedicated children's dinner menu: Dinner is a course menu of highland vegetables and meat dishes, and a dedicated children's menu is served at the regular dinner. On the summer-only BBQ plan, however, children are
- Runesu Karuizawa Vacation Rental · Light-meal set (juice instead of coffee for children): The light-meal set, a paid option, is placed in your cottage before check-in so you can enjoy it whenever you like the next morning. Children of elementary school age and under are
Baby-friendly bathhouses(4 hotels, 4 items)
- Hotel Green Plaza Karuizawa · Baby bathing equipment in the communal bath: The communal bath, fed by a natural onsen that rises from 1,600 m underground, has baby baths, baby bath chairs, head-to-toe baby soap and shampoo hats in both the men's and women'
- Kitakaruizawa Pension Eden · Bakuhanseki private-hire baths (2 baths): The main building has 2 private-hire baths where you can enjoy the soft artificial hot spring water made using bakuhanseki (a medicinal stone). Families can use them on their own a
- Villa Shewlin · Private-hire hinoki bath (SPA HITOU): Each cottage has its own bath, and in a separate building there is also SPA HITOU, a private-hire hinoki cypress bath for 2 to 3 people. It is not an onsen, but its soft water, dra
- Kishu Tetsudo Karuizawa Hotel · Hataya Onsen (Sasa no Yu): This onsen is inside the neighboring Yutoriro Garden Kita-Karuizawa with DOGS, and the spring water is an alkaline simple onsen. Admission is 500 yen per person per visit, and chil
Themed and family rooms(2 hotels, 3 items)
- Hotel Green Plaza Karuizawa · Baby Room Happiness: A room exclusively for families with babies, laid entirely with flat, step-free tatami and furnished with a king-size low bed. It sleeps 3, and 2 adults plus 1 child under school a
- Villa Kitakaruizawa Elwing · Standard and Superior Japanese-Western rooms: These rooms combine a tatami area and a Western-style area in one room, so you can use the tatami side to co-sleep with a young child. The Standard Japanese-Western room is about 3
Kitchens for self-catering(2 hotels, 2 items)
- Villa Shewlin · Whole-house cottages (kitchen in every building): Eight types of detached cottages sleep 2 to 8 guests. Every building has a fitted kitchen, cooking utensils such as pots, frying pans and knives, and a refrigerator, so you can bri
- Kishu Tetsudo Karuizawa Hotel · Mini kitchen (in-room facility): Guest rooms have a mini kitchen with cookware and tableware, including a refrigerator, electric kettle, rice cooker, pot and frying pan, so families can cook for themselves. A micr
Outdoor play and gardens(3 hotels, 3 items)
- Kitakaruizawa Blueberry YGH · Large outdoor play equipment in the garden: The spacious garden holds plenty of large outdoor play equipment for children, and they can play there freely before check-in and after checkout. At an elevation of 1,200 m, the hi
- Villa Shewlin · Barbecue in any weather (available at every building): Every building lets you barbecue on the terrace in front of the cottage. Some have covered terraces, and some plans come with a free tarp, so a barbecue party is possible even on a
- Runesu Karuizawa Vacation Rental · Handheld fireworks in the garden: In the cottage garden, only handheld fireworks are allowed. They can be used anywhere with soil or gravel underfoot, and must finish by 9 p.m. Aerial fireworks are prohibited becau
Seasonal collections for Kita-Karuizawa
Autumn Leaves With Kids
Peak color timing, plus hotels in autumn leaf areas you can manage with a baby or toddler, from Hokkaido to Kyushu
Autumn Farms and Harvest
Hotels with farm activities and animal encounters, plus the areas that make the best base for fruit picking and harvest days, from Hokkaido to Kyushu
Autumn Cottages and Glamping
No one else to worry about, at your children's own pace. Areas with self-catering villas, cottages, and glamping, from north to south
Autumn Highland Play
In the season that is neither hot nor cold, find hotels where kids can run around outside. Highland areas with outdoor play areas and adventure courses, from north to south
Nearby attractions
Travel tips
Kita-Karuizawa sits high up, and even in summer mornings and evenings can turn chilly, so bring a layer to throw on. Attractions are scattered across the area, so a car makes getting around easier, and if you want to avoid the crowds near Karuizawa Station, setting off early helps. In winter the roads can freeze and get snow, so studless winter tires and similar preparation are essential. Karuizawa Toy Kingdom is very popular and gets busy in high season, so arriving right at opening lets families with small children play at an easy pace.
Best season
Summer is cool thanks to the altitude, which makes it a good time for a family trip that doubles as an escape from the heat. Autumn brings beautiful foliage across the highlands, and winter adds snow play and winter sports. From spring into early summer the fresh greenery is a pleasure and outdoor play, at Toy Kingdom and elsewhere, is comfortable. Mornings and evenings are cold, so whatever the season, packing a jacket you can throw on is a good idea.
Getting there
By car, you come via the Kanetsu or Joshin-etsu Expressway. By train, take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Karuizawa Station and continue toward Kita-Karuizawa by bus or car. Attractions are scattered across the area, so having a car on the ground makes moving around much easier.
Frequently Asked Questions
From what age can children enjoy a trip to Kita-Karuizawa?
expand_more
From newborn onward. There are Welcome Baby certified properties and places that lend cribs (3 of them), and some serve baby food or toddler meals. Karuizawa Toy Kingdom has plenty of play equipment aimed at little ones, so children can enjoy it at their own level from the toddling stage on.
Can children have fun in Kita-Karuizawa on a rainy day?
expand_more
3 properties have an indoor play area, so you can spend the day inside. Some also have an indoor heated pool with a slide and a jacuzzi just for children, so water play does not depend on the weather. Karuizawa Toy Kingdom nearby has indoor facilities too, which makes it easy to plan a rainy day here.
How do we get to Kita-Karuizawa? Is it inconvenient without a car?
expand_more
By car you come via the Kanetsu and Joshin-etsu Expressways. By train, take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Karuizawa Station and continue toward Kita-Karuizawa by shuttle bus or car (some properties run a free shuttle). Attractions are scattered across the area, so a car on the ground makes getting around easier. In winter, studless winter tires are necessary for snow and ice.
When is the best season for a family trip to Kita-Karuizawa?
expand_more
Summer is cool thanks to the altitude, which suits an escape from the heat. Autumn brings the foliage and winter brings snow play, so each season offers something different. From spring into early summer the fresh greenery is a pleasure and outdoor play is comfortable. Mornings and evenings are cold, so whatever the season, have a jacket you can throw on.
Are there places that are easy to stay at with a baby?
expand_more
1 properties hold Welcome Baby certification and 3 lend cribs. Some also advertise loans of baby bathtubs and strollers, baby food, toddler meals, and food allergy accommodation, and you can choose one with a large communal hot spring bath or a room with its own open-air bath. Facilities and conditions differ by property, so confirm when you book.