Family-Friendly Hotels in Shikoku: Onsen, Sea and Rivers by Prefecture

Choosing a family hotel in Shikoku can be tricky. Which prefecture should you base yourself in, and do you put hot springs first or the sea? Kagawa, Ehime, Tokushima, and Kochi each have a very different personality, so narrowing down by your child's age and the purpose of your trip makes the search much easier. Across all of Shikoku, you can find 92 family-friendly hotels.

With a baby, Dogo Onsen in Ehime, where the hot spring town is compact and easy to walk, and Takamatsu in Kagawa, where the airport is close to the city center, are easy bases. Some hotels in Dogo Onsen say they lend baby beds and baby bathtubs, which suits a trip with short transfers and plenty of relaxed time at the hotel. With toddlers, Tokushima, where you can see the Naruto whirlpools up close, and Kochi, home to the Anpanman Museum (dedicated to the beloved Japanese children's character), are fun options too.

The first thing to look at is the room layout. 56 hotels offer Japanese-style or Japanese-Western rooms, where the whole family can sleep side by side on futons, which is reassuring when you worry about rolling babies or falls from a bed. For meals, 33 hotels handle food allergies, 24 offer toddler meals, and 18 have private or semi-private dining rooms, and some will even serve meals in your room.

If baths matter most to you, 21 hotels have rooms with a private bath or an open-air bath, and 16 hotels have simple hot springs, whose gentle water is considered suitable for babies. For fun, 15 hotels have playful concept rooms, such as ones with a slide, and 15 offer cottages or whole-house rentals where you can relax without worrying about disturbing neighbors. You will also find hotels with kids' programs for hands-on activities.

Travel between prefectures in Shikoku can take a while, so with children it is easiest to stay within one prefecture or two neighboring ones. Leaving plenty of time to spend at the hotel also helps keep your kids in a good mood.