Wakayama Pref
Family-Friendly Hotels in Wakayama: Hot Springs, Beaches and Pandas
A popular family destination where hot spring towns such as Nanki-Shirahama and Kawayu Onsen are scattered across the prefecture
30 family-friendly hotels in Wakayama, verified by Kids Stay: 26 with tatami rooms, 9 with private onsen baths, 16 with in-room baths, 7 with crib rental and 10 with indoor play rooms. Every listing is checked against the official hotel website or Rakuten Travel.
When you choose a family stay in Wakayama, the first fork in the road is location. Hot spring towns are spread widely across the prefecture, including Nanki-Shirahama, Nachikatsuura, Kawayu Onsen, Kushimoto, Susami and Minabe, and the swimming beaches, the zoo known for its pandas and the World Heritage pilgrimage trails all sit far apart from one another. Getting around the prefecture is mostly done by car, and there is an airport serving the Shirahama side, so the practical order is to settle on your base first, then narrow down to hotels with facilities that match your children's ages.
If you are traveling with a child aged 0 to 2, the quickest way to decide is to start with the rules around the baths. Nanki Shirahama Marriott Hotel allows children who are not yet out of diapers into the bathtubs, and it has a nursing room available 24 hours a day along with crib and bed guard rentals. Shirahama Coganoi Resort & Spa also states that babies may enter the tubs, and in addition to a baby bed in the bath changing room it serves free baby food graded by age from 5 months to 12 months, and has Japanese-Western rooms certified as a Welcome Baby no Yado (a Japanese certification for inns properly equipped for babies). Grand Mercure Wakayama Minabe Resort & Spa has a nursing room, a formula preparation space, baby food brought to your room, and a baby bed in the bath changing room.
From around age 3 through the elementary school years, hotels with indoor play areas or pools are the better fit. TAOYA Shirahama Senjo has a play area with a large multi-level climbing structure plus a bouldering wall, and it is all-inclusive, meaning almost all in-house services are covered by the rate. SHIRAHAMA KEY TERRACE HOTEL SEAMORE (Hotel Seamore) has a playroom with bouldering and a children's pool 40 to 50 cm deep. Shirahama Yanagiya, an inn built around family stays, has an indoor playroom, and in the Japanese and Japanese-Western rooms you can have both dinner and breakfast served in your room. Panda Village lets you rent an entire dome house shaped like a panda's face, and it has an outdoor play area as well.
On budget, Shirahama Coganoi Resort & Spa, Panda Village, Kyukamura Nanki Katsuura and Nanki Shirahama Marriott Hotel start in the 10,000 yen range, Shirahama Kaishu and TAOYA Shirahama Senjo in the 20,000 yen range, and Kumano Bettei Nakanoshima and Shirahama Hotel Kawakyu in the 30,000 yen range. What you want to confirm before booking is the cost around co-sleeping: the cribs at Nanki Shirahama Marriott Hotel and Shirahama Coganoi Resort & Spa, and the baby futon at Ooedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Shirahama Gyoen, all carry a fee. The age at which a child may still enter the large public bath of the opposite gender, and each property's closing days, also differ from hotel to hotel, so once your dates are set it is reassuring to check these together with availability.
Highlights
- checkVaried hot spring towns spread across the prefecture, from Nanki-Shirahama to Kawayu Onsen
- checkPlenty of inns with Japanese-style rooms and toddler meals, easy for families
- checkPlenty of hotels for beach swimming, and many with kids' pools
Family-friendly features in Wakayama
Recommended hotels (30)
Grand Mercure Wakayama Minabe Resort & Spa
Shirahama Coganoi Resort & Spa
Shirahama Onsen Hotel Sanrakuso
Shirahama Yanagiya
Nanki Shirahama Marriott Hotel
Kyukamura Kishu-Kada
The Grand Resort Elegante Shirahama
Shirahama Onsen Shiraraso Grand Hotel
Kishu Shirahama Onsen Musashi
Kyukamura Nanki Katsuura
See all hotels in Wakayama (30)expand_more
- Grand Mercure Wakayama Minabe Resort & Spa
- Shirahama Coganoi Resort & Spa
- Shirahama Onsen Hotel Sanrakuso
- Shirahama Yanagiya
- Nanki Shirahama Marriott Hotel
- Kyukamura Kishu-Kada
- The Grand Resort Elegante Shirahama
- Shirahama Onsen Shiraraso Grand Hotel
- Kishu Shirahama Onsen Musashi
- Kyukamura Nanki Katsuura
- Ooedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Shirahama Saichoraku
- Shirahama Tenzankaku Umiyuniwa
- Kumano Bettei Nakanoshima
- Kawayu Onsen Tabi no Yado Shiba
- Shirahama Hotel Kawakyu
- SHIRAHAMA KEY TERRACE HOTEL SEAMORE
- TAOYA Shirahama Senjo
- Nanki Shirahama Kachofugetsu
- Panda Village
- TAOYA Nachikatsuura
- Fairfield by Marriott Wakayama Kumano Kodo Susami
- Kishu Onsen Saika no Yu Futagojimaso
- Shirahama Kaishu
- Kawayu Onsen Pension Ashitano Mori
- Mercure Wakayama Kushimoto Resort & Spa
- Ooedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Shirahama Gyoen
- Kamenoi Hotel Nachikatsuura
- Infinito Hotel & Spa Nanki-Shirahama
- Fairfield by Marriott Wakayama Kushimoto
- Shirahama Baylily
Kid-friendly facilities at family hotels in Wakayama Prefecture
Kids Stay checked the official information of 30 family hotels in Wakayama Prefecture and found 115 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(5 hotels, 10 items)
- Grand Mercure Wakayama Minabe Resort & Spa · Kids' space (1st floor, free for hotel guests): An indoor kids' space laid with cushioned mats, stocked with play equipment, toys and picture books.
- Nanki Shirahama Marriott Hotel · 4th-floor playroom, baby room and nursing room: The spaces for families with children are all gathered on the 4th floor of the hotel: a playroom with picture books, educational toys and a drawing area (8 a.m. to 9 p.m.), a baby
- Kyukamura Nanki Katsuura · Lobby kids' corner: A kids' corner set up in the lobby, with picture books and toys. A drawing set is available to borrow at the front desk.
- SHIRAHAMA KEY TERRACE HOTEL SEAMORE · Playroom: An indoor play space with the classics - table tennis, air hockey and billiards - plus a climbing wall, a kids' area and a music room. Everyone from children to adults can enjoy it
- Ooedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Shirahama Saichoraku · Kids' corner (ball pit, trampoline, climbing wall): With a ball pit, a trampoline and a climbing wall, children can move around to their heart's content.
Pools and water play(5 hotels, 13 items)
- Grand Mercure Wakayama Minabe Resort & Spa · Outdoor pool (oval pool 1.3 m deep plus round kids' pool 35 cm deep): An outdoor pool overlooking the Pacific Ocean, made up of a large oval pool 1.3 m deep and a round kids' pool 35 cm deep for small children. Hotel guests can use it free of charge.
- Nanki Shirahama Marriott Hotel · Outdoor pool (summer only, for staying guests): An outdoor pool open in summer only. It has two parts: a main pool 120 cm deep and a children's zone 57 cm deep. It is for staying guests only.
- Shirahama Coganoi Resort & Spa · Indoor heated pool: The indoor heated pool is open year-round and is free for staying guests. Hours are from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., with night pool time from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Y
- SHIRAHAMA KEY TERRACE HOTEL SEAMORE · Infinity pool and children's pool: A 32-meter infinity pool overlooking the Pacific. Its appeal is the open feeling of merging with the sea, and it can be enjoyed across three seasons: as a regular pool in summer an
- The Grand Resort Elegante Shirahama · Outdoor pool (for adults and children): An outdoor pool for adults and children, open in summer only. There is a fee to use it, and you need to register at the front desk. A fault in its equipment has been identified, so
Baby gear you can borrow(5 hotels, 19 items)
- Grand Mercure Wakayama Minabe Resort & Spa · Baby and kids' items: Welcome Baby-certified rooms come with a wide range of items, and more are available to borrow, including a stroller, baby bath, toilet-training seat and baby sofa.
- Nanki Shirahama Marriott Hotel · Baby and kids' equipment available to borrow: Equipment to help with childcare in your room is available to borrow. Marriott's Welcome Baby Plan can be booked for up to 5 rooms a day. In the guest room, a crib and a bed guard
- Shirahama Coganoi Resort & Spa · Baby item rentals: A crib is 1,815 yen and additional bedding for infants and young children is 3,630 yen. Bed guards are limited in number, so booking early is recommended. Guest rooms are stocked w
- Kyukamura Nanki Katsuura · Support items for children (free to borrow at the front desk): Items for families with children, listed on the official family page. They are available to borrow free of charge at the front desk.
- SHIRAHAMA KEY TERRACE HOTEL SEAMORE · Crib: A crib is available.
Kids' meals and baby food(5 hotels, 29 items)
- Grand Mercure Wakayama Minabe Resort & Spa · Kids' buffet corner and baby food: A kids' buffet corner on a dedicated low counter lets children enjoy choosing dishes for themselves. Children's tableware and cutlery are available, and baby food is provided as we
- Nanki Shirahama Marriott Hotel · Grill & Dining G (Japanese and Western buffet breakfast, kids' menus): A Japanese and Western buffet breakfast is served at Grill & Dining G, the restaurant on the 1st floor. There are two kids' menus, one for ages 6 to 12 and one for ages 3 to 5, and
- Shirahama Coganoi Resort & Spa · Baby food and kids' meals: At the dining venue, baby food for children aged 5 months, 7 months, 9 months and 12 months is provided free of charge. If you choose the Japanese cuisine, a kids' meal is availabl
- Panda Village · Toretore-tei buffet and in-room dining: With plans that include dinner and breakfast, you can choose either two kinds of onsen tickets plus the seafood buffet, or the in-room dining plan limited to 20 servings a day, wit
- Kyukamura Nanki Katsuura · Kaiseki cuisine (fresh tuna, spiny lobster, cherry sea bream, Kumano beef): Seasonal kaiseki courses built around tuna and spiny lobster from the waters off Katsuura: cherry sea bream in spring, Kumano beef in summer, spiny lobster in autumn and tuna in wi
Baby-friendly bathhouses(5 hotels, 27 items)
- Grand Mercure Wakayama Minabe Resort & Spa · Kishu Minabe Senrihama Onsen communal bath (open-air bath and sauna): A communal bath separated by gender, with an indoor bath, an open-air bath and a sauna. Only the open-air bath uses onsen water; the indoor bath does not. The spring water is a sod
- Nanki Shirahama Marriott Hotel · 11th-floor communal onsen bath and open-air bath, plus five private-hire baths: The communal onsen bath sits on the top floor (11th) of the hotel. It draws on Shirahama Onsen, one of Japan's three oldest hot springs, whose water is a sulfur-containing sodium c
- Shirahama Coganoi Resort & Spa · Baby facilities at the baths and bathing conditions: A baby bed and a bath mat for the washing area are provided in the communal bath's changing room. There is no family bath or private-hire bath, and mixed-gender bathing is restrict
- Panda Village · Katata no Yu and Toretore no Yu (onsen tickets included): Plans with dinner and breakfast come with two kinds of onsen tickets. They cover Katata no Yu inside the restaurant Toretore-tei, where nano water gives the bath a toner-like softn
- Kyukamura Nanki Katsuura · Communal bath "Kuroshio no Yu" (Pacific Ocean view): A wide variety of tubs, including a glass-walled indoor bath, an open-air rock bath, the Kinuhada no Yu micro-bubble bath and a single-person ceramic tub with water flowing straigh
Themed and family rooms(5 hotels, 9 items)
- Shirahama Coganoi Resort & Spa · Welcome Baby-certified Japanese-Western room and Niko Niko Panda Room: There is a Japanese-Western room certified as a Welcome Baby room, and the panda-themed Niko Niko Panda Room is available as well. The Family Room, a Japanese-Western room of 45 sq
- Panda Village · Panda dome houses (3 types): The dome houses painted with panda faces are freestanding rooms, no two of them alike. The 5-person Western-style room has two double beds and a long sofa, the 6-person Western-sty
- Ooedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Shirahama Saichoraku · Kids Rooms with play equipment (guest rooms): There are Kids Rooms fitted with play equipment for children. The Standard Japanese-style Kids Room is 63 sq m for 1 to 6 guests, and the Japanese-Western Twin Kids Room is 50 sq m
- Nanki Shirahama Kachofugetsu · Panda Rooms (rooms 105 and 106): These panda-themed rooms are Western-style and Japanese-Western rooms of 37 sq m. They take 2 to 4 guests and can combine co-sleeping with an extra bed. Some have tatami flooring,
- Shirahama Hotel Kawakyu · Japanese-style tatami rooms that fit 4 futons: The Japanese-style tatami rooms can fit 4 futons side by side, which makes them well suited to close friends traveling together and to families with young children.
Kids' programs and activities(2 hotels, 2 items)
- Kyukamura Nanki Katsuura · Stargazing sessions and Kishu-wood bracelet making (activity programs): A stargazing session is held every day from 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., free of charge, with warm dotera (padded kimono-style jackets) available to borrow in winter. Beaded bracelet makin
- Kyukamura Kishu-Kada · Hands-on programs (early-morning walk, stargazing, Japanese sweets making, mandarin orange picking tour): Hands-on programs such as crafts and bingo, some aimed at children and some that adults can enjoy too. The early-morning walk starts at 7 a.m. every day, is open to ages 3 and up a
Outdoor play and gardens(5 hotels, 5 items)
- Panda Village · Park for staying guests only: A park on the grounds that only guests staying here may use. It has play equipment that is a big hit with children, including a slide and swings shaped like cute animals and vehicl
- Kyukamura Nanki Katsuura · Yoshino-Kumano National Park and sightseeing nearby: The hotel sits inside Yoshino-Kumano National Park. Families can enjoy the neighboring Taiji Whale Museum, where you can feed whales and dolphins, along with nature trails and walk
- Kawayu Onsen Tabi no Yado Shiba · River play out front and an all-weather barbecue terrace: The clear Otonashi River flows right in front of the inn, and in summer children can play in the water. On the all-weather barbecue terrace Amaterasu you can grill even on a rainy
- Kishu Onsen Saika no Yu Futagojimaso · Nadanohama (a natural beach about a 3-minute walk away): A tucked-away natural beach about a 3-minute walk from Futagojimaso, where you can explore the rocks and collect shells. About a minute on foot is a marine garden that was celebrat
- Kyukamura Kishu-Kada · Lawn areas (park grounds): Lawn areas beside the main building's parking lot and next to the campground. The one by the campground is a place for badminton, ball games and bug catching, and cherry blossoms b
Nearby attractions
Travel tips
Much of Wakayama is car country, so a rental car makes it far easier to link the scattered hot spring towns of Nanki-Shirahama, Nachikatsuura and Kushimoto in one trip. If you prefer the train, limited express services connect the major stations, and the Shirahama side is also reachable by air.
Best season
Wakayama is busiest during the summer beach season, and choosing a hotel with a kids' pool or one within walking distance of the sea makes it comfortable even with little ones. Spring and fall bring mild weather and suit families who want to take their time in the hot springs. Winter is relatively quiet, which makes it a good season for a slow trip built around a private reservable bath.
Getting there
Most parts of Wakayama are reached by car, and the expressways make the main hot spring towns straightforward to get to. There is an airport serving the Nanki-Shirahama side, and by rail, limited express trains are the usual route to the major stations.
Frequently Asked Questions
From what age can children enjoy a trip to Wakayama?
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Areas such as Nanki-Shirahama and Nachikatsuura have several properties offering crib rentals and baby food, which makes it easy to plan a trip even during infancy. Many rooms are Japanese-style or Japanese-Western, so children who are crawling or just starting to walk can spread out comfortably on the tatami. It is an area that works well for family trips at any age.
Which area do you recommend for families with a baby?
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Nanki-Shirahama has plenty of leisure facilities and swimming beaches, and it is where the hotels with baby gear such as crib rentals and formula kettles are concentrated. Kawayu Onsen is known for its unusual kawayu, a hot spring that wells up in the riverbed, and its calm atmosphere suits families who want a quieter stay.
Do I need a car to travel in Wakayama?
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The hot spring towns of Nanki-Shirahama, Nachikatsuura and Kushimoto are spread along the coast, so a car makes sightseeing and getting around much smoother. Limited express trains do connect the major stations if you travel by rail, but moving between areas is far more flexible with a car.
Is there anything to do on a rainy day?
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Wakayama has properties with private reservable baths and rooms with their own indoor or open-air bath, so you can take it easy regardless of the weather. Rakuten Travel reviews include comments about spending a rainy day comfortably inside the hotel, and choosing a property with indoor play facilities is another good approach.
Which hotels in Wakayama do you recommend for families with a baby?
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Nanki Shirahama Marriott Hotel and Shirahama Coganoi Resort & Spa both state that children who are not yet out of diapers may enter the bathtubs. Shirahama Coganoi Resort & Spa serves free baby food graded by age in the dining hall and has Japanese-Western rooms certified as a Welcome Baby no Yado, a Japanese certification for baby-ready inns. If a nursing room and a formula preparation space are your priority, Grand Mercure Wakayama Minabe Resort & Spa is another strong option.
Which hotels in Wakayama will children enjoy most?
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TAOYA Shirahama Senjo has a play area with a large multi-level climbing structure and a bouldering wall, while SHIRAHAMA KEY TERRACE HOTEL SEAMORE (Hotel Seamore) has a children's pool 40 to 50 cm deep along with a playroom. At Panda Village you can rent an entire dome house shaped like a panda's face, and there is an outdoor play area as well.