Obon Family Trip With Kids: Dodge Peak Crowds and Prices at Onsen Inns

Traveling during Obon, Japan's mid-August holiday when much of the country heads back to their hometowns, is about the hardest time of year for a family with kids. Rooms are hard to book, prices jump even when you find one, and the roads and the hotels themselves are packed. Little kids can't sit through long traffic jams or wait in long lines, and it's easy to come home from a precious vacation more tired than when you left.

The fix is to step just slightly around the peak. The first way is by date: skip the three-day peak of August 13 to 15 and shift to August 10 to 12 or August 16 to 18. The second is by place: choose an onsen (hot spring) town one stop past, or a little tucked away from, the famous sightseeing spot itself. The third is by how you spend your stay: pick an inn where both dinner and breakfast are served on site, so you never have to hunt for a crowded restaurant. The fourth is by distance: plan a single night near the relatives you are visiting.

From the Kanto region, Hotel Kogure in Ikaho Onsen is a large hotel with 26 different types of free-flowing hot spring tubs, and its three private observation baths let kids who aren't ready for the big public bath yet soak with just the family. Staff warm baby food and bring it to your room, the hotel says it can accommodate food allergies if you let them know at least 3 days before your stay, and dinner can be eaten in your room. Asaya in Kinugawa Onsen has a glass-walled kids' room, a seasonal outdoor pool in summer, and four types of private baths, and its buffet of about 100 Japanese, Western, and Chinese dishes lets children pick what they will actually eat. Also in Kinugawa, Kinugawa Plaza Hotel offers two private open-air baths: one a 4-minute walk away and one reached by a shuttle. With a plan that includes room dining (heya-shoku, meals served in your room), you can have dinner in your room as a Japanese kaiseki course on a tray.

In the Kansai and Hokuriku regions, Ogoto Onsen Dantokan Kikunoya is a small inn with just 16 guest rooms. It has a kids' space with toys and picture books, and its plan for families with babies combines in-room dinner with an 11 a.m. checkout. In Tokai and Shinshu, Ogawaya in Gero Onsen has seven private baths in its annex, and the large bath has tatami flooring, so a tumble doesn't hurt. Both changing rooms have a baby bed, and the plan for babies includes perks such as baby shampoo, a bottle sterilizing set, and a loaner diaper pail. Naito Pension in Haramura, in the Yatsugatake highlands, has Japanese-Western rooms with tatami areas and stand-alone cottages, and in summer you can swap dinner for a barbecue outdoors under a roof.

In Kyushu, Ryochiku Bettei in Beppu Onsen offers room dining, three private baths, and an indoor play area for preschoolers, and drinks at dinner plus the lounge are included in the room rate. Also in Beppu, Hana Beppu has a kids' space in its lounge and loans out diaper buckets, bed guards, booster toilet seats, and a kuhan (a baby carrier basket).

When you search for a good Obon family trip stay, applying these four lenses (date, place, how you spend your stay, and distance) will help you narrow down options that avoid the crowds and the price peak.