Obon With Kids: Family Hotels That Dodge Japan's Busiest Travel Week

Traveling during Obon, Japan's mid-August holiday when families return to their hometowns, is the hardest week of the year for parents with young children. Rooms sell out, the ones left cost far more than usual, and the roads and hotel corridors are packed. Small children cannot sit through long traffic jams or stand in long lines, and it is easy to come home from a holiday more tired than when you left.

The trick is to step just off the peak. First, the dates: avoid the three-day crest of August 13 to 15 and shift to August 10 to 12 just before, or August 16 to 18 just after. Second, the place: instead of the famous sightseeing town itself, choose the next station down the line or an onsen village set a little further back. Third, how you spend the day: pick a hotel that serves both dinner and breakfast on site, so you never have to hunt for a table at a crowded restaurant. Fourth, the distance: build the trip as a single extra night close to wherever your family visit takes you.

From the Kanto region, Hotel Kogure in Ikaho Onsen is a large hotel with all 26 of its baths fed by free-flowing hot spring water, plus three private baths with a view, so children who are not ready for the big shared bath can still soak as a family. Staff will warm baby food and bring it to your room, food allergies are accommodated with notice up to three days before your stay, and dinner can be served in the room. Asaya in Kinugawa Onsen has a glass-walled kids' room, an outdoor pool in summer, and four private baths, and its buffet of roughly 100 Japanese, Western, and Chinese dishes means children can pick what they will actually eat. Kinugawa Plaza Hotel, in the same town, has two private open-air baths, one a four-minute walk away and one reached by hotel shuttle, and dinner can be served in the room as a Japanese kaiseki course.

Heading toward the Kansai and Hokuriku regions, Dantokan Kikunoya in Ogoto Onsen is a small hotel with just 16 rooms, a kids' corner stocked with toys and picture books, dinner served in the room, and an 11 a.m. checkout. In the Tokai and Shinshu regions, Ogawaya in Gero Onsen has seven private baths in its annex, and the main bath has tatami-mat flooring, so a slip does not hurt. Both the men's and women's changing rooms have baby cribs, and the baby plan includes the loan of baby shampoo, a bottle sterilizing set, and a dedicated diaper bin. Naito Pension in Haramura in the Yatsugatake highlands has Japanese-Western rooms with a tatami area and standalone cottages, and in summer you can swap dinner for a covered outdoor barbecue.

In Kyushu, Ryochiku Bettei in Beppu Onsen offers meals in the room, three private baths, and an indoor play area for preschoolers, with dinner drinks and lounge access included in the room rate. Hanabeppu, also in Beppu, has a kids' space in the lounge and lends out diaper pails, bed rails, toilet training seats, and Moses baskets. Dates and prices change from year to year, so if you are counting on an outdoor pool or a summer children's program, confirm the timing with the hotel and the local tourism office before you book.