Three-Generation Trips in Japan: Onsen Stays That Suit Grandparents and Babies

How to split up the rooms. Whether everyone stays in one tatami room or tatami-and-bed combination room, or grandparents take a separate room, changes both the hotels you can choose and the price considerably. If you want to sleep side by side on futons, look for a roomy tatami room; if grandparents prefer beds, a combination room or two adjoining rooms are the candidates.

At a hotel with a private family bath, you can bathe as a family without worrying about other guests. Rules on using the large public bath with a child who is not yet toilet trained differ from hotel to hotel, so please check the notes on the hotel page and the guidance on the official site.

Yes. You choose the same way as for a three-generation trip: a hotel with a tatami room or tatami-and-bed combination room, a private bath, and meals in your room or a private dining room suits a celebration well. Celebration meal courses, cakes, commemorative photos and similar services vary by hotel, so check the official site or the plan description before booking.

It depends on the family. A buffet is easier for a child who is a picky eater and for grandparents who want to control how much they take. If you want a calm meal, or you are worried about a child moving around, meals in your room or a private or semi-private dining room suit you better.

Choose a hotel where you walk as little as possible inside the building. Some large properties have a long way to go to the dining hall or the big bath, so plans with meals in your room and the presence of elevators are useful signs. A hotel with both hot springs and meals on site, where you never need to go back outside after check-in, keeps the strain low.