Amanohashidate with Kids: What to Do and Itinerary
Last Updated on September 6, 2025 by Kay
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Despite having lived in Japan for over a decade, Amanohashidate (天橋立) is a place I had no idea existed until my husband brought up wanting to visit shortly after we moved to Osaka.
Considered one of the three greatest views of Japan, Amanohashidate is renowned for its stunning views of a sandbar covered with around 8000 pine trees. Some people believe this piece of land connects heaven with earth, while others believe it resembles a dragon. It’s a little piece of paradise in the Kansai region, and for good reason.
Best of all, my daughter had a great time there, so I thought I would share what it was like for our family to visit.
Table of Contents
How to Get to Amanohashidate
Amanohashidate is located along the northern coast of Kyoto Prefecture.
We drove to Amanohashidate, but if you want to get there by public transport (specifically Amanohashidate Station), here are the best routes.
From Osaka: It takes about 2.5 hours to get to Amanohashidate from Osaka.
If you’re coming straight from Osaka Station, there are several routes you can take. For instance, you can ride the JR Kounotori Line heading towards Kinosaki Onsen and then transfer at Fukuchiyama Station to the Amanohashidate Line. This will cost around 6000 yen.
If you want to save money and only spend an extra 15 minutes traveling, consider taking the Hankyu-Kyoto Line to Nishiyama-Tennozan Station. From there, walk to Kosoku Nagaokakyo and board the Kyoto Line for Taiza. Get off at Amanohashidate Station.
From Kyoto: It takes about 2 hours to get to Amanohashidate Station from Kyoto Station. The good news is that you can take a train that goes straight there, the JR Hashidate Line. This costs 5000 yen.
Most of the trip is fully covered if you have a JR Pass. From Kyoto or Osaka, take the JR Limited Express Kinosaki, Hashidate, or Maizuru train to Fukuchiyama Station. From there, transfer to the Kyoto Tango Railway to Amanohashidate Station.
When to Visit Amanohashidate with Kids
We visited Amanohashidate in December because we wanted to enjoy the onsen in Kinosaki Onsen. It was chilly but still absolutely stunning.
I think Amanohashidate is a great place to visit throughout the year, even in summer, because it’s slightly cooler due to being located along the sea and its slightly higher elevation, especially once you’ve gone up to Kasamatsu Park via the cable car. (More on that later.)
Each season also brings its own unique beauty. For instance, in spring you’ll be able to see cherry blossom trees, while autumn has stunning, colorful fall foliage. And in the summer, you can go swimming!
Note that there are days when the cable cars that go up to the famous viewpoints are closed, so make sure to check the schedule in advance.
Amanohashidate with Kids Itinerary
We spent only a day at Amanohashidate because we had a reservation at a ryokan located in Kinosaki Onsen. However, we were able to see plenty!
Here’s a look at how my family explored this area.
Arriving at Amanohashidate
(11:50 AM)
Although it opens at 9 AM, we had a late start to the day and arrived at Amanohashidate Chairlift and Monorail Station a little before noon. There were already a bunch of people in line to get on the monorail, and at the time, they were still taking precautions due to the pandemic, so we couldn’t ride the cable car to go up to Amanohashidate Viewland until 12:45!
However, since then, they’ve relaxed how many people can get on the cablecar, and it runs more frequently (every 15 minutes).
There are several options when it comes to tickets. When we went, we chose a package that included a lift ticket to both observation points (Amanohashidate Viewland and Kasamatsu Park). Now, they’ve included a boat ride that will take you from one observation area to the other, which is pretty awesome.
Since we had time to kill before we could get on the cablecar, we decided to explore the area.
Even before we took the cable car up to see the most famous view of the sandbar, we found that the views around Amanohashidate were beautiful.
We walked to Amanohashidate Fuchu Beach to watch the gentle waves lapping at the sand. (My daughter loves the sea.)
We also took a quick look at Chionji Temple, which is also called the Golden Pavilion (not to be confused with Kyoto city’s Golden Pavilion).
Make sure to also check out Kaisen Bridge, which rotates and then opens up to let boats pass through. Kids will love it!
Honestly, I wish we had more time to properly explore this area, which is why when we visit Amanohashidate again, we will go for two days. It looks like you can rent bicycles from the shopping street in front of the temple as well, which is a great way to explore the area.
Before we knew it, it was time to go up to Amanohashidate Viewland.
Amanohashidate Viewland
(12:45 PM)
There are two ways to go up to Amanohashidate Viewland: cable car (monorail) or chairlift. Since we had a young child (she was four years old at the time), we went by cable car.
Children can ride on the chairlift on their own from age six, but honestly, it seems really scary to let a young child ride on their own. I would only recommend it if your child has been on a chairlift on their own before.
The cablecar we took was quick, and we were at the top in less than 10 minutes.
My husband knew right away that he wanted to see the famous flying dragon view, so after we got off the cable car, we quickly headed left to the perfect spot to see this. (And why yes, Google Maps calls this the “crotch-viewing platform”… I don’t even know what to tell you, dear reader).
Depending on where you see this flying dragon from, it will appear like it is flying straight into the sky (hiryukan) or it’s already flying through the sky (shoryukan). From Amanohashidate Viewland, you can see the ascending dragon.
To see this, you need to stand with your back to the sandbar, bend over, and look through your legs. This position is called Matanozoki, which is written on the small platform from where you can do this (股のぞき台), and literally translates to “peeping through your crotch”.
If your kid is like mine, they’ll get a kick out of this, especially when they see their parents do it.
Here’s my husband bending over (… I never thought I would ever type that in my life, but here I am):
And below is what the view looks like from between his legs. (This is a PG blog, I swear!)
Although it was overcast on the day we visited, the view was still very stunning.
There are also lots of staff working there who will also kindly take photos of your family with your phone. They’ll also ask if you want to buy a photo that they take of you using a professional camera, but you don’t have to.
However, we decided to buy one after having a family photo taken at Kasamatsu Park. (More on that park later.)
Amusement Park
(1:00 PM to 1:15 PM)
I was so surprised to see a small amusement park here! It has a merry-go-round, a Ferris Wheel, some small bouncy toys to ride on (for free!), and a playground.
Naturally, my daughter went crazy here and didn’t want to leave, but we had a schedule to keep, so she sadly had to be torn away.
We also had something quick to eat for lunch at the Panoramic View Restaurant, which was okay enough. Nothing to write home about but it was nice to quickly have something warm to eat when it was so nippy outside.
Afterward, we took the cablecar down and then went to Fuchu Station so we could see the other view of the dragon from Kasamatsu Park.
Kasamatsu Park
(2:15 PM to 3:00 PM)
Kasamatsu Park is located on the opposite side of Amanohashidate Viewland. You can talk across the sandbar to get there, but it would take about an hour, so I don’t recommend it unless you have lots of stamina.
The package deal includes a boat that you can take from Amanohashidate Pier to Ichinomiya Pier. Fuchu Station is a 4-minute short walk from Ichinomiya Pier, and from there you can take the cablecar to Kasamatsu Park.
Personally, I recommend getting the package deal that includes a boat trip to Ine, a traditional fishing village where houses are perched on the water.
(We drove because the boat wasn’t available when we visited.)
Once we were at Kasamatsu Park and enjoying the view from the observation deck, the staff again took photos of our family and asked if we wanted a printed photo of the one they took with their camera. We felt bad, especially since they were so friendly yet not pushy at all, so we agreed. I don’t mind at all, the photo is beautiful, and to this day we still display it in our house.
This time, our daughter decided to try the famous crotch-viewing pose (this blog is going to be flagged, isn’t it?), which was super cute! When I asked her if she saw the dragon flying across the sky (shōryūkan), she answered, “I don’t know!”. Which is fair, she was only four years old, after all.
My daughter ran around on the observation deck for a while and we took lots of photos. There’s also a small glass platform where you can look down at the forest 130 meters below you, which my daughter wasn’t scared of at the time, surprisingly.
When we were done, we took the cable car down. We boarded first, so my daughter sat at the front, which gave her an awesome view of the scenery below. She also felt like she was driving the cable car herself!
Is it necessary to include Kasamatsu Park in your Amanohashidate trip? I don’t think so, especially if you’re short on time, but it was nice to see the view from a different angle. Kasamatsu Park was also considerably quieter and less busy compared to Amanohashidate Viewland.
We wanted to spend more time in the area, but unfortunately, we needed to leave so we could make it to our next stop, Kinosaki Onsen, which was an hour drive away. So in total, we spent about four hours at Amanohashidate. (Why my husband chose to do all of this in one trip is beyond me, but at the time I let him take the reins because he’s Japanese, after all!)
Amanohashidate is an absolutely stunning place to visit, and surprisingly very child-friendly, so I recommend giving it a visit and even staying overnight if you want.
Some great places that I have my eye on to stay include Monjusou and Taikyourou, which are both beautiful ryokan with sea views.
If your child is older than twelve, consider staying at Monjusou Shourotei.
Note that many restaurants in Amanohashidate close by around 6 PM, so if you’re staying overnight, try to stay at one of the aforementioned accommodations and make sure that dinner is included.
FAQ
Can you go swimming in Amanohashidate?
Yes, you can go swimming during summer (mid-July to August).
Are there tours to Amanohashidate?
Yes, if you want to save time and the trouble of figuring out transportation, you can book a tour to Amanohashidate and Ine, which is considered the “Venice of Japan” with traditional Japanese houses along the water.
How long should I plan to spend at Amanohashidate?
You can easily do a day trip there. We spent only half a day, but we felt that it wasn’t enough.