Mie with Kids: What Our Family Did (and Loved)
Last Updated on March 16, 2026 by Kay
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Thinking of visiting Mie with kids and wondering how to plan your time there?
Believe it or not, a fair number of families from Osaka head to Mie Prefecture during their school vacations, and it’s no surprise, really. The prefecture has so many kid-friendly things to do that it can be hard to fit them all in one trip!
In fact, my family has been there a few times already, and we still haven’t covered everything.
In this article, I’ll share what we did on a recent trip to Mie with our daughter (and my brother, too), which includes kid-friendly places in Mie that are bound to make children of all ages happy, as well as adults!
Table of Contents
Is Mie Worth Visiting with Kids?
Absolutely! Especially if your family enjoys a trip that combines culture, nature, and a few attractions that are more geared toward kids.
What I liked most about Mie was that it didn’t feel one-note. We weren’t just doing shrine visits, and we weren’t just doing child-focused attractions either. This made the trip feel nicely balanced and enjoyable for everyone.
Mie also felt quieter and more traditional than many of Japan’s bigger tourist destinations, which I actually appreciated when traveling with a child. There was less chaos, less rushing, and more space to slow down.
That said, I do think Mie is easier to explore with a car, especially if you want to visit several places across the prefecture over a few days. We drove, and I think that made the trip much easier as a family.
So if you’re considering visiting Mie Prefecture with your kids, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Now, allow me to share everything my family has done in Mie Prefecture, which will hopefully help you plan your own trip!
What We Did in Ise, Toba, and Shima
As mentioned earlier, we’ve been to Mie more than once, but I thought I would share one of our itineraries so that you can have an idea about how to plan your family trip.
We spent three days in Mie Prefecture, focusing mainly on Ise, Toba, and Shima, which are all located in Ise Shima National Park. This route gave us a nice mix of sightseeing, hands-on experiences, beautiful scenery, and places that were genuinely fun for our daughter (and us as well!).
Notably, my brother suddenly came to visit us in Japan at the time, so we brought him along on the already planned trip. Needless to say, my daughter was thrilled to show her Canadian uncle around.
Day 1: Ise with Kids
Our main purpose of visiting Mie Prefecture was to go to Ise Jingu, the most important shrine in Japan.
To get there, we drove from Osaka, which took about 2.5 hours. You can also take the train, but since we were traveling with our daughter, having a car made things much simpler.
We were starving by the time we arrived at 11 AM, so before heading to the shrine, we had a quick lunch at a small local restaurant. If you’re looking for a taste of Japanese homecooking, like a fried katsu lunch set, this is the place to go.
My daughter got the tamagoyaki (fried rolled egg) lunch set, which was a little too large for her as a six-year-old. My husband ended up finishing it and regretted that he didn’t just share a meal with her.
These meals really reminded us of my mother-in-law’s cooking, which seemed fitting since we were visiting Ise Jingu for her. My brother even said it was the best meal he had during our trip to Japan!
Note that the restaurant does not have any highchairs, no kids’ menu, and all the seats are next to each other (somewhat bar-style), so this might not work out for some families.
Now, as you may have already gleaned, Ise Jingu is not just any shrine. There are strict rules, which I cover in my Ise Jingu Guide. It’s also not exactly what I would consider a destination that would (or should, really) blow up on social media. Ise Jingu Shrine is beautiful in its simplicity and a tranquil place of worship.
If your child enjoys nature, can handle walking, and is able to stay fairly calm in a sacred setting, I think it can be a very special and memorable experience, especially for older kids. Walking in a medieval Japanese forest alone was a really cool experience (my brother said his “stats went up”). My daughter loved her time at Ise Jingu (she’s loved shrines ever since she was a toddler), but I do think some children might find it a bit boring.
If your kiddos are bored, you can always stop by the shopping street near Ise Jingu’s inner shrine (Naiku) and enjoy the Edo-style atmosphere and shops.
My daughter really liked the Sumikko Gurashi Store and got a little magnet that you can only buy in Ise Jingu, which was really cool.
She’s also obsessed with Pokémon, so it was fun to see a shop selling Oshawott goods, which is Mie Prefecture’s official Pokémon. She doesn’t care for Oshawott much, though, so she didn’t want any. (Not to mention the items for sale were pouches more suited for teens and adults.)
The items pictured above can be found at Momenya Ai.
With all of that out of the way, I highly recommend reading my guide to Ise Jingu to determine if it’s a place you want to take your kids.
After our visit to Ise Jingu, we went to our accommodation for the night, Hotel Ijikaso, which is located along the coast in Toba. The hotel itself felt a bit dated, but our room was spacious with a massage chair (my brother loved this) and had a lovely ocean view.
I really liked that they had a private family bath, so my husband, daughter, and I could enjoy bathing together. It would have been nice to have an open-air bath, though.
We also enjoyed dinner and breakfast featuring Ise ebi, which is Japanese spiny lobster, and is especially common in Ise. This is a very sweet type of lobster and is served in various ways such as sashimi or in soup.
Ise Ebi is considered a delicacy in Japan that’s served during celebratory occasions. In fact, one of my postpartum meals featured Ise ebi!
Day 2: Toba with Kids
Toba, a small seaside city in Mie, ended up being one of the most family-friendly parts of our trip. We spent the entire day in this area, and this is what we did.
Toba Sea Folk Museum
Our first stop was the Toba Sea Folk Museum, which wasn’t our original plan, but since we were staying nearby, we figured it was worth a look. It ended up being a highlight of our trip, and my daughter didn’t even want to leave!
This museum shares the history of pearl diving and fishing in Toba and has lots of interesting artifacts from the past. There are interactive displays, which my daughter loved because what kid doesn’t enjoy learning through touch?
For instance, there were replicas of fish that you can find in the region:
You can also look through a viewer to get the perspective of a pearl diver in the sea:
Write a wish on a clamshell and hang it (make sure to pay 100 yen for each one):
Cultural displays of items, such as dragons, that are used in rituals and festivals by locals in Toba:
Little huts that kids (and parents, too, of course) can go inside and see how people in Toba lived in the past:
Kids can pretend to shuck a clam:
There is even a huge building housing actual old boats (which low-key scared my kid, but the adults thought it was cool):
You can also do some crafts for an additional fee. My daughter made a candle that she filled using seashells and rocks she chose herself.
And interestingly, the staff helping her out was going on a working holiday in New Zealand the following month, so he was really interested in talking to my brother and me in English!
I usually default to speaking Japanese when I’m traveling in the country, not to mention I’m with my Japanese husband, so this experience reminded me of when I first moved to the country and how fun it was to connect with locals in English. I feel like there is less formality and more openness.
And my daughter, surprisingly, spoke English with him, too! I was so proud of her because sometimes trying to get her to speak English (her second language) is like pulling teeth.
We ended up spending two hours at the Toba Sea Folk Museum, although I feel like you can see everything in about an hour if you don’t do any crafts. Now, the craft should have been finished in 30 minutes, but we ended up chatting with the guy so much that it took twice as long. It was one of those unexpected but pleasant surprises that you can’t account for when traveling, which is why I don’t like packed itineraries. Flexibility is always a good thing, and it’s not the end of the world if you can’t do everything.
Note that other than the candle-making experience, there are not many English explanations throughout the museum, but that didn’t stop my brother from enjoying it. (My kid didn’t bother reading half of the Japanese explanations anyway since she was busy learning by actually doing things at the museum!)
Toba Aquarium
We spent the afternoon of our second day at the Toba Aquarium. We were torn between going to ISE Sea Paradise or Toba Aquarium, but since Toba is more famous and has higher reviews, it won out. If your kids want touch pools or to possibly pet a seal (it’s not guaranteed), ISE Sea Paradise might be better, but locals always say to go to Toba first.
Toba Aquarium is massive (it is the third largest aquarium in Japan, after all), and yet, apart from the sea otter area, it was surprisingly not crowded. We spent almost three hours here, which shouldn’t be a surprise because this aquarium has the most animal species in Japan.
There’s even a jungle area (reptiles only) with a spot where you can have little fish nibble off dead skin, like a free Doctor Fish. (My kid refuses to do this, but many other kids had no problem sticking their fingers in!)
Now, there is a bit of a wait to see the sea otters, which I thought was ridiculous at first, but it is absolutely worth it. The sea otters are so unbelievably cute and spin pylons around. Of course, my daughter and I squealed from how cute it was, but surprisingly, even my husband and brother thought it was unbelievably kawaii.
Another highlight was the penguin show, which was super adorable, and you can see penguins up close waddling right in front of you.
Toba Aquarium also has blue lobsters, which I had never seen before, so that was quite interesting.
Note that this aquarium is showing its age, and some animals don’t really have enough space. After nearly two decades in Japan, I’ve gotten used to the condition of aquariums here. However, visitors from abroad, especially those used to newer or bigger animal-friendly facilities, might feel uncomfortable.
It’s also, as mentioned earlier, huge. There are over a thousand animal species here! We spent three hours here, and we were all pretty exhausted at the end. There is a restaurant inside where you can have a meal and rest if you want, but we were pretty full from our hotel breakfast, so we just had a hot dog from a stand in the aquarium for lunch.
You don’t need to purchase your tickets in advance, but if you want to save a little time in line, you can buy tickets to Toba Aquarium here.
However, if you decide to go to Mikimoto Pearl Island (which I’ll explain below), I highly suggest getting a combination ticket for both Toba Aquarium and Mikimoto Pearl Island, which is only available at Toba Aquarium or Mikimoto Pearl Island. We hadn’t intended to go to Mikimoto Pearl Island, which is why we didn’t get it, and we could have saved almost 2000 yen among the four of us!
Mikimoto Pearl Island
This doesn’t sound like something kids would like, but my daughter surprisingly did…?
Mikimoto Pearl Island is less than a 10-minute walk away from Toba Aquarium. We hadn’t planned to go, but since we had a little time available, we decided to check it out.
And thankfully, if you have a toddler who is tired of walking, you can borrow a stroller from here to explore the island:
My daughter loved learning about the history of pearl cultivation in the area and the differences between pearls. There are lots of interactive exhibits here, which is great for kids, although some explanations are in Japanese only.
There were also lots of historical pearl jewelry from around the world, and she asked her father when he would buy her a pearl necklace. (You can purchase a real Mikimoto pearl necklace from the souvenir shop on the 1st floor but we weren’t interested in that.)
There are also picture books here that kids can read freely, but all of them are in Japanese:
But what my daughter liked the most was the free pearl diving demonstration, where she watched actual pearl divers retrieve oysters from the ocean.
Also, try not to go too close to closing because you might end up missing the Kokichi Mikimoto Memorial Hall, which details the history of Mikimoto and has a lovely garden.
We were at Mikimoto Pearl Island for 1.5 hours.
Is Mikimoto Pearl Island a must-visit with kids? I don’t think so. I recommend visiting only if you have an interest in learning about the history of pearl farming in the area.
Futami Okitama Shrine
Our last stop for the day was Futami Okitama Shrine. This small shrine is home to Meoto Iwa, the famous “wedded rocks,” and it was one of the most visually striking places we visited, especially at sunset.
We walked past the rocks and found a nice area to sit and enjoy the sun sinking into the sea.
My daughter (and my brother) also liked the frog statues she found throughout our visit, which gave the place a more playful feel. Frog in Japanese is “kaeru”, which can also mean “return”. So this shrine is also a place to pray for a safe return from a journey (typically from Ise Jingu Shrine).
This shrine, though, is meant for couples. The wedded rocks, which are tied together, symbolize a good marriage. My husband and I made sure to pray for a long and successful marriage. We’ve been together for 14 years now, so I hope for many more blissful years to come!
That evening, we stayed at a ryokan in Shima called Kashikojima Hojoen, which we absolutely loved. The food was not only delicious and featured Ise ebi (plus special meals for kids), but the ryokan itself was massive with lots to do.
There was karaoke, an arcade, and an onsen with an open-air bath, which made it feel more family-friendly and fun than just a place to sleep.
Day 3: Shima with Kids
Ago Bay Cruise
The ryokan we were staying at overlooked Ago Bay, and after a bit of poking around, I found that there are cruises mere minutes away that will take you around the bay. So, although we had planned to spend the entire day at Shima Spain Village (more on that later), we decided to go on the cruise in the morning.
There are two types of boats, a smaller speedboat (Agowan Shimameguri Islands Cruise), which looks like this:
You can purchase tickets for the smaller speedboat from here:
And a huge one that looks like a pirate ship (Kashikojima Espana Cruise):
Tickets can be bought from here:
When we were inspecting a map of the area and trying to decide between the two cruises, a random old man said we should take the smaller boat because it covered a wider area that included pearl farms. Whether or not he worked for that smaller speedboat will forever be a mystery because we never saw him again…
Admittedly, my daughter wanted to go on the pirate ship-looking boat because it looked cool, but we convinced her to try the smaller one.
The cruise was about an hour long, and we got stunning views of the island along Ago Bay, including pearl farms, as well as interesting commentary from the captain. (In Japanese, though.)
However, if you have young kids, make sure they stay in one place, or you hold onto them tightly, because there are no life jackets. My daughter spent most of the cruise sitting inside but there was a number of kids around the same age as her who were outside with their parents.
After the cruise, we stopped by SHIMA CAFE for some Ise ebi ice cream. It tasted really good, a little salty and sweet, but no fishy taste to it.
We also browsed some of the souvenir shops that sold Ago pearl jewelry and seashells.
My brother bought one of the necklaces below for our mom.
My daughter got this little stone that dissolves in water to reveal an Ago pearl:
Yokoyama Viewpoint
Our next stop was Yokoyama Viewpoint, where you can see the 60 tiny islands scattered across Ago Bay in Ise-Shima National Park.
The view was beautiful, and the walk up to other viewpoints was short enough that our daughter had no trouble.
Shima Spain Village
Our last major stop on this trip was Shima Spain Village, also known as Spain Mura. For families, this was probably the most obviously child-focused attraction in the area.
When one of my closest Japanese friends first told me about Spain Mura, I was admittedly confused at first (“a Spain-themed amusement park…?”). But I am so glad she did because my daughter loved this amusement park so much that she asks me all the time when we’re going next.
There are lots of attractions and shows here for guests of all ages. I think teens might find it too cheesy, but adults and kids will have a great time. My daughter’s face lights up whenever I mention Spain Mura because she wants to visit again so badly.
The park is cute, quirky, and a little over-the-top. There are rides and shows for children, plus bigger attractions like roller coasters for people who want more of a thrill. My daughter had a great time here, and because of that, we ended up spending about four hours at the park.
Other Things to Do in Mie with Kids
Mie Prefecture is massive, meaning that there are a lot of kid-friendly activities and experiences for families. Here are my recommendations.
Nagashima Spa Land
Nagashima Spa Land is one of the largest amusement parks in Japan. It has record-breaking roller coasters for thrill-loving kids and teens, as well as a huge kids’ area for younger children. Many families from Osaka do day trips to Nagashima Spa Land because they love it just that much.
We visited Nagashima Spa Land on a separate trip because it is quite far from Ise, Toba, and Shima.
To find out more, read my article about our visit to Nagashima Spa Land.
Suzuka Circuit Park
This is on our “to go” list because our neighbor loves it.
If you and your kiddos love race cars, then you’ll want to visit this racetrack venue. There’s more than just races here, too. Suzuka Circuit has an amusement park filled with mini race courses for little kids, huge roller coasters for older kiddos, and plenty of other attractions for guests of all ages.
Mie Prefectural Museum
Mie Prefectural Museum is a great indoor activity for kids where they can learn about the history of Mie Prefecture. Notably, they have a skeleton of a Stegodon miensis, which is a prehistoric elephant that was discovered in Mie, and also the largest fossil of a land animal found in Japan.
If you have a car, make sure to stop by Chusei Green Park (a 12-minute drive away), where kids can try a massive roller slide as well as play on various other playground equipment.
My Honest Thoughts on Mie as a Family Destination
Overall, I thought Mie is a fantastic destination for a family trip.
What I love most is the variety. We were able to experience sacred and historical places like Ise Jingu, but also mix in more family-friendly stops like amusement parks, or do something adventurous like boat rides.
I also liked that Mie felt calmer and less overwhelming than some of Japan’s bigger tourist destinations, especially since it’s a place that most tourists don’t go to. For our family, that made the trip feel more manageable and more relaxing.
I do think it’s a prefecture that rewards a bit of planning, especially if you want to cover a wider area. Having a car made a big difference for us, and I would strongly consider renting one if you’re traveling with children.
But if your family enjoys trips that combine culture, nature, and a few fun attractions along the way, I think Mie is very worth considering.