This article was originally published in the Detour in February 2022.

#1: Tokyo, Japan

We know, we know, Japan isn’t yet open to foreign nationals, but we might just see travel restrictions begin to loosen from the end of February, so now is the time to start thinking ahead.

And don’t be put off by the thought of Tokyo’s hustle and bustle, either - as one of the world’s safest cities, it’s the perfect place to take kids for their first real big-city adventure (before setting out into Japan to see the country’s stunning sights).

0–4 years old

There are a ton of parent-and-child cafés across Tokyo (check out Savvy Tokyo’s round-up of venues in the city centre), all of them equipped with changing rooms, play-spaces, and areas for strollers or prams.

If your child is entering the terrible twos and you both feel like having a howl, you’ll also want to pay a visit to Pasela, the popular Tokyo karaoke chain, which offers kid-friendly karaoke experiences, private rooms for dining, and bouncy castle spaces.

The city also prides itself on its ridiculously creative play-parks. Our personal favourite? Shinagawa Kumin Park, which is home to an aquarium and has an epic suite of sea-themed climbing, jumping, and bouncing activities.

And if you want a night off to explore the city for yourselves, you might also be interested to hear that a sizeable number of Japanese hotels offer an in-house babysitting service…

5+ years old

This is where it gets really fun in Tokyo for parents and their little ones.

Your kid’s a nature-lover? There’s more than just the famous animal cafés (Tokyo Cheapo has all the recs for ethically-managed locations, including Neco Republic, which shelters cats in need of a forever home). Several of the city’s parks feature petting zoos - like Yoyogi Park and its ponies.

Or perhaps they have a lot of energy to burn off? Take them to one of the massive adventure parks outside the city centre.

Tokyo has a real thing for theme parks dedicated to Scandinavian kid’s writers, for some reason (Hans Christian Andersen and the Moomins both have their own resorts). But the most impressive is the confusingly-named but thankfully kid-friendly Sagamiko Pleasure Forest, with a colossal obstacle course and a host of amusements for toddlers.

If your child is an anime obsessive, there’s plenty to choose from - the neon lights of Akihabara’s electric town would be the obvious choice.

But we’d prioritise the much-praised Studio Ghibli Museum out in the suburbs of Mitaka, which narrowly avoided closure during the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to a crowdfunding campaign from legions of Totoro and Spirited Away fans.

Tickets are released in monthly batches on the museum’s website, so make sure you plan well ahead.

Other useful stuff to know

• Handily enough, 0-5 year-olds travel for free on the Japanese rail system. 6-11 year-olds can buy a rail-pass at half the usual price. (You’re sensibly advised to avoid 7-9am on Japanese trains to skip the infamous crush.)
• For many of us - and our fellow passengers - the long-haul flight is likely to be the most off-putting factor about a trip to Tokyo with a small child. Thankfully, Our Travel Home has a list of helpful tips for making the experience as stress-free as possible. We’d also point you towards Baby Can Travel’s recommendations for comfy flight-friendly baby beds…
• Carefinder has put together a list of Japanese phrases that travelling parents might need to use.
• Japan Today has a great write-up about what to expect if your child needs medical attention (in short: Japanese healthcare is great, but expensive. At all costs, make sure you have travel insurance)

#2: The Canary Islands

Look, we’re all about the undiscovered locations and the little-known treats here at JFC.

But we’re going to have to drop our snobbery and just admit it - well-travelled though they are, the Canaries are simply perfect for a sun-kissed stop-over with children.

Part of that comes down to the easy accommodation options: the islands offer a frankly ludicrous variety of resort-style hotels with colossal swimming pools and water-parks, but there are plenty of rural self-catering apartments and villas away from the crowds, too.

We’d personally recommend Finca de Arrieta on Lanzarote - it’s an awesomely eccentric eco-farm with yurts, cottages, a solar-powered pool, an honesty shop, and chickens on site, all hidden away in a grove of gorgeous mango trees.

You can also hop on a car-ferry from island to island, making it relatively stress-free for you to rent transportation (Autoreisen is active in all the airports on the Canaries and offers free car seats for kids) and set out on a family adventure away from the tourist hordes.

0–4 years old

Maybe use your judgement on the cute/creepy factor of this one - but if your kid loves their teddy bears, they might enjoy a trip to Artlandya, a rather unique museum on Tenerife that looks into the craft of teddies and dolls.

But let’s be honest, if you’re heading to the Canaries with a toddler, you’re probably going to want to find a safe place to enjoy the sun, the beach and the water, where they can play and you can take a breath.

Here are Culture Trip’s recommendations on that front, but you should also familiarise yourself with the colour flags that will be visible on every beach. (Red flags indicate strong currents, but purple flags mean there could be jellyfish in the water).

And cute though they are, you might want to avoid the colourful mini-trains that run tours through the towns of Tenerife - some travellers have complained that they can go as fast as 30 miles an hour through busy roads.

5+ years old

The Canaries have their fair share of theme parks - Siam Park is regularly voted the best water park in the world by TripAdvisor travellers - but there are plenty of less noisy and splashy options, too.

You’re definitely going to want to pay a visit to Cocodrilo Park on Gran Canaria. It’s the only animal rescue centre on the Canaries, and your ticket price goes towards the care of tigers saved from zoos, chimpanzees rescued from smugglers, and a starring cast of crocodiles. There’s even a free shuttle bus to make things easy!

We’d also take an expedition into the wooded depths of the stunning 14,500-hectare Anaga Rural Park on Tenerife for a bit of quiet time away from it all.

Other useful stuff to know

• “¿Tienen un menú de niños?” Pura Vida Moms has compiled some handy Spanish phrases for parents (it’s technically meant for Costa Rican travel, but we’ll take it).
• The gov.uk website has advice about seeking medical attention in Spain - make sure you have a health insurance card to hand.
• Serious crime is a rarity on the Canaries, but petty scams and pickpocketing are still a concern in the touristy areas (and they may be even more of a concern if you’re trying to watch a small child and your wallet at the same time). Here’s some simple safety advice.