Stunning Views of Mount Fuji, Play, and Learning: 13 Family-Friendly Attractions in Yamanashi

One of Yamanashi's greatest attractions is the chance to experience magnificent natural scenery, including Mount Fuji, up close. At Oishi Park on the shores of Lake Kawaguchi, admire seasonal flowers with Mount Fuji in the background. At Makiba Park in the highlands, children can meet sheep and goats. Walking through Shosenkyo Gorge and exploring Narusawa Ice Cave also reveal the region's many natural features.
Rather than simply viewing the scenery, families can walk, play, and spend time together in nature.

Yamanashi has facilities for a wide range of ages, from thrilling roller coasters to play areas for young children. After spending a full day at Fuji-Q Highland, families can change pace the next day and learn how the superconducting maglev works at the Yamanashi Prefectural Maglev Exhibition Center. Science experiments and a tour of the Kikyo Shingen Mochi factory are other experiences that can spark curiosity in both children and adults.
Combining play and learning creates a trip with something for everyone in the family.

When planning a family trip, it is important to focus on a particular area. Attractions such as Fuji-Q Highland, Oishi Park, and Oshino Hakkai are concentrated around the Fuji Five Lakes. In the Kofu and Fuefuki area, families can combine science centers, parks, and factory tours. In the Yatsugatake area, highlights include meeting animals in the highlands and staying at a resort hotel surrounded by nature.
Choose where to stop based on your transportation, your children's ages, and their interests for an enjoyable, unhurried trip around Yamanashi.

This large amusement park features everything from extreme thrill rides to areas based on popular characters. Its signature attractions include adrenaline-pumping roller coasters such as FUJIYAMA, which reaches a top speed of 81 mph, and Eejanaika, with a total of 14 inversions.
Thomas Land, an area designed for young children, is another welcome feature. Families can choose how to spend their time based on their children's ages and preferences.

This museum-style facility offers visitors the chance to see an actual maglev train capable of traveling at 311 mph. On maglev test-run days, visitors can watch the train in motion from every floor of the facility. The outdoor observation terrace is particularly noteworthy, as visitors can feel the rush of air created by the passing train. Experimental equipment explains how the superconducting maglev works, while a miniature maglev offers a hands-on magnetic levitation experience, making it fun for parents and children to learn about the transportation of the future.

This park rich in natural scenery stretches across a hillside overlooking Mount Fuji and the Kofu Basin. Its vast grounds, roughly the size of seven Tokyo Domes, feature expansive lawns that are ideal for picnics. Popular children's play areas include net playground equipment that can be used regardless of the weather and an aquatic obstacle course. The park also has restaurants serving dishes made with Yamanashi produce, shops, hot springs, and a hotel, offering many different ways to spend the day.

This factory theme park lets visitors observe how Kikyo Shingen Mochi, one of Yamanashi's best-known sweets, is made. As you watch the familiar confection take shape, be sure to notice the skill of the workers as they quickly wrap each package by hand.
The all-you-can-pack sweets activity is just as popular as the factory tour, drawing lines from early in the morning. At the theme park café, try desserts such as Kikyo Shingen Soft+ and Kikyo Shingen Mochi Manju.

Located in Sakana Park, this freshwater aquarium primarily displays fish found in Yamanashi's rivers and lakes. It features a variety of distinctive exhibits, including a double-layered tank that makes large and small fish appear to swim together.
At the side-view tank, visitors look into an outdoor pond through a large glass window and observe around 300 fish from approximately 20 species, including grass carp and sturgeon measuring more than 3.3 feet long. With a forest stretching beyond the pond, the exhibit creates the sensation of being underwater in the middle of the woods.

Distinguished by its spaceship-like exterior, this science center lets visitors learn through hands-on experiences about the mysteries of space, Earth, and life. Inside are extensive exhibits covering a range of themes, including space, Earth, and living things. One highlight is the Space Theater, a planetarium that uses digital technology to present detailed starry skies and images of outer space. Other attractions include exciting science shows presented by staff and an astronomical observatory equipped with a large telescope.
There is also a Playroom for young children, making the center suitable for a wide range of ages.

This park occupies part of a ranch on the highlands at the southern foot of the Yatsugatake Mountains, offering opportunities to meet animals and walk through nature. Visitors can interact directly with sheep and goats in the animal area, while the walking trails provide sweeping views of the Yatsugatake Mountains and the Southern Alps.
The park is part of the Yatsugatake Prefectural Ranch, located at elevations ranging from approximately 3,600 to 5,600 feet, and admission is free. It is an affordable place to experience Yamanashi's natural scenery.

Located on the eastern side of the Aokigahara Forest at the foot of Mount Fuji, this lava cave extends 502 feet. It was formed by lava that flowed during an eruption in 864. The average temperature inside is approximately 37°F, and ice remains in the cave throughout the year.
A highlight is the ice pillars formed when water dripping from the ceiling freezes. The pillars are at their largest around April and can reach heights of 9.8 feet in some years. Deep inside the cave is Jigoku-ana, or Hell Hole, which according to legend extends all the way to Enoshima.

This park extends across Mount Atago overlooking central Kofu and features a wide selection of playground equipment that makes use of the area's natural terrain. Children and adults alike can stay active while surrounded by nature on its spacious grounds. The open plaza has a large combination playground structure, a bouncy dome, and inclusive equipment, allowing visitors to choose activities suited to their age and physical ability.
Combine a visit with the adjacent Yamanashi Prefectural Science Center to enjoy both active play and science-based learning.

This gorge is known as one of Japan's most scenic, with granite cliffs, unusual rock formations, and clear flowing water. A maintained walking trail follows the gorge, making it easy to appreciate its changing seasonal scenery.
Highlights include Kakuenpo, the gorge's signature rock formation; Senga Falls, with a drop of 98 feet; and Ishimon, a stone gateway formed by striking layers of seemingly unstable rock. Take the Shosenkyo Ropeway to the observation deck for panoramic views of Mount Fuji, Mount Kitadake, and Mount Ainodake.

Located on the northern shore of Lake Kawaguchi, this park offers views of Mount Fuji across the lake together with seasonal flowers. It is also well known for its flowers, with a walking path called the Flower Road running through the grounds.
At the adjacent Kawaguchiko Natural Living Center, visitors can participate in activities such as making jam with locally grown blueberries. With a café, restaurant, and shop overlooking Mount Fuji, plus playground equipment and a multipurpose plaza, the park is a relaxing place for families to spend time together.

Oshino Hakkai consists of eight spring-fed ponds supplied by snowmelt from Mount Fuji. The collective name refers to Deguchi-ike, Okama-ike, Sokonashi-ike, Choshi-ike, Waku-ike, Nigori-ike, Kagami-ike, and Shobu-ike. The area was once covered by a lake, which eventually dried up and left the eight spring-fed ponds seen today.
The water is filtered for approximately 20 years through layers of lava beneath Mount Fuji, giving it remarkable clarity. The natural scenery created by the ponds and Mount Fuji draws many visitors.

This large, 131-acre park stretches across Minobu Town in Yamanashi Prefecture. Its facilities introduce visitors to the area's natural environment and traditional crafts. Families can stay active on the lawns, go canoeing, or play in the water.
The grounds include the Fujikawa Kirie Art Museum, one of Japan's few museums specializing in paper-cutting art, as well as a barbecue area, roadside station, and restaurants. Families can combine energetic outdoor play with time spent appreciating art.

Established in 1932, this hot spring resort hotel stands in an exceptional location overlooking Mount Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi. Accommodations include rooms with panoramic views of Mount Fuji or Lake Kawaguchi, rooms with open-air baths, and rooms designed with universal access and barrier-free features in mind.
Guests can relax in hot spring water sourced from 4,900 feet beneath Mount Fuji in the hotel's large communal baths or private baths. Meals featuring local ingredients are another highlight.

This resort hotel in Isawa Onsen features an extensive selection of hot spring facilities, including one of the largest rock baths in Yamanashi Prefecture. Guests can experience the high-quality, skin-friendly simple alkaline waters of Isawa Onsen in six bathing areas, including two private baths with views.
Accommodations range from Japanese-style and Western-style rooms to special rooms with scenic hot spring baths. Dinner options include a creative buffet featuring Japanese, Western, and Chinese cuisine, as well as Japanese course meals prepared with local ingredients.

Surrounded by sweeping views of the Yatsugatake Mountains, the Southern Alps, and Mount Fuji, this highland resort hotel offers a wide range of family-friendly facilities. At Mori no 8, the hotel's children's area, visitors can use an indoor, all-weather facility featuring a drift tricycle circuit, bouldering walls, and a play zone for preschool children, with activities for different age groups. Guests can also experience nature within the hotel grounds at the rooftop Yatsugatake SoRa Deck, which offers 360-degree views, and along Saezuri no Komichi, a forest walking trail.