Iwate Children's Forest

Iwate Kodomo No Mori ( いわて子どもの森 ) was one of our first adventures in Japan.  The direct translation is Iwate Children's Forest.  We visited this place on an ITT tour and it was a good introduction to Japan.  It is doable to get to on your own and if you have young children, you should check it out at least once in your time in Japan.  If you take a toll from Misawa it is about an hour and a half away, but two hours if you stay off the tolls.  In our opinion, it is worth skipping the tolls to get here, since it only saves you thirty minutes.

I have a few shots of this place, but no really good pictures that I can currently find.  Google Maps has a lot of excellent pictures to get a feel for this place.

Our Introduction to the Long Slide

Google Coordinance : 40.080206, 141.184142

Directions

Map of Iwate's Children's Forest

Google Searches for Places to Check Out

One way we find fun places to play is by a Google Search on Google Maps.  Not every place immediately translates over to English, or even Romanji (essentially Japanese written in the Roman Alphabet)  Sometimes the best way to fine new places is to do a search in true Japanese.  These are some of our favorite searches to use that come in handy.

Kodomo (こども) translates to Children in Hiragana, and there are a few searches to find things that are specific to children.  Kodomo No Kuni (こどもの国) is essentially a children's playground, these are often free or fairly inexpensive.

Michi No Eki ( 道の駅 ) is a great one to bookmark.  These are Roadside Stations and if you need a place to stay, these offer free parking.  They do have hours, but should have bathrooms open 24 hours, and they often have merchandise and treats specific to that region.  A good place to check out to get ideas where you are at.

Getting Around Japan

I would say the key to getting around Japan is in how you use your transportation.  A lot of people have vans, and when we first came to Japan, we went the route with an 8-Seater Nissan El Grande.  This actually suited our purposes as a family of four quite well, pairing it with a tent, we were actually able to see a lot of the area when we first got to Japan.

Of course, this also depends on if you have an international license or not.  Otherwise, you need to depend on public transportation, and that is essentially train, subway and bus.  If you have to depend on Public Transport, this might not be the blog for you.  A lot of these areas can still be accessed, but it might require hopping through a few hoops.

Lately, which has sped up the rate in which we explore, is the use of a Camping Car.  People either see us as insane or brilliant in going into what is essentially a Japanese RV.  It has definitely freed us up in how much we are able to accomplish.  We will just say, that if you want to explore a lot of Japan off the beaten path and don't want to worry about finding places to sleep or making reservations, this is a great way to go.  And since Misawa now offers Camping Cars for Rent through Outdoor Rec, this is an option versus buying your own.

Tokyo is essentially a Public Transportation Destination, and a lot of the cities fall into this line.  We don't take the Camping Car into big cities very often.

But if you can't afford a Camping Car, a Van and a Tent can be a great gateway to exploring Japan.  And if you need a little more in creature comforts, there are cabins available to rent at most campgrounds in Japan if you can make reservations ahead of time.

Government Parks of Japan

One of the places I really want to highlight was something we sort of stumbled upon by accident on one of our explorations.  Those are National Government Parks.  They also have Prefectural Government Parks too, and they can be similar, but we will focus on the National Parks for now.

The parks are similar in a lot of ways but are specific to their region, and they are awesome.  They can be a little difficult to access by public transportation, but easily by car.  If you are traveling with kids, these are great places to find and check out, as there is a little something for everyone.  Especially kids.  Their playgrounds are fantastic.  What's more, they are inexpensive, about Y410 for an adult, Y80 for school age children, and kids under six are free.  You can easily spend a day exploring these, and during certain times of the year, they have events going, usually involving their impressive gardens.  The Japanese do love their gardens.

About National Government Parks

So far, we have been to five of these parks, and we will likely visit a few more before we leave Japan.  

If you are in the vicinity of one of these parks and looking for something to do in that area, especially if you have kids, you won't go wrong with the government parks.  Especially if you find yourself on a bit of a budget.  

I will highlight each of these parks individually in their own posts.  

Why?

So I got to thinking, my husband and I have gained a certain notoriety for just going out and exploring around us, which is sometimes not an easy task, especially when kids are involved.  It can be even more difficult when you are in a foreign country.

People often like to pick our brains for advice and ideas of adventures and I began to think I should write a blog about it.  I have blogged before, it was even semi successful at one point, but that ship has probably sailed.  Anyway, the content of this blog will likely be very different from that one, as it has a very specific agenda.  Basically, this is a blog about exploring, how we do it, and what we do successfully.  I will also share our mishaps so perhaps readers can avoid them in the future.

Some of my content will be pretty current.  Other content will be more of a throwback to previous times.  As of now, a lot of it will be focused on the current country we reside in, Japan, and how we explore it.  We have another ten months here and I will update as I can, but once we leave here, it will probably more focus on things Stateside.

All the while, doing all of this with young children.  Just an extra element to add in there.