[Parenting #18] Summer Vacation Family Trip Part 3 (Gunma, Tochigi, and Saitama Areas)

Today's article is about our third and final summer vacation family trip, covering the Gunma, Tochigi, and Saitama areas (3 days, 2 nights). From our home in Yokohama, it takes about 3 to 4 hours by car even on local roads. Since highways tend to get congested, we recommend taking your time and making stops along the way on local roads.
This time as well, I will introduce spots and gourmet food that our family thought were "worth visiting!" and "worth eating!".

This time as well, I will introduce spots and gourmet food that our family thought were "worth visiting!" and "worth eating!".

[Our Family's Recommended Hotel]

Once again, we stayed at a Route Inn, which is our family's favorite and is very friendly for family trips with children. The hotel we stayed at this time is the following one:

Hotel Route Inn Grand Ota Ekimae (Ota City, Gunma Prefecture)

Perhaps unusually for a Route Inn, it was located right next to the station.
It costs 1,000 yen per day for parking, but the hotel's parking lot fills up quickly, so we used a nearby coin-operated parking lot. That said, there are many parking lots available for 600 to 1,000 yen per day, so it can actually end up being cheaper than the hotel's parking lot, haha.

As I mentioned in the previous article about our family trip to the Nagano area, Route Inn Grand offers "a higher grade of convenient location and service" compared to regular Route Inns. This time, too, there was a wide variety of breakfast menu items (such as freshly fried tempura and fried eggs), welcome drinks, and the large public bath had a sauna. Furthermore, the men's large public bath even had an open-air bath... We had a very comfortable stay.

[Our Family's Recommended Spots]

◆ Day 1

Saitama Aquarium (Hanyu City, Saitama Prefecture)

We stopped here first on our way to Gunma Prefecture on the first day.
It is said that about 70 species of fish inhabiting Saitama Prefecture are on display.
The admission fee is also reasonable (500 yen for adults (high school students and older), 200 yen for children (elementary and junior high school students), and free for preschoolers), and it was very much worth seeing.

We have been taking our children (2nd grade and kindergarten senior year) to aquariums and zoos since they were much younger, but they used to prefer zoos, and at aquariums, they would just take a quick look and move on.
However, this time they walked around and enjoyed looking at things much more slowly... My wife and I talked about how "they might enjoy our local Hakkeijima Sea Paradise much more now than they used to." We plan to visit there soon.

Chiaki Mukai Children's Science Museum (Tatebayashi City, Gunma Prefecture)

After the Saitama Aquarium, we stopped here on our way to our accommodation in Ota City, Gunma Prefecture.
With a planetarium and many hands-on science experience corners, this is a facility where children can easily play for more than half a day. The admission fee is very affordable: 330 yen for an adult (high school student and older) entry ticket, or 900 yen for an entry ticket with planetarium viewing. And children (junior high school students and younger) are free! (However, elementary and junior high school students do need to pay the 330 yen planetarium viewing fee.)

In the various experience corners, they were able to encounter science while actually playing, and they also got to watch a 30-minute demonstration called "Eririn's Minute Science Show" (featuring things like "Surprise Juice" and "Exploding Rocket!!!", which was free), and the children were very satisfied!

◆ Day 2

Nikko Toshogu Shrine (Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture)

On the way on the first day, my wife and I briefly discussed, 'What should we do on the second day?' and decided, 'Since we're here, let's go to Nikko!' Our family trips are almost always decided on the go like this, relying on Google Maps, haha.

It takes less than an hour and a half by car from our accommodation in Ota City, Gunma Prefecture, to Nikko Toshogu. We headed out first thing in the morning to make it in time for the ticket sales starting at 9:00 AM.

For me, it was my first visit to Nikko Toshogu since my elementary school field trip.
For the children, who watch 'Toyotomi Kyodai!' without fail every week, the mention of 'Tokugawa Ieyasu's grave is here' had a huge impact, and they seemed to be able to look around with genuine interest.
To think we could visit Nikko Toshogu together... I really feel the children's growth once again.

Kegon Falls (Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture)

After visiting Nikko Toshogu, we headed to Kegon Falls.
It is one of the 'Three Great Waterfalls of Japan' (the other two are Fukuroda Falls in Ibaraki Prefecture and Nachi Falls in Wakayama Prefecture), and expectations were high on such a hot summer day.
We waited about 10 minutes for parking, but since there is a fair amount of turnover, I feel like you don't have to worry too much if your vacation days are somewhat staggered like during the summer holidays.

We took the 'Kegon Falls Elevator' (600 yen for adults, 400 yen for elementary school students, free for preschoolers) to descend 100m at once to the viewing spot. Once we got off the elevator, we were enveloped in cool air, and it was so comfortable that we forgot about the heat!
Perhaps because it hadn't rained, the volume of the waterfall felt a bit low, but it was still powerful enough to be satisfying (even though we descended 100m by elevator, the viewing spot itself is still quite high up...).

Nikko Kirifuri Highlands Ozasa Ranch (Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture)

The last stop on the second day was Ozasa Ranch in the Nikko Kirifuri Highlands.
It was midsummer, but the temperature was around 25°C, which felt cool and pleasant.

At Ozasa Ranch, where admission and parking are free, the children fed ponies, sheep, and goats, and ate delicious soft-serve ice cream.
There was a park-like space for children near the parking lot, and they spent an eternity catching grasshoppers there. It seems this grasshopper catching was the highlight of the second day's itinerary, haha.

◆ Day 3

Kanayama Castle Ruins (Ota City, Gunma Prefecture)

On the final day, we first went to the Kanayama Castle ruins, which are close to our accommodation.
We went to stamp our 'Let's Go to the 100 Fine Castles of Japan and the Continued 100 Fine Castles of Japan' (official stamp book), which we started on our previous family trip to the Nagano area.
We walked along a mountain path for about 10 minutes from the parking lot, but since Kanayama Castle was a 'mountain castle that used the entire mountain as a fortress,' the remaining stone walls and other features give a glimpse of what it was like back then.

Tomioka Silk Mill (Tomioka City, Gunma Prefecture)

After the Kanayama Castle ruins, we headed to the World Heritage site 'Tomioka Silk Mill'!
The Tomioka Silk Mill appears in textbooks, so adults know the name well, but my eldest son (2nd grade) hadn't heard of it yet.
The children like insects and living things, so they might be interested in silkworms, but I was a little worried about whether they would be okay with the Tomioka Silk Mill, a symbol of Meiji modernization... haha.

As it turned out, they were able to listen to the entire guided tour (about 30 minutes), perhaps because they were happy to use the earphones that made the guide's voice easy to hear. I feel the children's growth in this aspect as well.

Gunma Museum of Natural History (Tomioka City, Gunma Prefecture)

For the final stop of this family trip, we went to the Gunma Museum of Natural History.
I thought the kids, who love dinosaurs, would be lucky because they were holding a special 30th-anniversary exhibition called 'Dinosaurs of the North American Jurassic,' but it seems they aren't as obsessed with dinosaurs as they used to be, perhaps because their interests are broadening... haha.
Instead, the kids seemed to enjoy the permanent exhibits more, such as the process of human evolution and the many taxidermy animal displays.

[Our Family's Recommended Gourmet Spots]

Shinkawa Udon Shop (Kazo City, Saitama Prefecture)

We went to this shop for lunch on the first day after visiting the Saitama Aquarium.
It seemed to have many local regulars, and it was a lovely shop where an elderly woman brought our food to us.
The Ten-tama Soba I ordered was very reasonable at 630 yen! And the vegetable kakiage (tempura fritter) was sweet and delicious.

新川うどん店│加須うどん会 埼玉県加須市の名物「手打ちうどん」このホームページは「加須手打うどん会」の公式ホームページです 加須うどんの特徴は、ピカピ kazo-udon.jpn.org

Crepe Bellbois (Tatebayashi City, Gunma Prefecture)

On the first day, after visiting the Chiaki Mukai Children's Science Museum, we went to this crepe shop I found on Google Maps. The kids had soft-serve ice cream, and the adults had crepes where we could freely choose our own combinations! Super delicious crepes, I'm so happy haha.

Kaizantei Iccho (Ota City, Gunma Prefecture)

Our family loves visiting local family restaurants while traveling, so we had dinner here on the second day. You can freely combine seafood, rice bowls, and noodles with sets like the 'Pair Set' or 'Trio Set.' Also, the kids' meal was surprisingly luxurious and reasonably priced.

[Summary of This Trip]

• Schedule: 3 days and 2 nights

• Transportation: Private car (departing from Yokohama City)

• Accommodation: Hotel Route-Inn Grand Ota Ekimae (2 nights)

Finally...

On this trip to the Gunma, Tochigi, and Saitama areas, we were able to enjoy various places as a family, including aquariums, science museums, World Heritage sites, castles, nature, and farms.

We have been taking family trips since the kids were small, and as their interests gradually change from before, there are more moments where I feel their growth, thinking, 'They've become able to enjoy places like this too.'

And with that, this year's summer vacation family trip comes to an end!
Our next family trip is planned for around autumn, heading toward the Shiga area.
It looks like it will be quite a "castle tour" this time, visiting places like Azuchi Castle, Odani Castle, Nagahama Castle, and Hikone Castle, haha.

Moving forward, we want to continue visiting various places as a family while cherishing the things our children "love" and find "interesting!"

Thank you for reading until the end today!