Japan with a 7 year old

thanks so much for your comprehensive response colinrowat - i love that idea for my daughter of going to a class in judo or kendo - even just watching the classes would be interesting. I hadn't even thought of doing that, so I've added it to the list of things to do.

Glad to hear you had no major incidents, that gives me hope for a smooth (ish) journey. I hope we will get to do some hiking but we will be there in wintertime so I'll have to check out the conditions and our climatic adaptability! thanks again for your help.

haha thanks katie_may - yes I'll try to remember to post about it when we get back. It seems like there are so many options of things to do and places to go and experiences to be had in Japan for kids (and adults), I'm really looking forward to it.

@katie_may: a good way to meet people is in the communal kitchen in a hostel. The Japanese hostels we know have had private rooms, which we've stayed in. I was also struck by the openness of people in Ueno Park in Tokyo (although we were in a group that included Japanese speakers).
There are walks and hikes of all distances: we've been on a 'haunted Tokyo' walk in Tokyo; there's a 7-8km hike that's quite straightforward between two of the old postal towns on the Nakasendo; not far away, you can take the ropeway most of the way up Mt Ontake (an active volcano) and then decide how much further you want to go. It erupted some years back, so you can see photos of the site covered in ash.

Sorry if you don't believe me and find what I say bizarre, but that was my personal experience with a number of visiting parents and little kids, while living/working for 2 years in a small town in Gifu-ken and traveling fairly widely up and down the country.
Kids in Japan are, by the standards of many other countries, spoiled and indulged (perhaps because behavioral standards are so rigid when they become older). For example, a child having a lie-down-and kick-legs-and-arms tantrum on a train because the suitcase full of candy his mother brought does not have the exact item he wanted is tolerated by mom and not commented on by spectators. Kids are allowed to run wild in homes, endangering valuable antique items. When interacting with Japanese kids, the non-Japanese kids quickly picked up that this was OK behavior for them too, much to parents dismay. At least one parent commented that she couldn't wait to get her two kids out of the country.

If you have different personal experiences with your own young children, please recount them.

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