RISONARE Atami with a Baby and a 6-Year-Old: Our Honest Two-Night Review

"I want our older one to play to her heart's content. But traveling with a baby sounds exhausting…" If that is how your family-trip planning is going, I know the feeling.

In October 2026, we took our six-year-old daughter and our baby to RISONARE Atami for two nights. My wife's question before we left was whether we could really give the big kid a day full of play and have a slow, easy time with the baby.

Our answer: yes. We could play all day without leaving the hotel, and still have relaxed time in the room with the baby. Just plan two things ahead: lunch on a multi-night stay, and the return shuttle bus.

Since we got home, our daughter keeps asking the same question: "When are we going again?"

Sorano Beach is an indoor sand-floor cafe and library, not a swimming beach.

What this review covers:

• Why the Superior Japanese-Western room suited a family with a baby
• How busy the kids' room, nursery and pool were when we went
• Four activities: cake making, the witch apprentice event, Fireworks School and the North Wall
• Dinner at Hanabi and MOGMOG, and baby food
• Our lunch and shuttle-bus mistakes
• What two nights cost us

Crowds, menus and activity times below are from our stay. They change by season and plan, so check the hotel's official information before you book.

RISONARE Atami basics and our trip

Our two nights

Dates	October 4–6, 2026 (two nights, three days)
Who	Me, my wife, our six-year-old daughter and our baby
Room	Superior Japanese-Western room, breakfast included
Booked separately	Dinners and paid activities
Transport	Shinkansen from Tokyo, then the hotel shuttle (no car)
Dinners	Hanabi on night one, MOGMOG on night two

Getting there: a free shuttle from Atami Station

Check shuttle times and how to reserve in the hotel's official access guide before you go. Our Shinkansen guide for families covers seats, strollers and luggage for the train part.

That shuttle is also where we slipped up on the way home. More on that in two things that caught us out below.

Check-in: the wait went by in the play areas

We arrived around 1:00 PM. About six people were in line at reception, and it took roughly 20 minutes to get through. After that we headed straight for the play areas until our 3:10 PM Kids Studio booking. Even arriving early, the girls never got bored.

Two booking tips from our stay:

• We booked a breakfast-included plan and reserved dinners and paid activities separately.
• Check what the room rate includes and the reservation times for meals and activities together. You can see availability and prices on the official site.

The Superior Japanese-Western room works well with a baby

Room to spread out, shoes off

Shoes come off at the door, so the whole room becomes floor space.

The best thing about this room with a baby: it is spacious, and you take your shoes off inside.

The bed area of the room we stayed in.

My wife's verdict: the room was clean enough that she was comfortable putting our crawling baby down on the floor.

The living area. There was also a small table and chairs by the window.

The living area had:

• A sofa and TV
• A SHARP air purifier
• Air conditioning you can adjust from the room

A tatami corner for slow time

The tatami area. Our older daughter spent ages with the box of blocks.

The corners of the step up to the tatami had protective padding, and our older daughter was hooked on the building blocks in the room. While she and I were off at the North Wall, my wife and the baby had a quiet, relaxed time here.

Children's equipment in the room

The room came with:

• A child toilet seat
• A step stool
• Children's toothbrushes and slippers
• A diaper bin

A step stool and a diaper bin in the restroom.

Child-size slippers, too. A small thing, but it made us smile.

We used the room bath for the baby

The room bathroom. We used it only for the baby.

The bright white bathroom had IFME baby soap. One caution: there is a hard step around the tub. Watch your footing when you carry a baby in and out.

Bottle-washing set from reception

The bottle-washing set we borrowed from reception.

• Ask at reception and they prepare it for you
• It is a detergent-and-brush set
• It is separate from any sterilizing service

Our room already had bed guards fitted. The hotel's official room equipment guide lists bed guards for children aged 18 to 60 months, so talk to the hotel in advance about where your baby will sleep.

The restroom near reception was clean too, with a changing table, a diaper bin and a child toilet seat. Handy when you need to change a diaper while out and about in the hotel.

Play all day without leaving the hotel

Kids' Room: straight into play on arrival

The kids' room climbing wall. This is separate from the reserved North Wall activity.

• We were here from about 1:00 to 2:30 PM on day one
• For a while we had the room to ourselves
• Our older daughter climbed the children's wall all the way to the top

The baby played in the ball pool.

Right after arriving, both girls had found their own way to play.

Nursery: the place to be with a baby

The nursery.

• We went twice during our stay
• We either had it to ourselves or shared it with one other family
• The baby loved the xylophone; our older daughter was all about the basketball hoop
• There is a ball pool, a baby cot, picture books and toys, and a children's toilet

It looked especially good for babies up to about four years old.

Pool: go early

The indoor pool. Swim rings, bath toys and arm floats are free to borrow.

• We swam from about 9:30 to 10:30 AM on day two
• When we got in, there was just one other family
• Before 10:00 it had grown to five or six families and felt a little cramped
• There are two depths: 1 m and 40 cm

If you want room to splash around, go early. Swim rings, bath toys and arm floats are free to borrow, and towels are provided. It is not a big pool. It is about right for playing with children up to the early elementary school years.

How it worked for us:

• Collect a key at reception → changing room → shower → pool
• We changed into swimsuits in our room before going
• There is a swimsuit spin dryer and bags outside the changing room. We spun our swimsuits and hung them up with clips in the room

Four activities we booked

The hotel has a long list of activities you can reserve on site. Here are the four we did.

Cake making at Kids Studio

The finished cake.

We started at 3:10 PM on day one. Our daughter ate the cake she made and was thrilled with it. Still, the one she wants to do again is the macaron decorating at dinner (more below).

The witch apprentice activity and the lighting ceremony

The witch's cave for the witch apprentice activity.

• 3:00 PM on day two, about 30 minutes
• You listen to a story and learn a spell
• You hunt for cards on the ninth floor, and when you put them in a pot, they "magically" turn into sweets

Our daughter enjoyed it, though maybe not quite as much as the other activities. At 4:00 PM there was also a free lighting ceremony: a spell to switch on the lights, photos with a witch and stickers. These were seasonal events, so check the current activity listings before you go.

Fireworks School: special for the grown-ups, too

Happi coats ready for the children.

• 6:30 PM on day two, just under an hour
• The flow: a talk, then fireworks, then a look back at what you learned
• The children wear happi coats, color pictures and try a quiz on firework flame colors

The fireworks were made in Japan by craftspeople, and we saw some rare ones, including a type they called ato-oi fireworks, plus some custom-made ones. I signed up thinking it was a kids' activity, but honestly, I enjoyed it just as much. (This is a hotel activity, separate from Atami's big public fireworks shows.)

The venue is a treehouse built around a camphor tree said to be 300 years old.

The treehouse by day…

…and at night. Doing fireworks under these lights felt special.

What to wear: short sleeves were fine during the day, but bring something with long sleeves for the evening. We'd heard there are lots of insects in summer, but on our October night they didn't bother us much.

The parent-and-child North Wall: staff were right there

On our last morning at 11:00 AM, my older daughter and I tried the Oyako no Kitakabe (parent-and-child North Wall). You get 15 minutes and choose from three routes.

• Staff showed her where to put her feet and supported her
• At about 2 m up, she got scared
• Afterward, she practiced on the small wall in the kids' room

She didn't reach the top, but I was glad she got the experience of trying.

North Wall conditions (see the official activity page):

• For hotel guests, free, 15-minute sessions
• Age 4 and up, body weight 15–150 kg
• Once per night of your stay; reservations are first come, first served for each session
• Socks and pants are required (shoes can be borrowed)
• We got a same-day slot, but that won't always be possible

We finished our stay in the play areas and took a family photo in Halloween hats. A staff member offered to take it for us, which we really appreciated.

Dinner: Hanabi and MOGMOG

Our plan included breakfast only, so we booked both dinners separately. Check the official dining guide for current menus and reservations.

Night one at Hanabi: a seafood kaiseki dinner

Part of the seafood kaiseki course at Hanabi.

• We started at 5:30 PM on day one
• There were only two parties, including us
• Our booth, set off by parasol-like dividers, was roomy enough to park the stroller
• It was quiet, so we were mindful of the children's voices, but the baby ate without crying

We were very happy with the seafood kaiseki. The standout was shabu-shabu in three different broths:

One pot, three broths.

• Vegetables → kombu broth
• Beef → tomato and donko shiitake broth
• Kinmedai (golden-eye snapper) → ginger and ushio salt broth

My wife loved how the broth changed with each ingredient. The course also came with rice, pickles and red miso soup.

The children's meal: when you book, you choose a Japanese or Western set. We chose Western: hamburger steak, corn soup, hash browns, spaghetti Napolitan and apple jelly. There were also two kinds of baby food, served with a bowl, a spoon and a paper bib. Our daughter cleaned her plate. The baby… tore up the paper bib.

Night two at MOGMOG: roast beef and macaron decorating

A plate from the MOGMOG buffet.

We started at 5:15 PM on day two. The spread included:

• Sashimi, Japanese dishes, salads, prosciutto, cheese, senbei-jiru soup, udon, and rice in broth topped with aji namero (minced horse mackerel)
• Live kitchen: roast beef, fried horse mackerel, and seafood in a garlic-and-tomato style sauce
• Desserts: chocolate and cheese cakes, gelato with toppings you choose, popcorn and more

The roast beef was the highlight. My wife went back for seconds. The longest line we saw for any dish was about five people.

On our table was an invitation to be a "Kids Pâtissier." Our daughter put on a chef's hat and outfit and decorated macarons, choosing whatever she liked from the topping bar.

The topping bar.

Her finished macarons. This, more than the cake, is the one she wants to do again.

A normal MOGMOG seating is 90 minutes, but we left early for the 6:30 PM Fireworks School. With the baby's food and bedtime landing at the same time, it got pretty hectic. If you book an activity right after dinner, expect a scramble. Plan around the baby's mealtime as well.

Baby food at your own pace

• MOGMOG has age-staged Wakodo and Kewpie baby food (pouches and jars)
• You heat it yourself in the microwave
• No need to call a staff member every time
• Baby chairs are available at both breakfast and dinner, with bibs on the table

Being able to get it ready on the baby's schedule was a real help.

Breakfast: aosa miso soup and French toast

• We went at about 7:30 AM both mornings and were seated without waiting
• It was busiest around 8:00, but there was no line to get in

Dishes from the breakfast buffet.

Family favorites:

• Our daughter: seafood ramen and miso soup with aosa seaweed (she kept going back to add more aosa)
• My wife and me: French toast with whipped cream (we liked it best without jam)
• Me: whitebait and spicy cod roe over rice with dashi broth

Opening hours and reservations are on the hotel's official dining page.

A break at Sorano Beach

The indoor beach cafe at the top of this review was one of our favorite spots:

• The sand is fine, cool, and doesn't stick to your hands
• The baby happily grabbed handfuls of sand and let it fall
• There were just under ten groups, but there was plenty of seating and lots of books
• Some sofas had marks that looked like spilled drinks

Our Ikyu booking came with a perk: three vouchers, each good for one cafe ice cream or one glass drink at Hanabi or MOGMOG dinner. The chocolate ice cream had orange in it. I forgot the other one's name, but it was packed with pistachios and dried fruit.

Two things that caught us out

There were two things I wish we'd known before we went.

1. Lunch on a multi-night stay without a car

• When we looked for lunch, the cafe had nuts and ice cream
• In the end, we bought cup noodles and somen from the hotel shop and ate in our room

For a family arriving by train and staying more than one night, this was a little inconvenient. With activities booked and baby care to fit in, going out for lunch takes extra organizing.

If you are staying more than one night, decide in advance what you will eat for lunch inside the hotel, or, if you will go out, how you will get there and when. It makes the day much easier.

2. We forgot to book the return shuttle, and it was full

This one was entirely our fault. We hadn't reserved the 12:00 PM shuttle back to the station, and it was full. When we asked at reception, we were told the departures around 11:00 to 12:00 fill up fast. When you're busy having fun, it's easy to forget about getting home.

What I'd do next time: on a one-night stay, book the return bus when you arrive. On a two-night stay, book it by about 2:00 PM on the middle day. That's my own suggestion based on our mistake, not an official deadline.

The public bath: a win for this bath-loving dad

The side I used had:

• Two baths, a sauna and a cold plunge
• A semi-open-air area with windows you can open, which felt great
• Towels, a water dispenser and ReFa hair dryers
• In the changing room: a baby cot, two changing tables and baby wipes

As someone who loves a good bath, I was very happy with it.

Two nights, three days: about ¥170,000

Going by memory and rounding, our family of four spent about ¥170,000 in total. I haven't matched every receipt, so treat it as a rough guide.

Item	Approx. cost
Hotel, two nights with breakfast	¥90,000
Three paid activities	¥6,000
Dinners on both nights	¥40,000
Taxes, snacks and other extras	¥10,000
Round-trip Shinkansen	¥20,000
Souvenirs	¥4,000
Total	¥170,000

The ¥90,000 for two nights with breakfast is what we paid this time. Rates change by date and plan, and weekends, public holidays and long holiday periods can cost nearly double.

It isn't a cheap trip. But we were very happy with how comfortable the room was and how much we could do without leaving the hotel. Budget for dinners and activities as well as the room.

How much English will you need?

We traveled in Japanese ourselves, so I didn't test English in the activities. But at the front desk, I did see staff talking with overseas guests in English. The hotel's official website also has English pages for access, dining and activities. If language matters for safety instructions or dietary needs, ask the hotel before you book.

Summary: plenty of play for the big kid, slow time with the baby

RISONARE Atami gave us both things we wanted: our older daughter got to play to her heart's content, and we could take it easy with the baby.

What we liked most:

• The spacious, shoes-off room and children's equipment made it easy with a baby
• Depending on the time, we had the kids' room, nursery and pool almost to ourselves
• Cake making, Fireworks School and the North Wall kept our older daughter happy
• Seafood at Hanabi, roast beef at MOGMOG and the macaron decorating stood out
• Plan lunch on a multi-night stay, and the return shuttle, ahead of time

Our daughter still asks at every opportunity: "When are we going again?"

The forest adventure course. Something we didn't get to this time.

There are things we didn't get to, like the forest adventure course. I'd love to go back, too.

Compare our RISONARE Yatsugatake review and Kinugawa Hotel Mikazuki review, or browse all family hotels.

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This review reflects our family's actual stay in October 2026. Prices, menus and seasonal activities change, so always check the official RISONARE Atami website before you book, and feel free to get in touch if you spot anything out of date.