Tokyo

Tokyo is a capital that works with families rather than against them: an obsessively punctual train network, spotless streets, and konbini stores every few hundred metres for snacks, nappies or a warm meal at 2am. Neighbourhoods range from the neon overload of Shibuya to the quiet shrine paths of Asakusa, so a family can dial the pace up or down within the same afternoon. Book teamLab Planets and any Skytree observatory slot ahead — both sell out on weekends.

Tokyo packs an unusual amount of genuinely kid-first infrastructure: station staff who will walk a lost child to a platform, nursing rooms in most large stations and department stores, and vending machines that turn a thirsty toddler into a two-minute problem. The metro looks intimidating on a map but colour-coded lines and English signage make it manageable even with a stroller, and trains are quiet enough that a sleeping baby stays asleep. The mix of old and new keeps both toddlers and teenagers interested — a morning at a temple in Asakusa, an afternoon of interactive digital art at teamLab, and dinner picked from a conveyor belt or a vending machine. Spring (cherry blossom) and autumn (mild, dry) are the easiest seasons to bring young children; summer’s heat and humidity are hard on small kids.