Posted on 7th May 2024 by

Tokyo Baby: Survival Guide 💩👶

⚠️ Note: This is written from a real-world experience and not a Social Media influencer being paid to promote and talk about specific facilities.⚠️

Have you ever wanted to visit Tokyo? See the big bright lights? Bathe in all the Otaku Glory that surrounds the city and eat so much delicious food as possible without being sick? Have you finally reached that point in your life where you have saved enough pennies to do this trip of a life time and complete the Boss level of your Bucket list!? However… life “somehow” got in the way and you have collected along life’s journey a little “mini-me” (Baby!)

Well do not fret! Those dreams do not have to be shattered by having your bundle of joy. It IS possible to enjoy Tokyo and most of what it has to offer even with a Baby on board and if you are Hardcore like us… you throw caution to the wind and take a toddler as well! (Just for fun, you know….) Out of all the cities in Japan, Tokyo is not the most “Child/Baby-Friendly” place to be (Osaka is better our our opinion) but you can still have an amazing time. Below are a few tips that we would recommend knowing/doing before you depart for the adventure of a lifetime.

#1 Be Prepared!

This is one thing we cannot stress enough! Making sure you have enough Baby essentials for you entire trip should be 100% top of your to-do list! Depending on the age of your baby you will know what they require. Here is a list of things we made sure we had packed mentally before doing anything else.

Nappies (Enough for the Entire Trip + 10% extra)
Clothes (Plus 10-20% extra, unless you are wanting to wash them yourselves)
Food – In this case it was Milk. If powder fed baby, Take your own brand (be careful of weight, they can be heavy items) Baby milk it not the easiest thing to find in the City and unless you can read Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji to a professional level you will not know the ingredients.
Medication. Calpol does not exist in the same form in Japan. As well as other creams, lotions and potions.
We also recommend an inflatable bath. One similar to this is a god-send when trying to bath baby in the shower.

Amazon Link
We also recommend a Fold-up cot (Not the Big Carry-on things) but something like this will allow you to put it directly on the bed against the wall (and it folds into a suitcase) Amazon Link
Nappy Bags and Lots of Tissues! (keep reading and all will make sense…)
It’s a 12-14 hour flight from the UK to Tokyo and baby will need feeding. We recommend pre-made bottles of your formula for the entire trip to use and calculate this properly on how many you will need for there and Back and take that amount, (be careful though as they can weigh a bit). We used these on Aptimil pre-made bottles (we purchased around 6 of them and sterilised before the trip out and on the way back) as they come in their own little containers. DO NOT use the hot water on the plane. Even for just heating up milk… You don’t need the added stress and if using that water with powder could seriously upset baby’s tummy.
A Portable Steriliser for your bottles. We used a standard Microwave one as we were staying in a Air BnB but there are many on the market to use.
A Portable light-weight stroller (or) a Baby Carrier are a must! You might do more walking than you ever thought possible!
DO NOT take any Baby Milk Prep Machines (Tommee Tippee etc,). We did this and totally forgot to check if you can change the wattage on it. UK models do NOT work in Japan. So just make any powdered milk by hand and use a normal bottle warmer if you require one.

Now that you have that check list all sorted out you can finally start to think about your own clothes and bits and pieces! (as well as the rest of the family) before you start you epic Journey to the other side of the world!

TIP: Most Airlines will book groups travelling together next to the bulk-head (where possible) if there is a baby on-board under 1 years old. This is so the Bulk-head cot can be used. Always check with your airline provider. If you can afford it we would highly recommend flying premium economy for a number of reasons. 1, you are more likely to get a bulk-head seat for the baby. 2, The chairs are wider which is very useful if baby does not sleep in the travel-cot on the bulk-head. Remember its a 12-14 hour flight and you cannot escape! Most importantly number 3, you get 2 x Large Checked in Bags along with your normal carry-on (and a bonus baby bag) each! You are going to need that extra room in the luggage so if you can save for premium it’s a must!

Now that you have landed, found your accommodation, checked-in, settled-in and ready to explore! Getting around Tokyo with a Stroller and/or Baby carrier is usually a doddle if using the train network. All Major entrances (just like most other countries) have wheel-chair/push chair access and gates always seem to be manned so no need to panic! There are plenty of videos and blogs out there about Suica Cards and other ways to get around the transport network so we won’t go into that in this post. Below are a list of things you need to be aware of related to baby stuff.

Baby Changing Facilities.

- We Failed on this and did not do our research properly. We had come from Hong Kong where most large Department stores have HUGE Ultra-clean Baby changing facilitates. Tokyo does not mirror this even in some of the larger department stores so do your homework. Also, a lot of the changing facilitates we found where (a) very small and (b) some have no Bins, toilet roll, wipes, nothing… which is most odd. Where do I put this Poo?! Having said that, Attractions such as Disney were awash with amazing toilet facilities and baby changing area’s. As you would expect from a large theme park.
- Not all restaurant’s will have baby changing available so it’s worth while checking before you get too comfortable at that table.

#2 Baby about town

Eating Out.

As our youngest was still on milk and pouch food we just took care of their food requirements as we would if we were at home so there was no need to bother the staff. We served our milk and/or pouch food depending on the time of day.
You do have to be picky when choosing somewhere to eat. Not all restaurants are “family friendly” and its very advisable to do some research on ones that are before travelling. We found most of the family-friendly ones were located within shopping malls which was useful as there was usually large changing facilities close by.

Attractions.

As mentioned previously when visiting main attractions such as ‘Tokyo Tower’, Disney, etc all the facilities you would require to have on hand for a baby are there, so no need to panic. However, when going off the ‘Family-Friendly’ route to embrace something like Akihabara or Shibuya 109 for a spot of shopping, facilitates can be hard to locate as not well sign-posted and when you do find them, most are quite basic so remember your Nappy Bags and Tissues!
Accessibility for all the major tourist attractions is not a problem with buggy and baby carrier access being found with ease. When visiting the more interesting places we would recommend the baby carrier for little one and if you are travelling with a partner or family member, then fold the buggy up and carry it. Especially during rush-hour periods.

#1 Be Prepared!

Peace & Quiet.

Even though you are in one of the busiest cities in the world, there are plenty of places that are in easy reach of the JR Line to find some much needed rest from the craziness. Especially if your baby needs a nap when you are planning to be out all day (which most people would want to be). We have listed some of our favourite places.

The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace (Map) – Easily accessed from Tokyo Central station this vast park area is a great place for the kids to run around (if you had older ones) and also plenty of seats to enjoy a Bento.

Meiji Jingu (Map) – Next to Harajuku Station, with a peaceful walk down to the shrine. It can get busy during festival time/weekends but during the week it can be quite tranquil. Again with older children its somewhere they can walk and explore without having to worry about roads and traffic.

Ueno Park (Map) – An amazing place to see if you visit in Cherry Blossom season (but it will be busy) However out of Cherry Blossom season a lovely place to visit and again, quiet during the week.

#3 Conclusion

So, is it worth all the chaos, confusion, stress and preparation to travel to Tokyo with a baby? In our opinion YES it’s 100% doable and you can enjoy it! You will build the most amazing memories and take the most picture-perfect photos and mind blowing video for you to look back on and cherish. As well as something your children can look at in the future. Travelling anywhere with a child (or children) can be stressful but as parents you just get on with it and make it work.

So what are you waiting for? Time to start looking at those flights and hotels.

NGL: We have been to Tokyo many times in the past so this was not our first rodeo. However it was our first time with Children so totally changed the outlook of what we could and could-not do.

Are you into Japanese Culture? Love your Anime, Music, Fashion, Food, Games and more? Then check out Animangapop event here There next event is in Cardiff on the 1st June 2024 and you can purchase tickets for it here.