JAPAN WITH KIDS: WHAT I'D SHARE WITH YOU IF WE WERE MEETING FOR A COFFEE FIRST...

Let me be YOUR Mum for a minute…
At the risk of sounding like a complete know it all … I want to share with you these tips – because they are things I have learned along the way when travelling around Japan with kids.
They are also the same “Oh no!” type messages that I receive daily from Parents who have arrived in Japan and wish they had prepared differently.

So here are the things that I would tell you over coffee if we had the chance to debrief before you start your holiday.

1. PACK ACCORDINGLY
I talk about this in more detail in my Packing with Kids post and Preparing for Japan post but here is the shorter version.

Easy on & off shoes
Almost all play areas (and even sections of toy shops and parks) & some restaurants require shoes off. So it’s best to leave the laces and tricky-to-squeeze on shoes at home.

Baby Carrier
If your children (or at least one of them) are light enough to carry in a baby carrier I highly recommend as it will make walking through crowds, jumping on-and-off trains and climbing up stairs in gardens and temples so much easier. I have a carrier for children up to 4 years old and take it, just in case, when we travel or are out a full day.

Stroller
Personally, this is my criteria for stroller selection for travel in Japan:

It needs to fold
Japan isn’t great at providing elevators and ramps in all parts of town (Rumour has it that hosting the upcoming Olympics with help with some of this though. Yay.) Also, you’ll be limiting restaurant selection if your stroller doesn’t fold and fit in a corner.
It needs to be light for carrying
It needs to not be your favourite/most expensive stroller
Japan is a very, very safe country. For that reason, it isn’t at all unusual for restaurants, parks, tourist attractions etc. to have a “stroller parking” section. It is highly unlikely that it would be stolen but you need to be comfortable to leave it for hours at a time.

Snacks
Don’t get me wrong, Japan has the most amazing array of snacks for all ages, however, when the entire world looks, feels and tastes a bit different to what they’re used to, kids may rely more heavily than normal on familiar snacks from home.

Also, if you have a no sugar household – you might struggle to find healthy snacks right away so it’s better to give yourself options before you ‘hunt and gather.’

Nappies
If your babes are still in nappies, I recommend bringing enough for the first 3-4 days (maybe even more?) until you find your local supermarket or drugstore with the size and kind of nappies that you need. Then you’ll have more space to bring presents back too as you go!
If you’d like to know which baby/kid related products I purchase in Japan, I’ve started a list here.
And if you’d like to see what I carry in my Tokyo diaper bag, see my post here.

Tissues & Plastic Bags
If you plan on venturing out to temples or off the beaten track it may be handy to have some tissues handy as Japanese-style restrooms don’t always have toilet paper.
Also, due to Japan’s fantastic recycling system where resident’s take responsibility for their own waste, there are hardly any garbage bins around town. It’s handy to have a plastic bag or two on hand to store your wrappers and cans until you do find a bin (I wait for restroom bins) nearby.

Your own medication
I’m always a complete worry wart with new medicine so I find it easier to pack the brands I know my family don’t have a reaction to. Same goes for nappy creams etc. Don’t forget the grown up headache tablets. See here for medication that can be legally brought into Japan ( it is probably quite different to your home country,.)

Ziplock bags
Yes, Japan has ziplock bags but who wants to spend their holidays shopping for the practical things? I recommend bringing these as Japan doesn’t provide “doggy bags” or take out boxes for unfinished dinners. Yes…I’m that Mum smuggling noodles into her handbag to eat later in a hotel….. It’s a waste not to, right?

Picnic blankets/ plastic table cloths
We often pack a light picnic blanket or table cloth for eating on hotel floors. Then we don’t need to worry quite as much about spilling. Especially in Japan if you’re on a tatami floor.
The kids love it because we call it an indoor picnic!
This picnic blanket will also come in handy if you visit Tokyo Disneyland. Read my tips here to see why.

Spare clothing to carry around with you
Just like you’d pack spare clothing on a plane ( see my flying with kids tips here) its a good idea to have a spare set of clothes for kids. You’ll be walking around a lot more than normal. I usually have a light (but old) spare shirt and thin sweatpants. Even in warmer months – as this is just to keep kids covered up after an accident until we get back to our accommodation or find a GAP, Zara, Uniqlo, Nishimatsuya, Toys r Us etc.

Items to keep your hotel room safe
I have a post here about what to pack to keep your hotel room as safe as possible (and what to make to make sure that you don’t go insane in the mornings and evenings. )

Car seat harness ? ( You don’t have to do this but if you would like to.)
I know it’s not ideal but, unfortunately, its not illegal to have a child or baby ride in a car without a restraint.
Just for peace of mind (although its never going to be as good as a real car seat) you may want to consider bringing a travel carseat harness for your little person.
For more taxi tips, see my post here.

2. THINGS TO DO AHEAD OF TIME
Measure your children
It’s handy to know they height (and probably weight) of your children in centimetres and kilograms.
The clothing here is mostly set by height and amusement park rides may have height restrictions and it’s just easier to have that info handy, ahead of time.
Also nappies are sold by weight as well. So it’s just handy to have that information easily on hand.

Download the MamaPapaBaby App
This will show you where the breastfeeding rooms ( I have an article on my experience breastfeeding in Japan here) and changing tables are (I also have some of our tried and tested spots at the bottom of my suggested itineraries here.)

Organize Internet
Okay. So I have travelled extensively in Japan and have met many, many different types of tourists here. I really don’t care if you managed to climb Kilamanjaro with one spare pair of jeans and a bar of soap. You need internet here.
You need to be able to get “lost” but still not miss a major event or a sightseeing hotspot. Wandering is so much fun in Japan.

Also, Japan doesn’t work in streets and numbers. Addresses are measured in segments of blocks so you may not easily find your restaurant or accommodation without it.
It would seriously limit the valuable time you have if you’re not totally connected.

Free wifi isn’t available in every part of the city so to save you jumping between hotels, Starbucks and McDonalds, I’d go for a wifi pocket rental ( Pre-Traveller has a great article on Pocket Wifi here) or organize a deal with a phone provider at home first.

3. CASH, YOU’LL NEED IT
I get it. In Australia you can even pay for a chupa chup on a credit card but in Japan it is still very much a cash based society.
You will get stuck. You need cash for vending machines, many convenience stores, some 100 yen stores, temples and other tourist attractions, small businesses like gift shops and little mama-papa shops like ramen joints.

Also, with children you need that security of cash. Especially when outside of the centre of Tokyo.
I don’t know if I will get a hard time for saying this but its my honest opinion.
I think you , as a parent, should carry 40,000 yen with you at all times.

Why?
Kids get sick. Parents get sick.. Sometimes bad luck happens.
On holidays sometimes things happen that you didn’t anticipate.
You need to be able to pay for an emergency taxi or doctors appointment.
Or imagine if you were doing a day trip an hour out of a major city and something went wrong? You need to just suddenly pay for a taxi, or whatever restaurant you see or, even, just get accommodation close by last minute.

Japan is a very safe place to carry cash but, if you’re worried about carrying that much? Maybe put it in some different pockets of your bag? Or y0u carry half and your travel companion carries the rest?

Also, because cash is required mores than many other countries, you MUST talk to your bank about what your ATM options in Japan will be.
Don’t assume that you will be able to use your card at all ATMS. For me, 7-Eleven atms have always been a go to (and they are not just inside of 7-Elevens either – details here. ) However, withdrawal rates will vary depending on the deal they have with your home bank.

So, to be a total Mum here – think about these questions:

– How will I access cash while in Japan?
– What is my back up if the atm I think I can use doesn’t work? ( Do I have the bank phone number handy? )
– Have I told my bank that I will be going overseas ? ( My husband and I often forget to do this and our bank freezes our accounts after the first transaction. Its always been easily fixed but, still, its a pain to have to make that phone call.)
– How much cash will I take with me right from the start?
– What will I do if I do lose my wallet (or if I think it has been stolen)?

Just a funny little note on the side?
Can you imagine how hard it is then to explain to Japanese friends NOT to carry too much cash with them on holidays overseas.
It seriously gives me heart failure, man.
I’m totally ‘that’ lady who stops random Japanese women in the airport who are wearing bum bags (fanny packs) facing the back with their Louis Vuitton wallets sticking out?

4. DONT SCRIMP ON GETTING YOURSELF FROM THE AIRPORT TO ACCOMMODATION WHEN YOU ARRIVE
Okay. I’m begging you. Please please please don’t make life for yourself with kids more difficult than it needs to be.
I get wanting to be a thrifty traveller. I really really do. BUT think of getting yourself from airport to hotel/accommodation as an extension of your flight prices.
Adults are tired enough after flights – think about how tired little kiddies get.
One parent contacted me recently asked me if I thought she could walk for 30 minutes in the middle of the night to her accommodation after getting off a 14 hour flight with a baby….
I think it is best to make the first day easy.

You may not find your hotel right away, you’ll be tired (maybe even jet-lagged?), you’ll have so much junk to carry.

Let someone help you get as close to that front door as possible.
A friend just described it beautifully to me, actually. If you were coming home from a huge day at a school fair and the kids were grumpy, tired and you had to visit a friend but weren’t sure you had the correct address…. would you then decide to walk for 30 minutes plus to get there?

So I recommend looking into the Narita Express + taxi, Airport Limousine Bus + taxi , Train or Shuttle + Taxi.
Do the calculations ahead of time. Bring the cash with you. Include it as part of your travelling to Japan expenses.
Everyone will have a better holiday if they begin it rested.
Even as an adult, it takes me a hot second to get my bearings in my temporary home. I also like to quickly check that my accommodation is child-proof and set up familiar toys etc. ( For more on what I do in hotels when we first arrive, see my post here. )

5. DON’T GET STUCK BECAUSE YOU ASSUMED SOMETHING ABOUT JAPAN
This is where most people get stuck. I think they best way to explain this point by talking about some emails I received over the past through months.

Examples of people who told me they assumed something and it came to bite them in bum and made their trip a bit harder than it needed to be (and I’ll share a snippet of my answers…)

“I just booked a teppanyaki dinner at a beautiful Tokyo hotel for our family. We love going out for teppanyaki in Florida all the time. We especially like where they throw the food! I just got a shock and I’m glad I checked ahead though – its going to cost us sooo much money for teppanyaki.. Im talking more than 600 US dollars for the 5 of us!!”

Okay.
So Teppanyaki is a pretty fancy-pants dinner in Japan. It’s for a date night, a birthday night or a big company dinner with a view -kind of thing.
It is unlikely you will get a real teppanyaki dinner without paying at least 8000 yen per adult for a course menu.
Another reason that they hotel may have upped the price? Maybe that restaurant doesn’t officially allow children. So you may be paying extra for a private room? Maybe?

*Also, the throwing the food thing is a western idea. I haven’t ever seen that in Japan before. Maybe in a cheap izakaya if might fly.. but not for teppanyaki ( unless a pricey hotel has cottoned on to what kind of thing they think foreigners expect – but, if thats the case -its not very authentic anyway, is it?)

So what are your options instead (if that is not in your budget, that is) ?
Option 1: Ask about the lunch prices instead. In Japan, almost all restaurants have reasonably priced lunch options.

Option 2: Try okonomiyaki instead. The food ( Japanese style omelette, noodles, slices of steak, garlic rice) is cooked on a hot plate in front of you.
For a young family I would recommend going to Hona Roppongi ( I talk about it in my Roppongi with kids post here.) or President Chibo in Hiroo ( I talk about it in my Hiroo with kids post here.)

I actually wrote a lot more about Teppanyaki options here.

“Help! We are in Shibuya now to start our Mario Cart tour of Tokyo only to discover that we can’t take our teenager who doesn’t have a drivers licence and, in fact, my wife and I both can’t go either as we didn’t know we would need an international driving permit.”

A Mari-Car Go cart is considered to be a vehicle so you will not only need a drivers licence but you will also need to arrange and international permit before you leave. More information here.