A month in Japan with our baby
A month in Japan with our baby (15 days in Tokyo, 15 in Okinawa, he turned 10 months while we were there). Paying it forward with the things that worked for us:
- business class from Helsinki to Tokyo was worth it with a baby. The baggage allowance is much bigger, and the lounges have shower suites, food, somewhere to lie down and sometimes a kids' play area.
- Japan is so child-friendly. There are priority seats on trains, supermarket trolleys with a child seat, and Mamaro booths (a little room you shut the door on to feed your baby). The toilets have baby chairs in the cubicle. JAL has an assistance reception with no queue for families.
- our baby got a viral infection with a fever. We walked into the closest children's clinic without a reservation and they saw him right away. With three or four medicines it came to about 16,000 yen, and we had travel insurance too.
- a washing machine in the room, or a coin laundry in the hotel, became a must for us. We stayed in 9 hotels, all baby-friendly, with cribs, bed guard rails and free airport shuttles.
- the IKEA hack is real! We bought the 399 yen blue bag at the Shibuya IKEA, put light things in it, and it held up all the way back to Helsinki.
- I got a prepaid SIM at a convenience store, 5,500 yen for 31 days unlimited. That's much cheaper than an eSIM if you're staying a while. You can't call normal numbers, but calls through apps work fine.
- yes, you can do omakase with a baby! Sushi Tokyo Ten in Shibuya takes babies, 5,500 yen per person for lunch. Book before you arrive.
- the things we were glad we packed: a baby thermometer, baby paracetamol, a UV blanket, a UV umbrella, our Tula and a Hannie chair.
- if you rent a car, remember they drive on the left. You can rent a car seat with the car, and any 100 yen shop sells a window cover and reflector. It gets hot, especially in Okinawa.
- don't overpack baby stuff. Drugstores are everywhere and have baby food, sunscreen, toothbrushes and diapers. Daiso, Seria and Can★Do are great for little things.
- Takashimaya Shinjuku has a kids space where the husband and children can wait while mama shops 😉
- Sweet Mommy Store in Ebisu has beautiful traditional baby kimonos (ours was under 4,000 yen on sale).
- I had a formal Japanese wedding to go to, so I left our baby for four hours at an international preschool through TabiTots. You verify your ID before booking, nobody random can pick them up, and you get photos and notes at the end.
- taxis have no car seats, and it's legal for a baby to ride in a carrier with your seatbelt on. Tokyo is hard with a stroller, so we used the Tula most of the time. Haneda to our hotel was about 3,000 yen.