travelling to Japan with a baby

We are visiting Japan, mainly Tokyo area with our 8 month old baby for the first time. How accessible are strollers, when travelling by train? And how about restaurants? Are there many baby friendly restaurants?
From a little worried first time traveler ...

I have never been to Tokyo, but I have been to other cities in Japan. Osaka and Kyoto are my favorite cities :)

Avoid the trains at rush hours, as they will be completely packed. I have seen TV shows about station employees having to actually shove passengers aboard in order to shut the train doors. This is one of the reasons I have never really wanted to go to Tokyo... it is very crowded.

However, there are train cars that have seats specifically dedicated to mothers, disabled people, and the elderly. Most people seemed to obey this and willingly give up the seat if someone came on board that needed it. Most train cars seemed to have enough room for strollers, again the only concern would be at rush hour when the train cars fill up. I would suggest taking a small stroller that would fold up fairly compactly in case you do end up getting stuck on a crowded train. It will also be good to have a lightweight stroller because if Tokyo is anything like the other cities in Japan you will be faced with a lot of stairs, and there won't always be a convenient elevator.

I don't know about restaurants. I don't have kids and didn't see many children out with their parents... and it wasn't really something I was looking for.

This thread seems to have some advice... http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=27&tid=347...

I didn't have the experience of travelling with my son when he was 8 months, but we did travel to Tokyo when he was quite small.
Most train stations have stairs and that might involveyou carrying your stroller a lot of time. Lightweight stroller is the best option.
Trains - just avoid rush hour. We had the experience of boarding a packed train once, but there were kind souls willing to give their seats to me & son. But please avoid the rush hour if possible.
The few restaurants that we wnet to were quite accomodating to families with children so it was never an issue to us. even Yoshinoya gave a kiddie plate & cup to my son.
changing diapers will not be a problem as train stations are equipped with changing table (more so at the subways) or you can just nip into the nearest McDonald's.

Thank you so much for all your responses and for the link. It has given me so much input,and I was about to ask about breastfeeding too. It is all so helpful. Greatly appreciated all your advice. Im sure i will be more prepared so it wont be stressful trip and we will have a great time!

I am just back from travelling with my wife and 1 year old. We didn't go to Tokyo but we did spend time in Osaka and other cities (Sendai, Morioka, Sapporo). I knbow Tookyo pretty well and after this experience would not be daunted.

It was surprisingly easy. We avoided rush hour trains, and getting to platforms and on trains was no major problem. When we had luggage teamwork was very important. They don't stay long at stations, though.

Restaurants were also pretty easy. They use the English term "baby seat," but when eating Japanese food we opted for the zashiki, where you sit on tatami, eat at low tables.

Baby, who has only moved to solid food fairly recently, loved everything, but especially tofu (from soup) and ramen or soba noodles, cut up small.

We were expecting lots of smokers, but they were few. Good news.

Museums had leasing strollers to use, when we didn't use one (if we had the baby in a backpack). The baby backpack was quite useful.

We had a shopping spree at Akachan Honpo baby goods stores buying many things we haven't seen at home, like starter toothbrushes and stroller accessories.

Forgot to mention: discreet breastfeeding was not a problem. We are all patently not Japanese-looking but got no stares. It was discreet, though.

Changing nappies was also not too difficult. And she loved futon and tatami accommodations, and that we all ate at low tables in ryokans. And we even went to onsens. That took a little getting used to, but we did it.

And we had a A LOT of good encounters with local parents and babies and infants. On Day 2 or 3 of the trip, without being taught by us, our baby started bowing to people!

I know that not everyone has the same experiences, but for us it was very easy. She has now started walking and I can imagine how much more complicated it would now be.

Have a great time.

Thank you for your input Ian, i love the part about your baby learning to bow! That is so cute!
I feel better now knowing that it wont be a problem breast feeding in public. Thank you again for sharing. ill post my experience once i am back.

I remember 3 more points:

We took a clip-on baby seat that we could attach to tables. We used it a few times, but enough to justify the shlep.

Travelling mostly in the rural north, in a rented car, meant that we could handle a lot of baggage. But I guess being in a big city, and having a hotel as base, should also be good.

Most important - we were flexible with time, so that if baby was tired or cranky, we simply stayed at our hotel, reading or playing, or walked a little in the immediate neighbourhood until she was ready for a more strenuous adventure. To a certain extent she drove each day's planning. We parent adjusted to the slow pace of getting things done. In some ways it was one of the most relaxing holidays I have ever had. She was never pushed to her comfort limits.

And everybody got plenty of sleep. That was really important.

Again great tips, we were just wondering if we should take the clip on baby seat with us. Thank you very much for the swift response! We will take your advise on planning our days around babys mood. Your experience will help us make our trip a good and interesting one.

Whatever the situation, especially when there are crowds or city stress, stay very very calm. And no-one or nothing can be more imporant than your baby's comfort and security.

Everyone around you will understand that.

Hi regent mama. My partner and I will be travelling to Japan in February with our (then) 10 month old daughter. I was wondering when your trip is because I would love to hear about your experiences and pick your brain once you get back.

Hi Michelle,
We will be leaving for Japan next week and will be spending Christmas and New Years there. ill definitely post my experience when we are back.