Hi there- considering a trip to Japan with a baby she will be 12 months old- heard Japan is not the most child friendly - friends who have been said did not see anyone using strollers once because the streets, restaurants, trains and public places in general are crowded and not very assessable. Has anyone gone with small babies and have an opinion or advice to share? Thanks!

I'd invest in a good baby carrier!

My daughter took a small folding stroller and managed just fine. Expect a lot of attention - foreign babies are a big attraction

Does your baby like to be worn? I also recommend a travel stroller for a place like that, the mountain buggy nano is great. It folds up to carry on size and you can just put it on your shoulder (it has a strap)! And wear the babe!
I say just do it!

Also, it's important to remember that making noise on public transportation is considered extremely rude in Japan - if baby has a tantrum it could upset a lot of people if you're on the bus (although they'd never let you know about it).

I've done it two times with a stroller, with my daughter who was under 3 both times. Japan is crowded, but it's manageable. It's definitely not as crowded as HK. The problem is a lot of the subway stations don't have elevators. I'd recommend buying a lightweight stroller so you can carry it up and down stairs easily. Baby carriers work too, but my daughter was pretty chubby and it would have killed my back!!

A girl I follow on Instagram has been to Japan with two young children her name is amberfillerup and she has a lot of a positive things to say about the trip! I would reach out to her or read her blog

We loved Tokyo with our 9 month old. We used a carrier but it was not as busy in all areas as you might think. Department stores tended to have baby play areas which was nice to know.

Traveled with our (then) 2 year old to Japan and we loved it! I agree, it would be difficult with a stroller. We brought a carrier and that made our travel so much easier and hands free!

I lived there for more than ten years. This is simply not true. I personally would baby wear but you can totally do a stroller. In crowds, wearing would be easier for sure.

Amazing thanks everyone. She is quite a light baby and we have 2 good carriers and she loves them. Going to look into an umbrella or easy foldable stroller!!!

Don't forget to visit the Shatterdome in Tokyo, which was shortly built after the major Kaiju attack on May 15, 2016. http://pacificrim.wikia.com/wiki/Tokyo...
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I was in Kansai Japan last summer with my wife. Stayed in Osaka and loved our Marriott Miyako Hotel in Abeno Harukas skyscraper. Our women concierges were fantastic at that hotel. We visited Kyoto, Himeji, and Nara via train. The rail cars and subway cars were comfortable and not sardine packed to cause problems with a stroller. However, we had a tight connection at JR Osaka Station and the platforms and escalators could be hard to navigate with a stroller especially during rush hour periods in AM and PM. You might check in parallel how to navigate Japan disabled in a wheel chair to see if they have provisions that would make use of stroller easier.

Given the threats coming from North Korea, I would postpone those plans if i were you

Japan is very much family friendly, its just very populous and cramped at times.
Don't expect to be able to get anywhere with a Canadian-sized stroller, especially since most people walk and aisles arent wide.
Japanese people are very considerate (e.g. will volunteer a seat on trains for you) and child menus, play areas, and all the necessities for moms are available. Some hotels can even provide cribs for free. There are tons of family friendly and kid-oriented things to do (every animated character, hello!), and there's few actual dangers. Do expect to get stopped by strangers gawking at your cute baby!

https://www.insidejapantours.com/.../travelling-with-a.../
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Travelling with a baby in Japan - InsideJapan Blog

We did Tokyo with an 8 mo. old in an umbrella stroller. Very manageable.

We went 2 years ago my daughter was 3 and we were told not to bring a stroller and it was horrible we ended up buying one there and had no problem getting around.

We were just there in March and took our two girls (5 and 3) with an umbrella stroller. Definitely some folding up and carrying down subway stairs required, but other than that, it was easy. Incomparable to Vancouver ofcourse, but we've been to worse (Montreal!).I would say bring a baby carrier (ie. Ergo type) in addition to your stroller as this will be the best option for a smaller child. This is also how all the locals carry their kids around.

I've heard the exact opposite - that it is one of the most child-friendly places and people go out of their way to help...ie. shopkeepers going in their back room to heat up milk in a pinch.

Patrick Mooney Ashleigh Mooney ... Thoughts? I know you took princess Q recently

I think there are lots of facilities (like neat things in washroom) but Japanese people don't use those massive annoying American sized strollers lol. They carry the baby.

Went last April to Shinjuku (Tokyo), with my 1.75 years old.
No stroller, save yourself the trouble, it's just extra weight. A bjoin is good.
Avoid city landmarks, malls and trains. Looks for parks, shrines and river sides.

Just don't bring a giant stroller. I don't have a kid but Japan seemed very kid friendly when we went. They have little holding chairs for babies in almost all public bathrooms for while you're peeing! People had small folding strollers. If you were going to crowded area I would strap baby to you I'm a carrier and fold up stroller.

In Asia, strollers aren't very common. Baby wearing is the thing. It makes all those steps up and down from the subway much easier! (Note: I am childless but lived in Asia for years and saw this everywhere!)

I was there last year with a 15 month old in Tokyo. We stayed by Shibuya station. Defintely need a light weight foldable stroller as not everywhere has an elevator. Also there are usually no high chairs for restaurants so we had one of those travel high chairs where they would wrap around a normal chair. We had the mostly fabric one. In the cramped hole in the wall places, we just put our baby on our lap. Don't let the crowds bother you, everyone seemed to not be bother with babies around and are very courteous. Have fun.

It has become an argument in Japan about the use of stroller on a train as well (among Japanese), and all you need to be careful is the rush hours. Around 7:30-8:30 am and 4:00-5:30 pm. Otherwise, you should be ok! But, as other people have mentioned, some stations have several exits, and not all of them have an escalator nor elevator but stairs, so you have to choose the exit wisely (this part can be hard for native speaker as well). But Japan is such a fun country to travel! Have a great trip!

I have travelled several times with my than baby boys - both of them. This included touring Japan on the trains. It is one of the best places to do so. Baby rooms in all the major dept stores, washroom etc is extremely clean.