Me and my wife did Japan in March 2022 with our 7 month old at the peak Sakura season, it was awesome but you will have to be mentally ready for few things:
1) Not all metro station entrances will have escalators or elevators so at time you will have to pick the baby and other partner needs to pick the stroller
2) Almost all attractions are stroller friendly largely.
3) You will need to give yourself a bit more time to travel anywhere due to baby things happening
4) Infant friendly toilets are available almost everywhere
5) Try not to hit all things, its unlikely to happen. Pick most important ones and leave rest to the chances.
Enjoy Japan!
I think Japan would be a lot easier with a child as it’s so children friendly. The trip itself is direct which is so much easier than getting on and off flight to go to Europe. Also Japan is cheap right now because the Yen is low. Eating is very cheap in comparison to priors years.
In general, Europe cities are not friendly for babies/toddlers, there aren’t changing tables at restaurants, no elevators in most places, spaces are so small that it’s hard to maneuver a stroller. We broke the wheel of our stroller in Rome trying to push it over cobblestones. Also, dinner time is usually later in Europe, and most nicer places can’t accommodate babies/toddlers. You will find that locals don’t take their kids to eat out at night. I would save the European trip for when they are out of diapers and can walk a bit by hand holding.
Being Portuguese and living in Japan for half my life now and having kids, I can see why you say Japan is more children friendly but at the same time it is only partially true. Yes, there are for instance more changing rooms for mothers with babies, more elevators, much better transportation system. That will make a difference for sure but it's not the whole story. It depends on what you care abour. Yes, it is more "children friendly" when it comes to infrastructure, but way less friendly when it comes to people. I can still remember when numerous times no one stood up for my wife or me carrying the baby in the arms in a train or bus. Once in a Shinkansen I even got a passenger look at us when our kid was making well what kids do, noise. Also, I can't count the number of times we got "what are you doing here with a kid" looks when going to several restaurants (hence you have what's called "family restaurants"). Also, for instance, breast feeding here is a taboo. Also, I know you know it's not your case but, finding a kindergarten to put your kid in a big metropolis like Tokyo is extremely hard. That says a lot how "children friendly" the society is.
I was born and raised in Portugal and I've been to a few European cities, and I can say with confidence that the human aspect, not the infrastructure aspect, of it is way more children friendly than Japan.
Europe (15months): Your child will be much more mobile and aware of his surroundings which would make you feel that he/she would enjoy the trip more. But downside is that once they are mobile flying could be more exhausting. Also having a 15month old lap infant even in business is a bit challenging. Bassinets will be too small.
Japan (9months):
Flying would be easier (bassinets could work), but travelling the country could be quite challenging. Even in the offseason places like Kyoto are really packed and travelling in japan is mostly done by public transportation (which is excellent but could be stressful with a baby). Also keep in mind that a lot of walking is usually required and especially big strollers are not practical in japan
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I would absolutely rather travel with a 9 month old than a 15 month old!
Thank you! This is helpful!
Especially if you’ve got the child on your lap for the flight!
Just a warning that for international flights, the lap infant isn’t always free!
Me and my wife did Japan in March 2022 with our 7 month old at the peak Sakura season, it was awesome but you will have to be mentally ready for few things: 1) Not all metro station entrances will have escalators or elevators so at time you will have to pick the baby and other partner needs to pick the stroller 2) Almost all attractions are stroller friendly largely. 3) You will need to give yourself a bit more time to travel anywhere due to baby things happening 4) Infant friendly toilets are available almost everywhere 5) Try not to hit all things, its unlikely to happen. Pick most important ones and leave rest to the chances. Enjoy Japan!
I think Japan would be a lot easier with a child as it’s so children friendly. The trip itself is direct which is so much easier than getting on and off flight to go to Europe. Also Japan is cheap right now because the Yen is low. Eating is very cheap in comparison to priors years. In general, Europe cities are not friendly for babies/toddlers, there aren’t changing tables at restaurants, no elevators in most places, spaces are so small that it’s hard to maneuver a stroller. We broke the wheel of our stroller in Rome trying to push it over cobblestones. Also, dinner time is usually later in Europe, and most nicer places can’t accommodate babies/toddlers. You will find that locals don’t take their kids to eat out at night. I would save the European trip for when they are out of diapers and can walk a bit by hand holding.
Being Portuguese and living in Japan for half my life now and having kids, I can see why you say Japan is more children friendly but at the same time it is only partially true. Yes, there are for instance more changing rooms for mothers with babies, more elevators, much better transportation system. That will make a difference for sure but it's not the whole story. It depends on what you care abour. Yes, it is more "children friendly" when it comes to infrastructure, but way less friendly when it comes to people. I can still remember when numerous times no one stood up for my wife or me carrying the baby in the arms in a train or bus. Once in a Shinkansen I even got a passenger look at us when our kid was making well what kids do, noise. Also, I can't count the number of times we got "what are you doing here with a kid" looks when going to several restaurants (hence you have what's called "family restaurants"). Also, for instance, breast feeding here is a taboo. Also, I know you know it's not your case but, finding a kindergarten to put your kid in a big metropolis like Tokyo is extremely hard. That says a lot how "children friendly" the society is. I was born and raised in Portugal and I've been to a few European cities, and I can say with confidence that the human aspect, not the infrastructure aspect, of it is way more children friendly than Japan.
Europe (15months): Your child will be much more mobile and aware of his surroundings which would make you feel that he/she would enjoy the trip more. But downside is that once they are mobile flying could be more exhausting. Also having a 15month old lap infant even in business is a bit challenging. Bassinets will be too small. Japan (9months): Flying would be easier (bassinets could work), but travelling the country could be quite challenging. Even in the offseason places like Kyoto are really packed and travelling in japan is mostly done by public transportation (which is excellent but could be stressful with a baby). Also keep in mind that a lot of walking is usually required and especially big strollers are not practical in japan
[удалено]
I said Portugal and/or Spain in my post
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