DaveInLA

My wife and I are bringing our baby to Tokyo in 2 week; she'll be just under 6 months when we depart the US, but will be a little over 6 months when we return. This is our first child. We've been to Tokyo a few years ago, but obviously weren't paying attention to "baby" stuff.

Our original plan was to bring a compact travel stroller (9 lbs) and a baby carrier, but family who have been there with an infant recommended we bring our infant car seat and caddy (like a stroller skeleton that we put the car seat on). The whole apparatus is about 26 or 27 lbs. The main advantage of this is that it'll allow us to ride in cars/taxis, whereas our original plan was to walk with her strapped on our bodies, and put her in the stroller when we get tired; we would only get around on foot and bus/rail. Other than weight, the other issue with the caddy and car seat is that it's large and clunky, and Tokyo is a crowded city. We are staying at Hyatt Regency and they have a shuttle to main part of Shinjuku. We don't plan on being too ambitious with our exploring like we were a few years ago. Any thoughts on car seat + caddy vs travel stroller and baby carrier?

What's the best way to get from NRT to the Hyatt Regency in Shinjuku. We took a limousine bus last time and were planning on that again. If we take the car seat, we can keep her in that; if not, we keep her in the carrier. Is there a better or safer option?

Thanks

AlwaysAisle

With 6 mo old I say take the Limousine Bus, will take directly from the outside of the airport terminal to front entrance of the hotel. Any other means of transportation (except for a taxi) will involve further walk and may not want to do that with 6 mo old. If you will carry your baby on your lap on the bus then your baby ride for free, if your baby will occupy a seat using a carrier or a car seat then your baby pay half of adult fare.

abmj-jr

I am admittedly inexperienced in dealing with an infant during my visits to Japan but can make a couple of hopefully helpful comments based on numerous trips lugging camera gear around.

With all due deference to your experienced friends, I would suggest the lightest possible arrangement for moving about Tokyo. That might conflict with the need to put the baby in a seat for the plane ride. You probably do not want to have to keep her in one lap or another for the long flights. Flip that coin and decide which inconvenience is least difficult - the flights or the stay.

If you are leaving in 2 weeks, you will be in Tokyo during the hottest, muggiest time of the year. I may be a bit of a wimp but think of Tokyo in August as a close approximation of the outer levels of hell. Plan for that in making your decisions. The baby is liable to be miserable when outdoors and so will you. Do you want to be struggling with a heavy, over-sized carrier/carriage or carrying the baby on your back (or front) in that heat? Plan ahead to be uncomfortable. It might help make your decisions.

bcx

I traveled to Tokyo with a 6 month old. I suggest you leave the stroller and car seat at home and just use a baby carrier. Don't forget that with a stroller you'll always have to go out of your way to find an elevator or ramp. Having one less thing to carry (especially a stroller) is going to make your life a lot easier. All it'll cost you is the effort of carrying the baby on the plane... and if you can get the bassinet on the plane then that's even better.

Save the stroller when he/she is a toddler who won't stay still in a carrier and is heavier.

evergrn

I also recommend leaving the car seat at home. But I would definitely take Baby Bjorn plus a lightweight folding stroller. Not sure how your 6mo would do on a regular umbrella stroller. You may want to look for one that provides a decent recline. If you're going to be out and about for 2-3 hours, you're going to want to give yourself a break by having a place to lay down the baby when she's asleep.

I don't think we've ever used car seats when riding taxi in Jpn. We'd just put the baby on our lap and hold her tight. We avoided taking taxis but did when we had to. I don't know how you feel about this.

Avoid riding the train during rush hours. Definitely make sure you score the bassinet on the plane. Now that you have a baby, you'll probably need to resign yourself to short outings each time, returning to hotel after a few hours for nap/rest, calling it a day early.

LapLap

A stroller will force you into taking long convoluted paths on public transport, in shopping centres and large stores. Unlike in other countries, strollers are discouraged and often prohibited on escalators unless they are folded up.
There is a strong and pervasive baby carrying culture in Japan.
The downside is using taxis without a baby car seat.
But that's a problem shared by other Japanese families. If you ever spend time at Tokyo station queuing for a taxi you'll find other families with infants strapped to them waiting for their rides also.
On trains, if carrying your baby, be sure to aim for the dedicated priority seats for the disabled, elderly, pregnant and child porters. Occupants of the non dedicated seats will not be nearly as ready to offer respite. If you look carefully at the floor signs on the station platform you will start to see the clues showing where to enter the trains. Even so, the journeys are (generally) far less jolty than journeys elsewhere. Many parents with kids strapped to them seem to prefer to stand.

My experience was very different to evergreens. At 6 months my kid was fine strapped to me for very long extended periods. She napped on me beatifully. Lots of baby feeding areas in commercial areas and large stores, I appreciate not everybody is as comfortable walking around breast feeding (with a modesty blanket) as I was.

groovbusta

I would also recommend a baby carrier and lightweight, foldable stroller. When our daughter was an infant we would mostly use the carrier on public transport and taxis and then use the stroller when doing longer walks around town and in shopping malls. We only ever used the carrier in taxis and buses, as car seats are only required when driving a personal car. I understand it's probably uncomfortable to not use a car seat for westerners, but I can't imagine trying to carry and install an infant car seat in a taxi for each ride.

However, LapLap makes a good point about Japan not being very stroller friendly. There will be many occasions where you will have to take an extra long walk to find an elevator and many times in the bigger train stations, you'll have to pick the right entrance/exit to get an elevator at all and or you'll be forced to carry the stroller up/down a flight of stairs.

A couple other notes - if you do end up in a big shopping mall or department store, many offer free stroller rentals during your stay. As for the "priority" seats on the trains, be aware that people are not always so quick to offer up the seats, so you may find yourself standing with your infant more than you think.

mjm

"Child Porters". Excellent term!

LapLap

When I was pregnant, I had a seat offered to me every single time in the priority seating area. In the regular area; not so much.
Never a guarantee though. No shortage of inconsiderate folks who will purposefully avoid looking your way.

joejones

Just to be clear, car seats are completely optional in Japanese taxis and most people don't use them. I agree that carrying the baby is the way to go unless you plan to walk outside for very long periods. In areas like Shinjuku, a stroller will be more hassle than anything.

evergrn

Strollers are a bit of nuisance to have around, until you need it.
I understand that everyone has different thoughts on this. But we never went to Jpn without a stroller (umbrella stroller) while our kids were stroller ages.

I agree with this.
In my experience, you're less likely to encounter people on priority seats in Tokyo offering up seats to deserving people than people on regular seats in HKG or US (specifically Boston).

mobilebucky

My wife and I took my then 10 mo old to japan last October, and we also stay at Hyatt Regency Shinjuku. I use a baby carrier to strap my son on Airport limousine bus, but for out and about I use my umbrella stroller. The problem with car seat is as you said it is bulky. Many restaurants will have tough time to stow it. Not an issue with a foldable umbrella stroller. As to how to get to Hyatt Regency from NRT as a family, there is nothing better than Airport Limo Bus. Other means will require multiple change of transportation, not ideal when travel with family.

chongl

Use a travel stroller (just definitely not one of those normal sized ones) and a baby carrier. We did this when our son was about 5 months old and we got around just fine. We took the metro from HND to the hotel, and then Airport Express to NRT.

mjm

Raised two children here in Tokyo and always used one of the full-on Aprica strollers. They accordion a bit but not as well as an umbrella stroller. That said, having a place for the kid to snooze was a dream. Those reverse baby backpack things were never even a consideration. Just not our thing. When you have a kid in a stroller you have to take the mindset of I will do what is necessary to accommodate this and you wait for elevators, you let others go first, etc. The trains are a pain but with a kid you don't think that way, you think this is what is necessary as a young parent. To each their own but I personally recommend a full on stroller.