Pack less than you think. Japan sells baby supplies on every corner, hotels do laundry, and luggage can be shipped ahead — so the suitcase only has to carry what Japan can’t replace.
(Prices below are in yen; ¥1,000 is roughly $7. Rates move, so treat every figure as a size rather than a quote.)
What has to come from home?
A short list, and none of it is bulky.
- Your child’s usual medicines in the original packaging — fever reducer, allergy, anything prescribed. Japanese equivalents exist, but doses and brands differ. A normal family supply generally travels without extra steps; large quantities may require an import certificate (Yakkan Shomei).
- A baby carrier, even if the stroller comes too. Some stations are long flights of stairs, and trains get packed.
- Slip-on shoes for everyone. You will take shoes off daily.
- Headphones for the tablet. Trains are quiet, and sound played out loud is the one real faux pas.
- Snacks your child already trusts, enough for the flight and day one.
- Passports — each child needs their own — plus any visa your nationality requires. Check the expiry dates now.
What can I buy after we land?
Nearly all the baby gear, usually cheaper than carrying it.
- Diapers — Merries, Pampers, Moony, sized by weight, in every drugstore
- Formula, including ready-to-drink liquid formula, so there’s no measuring at 2 a.m.
- Jarred baby food from 5 months up, in drugstores and supermarkets
- Wipes, rain covers, umbrellas, sunscreen — konbini and ¥100 shops cover the rest
What do I set up on my phone before we fly?
Three things, about fifteen minutes at home.
- Visit Japan Web — one registration covers the whole family and gives you the QR codes for immigration and customs.
- An eSIM or roaming plan, bought before you leave. Airport SIM counters have lines, and jet-lagged kids don’t wait.
- Offline maps of your cities, plus a translation app. Google Maps transit directions work well in Japan.
Which tickets must be bought before we fly?
Some of the places families most want to see are sold by date and time, on a fixed day of the month, and they cannot be bought at the door. The Ghibli Museum in Mitaka is the clearest case, and its rules are worth knowing before you set the dates of your trip.
- Tickets go on sale at 10:00 on the 10th of each month, for the following month’s entry. 10 June at 10:00 sells July; 10 July sells August.
- They are sold only through the Lawson ticket website. The museum’s own door sells nothing. You collect either as a phone ticket or as a paper ticket printed in a Lawson store.
- Entry is by timed slot — 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 — and you must go in within an hour of your slot.
- Resale for profit is banned, and a resold ticket will not admit you. This is the answer to the question families ask when the official site is empty: a ticket from a reseller is not a way in.
- A child under 4 is free and needs no ticket at all. Otherwise: adults ¥1,000, high-school and junior-high ¥700, elementary school ¥400, age 4 and over ¥100.
- From outside Japan you can also book through JTB or the English Lawson ticket site.
The planning consequence: if this museum matters to your family, choose your travel month, then be at a screen at 10:00 Japan time on the 10th of the month before. Not the week you land.
What will we be wearing?
That depends on your cities more than on the month — Japan runs from Okinawan beach weather to Hokkaido snow in the same week, so check the forecast where you’re actually going. One rule holds everywhere: layers over bulk, because trains and shops are heated and cooled hard and outside is not. April alone can swing between 8°C and 22°C (46–72°F) inside a week; there’s a block on cherry-blossom season in What to Watch Out For.
How do we move all of it?
Mostly, you don’t carry it.
- Ship the suitcases ahead (takkyubin). Any konbini or hotel front desk sends a bag on to your next hotel for roughly ¥2,000–3,000, usually arriving the next day. You board the train with a backpack and a child instead of three suitcases.
- Do laundry mid-trip. Most business hotels have coin laundry, and every neighborhood has a coin laundromat. Pack for 5 days, not 14.
FAQ
Should I bring our stroller or rent one there?
Bring yours if it folds small and you already like using it. If you did not, you have three ways to get one here and they fail for different reasons — the station rental refuses UnionPay, debit and prepaid cards; the delivery services take payment after they hand it over; and the free airport and museum loans cannot leave the building. The fees, the card rule and the one question that decides it are in Strollers in Japan: bring yours, rent, or buy.
What about a crib?
Hotels usually have a crib or bed guard, free or for a small fee, but stock is limited. Request it when you book rather than at check-in.
Cash or card?
Both. Cards work at chains and stations; cash is for small restaurants, shrines, and coin lockers. Withdraw yen at 7-Eleven ATMs — they take foreign cards and have English menus.