To think you can go on holiday with a 2 year old to japan?

[hoorayforharoldlloyd]

Or is that a terrible idea?

You'll have a blast. The Japanese are very fond of children and quite accomodating!

Great idea! Go! You'll both have a blast! Japan is an amazing country! I lived there for a couple of years and loved every second of it. The only problem might be the food - You're 2 year old may not like the local cusine! But otherwise, it will be great!

Go for it! Just be ready for your 2 year old to be a mini celebrity.

We took our 2 year old to China, Hong Kong and Vietnam and had a great time. If we could get flights with out air miles we would definitely do Japan!

2 years old I think is still OK age for that sort of thing, starting to get to borderline. I wouldn't consider it with either of mine (now aged 3 and 6) but think at 2 you'll still be OK as anything excites them and they aren't all that loud and demanding

If your two year old is a fussy eater you won’t have any trouble in the main cities. Just find a Saizerya or Johnathons branch for all the simple pizza/pasta or burger type food you can take. Japanese curry is sweet and mild and is everywhere. And if all else fails there’s always little ham or cheese sandwiches or spaghetti bolognese from the combini stores.

Do it. You’ll have tonnes of fun.

The only issue I can think of is that train and metro stations are often not particularly buggy friendly. Travel itself is easy enough though. And you can use a luggage forwarding service to save you having to travel with a child and luggage.

Family rooms aren’t always easy to come by, but if you’re ok staying in ryokans then they can usually accommodate families in one Japanese style room. Bear in mind though that when a hotel refers to a small double they’re talking about the size of the bed, not the size of the room.

I’m so jealous, I’d love to go back again.

Thanks all! Getting excited at the idea! And interesting that it could be harder at 3. Will get planning!

Japan is ultra child friendly - do it!

My only hesitation would be flights and jetlag but if that doesn’t phase you, go for it!

Many years ago now but I went with a 3 month old and a three year old. Hubby assigned to Tokyo on business for 4 months. We had a blast, everyone loved the girls and wanted to help, talk to me all the time. If I'd not developed a fear of flying in the late 90's I'd be back as often as possible. Best place we stayed in the 10 years hubby was stationed around the pacific rim.

We've just got back from a fortnight in Japan. Our DD is a teen not a baby. However, its a fantastic place to visit. Busy and hectic in the cities but super friendly and incredibly clean and orderly.

Almost all the stations we used in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka had escalators and lifts, sea pushchair would be fine there. Though the trains can be busy throughout the day - didn't really seem much difference int his regardless of when we traveled - but people will make room for passengers with pushchairs and cases, etc. In our experience anyway.

Visiting shrines and temples with a pushchair is trickier as there are often a fair number of stairs and steps, and no easy step free routes.

If you are visiting cities - it can be work staying a bit further out as the rooms can be a bit bigger. At Osaka and Tokyo we stayed near the Disney and Universal parks as their hotels cater for families a lot more (in our experience) and although not spacious in other country terms they are a far bit bigger than others in Japan. In Kyoto we stayed in a hotel where the rooms had both normal beds and a Japanese style area too - a lot bigger room. All the hotels had lots of room amenities inc a fridge and one even had a microwave.

The plane journey will be long. Is your DC okay with travelling? You could break the journey up with a stop over perhaps.

Absolutely go for it. The metro/rail is all being updated for the Para Olympics, bonus that its buggy friendly. Your DC will be fussed over immensely (in a nice Japanese way). Have an amazing time

Sounds terrible to me but I had a very difficult 2 year old - even Bluestone was a nightmare! If you think they’re easy going enough to travel (we had to stick rigidly to nap schedules at that age) then go for it!

Depends on the 2 year old and what you are like also. We took our daughter to Boston when she was 18 months old, she had an absolute ball (not Japan of course but far and lots of flying).

It’s a fantastic country. Go! Now!

Absolutely. Go for it! I loved traveling when DD was that sort of age.

It would have been hell on earth with my 2 year old bit then so was a trip to the supermarket but if yours is easier then go for it

Mine travelled from a few weeks old. Done multiple long haul including Japan by 2. People on here are very sniffy about it but it is fine. Find a night flight and they sleep most of the way

Japan is awesome! DH and I went with DS when he was about 7 months and had a brilliant time. The people were lovely, the food was delicious, and the cities were so much fun. Infrastructure is great although we did struggle a bit with pushchair and suitcases at some stations - not all have lifts (although great to hear from a PP that there's upgrade work underway). I think our DS would be harder work there now than he was at 7 months as he wouldn't tolerate the long days in the pushchair like he did then, but I guess you can just tailor your itinerary accordingly. We did lots of self catering / Airbnb type accommodation which was brilliant. Meant we had a kitchen and washing machine for all the baby stuff and a separate living space where DH and I could relax in the evenings after DS had gone to bed.

We're just back from 3 weeks there and it's a fantastic place to travel to. My DCs have been travelling long haul since they were babies and it's been fine. They have always copes with jet lag far better than me!

One thing to add: avoid summer - it's hard work in the humidity!

One thing to add: avoid summer - it's hard work in the humidity!

I’d also avoid peak cherry blossom season/spring break and Golden week as the crowd levels are high.

There is some helpful advice on travelling with children here, including sample sightseeing itineries. www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-with-children There are also Osaka and Tokyo sites.

Mine at 2 would have been heinous but now she’s 3 I think we’d have a pleasant time exploring. Depends so much on your child but mine matured so much between 21/2 to 3 and I think she’d love it now in a way she wouldn’t have done at 2.

Yes you can!

We did Tokyo last summer when ds was two and half. Absolutely amazing. Made slightly easier as we were able to shove him in a pushchair and charge ahead in very busy places. I seriously doubt our ability to do that now at three and a half and his unwillingness to walk.

We stayed very close to tokyo station and lived out of the various konbinis trying all the random things. It meant a strange picnic every night. Ds loved it.

We did both disney and disney sea. In retrospect for those trips we wish we’d stayed there for those days. DS loved it. It’s quite interesting how the Japanese dress up for Disney.

We went in summer and the humdity wasn’t as bad as Singapore(which ds has been to) so we coped. In terms of convoluted route we broke up our journey going via Helsinki and Doha. We spent about 2 days in each place on the way. We came back pretty much non stop from Japan to Helsinki. A day there then flight to the UK.

Agree with night flight advice.

First memory of Japan, arriving at Haneda airport to hole in ground (very modern clean toilets) with a toddler hold/restraint seat so parents could go to the loo in peace.