Question: Does Tokyo have rental strollers & drop-in day care centers?

We received an email from one of our readers about rental strollers and drop-in day care centers. Here is her question and my answer below!

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My husband and I live in Vancouver, Canada. In October, 2011 we adopted a baby from Japan. We are in process again and are hoping to adopt again by the end of the year. In 2011 we lived in Tokyo for a month, and this time around it looks like the stay will be 2 months. I just found your site, and it is incredibly helpful! I wish it was around when we were there the first time. We took our stroller with us the first time around a long with a ton of other things we thought we would need. This time around we are hoping to travel a bit lighter because we will have our son in tow. I was wondering if you knew of any rental agencies in Tokyo who rent toys, strollers, and other baby essentials? We have done this when we have traveled other places and it has been super helpful.

I also am wondering if you know of any drop-in daycares? Our son currently goes to daycare twice a week, and we were hoping to find a short-term drop-in daycare that he could attend while in Tokyo. We thought it would be good for him to keep to some sort of routine and also give us some extra one on one time with our new baby. If these types of daycares don’t exist are there any nanny type services you could recommend? I haven’t been able to find anything in my searches, and thought you could perhaps point me in the right direction.

Our adoption agency in Canada is doing about 12 adoptions a year now in Tokyo. I will definitely refer all the other families to your site. It is a great resource! Thanks so much for your help!

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Thank you for your email. I am so happy to hear you like Tokyo Urban Baby! And congratulations on adopting your second baby from Japan!

There are lots of websites in Tokyo for renting baby products including cots, strollers, and car seats. The only problem is that they are all in Japanese! Do you understand Japanese?

Here are some example websites:

If you don’t understand Japanese, maybe you could ask your hotel for assistance. They might be able to help you make the booking!

Another great option is that most of the department stores and shopping centers in Tokyo have free stroller rentals. Many Japanese mothers use this service – they travel on the trains with their child in a baby sling or just holding them, and then when they get to the department store they transfer their baby or child to the free stroller.

Regarding drop-in day care centers, many mothers have recently recommended Kids World in Hiroo. The website is in Japanese, but I heard the staff can speak English. Once you arrive in Tokyo, you could call them on the phone or drop in to their day care center and ask about their programs and costs etc.

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Hiroo Kids World

Address: 2nd Floor, 5-10-24 Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo-to, 106-0047

Address in Japanese: 106-0047 東京都港区南麻布5-10-24 第2佐野ビル2階

PH: 03-3448-9081

Open: Mon-Fri 9am-6pm

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Hope this helps and all the best!

Warm Wishes,
Kate