I often receive emails from parents who will be traveling to Tokyo with their baby, and they are wondering how to dress their babies so that they don’t get cold in this chilly weather. Here is an email I received last week and my answer below:)
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Hi Kate,
I discovered your blog via Google and it is fantastic.
My husband and I along with our four month old baby girl will be travelling to Tokyo next week, and I am reading about the heavy snowfalls there and wanted to ask how do you dress your baby for this cold weather?
We are from warm sunny Sydney Australia, that does not get weather like this and I don’t want our baby to get cold when we are out and about, but then not over-heat when we are indoors. Can you offer any advice?
Many thanks and I look forward to reading and learning more about Tokyo for our month living there.
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Thanks for your message! I’m so glad Tokyo Urban Baby is helping with your trip!
That’s a good question about the weather. Tokyo is very cold in winter, even colder than Melbourne. But when you get on the train or go into the restaurants or department stores, they are quite warm inside and babies can overheat very quickly. I currently dress my son in singlet, long sleeve top, pants, down jacket, and woollen scarf. Then we put him in the pram in his down sleeping bag (foot muff). When we get on the train, I take him out of the pram and also take his scarf and jacket off. Even if the train ride is a short trip, I always take his scarf and jacket off so that he doesn’t get too hot. If he is sleeping in the pram, I take off the scarf and open the zipper of his jacket so he can breath and doesn’t get too hot around his neck. I also keep the pram hood open at the back, so fresh air can flow through the mesh.
If you are here for a month and your baby is still a newborn, I would highly recommend investing in a foot muff for your pram. Even if you are only here for a month (or even a week!), it will be worth it for peace of mind. Then you don’t have to worry about your baby getting cold, and they are super easy to use and put baby in and out. You can also use them in Australia for next winter if you do a lot of walking outside. If you will be using a baby carrier, you can buy warm carrier covers such as from 7 A.M. Enfant. There are a range of lovely covers available at Blossom39 shop and Air Buggy shop in Daikanyama – the staff are super friendly and will be able to help you choose. Both foot muffs and covers you can buy for about 10,000yen.
Hope this helps and have a wonderful trip!
Best wishes,
Kate
Hi! Me and my wife are planning to travel to Tokyo with our 2-yr old daughter during 1st week of Feb 2015. Can you pls. give us a 5-day itinerary that will be enjoyable (both for parents and baby) and healthy (weather-wise)? Does going out-of-town to see Mt Fuji advisable? Thanks a lot-Nino Ocampo
Hi Nino! Feb is cold in Tokyo so I would recommend a combination of indoor and outdoor activities – sightseeing, shopping in the department stores, eating in baby-friendly cafes, and take lots of breaks to play and rest in the indoor playgrounds and nursing rooms. You can find all the information you need to plan your itinerary my Tokyo Guide http://www.tubtokyoguide.com Regarding Mt Fuji, you can actually see it from the city! And it is really easy to see in winter with the clear blue skies – just go up the top of Tokyo Tower or Tokyo Skytree and enjoy the view 🙂 (I would probably recommend this rather than going to see Mt Fuji, as it can be very cold in winter). Have a wonderful trip! xx Kate
Hi Kate,
We are planning to visit Tokyo this April with our 6month old baby girl. How can we dress our baby during this time?
Many Thanks!
Regards,
Natalie
Hi,
We are planning to travel to Japan (mainly Tokyo) on November 18 and I read that temperature may go as low as 8degrees. Is it safe for us to travel with our 11 month old baby? Can you suggest ways or tips for us to enjoy this travel more without worrying about our baby’s safety and health (baby has no illness, allergy or any asthma of some sort anyway, just worrying that he might feel cold since we are coming from a tropical country, Philippines).
TIA
Roms
Hi Roms, Thank you for your message. I highly recommend buying a down jacket and winter clothing for your baby. It is cool during the day and quite cold at night (definitely need a down jacket at night time). If you can’t find these types of winter clothing in Philippines, I highly recommend buying some at “Uniqlo” when you arrive in Tokyo. This shop has great baby clothing at reasonable prices. You can also buy these types of winter clothing in advance from Rakuten Global Market (Rakuten Global Market has shops that sell Japanese products and they deliver overseas:
Down jackets:
http://global.rakuten.com/en/search/?tl=111103&k=+ダウン&l-id=search_regular
Stroller footmuffs:
http://global.rakuten.com/en/search/?tl=200833&k=フット&l-id=search_regular
Hi Kate,
Really glad that u put all these informations 🙂
Im planning to go to Tokyo & Osaka on Feb nxt year, and all my friends said im crazy to take the kids (7&1,5 yo) on that month, and taking the kids out with 2 strollers while bringing suitcases in & out bullet train will be a disaster. To be honest, it makes me a lil bit discouraged.
Can u give me tips on what to do & what to prepare? I heard that we can send luggages from hotel to hotel? if there is, is it safe and on time? and how about taking kids to disneyland/disney sea? will it be a bad time? thank u 🙂