3 Ways Japan Makes Parenting Easier

Being a new mom can be hard.  Figuring out what to bring on trips with you, how to nurse in public, how to catch a break in an extremely busy city and much more! We are so thankful that living in Japan has simplified it for us. Here are the three ways Japan has made life as a new parent easier.

1. Baby Lounges

In every mall, most department stores and the airports, there is a designated room for parents to relax with their babies. This baby lounge usually consists of two rooms. Both parents can enter the first room, where there are typically drink machines, a bottle warmer, a sink, changing tables and chairs or couches. Sometimes there are high chairs in case it’s lunchtime for your little one. Depending on the scale of the store you’re in, these rooms range from very basic to extravagant. On our recent trip to Namjatown, we came across this beautiful lounge in the mall!

While the first area of the lounge is an all-purpose family room, the second room is for breastfeeding. A sign reads “Women Only Past This Point.” Stepping into this back room is always such a relief. Quiet classical music plays. The walls are painted soft pastel colors. The hustle and bustle of Tokyo fades away and suddenly it’s just you and your baby. Small stalls are divided by curtains, with a chair and table inside. The ambiance immediately helps calm the baby’s nerves.

Having these rooms as a safe haven for mothers and babies to relax and catch their breath makes all the difference. It makes the difference between having to cut your day short and being able to stay out for a few more hours. It helps reset our baby and relax her so she doesn’t get strung out. I don’t know why all countries don’t have these! The picture below is the first breastfeeding room I got to use. We found this one in the Haneda Airport in Tokyo, when we were flying back from giving birth in Okinawa. Our daughter was just two weeks old. Traveling with a newborn was stressful, but finding a quiet place to nurse alleviated so much of that stress.

2. Priority Seating

On the trains, there is a designated seating section in each car for the elderly, parents with children, the handicapped or pregnant women. Unless it’s rush hour, these sections almost always have available seating. Many times even when the train car is full, somebody will give up their seat when they notice you’re holding a baby. It takes about 1.5 hours to take the train into the heart of Tokyo, so we’re always grateful when these seats are available for us.

3. Dads Parent Too!

I never understood why there are only changing tables in the women’s bathrooms back home. Not only are the men allowed in the baby lounges, but public restrooms usually have a changing table in both the men’s and the women’s bathroom.

Dads change diapers too! Sometimes society claims that dads aren’t involved enough in their children’s lives, but what about when they aren’t given the opportunity? For a generation so conscious about gender equality, we need to be more attentive towards the needs that dads have. I recently came across this news story that shows what dads sometimes have to go through just to change a diaper! Thankfully, the Japanese solved this problem before it even crossed my mind. This is a recurring event here; I’ll see something that seems so intuitive and wonder why the whole world isn’t doing it!

Even these handy little baby seats in bathroom stalls are in both women’s and men’s bathrooms. This way you don’t have to hold the baby on your lap while you use the toilet. Again, dads parent too!

These three ways that Japan caters to parents are so simple yet make such a huge difference to us. Japanese society is telling us that family matters. Your baby matters. Parents matter (not just Mom, that’s you too, Dad)! Once more, Japan impresses me with how thoughtful they are of others.