Finally, our first overseas trip as a family to Japan! We have heard stories about how difficult it is to travel overseas with toddler, but we were glad that our boy was not fussy at all throughout the flight.
When COVID strikes, that was the main reason for us not to even consider travelling. As more countries recognized COVID as an endemic, they have since opened up their borders. The only “hurdle” now is travelling with a toddler. Nonetheless, we cannot postpone overseas travel indefinitely. Let us just to go ahead with our first trip with the below goals in mind:
- Minimal to no fussing on the plane
- Keep to transportation rides within an hour
- Visit at most 2 places a day
- In summary, take it slow and convenience is key
I am glad to say that our first family overseas trip was way better than I had expected it to be. Our boy is overall very well-behaved, and we had a great time during the trip.
I believe that all the steps taken below contributed to the better-than-expected trip:
- Flight Selection
- Train Selection
- Handling of Luggage
- Mental Prep for Toddler
Selecting the flight
We started to select our flights by considering the below factors in order of priority:
- Timing of flights
- Airline
- Seats
Flight timing is really important to us because it will determine how fussy our boy may be. Flights that are too early means having to wake him up more than 2 hours before his usual wake up timing. Overnight flights are avoided since he will fuss without a proper area to sleep. Landing too late means we will likely reach the hotel way past his bedtime. We also want to avoid boarding time that is near or during his nap-time. This is so that he naps only when the plane is cruising. This definitely seems like we are putting a lot of emphasis and consideration towards his sleep routine. However, I believe that all these are steps that achieved our objective of minimal fussing.
We chose Singapore Airlines since the timings fit our needs. The choice of airlines are basically full-fledge airlines with great reputation, service, and hygiene. Like I mentioned, as comfortable and fuss-free as possible, but within our own financial means. Economy tickets for 2 adults and 1 child to Japan back in Nov-22 cost about $4,932. Prices were not as good as pre-COVID, but we are keener to travel than not.
We chose the economy seats that are nearer or on the plane wings for better stability during the journey. Since the centre of mass of an airplane is near to the plane wings, and hence the degree of movement during any maneuvers or turbulence will be comparatively smaller. We also try to choose seats before the plane engine (i.e. on or before plane wings), and before the toilets for quieter flight.
Japan HSR tickets
The first thing we do is to check the JR passes. Assess the area that you are travelling to determine if JR passes are worthwhile. For example, Japan Rail Pass (7 days) that covers entire Japan cost about $330 SGD. A round trip between Tokyo-Osaka cost around $290 SGD. You will then need to cover more than $40 SGD on JR rides within the 7 days for it to be worthwhile. With the news on the increase in the prices of JR passes in Oct 23, you will need to do a lot more travelling to make the pass worthwhile.
| Pros | Cons |
| Covers unlimited JR rides for the pass regions | Only covers JR rides. In certain cities, there are multiple train companies aside from JR. Those are not covered by the pass |
| Can only book reserved seats on high speed rail after you get your pass, which is typically the 1st day you reach Japan, and has to be done in person. |
As our main travel is between Tokyo-Osaka, we concluded not to get the Japan Rail Pass which is the only pass that covers the 2 prefectures. You can see “Rail Passes in Japan (japan-guide.com)” for the list of JR passes. For this trip, we also prefer:
- Flexibility of booking high speed rail reserved seats before the trip so that we can get the seats that allowed us to stow our pram behind our seats.
- Not limited by JR transport as Tokyo and Osaka has a lot of other train companies in the train network.
Do note that children below 6 years can travel for free on all public transports! However, I highly recommend getting an extra seat for your toddler for long distance trip (anything more than 30 minutes). I cannot imagine having to struggle with my boy on the train, and especially when he has motion sickness.
Handling of Luggage
Our itinerary was:
- Day 1: Narita
- Day 2 to 5: Osaka
- Day 6 to 9: Tokyo
With 9 days in Japan during Winter season, we brought along:
- 2 medium luggage
- 1 baby pram
- 1 32L backpack for daily travel
- 1 small backpack for bolster etc.
Since convenience is key, we decided to use luggage transport services for inter-prefectures travel. And it is so worth it! We were so glad of not having to handle our toddler, 2 luggage, a pram and a backpack at the same time (except for the last day).
When we reached airport, we immediately looked for TA-Q-BIN. Both luggage were sent over to Osaka since we were expecting next day delivery only. This means that all the essentials are packed within the 2 backpacks that are with us. From Osaka to Tokyo, we only sent 1 luggage in case of delay since it we requested for same day delivery.
Some things to note:
- Medium size luggage cost roughly about 2,600 JPY each (about SGD 26) for distance between Tokyo to Osaka (refer to https://www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/ytc/en/send/services/airport/ for the details)
- Ensure that you have some back-up in case of delay in delivery. Our Osaka-Tokyo was delayed by 2 nights, but luckily, we only sent 1 luggage.
- Do check in beforehand with your hotel if they within the distribution list of the luggage service
Mental Prep for Toddler
The last thing that we needed to do was to mentally prepare our toddler for his first plane experience in his life. You would not want to have your toddler feeling fearful before boarding the plane.
We got the “Maisy Mouse First Experiences” collection by Lucy Cousins, which have a lot of short stories on first experiences. One of the books named, “Maisy Goes by Plane”, illustrates the first experience that Maisy had during the plane trip. We told our boy about taking an airplane and started reading the book to him. This is to get him familiar with the plane experience so that he can relate on the actual day. Toddler at his age likes to read the same story over and over again. So we read the same story to him every other day, and sometimes at his request. Soon, he remembered the storyline and can illustrate to us or even correct us when we deviate from the storyline.
We also brought him to have breakfast at Changi Airport and play around at Jewel’s Canopy Park. Then we head over to Changi Airport Terminal 3 viewing gallery. It is a quiet area where you can see planes taking off and landing. This is to get him curious and excited about planes and to associate all the good experiences with airport and planes.
I believe that all the additional considerations above build up for the trip to start off on a good note on the plane. It never hurts to prepare a bit more since travelling should be an enjoyable trip! I hope that my future trips will be as good as or much better than the first! I’ll document the details of the Japan trip next.
