Child Meals in Japan – Child Can Journey

Touring with a child is so enjoyable and rewarding, but it surely has its personal set of challenges. For instance, it will probably typically be onerous to discover child meals when touring to a distinct nation, particularly when the tradition is kind of totally different like in Japan. For fogeys visiting Japan with a child, we’ve put together this information on methods to discover child meals in Japan.

After a really lengthy journey day from Canada, we arrived in Tokyo with child early within the night. We desperately wished to sleep, however that we wanted to search out child meals for breakfast earlier than going to mattress. Venturing out into the world’s largest metropolis after darkish in the hunt for child meals is somewhat intimidating and I’m not ashamed to confess that our child’s first breakfast in Japan got here from a close-by 7-11.

Fortunately, as soon as we acquired settled in Tokyo, we discovered the seek for child meals was straightforward, enjoyable and rewarding. 

5 Locations to Discover Child Meals in Japan

Whereas in Japan you’ll have 4 foremost sources of meals to your child: drug shops, grocery shops, eating places and comfort shops.

1. Drug Shops in Japan

Drug shops are an glorious supply of child provides in Japan. At Japanese drug shops you’ll discover prepackaged child meals, child snacks and diapers. In case you are touring to Japan with a child, observe that not like North American grocery shops, most of those important child merchandise are not present in Japanese grocery shops.

Our child was consuming solids whereas in Japan, however we nonetheless made good use of the wonderful Japanese drug shops. Throughout our journey to Japan with our child, we purchased diapers and plenty of finger-food snacks (child crackers, and so on.) for snacks on-the-go. Having good child snacks was particularly good as we loved the various straightforward walks round Kyoto.

2. Grocery Shops in Japan

In case your child is on strong meals, your job of feeding your child in Japan will likely be extra sophisticated. As most mother and father wish to discover wholesome meals for his or her child, you’ll get the vast majority of your child meals from grocery shops. 

With the language barrier and cultural variations in delicacies, Japanese grocery shops are somewhat intimidating, however it will likely be a enjoyable, thrilling and rewarding expertise looking for meals to your child.

Acquainted Child-Pleasant Meals in Japan

That can assist you know what to anticipate earlier than your loved ones journey to Japan, here’s a listing of wholesome baby-friendly meals you could find in Japanese grocery shops:

• Bread
• eggs
• milk
• yogurt
• cheese
• bananas
• carrots
• pink and inexperienced peppers
• oranges
• apples
• frozen greens (peas, corn, and so on.)
• yams
• peanut “unfold”
• cereal
• ham
• pasta
• floor meats (beef, pork, and so on.)
• granola bars.

Primary Meal Concepts for Infants in Japan

With the listing of wholesome child meals accessible from Japanese grocery shops, listed below are some fundamental meal concepts that you could make throughout your go to to Japan with a child. All these baby-friendly meals might be made in a easy Japanese rental residence kitchen:

• Boiled carrots
• fried eggs on toast
• scrambled eggs with ham and cheese
• frozen pizza (cooked in a toaster oven)
• pan fried dumplings
• fundamental stir fry (soy sauce, pasta, floor pork, veggies)
• sandwiches (ham & cheese or peanut “unfold”)
• microwave steam pork buns
• pre-cooked teriyaki hen skewers and tempura greens from the deli.

Further necessities accessible at Japanese grocery shops:

When visiting Japan with a child, you’ll want to purchase extra than simply child meals. In case you are staying in a rental residence, you should buy laundry detergent at supermarkets. In the event you crave a morning cup of joe, you may also purchase espresso in Japan in supermarkets.

3. Eating places in Japan

Visiting a Japanese restaurant with a child will probably be your largest meals problem in Japan. Excessive chairs are very uncommon at eating places in Japan, so you could want to deliver a conveyable journey excessive chair with you. 

As well as, many Japanese eating places is not going to have English menus. We discovered the Google Translate app to be a life saver on this state of affairs, each for studying menus and for speaking with restaurant workers. 

Kinds of Child-Pleasant Eating places in Japan

Japan has many types of eating places, and never all are child pleasant. The next sorts of Japanese eating places are child pleasant and will make your loved ones trip to Japan somewhat simpler:  

Fashionable Japanese chain eating places, akin to Curry Home, Yoshinoya or Ootoya have vacationer pleasant menus in English and/or with footage. Take-out meals is usually simply accessible at these Japanese eating places. 

Shokudō are simply recognized by their show circumstances displaying off their menu gadgets utilizing plastic meals replicas. The Japanese meals right here is usually extra ‘genuine’ than the chain eating places, however remains to be usually straightforward to order and you may believe in what you’re ordering. 

Bento packing containers are good selections to purchase for the household as they’ve many various gadgets inside. Your child will probably not like all of the choices, however there’s normally one thing inside every field they’ll like. Bento packing containers can be found in comfort shops, malls and specialty shops.

In case your child is battling the totally different flavors of Japanese delicacies, you may all the time use the American quick meals chain eating places (McDonald’s and so on.) as a backstop.  

4. Comfort Shops in Japan

For the remainder of your loved ones, here’s a listing of meals you MUST strive in Japan!

Comfort shops are plentiful in Japan. Chains akin to 7-11 and Lawson are actually in all places and so they supply an honest collection of meals fundamentals. Child pleasant meals on supply at Japanese comfort shops consists of milk, bread, cheese, meat, pre-made sandwiches and wraps. 

5. Meals From Residence

Along with these selections, it’s all the time a good suggestion to deliver as a lot acquainted child meals from dwelling as you suppose you will get by means of customs. There’ll all the time be occasions when your child simply desires one thing acquainted and comforting and having their favourite meals from dwelling will likely be effectively obtained.

In the event you want to deliver meals from dwelling when visiting Japan with a child, please remember that you simply can not deliver produce (fruit and veggies) over worldwide borders. Basically, pre-packaged child meals is appropriate to deliver from dwelling.

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Celine Brewer is the proprietor of Child Can Journey. Not solely does she have years of expertise touring with infants & toddlers, however she’s helped thousands and thousands of latest mother and father journey with their infants and toddlers for over a decade. Along with writing on her child journey weblog, she has shared her experience on touring with a child or toddler by contributing to articles about touring with a child with the Washington Publish, USA As we speak, the Lonely Planet journal and Being pregnant & New child journal.

Celine additionally writes about household journey on the positioning FamilyCanTravel.com, which she co-owns together with her husband. Being from the Canadian Rockies, she shares her ardour about her dwelling and journey to Banff Nationwide Park and space on their website TravelBanffCanada.com.

Learn extra about Celine Brewer.