What to Pack for Japan with Kids (Without Overpacking)

Traveled in October 2025

As moms know, packing for kids is a balancing act. It’s a fine line between bringing what you’ll actually need without overpacking. Although Japan is a shopping mecca, there are some things that would be hard to find and replace in Japan. And Japan is not a place where you want to be lugging many pieces of gigantic luggage through busy train stations. Besides, our itinerary in Japan when visiting with our kiddo didn’t leave too much time for shopping. So from a type A planner mom, here’s a practical list of items your kids will use daily in Japan and you’ll be glad you packed. Trust me, they’re well worth the luggage space!

Kids Clothing

• Light rain jacket: it’s helpful to keep a packable rain jacket that doesn’t take up too much space in your everyday bag. Weather can change quickly day to day and from city to city. We didn’t want to bother with carrying multiple umbrellas so a rain jacket was clutch on the sprinkly days.
• Comfortable walking shoes: everyone does a lot more walking in Japan than usual. Make sure kids have comfortable shoes! And make sure that they are easy on and off, because you will be taking your shoes off much more than usual.
• Sun hat: you’ll probably be spending a lot of time outdoors. So sun protection is a must!
• Socks: part of Japanese culture is taking shoes off indoors, so you will find yourself removing your shoes much more than usual. Make sure to pack the good socks without holes!
• Packing cubes: I swear by packing cubes when packing for the family. For a trip to Japan, I like to organize the packing cubes by outfits per day. This is especially helpful if you’re going to be sending luggage ahead to other cities. For our itinerary, we stored our large luggage at our Tokyo hotel and took smaller luggage with us to smaller cities. Having separate packing cubes with outfits for the smaller cities made separating the luggage easier.
• Japan is a shopping mecca (for tips on what to get, check out my curated list in this Japan shopping guide for moms!). If you forget to pack any clothing you can probably find what you need for kids at Muji or Uniqlo at a good price!

Snacks and Hydration

• Favorite snacks: Japan is a snack paradise, so I’m sure your kiddo will eventually find something that they like at the convenience stores. But bring some favorite snacks from home to tide you over until you figure out which Japanese snacks your kids love.
• Kids utensils: I did a lot of research to find kid-friendly restaurants in Japan to bookmark before our trip. However, even though the restaurants welcomed kids not all of them had kids utensils. If your kid is young enough that they need kids utensils to eat, it can be helpful to pack your own.
• Water bottle: tap water is generally safe to drink in Japan. Although we still prefer bottled water to avoid stomach upset as a result of the difference in mineral content, we always bring our own refillable water bottles.

Entertainment Options for Downtime and Travel

This is more important for younger kids who need more activities to stay entertained. Screens are an easy choice to keep kids occupied. And while our kiddo gets a lot more screen time than usual when traveling, we don’t like to rely solely on screens for entertainment because there are usually more massive meltdowns when we try to turn it off. We have found that it’s important to have some alternatives to keep him busy. He’s not going to have all his toys like at home. So to keep him from bouncing off the walls in the hotel at night, we make sure to bring some travel toys.

• Books: we always bring at least one new book on travels. We especially like search and find books or lift the flap books because they take more time to read though.
• Art: Water Wow coloring books are great for not accidentally coloring on things. Sticker books keep our kid surprisingly entertained for a while too! He likes the ones with transportation vehicles. Daiso sells a lot of cheap ones too! Drawing pads are also fantastic because they are reusable.
• Small toys: our kid loves magnatiles, so we always bring a set of small magnatiles with us when we travel. They don’t take up much space, and they’re cheap so it’s not heartbreaking if we lose a piece. We also usually make a toy store one of our first stops and get a small toy for our kid to play with during the trip. This also doubles as a souvenir, because whenever he plays with the toy at home he remembers where he got it. In Japan, he picked out some Tomica Thomas Trains from the Tomica Store in Tokyo Station that he loved.
• Kids headphones: if your kid is watching their screens in public, make sure to pack kids headphones to be respectful. Culturally, Japan prioritizes silence in public spaces like trains and restaurants. You’ll probably earn yourself a lot of dirty or exasperated looks if kids are watching screens loudly in public spaces.

Everyday Supplies for Kids

• Medications: it goes without saying to pack any prescription medications your kid is taking. I also bring over-the-counter kids medications like Children’s Tylenol and Children’s Zyrtec, just in case. I’m okay with buying Japanese OTC meds for myself and winging it with the translation, but I prefer using the kids’ OTC meds we’re familiar with because I am sure about the dosing and ingredients.
• Sunscreen: like medications, I like to use particular brands of sunscreen for my kid’s face. While there are really good adult sunscreens in Japan, I prefer to stick with tried and true options for my kid’s sensitive skin when traveling.
• Kids soap and shampoo: along the same lines, if your kid has sensitive skin then you may want to pack your own kids soap and shampoo that you use at home. Some more family-friendly hotels may have kid soaps but not all do. The last thing you want to deal with is any rashes while traveling from using unfamiliar soaps.
• Sleep essentials: bring anything that your kid needs to sleep well to encourage good sleep while traveling. For us, that is a sound machine. When our kid was younger, we also brought his bedtime book. Think anything that would be difficult to find exact replacements of in Japan.
• Power plug adapters: Japan uses two pronged plugs similar to the US, except the prongs are the same length. Most 2 pronged chargers will work fine without adapters. If you have any chargers that have 3 prongs, then you’ll need an adapter.
• Diapers and pull ups: if your kiddo is still in diapers, it is helpful to bring a starter pack of diapers or pull ups, or enough for the whole trip. Especially if your kid is in larger size diapers because they may be hard to find. You can find diapers in Nishimatsuya but those stores are not often in the center of the city. And you may not want to spend precious vacation time looking for diapers.

Transportation Essentials

• Compact Travel Stroller: To stroller or not to stroller, that is the question. If your child isn’t used to walking long distances, a stroller can help. But Japan isn’t as stroller-friendly as the US. Train stations have lots of stairs, elevators can be hard to find, and many restaurants and shops are small. We used ours, but folded and carried it often during train transfers. Since we visited theme parks and walked a lot, it was still worth bringing. Another option is renting a stroller at a theme park or through your hotel. If you bring one, choose a compact travel stroller. We love our Babyzen Yoyo! The Gb Pockit also folds up incredibly small.
• Hip Seat Carrier: A better alternative to a stroller if your kid is still small enough to carry is a hip seat carrier. We loved using ours during our trip to Switzerland because it’s one less thing to carry through train stations. The hip seat is clutch because it’s more comfortable to sit in for longer periods. We loved our version that had straps and could be worn in the front or back. It’s especially helpful for crowded places like Japan where maneuvering a stroller can be tricky. Our kiddo was too big for the carrier by the time we visited Japan, so we had to settle for stroller to save our arms and backs.
• Ride Safer Travel Vest or inflatable booster: taxis don’t require car seats in Japan. But it can be understandably nerve-wracking to ride in a car with your kid without a car seat. If you’re planning on riding in cars, a Rider Safer Travel Vest (for smaller kids) or an inflatable booster (for bigger kids) would be clutch.

What You Can Skip

• Umbrella: most hotels will have umbrellas that you can borrow from the front desk.
• Pack and Play or inflatable toddler bed: these take up a lot of space in the luggage. So consider carefully if it’s worth the luggage space to avoid bed sharing. We don’t usually bed share at home, but it’s common in Japan for families to bed share with younger kids. We ended up bed sharing with our kid while in Japan. Also keep in mind that Japanese hotels don’t usually have pack and plays like in the US. If they have cribs, they are more like bassinets. So older toddlers and preschoolers will either need to bed share or book hotels with multiple beds.
• Car seat: most people get around just with public transportation in Japan so car seats aren’t really necessary. If you’re planning on taking any taxis or private cars, use a more compact Ride Safer Travel Vest or inflatable booster instead.

Now that you’ve checked off the packing list, read more about what to expect and how to prepare for traveling in Japan with kids with our tips here!