What Tokyo is like for a Parent

Japan is a country with a birth rate below replacement rate. You wouldn’t guess it though walking around Tokyo. Public places are designed with kids (and parents) in mind. Baby and kids products are everywhere. There are three separate holidays celebrating children: girls’ day, children’s day, and a coming of age day. In short, children have a disproportionately large cultural significance. 

In most respects, Tokyo is a convenient place to be a parent. Public toilet stalls have baby seats where you can park your infant while you do your business. Once you get over the shocking convenience, you wonder why this should be shocking in the first place. I used to just avoid public toilets altogether.

Toilet stall at the municipal office. Shockingly clean too.

Restaurants and food courts have an abundance of clean high chairs. Some even have special family dining areas where table and chairs are short enough for kids to sit by themselves. 

There are strollers available for free at department stores. This saves you from the agonizing question: stroller or carrier? To navigate the metro with a stroller or carry 20 pounds around while you shop? My solution was to not shop. 

Trying out the interesting design on the shopping cart.

In Chicago, I hated taking the train with a stroller. Either there was no elevator, or the elevator wouldn't work, or it did work but also doubled as a public toilet. Then there was the train schedule - the chances of trains running at regular intervals was 50/50. So I would take the train with a stroller only if I was forced to. For instance, a doctor's appointment unavoidably scheduled on a day my spouse had the car. 

You have probably heard of the quick and reliable public transportation system in Tokyo. It benefits everyone, but it especially benefits parents who don't have alternative means for transportation. This should be normal rather than exceptional, but somehow it isn't in most American cities. 

These are more than perfunctory conveniences that exist simply as a matter of law. The flip side of all this, however, is that a lot of is meant for moms.There is still a tangible imbalance of gender roles in Japan. This is improving, but the culture surrounding motherhood and women is still traditional in many ways, especially from an outsider's perspective, like mine. It's also a complicated issue to which it is worth dedicating an entire post, so I will save it for another time. For now, I'm just enjoying these small perks of being a parent here.