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These are my tips for staying at a Japanese Ryokan with kids
♪ Intro Music Playing ♪
So this is the first time we're traveling outside of Tokyo
and staying at a Japanese Ryokan
with my 1 year old baby boy
since it is going to be our first time
we're probably going to learn a lot of stuff along the way
so I want to make this video
and share all of the tips and tricks
that we learned in this trip
and share with all of you
so that when you come to Japan
you'll have all of it in your back pocket
but before we start like always
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That said we're going to be doing this video vlog style
so let's start from the beginning
so here we go
we booked a Ryokan in Atami for 2 nights with Wolfy
who's just a few days shy of 15 months
Atami is only a one hour away by Shinkansen bullet train
so it seemed like a perfect spot for a first-time
overnight beach destination
Wolfy how is your first time ?
on the shinkansen
Your first time dude !!
so we are just eating right now
it's crazy because
there's just not a lot of people on the train
I guess yeah not a lot of people are traveling
but it's nice we're trying to eat
so we don't have to eat so much when we get there
and then also feeding Wolfy at the same time
so we get to enjoy hopefully some of the beach
unfortunately it looks like it started raining a little bit
but maybe it's just a passing shower
♪ Background Music Playing ♪
Here's the first tip !!
Shinkansen Luggage Travel
which will apply to many people traveling to a Ryokan
this one is a new regulation that started last May
so it's fair to mention that passengers
with oversized luggage larger than 160 centimeters
are required to reserve as storage space
previously the storage space between the front and rear seats
in each car were free to use
but now passengers who reserve these seats
are allocated the storage space
at the same time
the overhead storage compartment
designed for smaller baggage
and strollers can be used by anyone
We're here !!
We made it !!
♪ Background Music Playing ♪
Sorry Wolfy it rained a little bit
as soon as it stops we're gonna go to the hotel
and we're gonna change
and then you're gonna go to the beach
Luckily the rain stopped for a while
so we walked quickly to the hotel
which was like 10 minutes away
♪ Background Music Playing ♪
♪ Rain pouring sound ♪
Oh yeah
May be we can't go outside
Yeah Well Let's just see
Good Job Wolfy !!
Thank You !!
Yeah lets then walk
and then I think
by the beach there's like a family restaurant
like there's stuff you can just
Yeah
Okay so
we were planning on coming here a little bit early
so that
we can go experience the beach
but it's raining right now
Really raining
Oh my God
and since we came here early
then we can't go inside the hotel
so we're just kind of like stuck in the lobby for right now
but see its it's weird
because it's stopped now
so it's like it rains for like a few minutes
then it stops then it rains for a few minutes
and it stops
♪ Background Music Playing ♪
Hey ! Good Job Wolfy !!
What do you think dude ?
We still had an hour until check-in
but the staff were kind enough to prepare the room
a little bit early
so we could check in
kind of a rare case so don't expect it
but having a baby might have helped
♪ Background Music Playing ♪
Look you have a special chair
Its so cute !!
You wana sit ?
Awww !!
Yeah !!
Do you like it ?
Look you got a chair !!
Hey give me five !!
Yeah
Tip 02 - Check kid and baby amenities
with the hotel in advance
some Ryokan's are super kid friendly
and well some are not
so you really should check in advance
what they offer to minimize any misunderstandings
as well as to help lessen your baggage load
in our case we did research to find a kid-friendly Ryokan
and followed up with a call
to see what other kid services they offered
they were able to set up a futon for Wolfy to nap
before we arrived
so he could sleep whenever he needed
This Ryokan also set up a microwave inside of the room
for the baby food
as well as organize a cute little baby chair, diaper disposal
and baby bath
Oh they even offered rice for Wolfy
at his 5 pm dinner time
before our in-room dinner time at 7
we brought instant baby bento boxes
but we wanted to feed them as much
natural food as possible
so this extra service was appreciated
and I think Wolfy loved it too
You're so hungry
Tip 03 - Onsen Bath
Since Wolfy still rocks a diaper
and some Onsen facilities
don't allow babies who were diapers
into the Onsen
we decided to reserve a room
with its own private Onsen bath
I should also mention though that there are strong Onsens
with a lot of sulfur
or have a strong acidity
and these onsens are not recommended for babies
so you might want to check the type of Onsen
before finalizing your Ryokan stay
Are you brushing your teeth Wolfy ?
Tip 04 - Getting an extra room
this tip really depends on the family
but having an extra room really made a difference
in our case
since Wolfy is still not the best sleeper
and will get fussed with a lot of noise and movement
having the extra room
gave us some mommy and daddy time
during his midday nap
and it was clutch during our in-room dinner
allowing us to enjoy the meal without waking him
♫ Background Music Playing ♫
Tip 05 - In-room dining
If you're staying at a Ryokan with a child
I highly recommend also booking in-room dining
if they offer it
It makes life so much easier
when the staff bring and prepare the food for you
without having to go and search for dinner
You can enjoy an amazing Japanese style Kaiseki dinner
while the kid sleeps
just keep in mind that the in-room dining option
really depends on the Ryokan
as some may offer only in-hotel restaurant dining
while others offer both
so again check before booking
oh and you should be aware that the staff
come a bit early to the room to prepare the meal
so in our case our dinner was scheduled at 7 pm
so we aimed to get Wolfy to bed by 6:45
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all right let's continue on
all right so we finally got him to sleep
today was probably one of the toughest times
you've ever had to try to like put him to sleep
maybe it's because
we kind of missed his middle nap
or his like afternoon nap
because we were traveling
we're have had him cry so much
and just like not go to sleep
so it's pretty tough even when he went to sleep
he was like still like
breathing like he was crying
so this is like quite tough
luckily one of the things is we brought
a camera
we brought a baby camera with us
so he's in the other room right now
we're watching him
and we can kind of have dinner at the same time
so it makes it very useful
Tip 06 - Bring a baby monitor
this one just gave us a peace of mind
it may not apply to a lot of families
but since Wolfy is still one
and we had an extra room
having a baby camera was super useful for us
as mentioned Wolfy slept on the floor futon
without guardrails
so he could easily wake up and get into all of the various room
knickknacks, furniture etc.,
so it helped us better enjoy our time in the other room
knowing that our little one was safe asleep in the other room
and in case you're interested
I'll leave the link to the one we have in the description
♪ Background Music Playing ♪
Yeah
Did you put the cap ?
Oh thank you !!
dad forgot to put the cap on
Thank You dude !!
and these days I take over in the morning
and let Maiko sleep in
since she's the one that gets up at night if Wolfy gets fussy
Good Morning !!
How do you sleep ?
Not the best
But yeah
woke up
around
little before 6
tried to put him back to sleep
but he slept until like seven um him and I got up at 7
Oh and this Ryokan offered a kid's yukata
so of course we had to put it on Wolfy
Tip 07 - Ryokan Wifi
so we usually don't let Wolfy watch tv
but when he goes out on trips
it seems to help settle him down
with so much stuff going on
so having a Ryokan with a strong and fast wi-fi connection is nice
the thing is
some ryokans don't have the best connection
compared to say hotels in the city
so you may want to pre-load your iPad
with the greatest hits
before leaving on your trip
this time though the internet was more than streamable
He ate all the melon
Oh really ?
I kept on feeding him
Tip 08 - Sending stuff in advance
so when traveling with a baby or kids
you have to bring a lot of stuff
just to get through one day
let alone several days
for us Wolfy takes up one entire side of the suitcase
while Miko and I , Oh and the camera gear share the other side
so for advanced planners
you can actually send your baggage from airport to hotel
or hotel to hotel to lighten the travel load
Tip 09 - Cleaning schedule
In a Japanese Ryokan
betting staff come and put away futons in the morning
they do this so that guests can use a room during the day
especially if you're staying in one room
you might want to check the cleaning time in advance
so you can plan your baby schedule accordingly
in our case Wolfy doesn't take a morning nap anymore
so it doesn't affect us so much
but parents with the little one
that requires a morning nap
should coordinate with the hotel
Good Job !!
so those are my tips for now
but I didn't want to edit here
without sharing some of our beach day
so we are finally headed to the beach
it is just right in front of the hotel
super excited for this
this is Wolfy's first time
and I guess our first time also taking Wolfy to the beach
I think so !!
[Maiko Laughing] - Its not meant for sand !!
Maiko [Still laughing] - I have never seen anybody
♪ Background Music Playing ♪
[ Maiko laughing in the background ]
Too Low ?
♪ Background Music Playing ♪
Let's get in the water
Ohhh !!
Awww !!
Its Okay
Wolfy ?
No?
Here you are Sir !! Here is your water
Here you go Sir !! The water you ordered
Oh. He ask you to do it
so this is kind of interesting
he is kind of liking the water
kind of not I think he's still a little bit
like he loves the water
but I think the waves scare him a little bit
so we got him in
he played around in the water a little bit
but I think it's still
a little bit much
he does like playing in the sand which is good
but yeah I think we're just gonna have to
go with the flow
You Okay ?
What's happening ?
he peed
Should we just peel him off ?
Oh you kicked ?
After Wolfy's lunch nap
we decided to take a walk by the beach
and that was our summer trip to the beach
if you want to see more of what happened
check us out on our Tokyo Zebra family channel
Hopefully we'll get that video released
sometime this year
All right, so we're gonna end it here
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in the next one