Photo by Anete Lūsiņa on Unsplash
Traveling to Japan with an infant or toddler means rethinking a few logistics, and baby supplies top the list. The good news: Japan is one of the easiest countries in the world to restock formula, diapers, and baby food on the go — drugstores are everywhere, quality is excellent, and prices are reasonable. The catch is that brands, sizing, and formula types differ from what you’re used to at home, so it helps to know where to look and what to expect before you land.
Where to Buy: Drugstores, Baby Superstores & Supermarkets
Your default stop should be a drugstore (doraggu sutoa) — chains like Matsumoto Kiyoshi, Sundrug, Tsuruha, and Welcia are in every neighborhood and near most train stations, typically open from around 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. until 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. They stock formula, diapers in all sizes, wipes, and baby food jars and pouches side by side, often at the lowest prices you’ll find.
For the widest selection, go to Akachan Honpo (“Baby’s Treasure House”), a nationwide baby superstore chain owned by Aeon, with big locations in malls and standalone stores (Ikebukuro’s Sunshine City branch in Tokyo is a popular one). It carries nearly every Japanese formula and diaper brand, plus strollers and car seats if you need backup gear. Nishimatsuya is the budget equivalent — smaller selection, noticeably cheaper. Large supermarkets (AEON, Ito-Yokado, Life) also carry a solid baby aisle and are worth checking if you’re staying somewhere residential rather than touristy.
Don’t overlook Don Quijote (Donki), the discount chain that’s open 24 hours in many locations — handy if your baby runs out of diapers at 11 p.m. Many Donki and Akachan Honpo stores also offer tax-free shopping for tourists on purchases over ¥5,000 (pre-tax) with your passport, which is worth using if you’re buying diapers in bulk before flying home. If cash comes up short, a 7-Bank ATM at 7-Eleven is the most reliable way to withdraw yen, and a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card works at essentially all of these chains.
Formula: Powder vs. Liquid, and What to Watch For
The major Japanese formula brands are Meiji (Hohoemi), Morinaga (Hagukumi), Glico (Icreo), and Wakodo. All are widely available and considered high quality, but their nutritional formulations — iron content in particular — differ somewhat from U.S. and European formulas. If your baby is on a specific brand or a specialized formula (soy, hypoallergenic, anti-reflux), assume it won’t be available in Japan and pack enough from home, since pediatricians generally advise against switching formulas abruptly during travel.
Powder is the standard format: an 800g can of Meiji Hohoemi runs roughly ¥2,000–2,500, with smaller refill packs costing less. Japan also sells ready-to-feed liquid formula in 200ml cartons (Meiji and Glico both make versions) for around ¥200 each — convenient for flights, trains, or days out since they need no mixing or hot water, though they’re pricier per feeding than powder and not stocked everywhere.
One genuinely useful fact: Japan’s tap water is soft and safe to drink straight from the faucet, which makes it fine for mixing formula once boiled — you don’t need to hunt for special bottled water the way you might in countries with hard tap water. Most business hotels and even many Airbnbs have an electric kettle in the room, which covers your hot-water needs without relying on front desk requests.
Diapers: Decoding Japanese Sizes and Top Brands
The two dominant diaper brands are Merries (Kao) and Moony (Unicharm), both excellent and widely considered softer and more absorbent than many Western equivalents — it’s common for visiting parents to stock up to take home. Goo.N (Oji) is a solid third option, and imported Pampers is available too, usually at a premium.
Japanese sizing is by weight, not age, and runs roughly: Newborn (up to ~5kg), S (4–8kg), M (6–11kg), L (9–14kg), and XL/BIG (12–22kg). These bands overlap by design — buy based on your baby’s current weight rather than translating from a home-country size number, since they don’t line up directly. Both tape-style (for newborns and before baby can stand) and pants-style (for mobile babies) are sold everywhere. Expect to pay around ¥1,500–2,200 for a pack, varying by size and count — tape diapers for newborns often come in bigger counts (80–90) at a similar price to smaller packs of pants-style diapers in larger sizes.
Baby Food: Jars, Pouches & What’s Easy for Travelers
Kewpie is the dominant baby food brand in Japan and makes an enormous range of pouches and small jars (rice porridge, vegetable purees, fish and meat mixes) sorted by age stage, typically ¥100–150 each. Wakodo also makes a well-regarded baby food line. These are sold at every drugstore and supermarket, and increasingly at convenience stores (7-Eleven, Lawson, FamilyMart) in limited selection — handy for a single emergency pouch, but not a reliable main source if you need a specific stage or flavor.
Packaging is almost entirely in Japanese, but stage numbers (5–6 months, 7–8 months, 9–11 months, 12+ months) are usually printed with recognizable numerals, and jars often have a photo of the contents on the front, so you can shop reasonably confidently even without reading kanji.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Assuming any formula will do. If your baby has an allergy or is on a specialized formula, bring it — Japan doesn’t stock most specialty/hypoallergenic brands, and switching formulas suddenly isn’t recommended.
- Buying diapers by home-country size number. Japanese sizing is weight-based (kg), not the S/M/L labels you may be used to translating 1:1 — check your baby’s current weight against the Japanese bands above.
- Relying on convenience stores as a main source. 7-Eleven and similar chains carry a thin selection of diapers and baby food for emergencies, not full restocks — plan around drugstore hours instead.
- Underestimating how much you’ll want to bring home. Merries and Moony diapers are popular souvenirs/stock-ups among visiting parents; if you’re buying in bulk, do it at a tax-free-eligible Akachan Honpo or Donki and keep the receipt.
Timing and Airport Stock-Ups
There’s no strong seasonality to baby supply shopping in Japan — stock is consistent year-round — but it’s smart to restock a day or two before flying home rather than at the airport itself, where selection is limited to kiosk convenience stores. If you’re departing through New Chitose Airport or Fukuoka Airport, do your real shopping in the city beforehand and treat the airport as a backup only. Build in a little buffer time near your hotel on your last full day for a final drugstore run — it’s the easiest way to avoid a last-minute scramble with a fussy, hungry baby and a departure gate to catch.