Travelling Japan: Baby Stroller or Baby Carrier?

OK, now that we have covered the dilemma of home-cook food versus outside food, it's time to talk about another travelling dilemma: to stroller or not? LOL. Well, I brought along both and my initial plan was to decide which one to use depending on the place that we go for the day. 

However, I ended up using baby carrier most of the time for several reasons, with the main reason being Baby V prefers to be stuck to her mummy like a tree-hugging koala bear most of time time. Haha. Baby V easily falls asleep inside the baby carrier when mummy is close to her. I think this has something to do with the cold weather during our stay in Japan. The warmth of mummy's body must have allowed her to nap more comfortably as compared to sitting inside a stroller. In fact, when she is in a bad mood, putting her inside the stroller is close to impossible as she will scream her lungs out wanting to be carried.  In times like this, I will be using the baby carrier whereas the stroller will become a makeshift shopping/ luggage cart. Haha.

Baby V was super excited to see all the deers in Nara Park. 
Note: The deer did not "kiss" Baby V, although the photo looks like it did. LOL

Secondly, I find that a baby carrier is more convenient to use during commute because a stroller takes up much more space inside a train. Pushing a stroller at subway stations during peak hour is kind of difficult too. While most subway stations are equipped with elevator, there are still times when I need help from M to carry the stroller up or down the stairs. Imagine the trouble when we have tons of  other things like baby bag, camera bag (M is an avid photographer that couldn't live without his DSLR :P), and occasionally shopping bags to carry. I totally ditched bringing the stroller out after 2 or 3 days of trying. Having said that, Japanese are extremely accommodating towards babies that we were offered help to carry stroller up or down stairs several times at subway stations.

Thirdly, some shops and restaurants simply don't have lots of space and room and hence, pushing a stroller would be troublesome. In such cases, I stayed with Baby V outside the shop while waiting M to shop, or the other way round.  

Last but not least, some places of attractions are simply not stroller friendly. This is particularly true in Kyoto. Gravel paths and infinity stairs in certain places really aren't helpful if you bring a stroller. T_T Since we also get around using buses when in Kyoto, bringing a stroller is really inconvenient. Imagine the trouble of folding the stroller, bringing it up and down buses repeatedly, and trying not to block the way of others in super-packed buses.

On our way to Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto, and this is a street somewhere around Ninenzaka. 

Night view of Enoshima shrine, Fujisawa. 

While I personally prefers to use a baby carrier, there are still places like zoos and theme parks that allow comfortable use of baby strollers. In fact, stroller rental is available in most of these places if you did not bring your own. Anyway, we skipped Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan this time because Baby V is too young for any rides at 11 months old plus. T_T If we happen to visit Japan again when Baby V is older, I will definitely cover theme parks, and most importantly, rent matching mom and kiddo kimono in Kyoto to play Japanese for a day. :P

Aren't these lovely? <3

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