Buying nappies/diapers in Japan while on the go ( or on holiday) isn’t always as easy as you might expect. Shops in the middle of major cities are small and big boxes of nappies take up significant shelf “real estate” and, for this reason, not many stores have large amounts of stock.
For this reason, I’ve written this blog post to help you get out of a messy situation as quickly as possible – oh and I say this again in this post but just to emphasize from the get-go, if coming to Japan on holidays, I recommend packing approx 3-5 days worth of diapers – just so you don’t spend that adjustment period in a search frenzy.
I talk about nappy shopping in my ‘Baby related products I buy in Japan’ post here but since I get so many diaper questions, I thought I’d make a separate post with more detail.
Did you know you can have a box of baby-related essentials delivered to your hotel?
There is beautiful business run by Claire (from the UK but lives in Japan) who can organise for a box of diapers and anything else you may need – even sticker books or thermometers, sunscreen to be waiting for you at your hotel (!!) You can even ask for her advice on certain items. The company is called “Little Nomads Japan.” Details here.
DON’T FORGET TO DOWNLOAD THE MAMAPAPAMAP app to find change tables, toilets and breastfeeding spaces all over Japan!
Nappies /Diapers
If you’re wondering where to buy diapers in Tokyo? I recommend, regardless of where you are – googling the following stores and seeing what is closest to you:
-Babies R Us/ Toys R Us
-AkachanHonpo (kind of like a Japanese version of Toys R Us.)
-Don Quijote (some stores stock nappies)
Uber Eats: Some of my readers have recently told me that they have been able to order diapers on Uber Eats while in smaller towns! Use the search word “diapers” or オムツ when searching.
In many of my area guides I mention drug stores that do stock nappies so you can also search by area on my blog here (for example “Ueno with kids” etc.)
These shops are spread around the city pretty well so you could take a cab there in an emergency. Or if it’s less of an emergency, you could ask where the closest drugstore is. Drugstore is pronounced drugstore here (dorraggu sutoaa) and see what sizes they have on offer.
Please be warned : diapers in central, central, central Tokyo (I’m talking around and inside the Yamanote/city loop line) are not always the easiest to get your hands on. Drugstores and supermarkets don’t have a lot of space so sell out fast. Also, sometimes they are sold on the second floor of a teeny drugstore and I’ve been unable to get up there with a kid and a stroller.
If you’re coming to Japan on vacation, I would make sure that you have at least 5 days worth of diapers packed. I know thats a lot. (Trust me, my kids are close in age so we had two in nappies for, what felt like, forever and that meant we had literally half a suitcase of nappies with us. But, guess what? There is then more space for shopping on the way home, right?
Also, it just meant that we didn’t have the pressure of hunting down diapers on the first few precious days ( especially if we were also dealing with jet lag – we did NOT need more worries. )
If you have an emergency and just need nappies/ diapers in the centre of Tokyo immediately, jump in a taxi and go to Babies R Us in Ikebukuro inside of Sunshine City Shopping Mall or Toys R Us in Odaiba or Toys R Us at Skytree. Use google maps to see which option is closest to you.
Extra Tip:
In Japan, pull ups are called ” Pants Type” and the stick on types are called ” Tape Type”
Incase you have any communication concerns..
Pants type in Japanese is pronounced PANTSU TAIPU or you could just show them this パンツタイプ
And Tape Type is pronounced TEIPU TAIPU or you could just show them this テープタイプ
FOR US – we switched to PANTS TYPE (aka pull ups) really early for my little boy. Firstly because he was a big baby but also because my kids are close in age so just having one type of nappies for both kids was easier. I also find Japanese pull ups to be robust, comfy and such good quality that we had so much less leakage. It also made toilet training a bit easier for us as they can be pulled down and used like underwear.
The pull ups in Japan also tear easily at the side so it’s easy to take them off a younger child like you would a tape type nappy while they are lying down.
Top left: Pampers テープtype (tape type – aka, stick on type nappies) in sizes S & M.
Second shelf:
Pampers パンツ Pants Type (aka pull-ups) in sizes L & “Big”
Third row: Pampers tape type in the “No Leaks: My First Pants!” version, In Sizes S, M and Bigger than Big.
Bottom row; Same as above but in L size.
To the right you can see they also stock the Merries Brand.
This picture was taken in Tsuruha Drugstore in Koenji.
The Moony Brand of Nappies, Pull-up (Pantsu) type in L size , Goon Brand “Soft Touch” Nappies in Pull-up (Pantsu) type in L size, (it’s hard to see but the black and purple packaging in the top right on this image are Night-time Pull ups in Size Big (12kg-17kgs)
Second helf:
Goon Nappy Brand Extra Absorbent type (Pull-Up Pantsu Type Sizes M & Big.
Third Shelf:
Merries Brand Pantsu Pull-Up Type in sizes, S, Bigger than Big (15-28kgs) . MamyPoko Brand Large M Size for children who are 13 kgs.
Bottom Shelf:
More Merries and MamyPoko.
This photo was taken at Tsuruha Drugstore in Koenji.
Top shelf: Pampers. The options with the small dark green & yellow labels (yellow is for newborns) label that says テープ are the non-pull up types & the small red label indicates the pull up type (see the kg guidance for sizing just below the coloured labels eg. 6-12 kgs. This is one of the reasons I recommend in this blog post knowing your child’s height and weight in kgs & cms ahead of travelling to Japan.)
Second shelf: Moony brand, pull up type, size “big”
Merries brand nappies on this shelf are all pull up type for all different sizes (below the M, L and BIG labels are the kg size guidance info) The right-hand packet is the XXL size pullups for kids 15-28 kgs. These are the night time nappies
Second from the bottom shelf: Tins to the left are Wakudo brand formula, the small boxes are diaper bags, Merries nappies on this shelf are the tape (non-pull up) type in newborn, S and M sizes
Bottom shelf: Morinaga brand formula, I can’t see what the small green item is, the Moony green product are wet wipes (as are the other green, red, blue and yellow items here.
The other two Pampers packs are the pull up type (aka “pants type” in Japan)
The darker package of Pampers with the little tiger are nighttime diapers & the next pack along are incontinence nappies designed for adults.
The next shelf down: Merries (as pictured above) and the largest of the packs here is the biggest size of pull up Merries.
Pictureed: Merries tape type S size for kids 4-8kgs, M size for 6-11kgs, Pampers newborn tape type
Second shelf: Merries pants (pull up) type big and bigger than big (bigger than big size is for kids 145-28kgs, Pampers pants (pull up) type M size for kids who are 6-12 kgs.)
Pictured: Merries Premium (extra soft) range tape type S size (for babies 4-8kgs) , M size pants (pull up) type for babies 6-11kgs, Merries tape type for newborns.
Second shelf: Merries M size pants (pull up) type, L size pants type.
Bottom shelf: Moony M size 6-12 kgs pants (pull up type), L size pants (pull up) types 9-14kgs.
Top shelf: Hagukumi baby formula, Aqualyte Ion-replenishment water for infants, barley tea for babies, fish rice cakes with added iron.
Second shelf: Fish crackers for babies 12 months+, Shrimps crackers for babies 12 months+ with added calcium, Japanese style bento baby food (for 9 months+), Japanese style “children’s lunch” baby food for babies 12 months +, Japanese style “baby lunch” baby food for babies 7 months+.
Third shelf: Banana cookies for babies 9 months+, Biscuits with added iron for babies 9 months+, Animal Biscuits for babies 9 months+, Sweet Potato Cookies for babies 9 months+. Pumpkin Cookies for babies 9 months+, Round Egg Ball Crackers for babies 7 months+
Fourth shelf: Moony baby wipes, Merries nappies (pull up type) in size L for babies 9-14 kgs.
Fifth shelf: Goon nappies, soft touch nappies in pull up and tape types in various sizes.
Bottom shelf: Goon nappies for newborns, Goon nappies for sensitive skin in tape and pull up types.
On the flip side, if you’re out of the city and near a bigger supermarket, you shouldn’t have any problems finding diapers at all. ( This cheat sheet’ will help you with the Japanese vocabulary for travelling around little babies in Japan.)
I never regret having too many nappies. If my kids get sick, even if they are fully toilet trained? I put them in a nappy – just to make them more comfy and quick to change if we have an accident.
I also put newly toilet trained kids in nappies (over their underwear, if they were offended) when on planes ( see my Flying with Kids tips) and also when at Disneyland or somewhere we may have to wait for a loo ( other important Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea tips.)
We buy Merries nappies. Best quality nappies we have ever found.
I buy ours on Amazon. Our kids call them “the comfy nappies”
And for wipes we buy Kirkland or Pampers (purchased at Costco or Amazon Japan) but they can also be found at Japanese drugstores.
WHAT SIZES DO JAPANESE DIAPERS GO UP TO? (ie. IS IT EASY TO BUY LARGER DIAPERS IN JAPAN?)
As I mentioned in my “what to pack for Japan with kids” blog post – it is good to know the height and weight of your kids in metric before coming to Japan. Nappies/Diapers sizes in Japan are determined by the weight of the child. The “tape type” nappies are relatively easy to find for children under 14kgs.
Some brands cater for children up to 28kgs in the pull up types. If your child is bigger than 15 kgs it is harder to find diapers when just on the go so please use the shops I’ve suggested in this article or plan to have Amazon Japan ship some to your hotel.
Merries brand nappies; M size (6-11kgs) Pull up type, L size (9-14kgs) Pull up type, Big size (12-22kgs) Pull up type
Bottom shelf:
Mamypoko L size (9-15kgs) Pull up type, Big size (12-22kgs) Pull up type.
Middle shelf : Merries nappies (Big Size: 15-25kgs) , green bag are hand & face wipes, Moony product = flushable wipes, green Moony packet = soft wet wipes
Bottom shelf:
Pull up Mamypoko brand nappies, red packet = soft wet wipes, blue and white packet = paper towels.
Top shelf: Merries pants type (pull-ups) for kids 6-11kg (M size), 9-14kgs (L size), 12-22kgs (Big XL size), Moony tape type diapers (non-pull-ups) M sizes and then pants types (pull ups) M & L size.
Middle shelf: Baby Pants pull ups. L size for children 9-14kgs, Baby Pants pull ups Big size for kids 12-22kgs, Bigger than Big size for children 12-28kgs. Moony pull ups L size for 9-14kgs.
Bottom shelf: Mamy Poko Long Wear style Pants type (aka pull ups) for children 9-15kgs, Pampers tape type and pants (aka pull ups) type
This photo was taken at 24 hour supermarket Max Valu near Tokujiro no Yado – a beautiful Japanese home that I recommend for families staying in Osaka here.
LOOKING FOR WHERE TO BUY DIAPERS / NAPPIES IN THE TOKYO DISNEY AREA?
If it’s the day you’re visiting Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo Disneysea, I recommend buying them inside the Baby Centre inside the Disney Parks.
However, if you’re looking for places to purchase nappies outside of the parks, I recommend going to Tomods Drugstore on the second floor of the Ikspiari complex outside of Tokyo Disneyland (opens at 10am) or at Drug Seims Drugstore in Urayasu which is 5 mins in a cab, approx 900 yen, from Tokyo Disneyland (opens at 8am.)
LOOKING FOR WHERE TO BUY DIAPERS / NAPPIES NEAR NARITA AIRPORT?
There are some options in the Narita Aeon Mall.
See here for tips on purchasing baby food in Japan
If you’re looking for where to buy nappies in Osaka – I recommend going to Toys r Us at Namba Parks shopping mall.
Side note: there is an adorable playcentre inside Namba Parks called Dadway Play Studio. Read all about it here.
If you’re looking for where to buy nappies in Kyoto – I recommend Aeon Mall Kaede Mall near Kyoto Station.
Where to buy nappies in Osaka?
If, while in Osaka you need to buy baby related items such as nappies / diapers I recommend going to the large shopping mall called
Namba Parks Shopping Mall.
Within Namba Parks are also lots of lovely places to change baby and there is a big Toys R Us and Babies R Us (selling lots of nappies and baby food etc.)
DON’T FORGET TO DOWNLOAD THE MAMAPAPAMAP app to find change tables, toilets and breastfeeding spaces all over Japan!
How to prevent bedtime accidents in Japan?
Many larger drugstores (and Amazon Japan) stock these disposable bed covers. They are called “Anshin Sheets” (translates to “peace of mind” sheets.). Some parents even like to put these under diapers to prevent leakages.
See here for my blog post on toilet training tips while on holidays in Japan.
Did you know you can have a box of baby-related essentials delivered to your hotel?
There is beautiful business run by Claire (from the UK but lives in Japan) who can organise for a box of diapers and anything else you may need – even sticker books or thermometers, sunscreen to be waiting for you at your hotel (!!) You can even ask for her advice on certain items. The company is called “Little Nomads Japan.” Details here.
