Traveling on the Azusa Express With a Baby in Japan

This time, I’d like to share our experience riding the Azusa Express with our 4–5-month-old baby.

It was our baby’s first long-distance train trip, so we were honestly very nervous beforehand.😖

After actually taking the trip, we learned a lot, so I hope this review helps other parents traveling in Japan with a baby!



Things We Worried About Before the Trip

Unlike short local outings, long-distance train travel feels different because you can’t easily get off whenever you want.

Before boarding the Azusa Express, we especially wondered:

Whether the multi-purpose room could be reserve
If the Green Car would feel more comfortable with a baby

Where we would store our luggage and stroller
How difficult moving around the train would be

If you’re planning train travel in Japan with an infant, these were all things that mattered much more than we expected.

Can You Reserve the Multi-Purpose Room on the Azusa Express?

Before our trip, we called to ask whether we could reserve the multi-purpose room in advance.

The answer was no.😨

We were told that the room is prioritized for passengers with illnesses or medical needs, and families traveling with babies cannot reserve it ahead of time.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed because having access to the room would have felt reassuring.

However, knowing this in advance actually helped us prepare mentally and plan accordingly.

Instead of depending on the multi-purpose room, we prepared as though we would need to handle everything at our seats.


Things that helped us included:

Keeping frequently used baby items in a small easy-access bag
Knowing where we could briefly walk around with the baby
Preparing for feeding and soothing at our seats if necessary
 
 
We Chose the Green Car

We rode in Car 9 of the Azusa Express Green Car.🚃

Compared to ordinary train cars, the Green Car definitely felt more spacious and comfortable, especially when traveling with a baby.

Even having a little extra room around the seats made us feel much less stressed.

There was a luggage storage area between Cars 9 and 10, which fit our large suitcase perfectly.

That part was extremely helpful.

However, we also discovered an important limitation.

Our Cybex Melio Carbon stroller did not fit into the luggage storage area, even when folded.😖

This may have been because another large suitcase was already there, leaving limited space.

When traveling with a baby, luggage tends to increase quickly, so I would strongly recommend planning separate storage locations for your suitcase and stroller ahead of time.

Even in the Green Car, the Stroller Did Not Fit Through the Aisle

One thing that surprised us was that even in the Green Car, the stroller could not pass through the aisle between the seats.😖

We had to fold the stroller before reaching our seats.

If I had known this beforehand, boarding would have felt much smoother.

I had imagined the Green Car would feel much wider, but it still was not spacious enough to push a stroller directly to the seats.



Before boarding, it really helps to decide:

Where to fold the stroller
Who will carry the baby
Who will handle the luggage
Having these roles decided in advance makes the entire process much easier.


Taking Breaks Between Cars 9 and 10

Sitting in the same seat for a long time can feel tiring for both adults and babies.

Fortunately, the area between Cars 9 and 10 felt slightly more spacious, so we spent some time there looking out the window while holding our baby.

Even short moments of movement seemed to help our baby relax and change moods.



The multi-purpose room was also located in this area, but we never had the chance to ask the conductor to open it during either direction of our trip.

Since we didn’t need diaper changes or feeding support at that moment, we managed fine without it.

However, if an emergency had happened, my husband probably would have searched for the conductor immediately.

For diaper changes, there was an accessible restroom in Car 9 that appeared to have a diaper-changing station.

 
What We Learned from Riding the Azusa Express with a Baby

Here are the biggest things we learned from this experience:

The multi-purpose room could not be reserved in advance for families with babies
Even the Green Car aisles were too narrow for our stroller
Large suitcases fit in the luggage storage area between Cars 9 and 10
Our Cybex Melio Carbon stroller did not fit in the luggage storage area
It is safest to assume you will need to fold the stroller before reaching your seats
The area between Cars 9 and 10 was useful for short breaks and changing scenery
Overall, once we understood what to expect and prepared ahead of time, the trip felt much more manageable than we had feared.👶🚃

 
Final Thoughts

I hope this review helps other families planning train travel in Japan with babies around the same age!

Our baby carrier helped us a lot during long-distance train travel in Japan.
(This was not available on Amazon.com, so I'd like to share the link for Amazon.co.jp instead.)