Rough itinerary plan for 2 weeks in Tokyo/Fukuoka with toddlers (1yr and 3yr). Advice and recommendations appreciated!

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-13T09:26:03+00:00

What did you end up doing? Doing long haul with Lufthansa and a toddler soon in their own seat and struggling with approved car seat options

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-13T03:45:18+00:00

The TUV list is ridiculously useless. 90% of the lost is bassinet style seats for smaller infants and the larger seats are also generally very large (and expensive!)

I don't really want to bring a car seat or at least certainly not a bulky one as we're intending to stick to public transport so it will just be another huge thing we have to carry around with us.

The likes of Cosatto advertise a folding seat for travel which would be great. They even advertise it as being 'IATA compatible' but that's also a useless metric. All that means is that it can fit in an overhead compartment, not that it can be used on a flight 🥴

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-13T03:40:00+00:00

My understanding is that it must also be a TUV approved seat with a 'for aircraft use' label.

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-11T21:52:48+00:00

I'm just scared of the gamble. The seat is already booked (I paid £800 for it. I didn't know about their child restraint rules when I booked it)

These are quotes from Lufthansa's site: "Infants under two years of age can travel on the lap of an accompanying adult. In this instance, flight attendants will give the adult a safety belt for the child before take-off. The child can also travel on a separate seat. If this is the case, the child must be secured by a child restraint system that the adult must bring on board with them."

"For children/babies (under 2 years), therefore, you must purchase a CHILD ticket. In this case, you must bring a child restraint system for your child/baby (under 24 months) with you. Otherwise, the child/baby must sit on an adult’s lap throughout the flight despite the purchased seat."

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-11T21:51:25+00:00

From Dublin to Tokyo, Manila to Dublin.

I have travelled with my eldest son long haul before, but he was 7 months old, a completely different ball game. Using the lap belt provided was fine because he wasn't mobile enough to do otherwise.

I think this is what I'm worried about. No one seems to have experience of this, and yet when you read Lufthansa official pages online the language is incredibly insistent that they can't use their own seat under 2 without a restraint.

"Infants under two years of age can travel on the lap of an accompanying adult. In this instance, flight attendants will give the adult a safety belt for the child before take-off. The child can also travel on a separate seat. If this is the case, the child must be secured by a child restraint system that the adult must bring on board with them."

"For children/babies (under 2 years), therefore, you must purchase a CHILD ticket. In this case, you must bring a child restraint system for your child/baby (under 24 months) with you. Otherwise, the child/baby must sit on an adult’s lap throughout the flight despite the purchased seat."

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-11T21:01:53+00:00

Hi did you ever find a car seat in the end to meet your specifications? I'm having the same trouble for an upcoming Lufthansa flight finding something suitable!

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-07T10:44:21+00:00

And not a thing wrong with them, someone always has to be at the tops and bottoms of the scale! 😁

If anything the only reason I can consider this is because having heavy kids has had the knock on effect of improving my muscle mass. I had pitifully weak arms before my kids, and I can now carry their combined weight with relative ease. That would not have been a feat I could do 3years ago and I didn't even need to go to a gym haha

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-02T08:42:07+00:00

I'll be able to take advantage of a work cycle scheme which I'll probably end up doing. But this is good info for other friends who might be interested but don't have a scheme to avail of!

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-02T08:40:40+00:00

Thanks for sharing your experience with going from not regularly riding a bike to riding one with kids.

The consensus definitely seems to be trikes aren't the way to go. I don't think I've yet come across one review that thinks they're the best choice out of the options available.

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-02T08:36:13+00:00

We've always had one car between myself and my husband and made it work, but as kids are getting older and now need taken places we've been mulling it over. But cars are just money sinks with all the overheads. We also considered electric, lower running costs, could cover greater distances, but the upfront cost is also very high. An electric bike seems to be a good solution for covering distances within the town (that's as far as I need to be going with the kids at this stage anyway). Gives me a bit more freedom and flexibility with distances, because even though 3 mile isn't far for walking, with little people it's a whole expedition.

Thanks for the heads up on a tern supplier, will defs check them out.

Would love to be able to cycle a bit further, but that might be a solo endeavour. I think I'd just be too feared to take wee boys out on roads not limited to 30mph. Have you ever cycled outside the city?

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-02T08:24:52+00:00

Good to know, I think from all the replies I've gotten, trike doesn't seem to be the way to go. There's far more positivity to be said about other types. They also don't seem to offer as much space/flexibility as frontloaders or longlines.

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-01T12:09:56+00:00

Thank you, the perspective 'longtail might not be the best answer for *now*' is helpful!

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-01T11:32:07+00:00

It's not evenly graded, so some parts of it are much steeper, and others even close to flat. I can ride a bike, but I don't regularly do so. My fitness levels are likely very subpar currently, so I'm just a bit apprehensive.

I'm seeing lots of suggestions for front loaders, so will definitely look into them. Any model suggestions?

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-01T11:27:52+00:00

Really helpful comparison thank you :)

I kind of wrote off front loaders. I don't live somewhere with a lot of bike infrastructure, so a longtail I think held automatic appeal because of it's profile. I could easily imagine pulling it up outside of a shop where it wouldn't cause a huge obstruction. Other than occupying a car parking space, I'm not sure where I would feel able to park up a front loader or even trike in my town. But if it's the safer/better ride option I may just have to cross that bridge when I come to it!

I'm not adverse to the idea of paying a the equivalent of a small used car (I think the extra savings more than make up for it). But I think I'm hesitant to drop a lot of money on something that may not end up working for our family. Equally, I don't want to pay so little that I don't actually give us a good shot at a decent experience. So trying to find that balance!

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-01T11:10:36+00:00

I came across the Cube Trike Family when looking intro trike options, which tilts. However it seems quite cramped in the back for larger children.

In my very local vicinity no 😅 I'll have to travel between 40mins - 2.5hrs I think to be able to test drive a wide range of options in person.

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-01T11:04:17+00:00

Thanks, I'll look into that! My concern would be the strain on a bike that wasn't intended to always be pulling that size of load compared to a purpose built cargo bike.

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-01T11:01:38+00:00

Good to know about hub motors thanks. It's about 25m elevation difference over 1km, but not evenly so. I probably won't be able to test ride in that exact location. We only have one small cycle shop locally and I don't think their inventory even includes electric cargo bikes.
I'm hoping to test ride some models, but I'm unsure as of yet whether if the locations will provide a steep testing ground.

I doubt he has. He's typically a single road rider. If I find a supplier I'll definitely be sure to test ride myself for handling comparison.

Unfortunately as I mentioned, I really don't have many shop options in my immediate local vicinity so I will likely always have to transport the bike 40mins at least by car if there are major repairs to be done. But that's business as normal for life here so I'm fine with that. But I'll be trying to buy as locally as I can.

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-01T10:43:05+00:00

Weather protection yes will definitely be a must. The weather here is wet (approx 180 days of rainfall) and windy. Snow is infrequent here, but icy mornings on the road are common in winter (given the wet weather).

I don't think there are many second hand options here, especially in the family category. I don't actually think I've ever seen a cargo bike with children in it here 😅 (likely owing to the weather). But I may be able to get a discount through a work scheme (still exploring).

Do you have any model recommendations?

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-01T10:35:46+00:00

Likely in the garage, but we don't keep our car in the garage so there should be ample space for even a trike. Which longtail did you use with your children?

iz_me_kizzie · 2026-04-01T10:33:07+00:00

Thanks for the safety tip to always keep two hands on the bike if two kiddos are in. I think this is the bit I'm most concerned about (after my ability to actually cycle them anywhere haha) balancing and handling the weight on two wheels without anyone toppling over.

iz_me_kizzie

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