The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
With a baby, there are more considerations in choosing a place to eat. Food can be good, but the baby doesn’t have the patience for very long queues. And a cramped restaurant meant space was hard to come by for a baby chair. Nevertheless, it …
An elderly man sat diagonally opposite of me. Two girls in uniform stood near the door of the tram. They were talking in low voices in their beautiful Japanese language, without any cares in the world. I looked at my hubby opposite of me and …
You would have picked up bits and pieces of our Kyushu road trip experience in my previous articles: ‘Overview Northern Kyushu Itinerary‘, ‘Travelling with an infant‘, and ‘Fukuoka Airport to Nagasaki‘.
We took a highway bus from Fukuoka airport to Nagasaki and travelled around Nagasaki on foot, bus, and tram. Thereafter, we picked up the rental car and officially started our road trip from Nagasaki. With hubby behind the wheel, we drove from Nagasaki to Kumamoto, Mount Aso, Kurokawa, Yufuin and lastly to Fukuoka. We travelled from 21 February to 1 March 2018 (during winter).
This post is divided into 3 major parts:
Friends and online forums highly recommend ToCoo! website to compare rates across car rental companies and reserve the car online. Best part, the website is available in English: www2.tocoo.jp/en.
When choosing a car rental company, it is important to consider the pick-up and drop-off locations. And if you are travelling with a child, a baby car seat is another important consideration as it is required under Japanese law.
ToCoo! also has useful information, such as how to drive in Japan, and step-by-step instructions on how to pick up a car and return it.
ToCoo! also provides other paid services like roadside support (TAS, TWS), ETC card rental, Wi-Fi router rental, etc.
Our Rental Package
After shortlisting, we rented a car from Budget Rent-A-Car. We picked the car up at Nagasaki and returned it in Fukuoka. The pickup and drop-off locations are both relatively near where we were staying.
The car we rented is a Standard / Mid-sized car (Non-smoking) with a baby car seat. At the time of booking, ToCoo! gave us examples of the models we might be getting, like Corolla. However, the model cannot be specified until pickup.
Other than renting a car through ToCoo!, we bought a package from ToCoo! which includes roadside support, ETC card and Wi-Fi router. The ETC card is like Singapore’s cash card for ERP charges. With an ETC card, you can save up to 50% on toll fees, and it can be used on any highway in Japan, on any rental car with an ETC device. ToCoo! mailed the ETC card and Wi-Fi router to our hotel. You can also choose to pick them up from the airport.
Total Rental Fees
1) Fees from Budget Rent a Car: 33,716 yen* (S$414)
*Amount payable at the outlet when you pick up the vehicle.
2) Fees from ToCoo! package: 6,264 yen (S$77)
**Mandatory
Note: A cancellation fee will be charged on your credit card, including no-shows
3) Important: Holding charge by ToCoo! for toll fees
The holding charge will first be held on the credit card, and the unused amount will be released.
4) TOTAL ACTUAL PAID: 49,456 yen (S$608)
Where are we? Our hearts pounded fast with this question. We were driving up a meandering road lined with tall trees, and the narrow road had space for only one car. What if there’s an oncoming car? Then again, this path looked like a road less travelled. There was no car and no person in sight. Tall shadows loomed as little light filtered through the pockets of the canopy.
“Is it this way?” my hubby asked.
I studied the GPS map again, “Hmm,” and answered quite uncertainly, “Yup, it seems to be the way.”
We drove forward on tenterhooks. Casting a quick glance at the baby in the car, I prayed hard in my heart that nothing bad would befall us. Soon, we emerged into an opening, “I think it’s over there,” I said and pointed to a land with barren trees. Where was the supposedly bustling Yume Tachibana Plum Blossom Viewing Festival? Is the season over? Or are we at the wrong place? There was no one around for us to ask, no spread of plum flowers to enjoy.
Heading into the middle of nowhere, and after circling a bit in the rocky terrain, we concluded that the season had passed, and the flowers withered. Since we had nothing to do, and we had made a detour to reach here, we decided to make the best out of the situation. Baby was sleeping, and so we sneaked out of the car. Stepping out into the cold, we stretched our legs, breathed in the fresh air, and had a few precious minutes of couple time!
Driving out of that unknown land was as challenging as driving in, but hubby aced it! :)
“Eh, eh, eh…” Baby E woke up from her slumber and fidgeted in her car seat. It was a miracle she was sleeping in the car seat. Usually, she would latch to sleep and have me carry her while she slept, waking up when I transferred her to the car seat.
Anyway, it’s now time for me to entertain her with play and feed her with snacks! With a baby on board, I couldn’t be a passive passenger. If the moving scenery was not entertaining enough, I would be busy trying to keep down her crankiness and cries, and not disturb hubby from driving. The good thing was, at least if she’s out of control, she only disturbed us and not other people.
Travelling by bus around Kyushu seems relatively easy because of the well-developed bus system with the “Unlimited Bus Ticket in Kyushu”. However, throw a baby in the mix, and the car is definitely our first choice. It’s more convenient than the bus or train. No rush for timings. No lugging pieces of luggage up and down the bus or train.
“We passed by a big Don Donki earlier on,” my hubby said, “Let’s go there? I want to get an ice-cold drink.” Even though it’s winter, the day was hot, moreover, we were in the car the whole time.
“Ohh, I didn’t see it. Okay, let’s go!” The Don Don Donki (“Donki”) store opened in Singapore just a few weeks before our Japan trip. With no time to visit, this was a good chance for me to see what the big hoo-ha is about Donki.
We “dumped” all the stuff we didn’t need in the car and carried the few necessary items. In any case, we could simply head out to get the items we forgot to bring along. It’s awesome to finally travel light to shop because it was so cumbersome to carry so many bags in thick clothing. As we got ready at the carpark, the scene was strikingly familiar. I felt like I was in the US doing a road trip.
As we stepped into Donki, the smell of sweet potatoes wafted towards us. Reminder to self: Get the sweet potato before we leave. “Wah!” I exclaimed quietly, “It’s huge.” However, we had something more important to do first. We cut through the shop and went straight to finding a diaper changing room, and sincerely hoped they had. Baby E needed a diaper change.
Meandering through the empty aisles filled with all kinds of goods, from apparel to food to beauty products, we finally found the room deep in the shop. It’s Japan’s typical well-equipped toilet for wheelchair access and a diaper-changing area. Look out for the automated diaper bin in some of these toilets – slot the used diaper slightly at the machine opening, and it will suck the diaper in to be wrapped in plastic.
After our toilet break, we took our own sweet time to shop around the wide array of goods. I even think some of the items are cheaper than the Donki in major cities like Kumamoto and Fukuoka. And before we checked out, we had to get the sweet potato!
In Singapore, people get into the long queue just to get this. And so we got ourselves two piping hot sweet potatoes. There was no queue, and in fact, there was a pile of ignored sweet potatoes. Being so forgotten, I wondered if this was different from the one in Singapore? Guess not! Because it tasted delicious and Baby E loves it too!
“I think we can have our lunch here,” I spotted the unique standalone building of Ringer Hut, a short walking distance away from Don Donki. The place looked relatively crowded on the outside, and hence I assumed it should be quite popular. It looked like those fast food outlets found along US highways’ exits. “Let me Google if it’s an eatery.”
“Sure! Looks good,” my easy-going hubby replied.
“Oh, it sells Champon!” God heard my prayer. I wanted to try the Nagasaki champon dish while we were in Nagasaki, but for various reasons, we didn’t manage to have it. So now we passed by one unassuming eatery that specialises in Nagasaki dishes, Champon and Sara udon, and we made an unplanned stop to dig in! Ringer Hut is actually a worldwide chain restaurant, and can be found in places such as Bangkok, Taiwan and Hawaii.
The dishes came, and at first look, I was disappointed. There were too many vegetables for my liking. One mouth, and I knew this dish wasn’t for me. I tried to finish half a bowl and passed it to hubby. Moreover, being a fast food outlet with no frills, there’s no baby chair. So we had to take turns to carry Baby E while feeding her. The eatery was a bit warm too. The whole experience didn’t turn out to be good for me. At least the Gyoza side dish tasted not bad and…
I could say I’ve tried Nagasaki Champon!
Hope you enjoy this snippet of our experience! Now on to practical advice about driving in Japan.
There are 3 kinds of petrol in Japan: Regular, Premium, and Diesel. Find out the right fuel to use from the car rental company, because the wrong one might give problems to your car.
The pumping station is self-service, including payment. However, it’s all in Japanese, and hence we got the petrol attendant to help us out. We paid 4,650yen (S$57) the first time and 1,048yen (S$13) to top up just before we returned the car.
Rates
We had valet parking at our Kurokawa ryokan, and so we only had to settle the parking during our Kumamoto stay. There are numerous public paid car parks around our accommodation, and our Kumamoto Airbnb host gave us information on the two nearest car parks, which were also known as “タイムズ, Times Parking Lot.
The carpark we ended up in was using flap-lock parking. It’s one of the different types of parking in Japan. We had no idea how it worked, and there was no parking attendant. We finally figured out from other drivers, but not before wasting a coin because of language miscommunication. So familiarise yourself with such parking because you don’t want to be at a loss like us.
This is a good article about flap-lock parking, www.timescar-rental.com/beginner/stop.html. Or you can watch this instructional video:
There’s something else to consider when choosing the right carpark. Different carparks have different rates and methods of charging. For example, these are the rates for the two carparks nearest to our Kumamoto Airbnb:
In our case, we parked overnight and didn’t use it during the day, or for that matter, didn’t use it for our entire Kumamoto stay. That’s because the places we were headed to are all within walking distance. Hence, we went for the second option. If we had used it during the day, probably the first choice would be better.
So choose the right carpark. You can calculate the rates for the different carparks at the “Times Info” website (times-info.net), but you will have to translate the page. Otherwise, look out for the big pricing boards, which are usually at the carpark entrance.
That’s all I got to share. Have a fun road trip, make detours and find surprises, and enjoy the scenery. Chase after the sunset.
Before you go, you might want to look at my Overview Itinerary of Northern Kyushu, Japan (Winter/Spring 2018) or check out my other posts on Japan. Leave your comments or questions below. Love to hear from you. :)
Looking for more tips on travel, home, and baby? Subscribe to my mailing list and follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! If you like what you read here, keep it going with small support. :)
Disclaimer: JoogoStyle and Christina accept no liability (whether in tort or contract or otherwise) for any loss or damage arising from any use, misuse, inaccuracy or omission of the information or other contents published on this website.
We took a red eye flight from Singapore to Fukuoka with Singapore Airlines. When we arrived, we went straight from Fukuoka airport to Nagasaki. We travelled from 21 February to 1 March 2018. Here are a few options we considered for travelling from Fukuoka (International) …
It’s hard to travel light when you have a baby, unless you are a very chill parent, or you can afford to buy most things at your destination. To add to the load, travelling during winter meant more things to pack into the luggage. This post is …
I suppose you are planning a trip with your baby and that’s why you are here. Is it going to be the first time you are travelling with an infant? Then, read about my first travel experience with 8 month old baby during winter. If you are still undeterred, read on! :) I will highlight the important things to pack for baby travel, and generally how you can dress baby for winter.
This post is based on our 9 days of winter holiday, where we had 7 full days in Japan. The temperatures were hovering from 0 to 15 degrees. You can take a look at our itinerary.
Hubby and I shared 28″ luggage, while baby EG has her own 24″ luggage.
Other than our luggage, we brought our hand carry bags – a small sling bag for hubby, a big shoulder bag for myself and a diaper bag for baby EG. On our return, we used an expandable bag to bring back goodies from Japan. An expandable bag is useful to give that extra luggage space for your shopping buys.
Other baby gear you might consider bringing are a stroller and baby carrier. Bring a lightweight stroller, preferably a travel stroller like GB Pockit. You can fold it until it’s small enough to fit into the cabin, great way to reduce bulky and heavy luggage. If your travel destination is not stroller-friendly, especially in crowded cities like Hong Kong, bring along a baby carrier! Good to alternate it with the stroller.
Find out from your airline if they limit the number of free check-in for baby gear. Some limit, some don’t. This will give you an idea of how much the extra baggage fee will be. Other baby gear include a car seat and a baby cot.
To carry on board, pack your usual diaper bag, and definitely with more diapers! Count the diapers you will need from the moment you leave your house till you reach your hotel, plus extras in case of poo-mania. Another good to have is plastic bags to store soiled diapers in case you can’t find any bin.
If you don’t usually pack in hand sanitiser, you might want to. It comes in handy when you can’t find a room with a wash basin. Use it to clean your hands before and after diaper changes. Viruses are easily passed to one another through poo.
You might also want to pack in 1-2 extra sets of romper and bib to change out stained clothes, depending on the length of your journey. Extra shirt for the mum in case of milk spills, puke, or whatever that may come.
Bring a baby jacket, fleece romper and/or a blanket for extra warmth. It can get quite cold on the plane. Snacks are something I regretted not packing in. Food to keep the babies less hungry and to distract them during crying fits. You will also need their toys, teether, pacifier and/or blankie as other means of entertainment or distraction.
Other than the carry-on diaper bag, we prepared another diaper set to pack into the luggage for convenience’s sake. Diaper set that includes non-travel size diaper cream, wet wipes, diapers, etc.
We didn’t bring as many diapers and wet wipes as needed because we could get our usual brand in Japan, and cheaper! If you can’t find your usual brand at your destination, don’t under-pack and buy a new diaper brand. You wouldn’t know how the baby’s skin is going to react to it.
Toiletries set that includes body wash, oral wipes, towels, washcloths and others needed during bath time. Then there’s also the dry toiletries set you use after bath, things like lotion and sunblock.
With so many tiny pieces to bring along to layer the baby, packing can be quite hair-pulling. You have to pack more for winter too – the thermal innerwear, woollen hat, gloves and scarves.
One useful tip I picked up online is to pack the baby’s clothes by day. Prepare small ziplock bags and pack in the baby’s clothing set by day and label them ‘Day 1’, ‘Day 2’, etc.
I didn’t strictly stick to what I had planned. Sometimes when she didn’t sweat or dirty herself, I made her re-wear certain clothes, e.g. the leggings. I would still pack in this way in future because it made sure I didn’t bring fewer pieces than needed. It’s better to overpack than underpack for a baby.
Don’t forget to pack in the pyjamas!
Milk Feed
If your baby is feeding on the bottle, remember to bring enough milk bottles. You may want to bring sterilising tablets instead of a steam steriliser. Or if you have a kitchen at your destination, use microwave steriliser bags or the boil method.
If the baby is on formula, remember to bring a small stash of milk powder. Or a smaller stash if you are going to buy more at your destination. Make sure your usual formula brand is readily available and know where’s the nearest supermarket that sells it.
If you are nursing, bring your nursing cover to latch on the go.
If you are expressing milk, make sure you bring all the necessary parts of the breast pump. Not forgetting milk storage bags, ice packs, ice boxes or cooler bags, and other storage necessities. Wrapping aluminium foil around your milk bags supposedly will help to retain the coldness too.
If you’re exclusively expressing milk, put your frozen stash of milk packs in a cooler bag or ice box. Be sure to put in enough ice packs to keep your milk cold for the whole journey, from home to accommodation. To ensure hygiene, put your icebox or bag in another bag. For storage, check that there’s a freezer in your room when booking. If not, ask the hotel or hosts if they can keep them in their restaurant’s kitchen or own premises, preferably not with raw food.
If you are feeding formula or pumping milk, check that the kettle and fridge at the accommodation are working when you arrive. You don’t want to wait until the baby is crying for milk to find people to fix them.
Solid Feed
There are fewer things to pack for an infant who hasn’t yet started on solids. Usually, that means younger than 6 months old. If your baby is already on solids, staying in an accommodation with a well-equipped kitchen means you can bring fewer items such as a knife or peeler. It’s always a boon to stay near a supermarket!
For cooking, you can bring an electric lunchbox to cook in the hotel. You might also need a knife, baby scissors or a peeler to prep your food. Good to have baby dishwashing liquid and a sponge for cleaning up.
For eating, you need food storage containers or a lunchbox to bring the cooked food out, utensils, disposable bibs (baby EG tore it easily) and baby hand wipes or sanitiser to clean the baby’s hands.
For back up, bring along snacks, baby cereal, and food pouches. This is in case you don’t have time to buy ingredients or cook the food, or if you can’t find any good ingredients to buy at the supermarket.
Again, check that the fridge is working for you to store the fresh produce buys.
Most hotels provide baby cot or playpen for baby to sleep in, albeit a small fee. Hence, you need only to bring your crib sheet. But if you are booking an Airbnb, you might have to bring your own cot/playpen. That would also mean one big baby gear to bring along and around.
Other bedding items include blankets or swaddles for night sleep, swaddle for shading stroller, or clothes pegs to pin blanket/sheets to bassinet, or a big cloth to the cot, to block out light.
Most of the time, it’s not feasible to visit the doctor when you are on holiday. So bring along baby thermometer and medicine to self medicate first, such paracetamol, zyrtec, ibuprofen, and probiotics.
Let me know if I anything I missed out! Leave your comments and questions below. Before you go, you might want to check out my other baby travel tips: travel.joogostyle.com/tag/baby-travel.
Looking for more tips on travel, home, and baby? Subscribe to my mailing list and follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! If you like what you read here, keep it going with small support. :)
Disclaimer: JoogoStyle and Christina accept no liability (whether in tort or contract or otherwise) for any loss or damage arising from any use, misuse, inaccuracy or omission of the information or other contents published on this website.
Many people told us to go on a holiday as a couple, notably a babymoon, as much as possible before the little one arrived. Glad we took the advice and went for a last-minute babymoon trip to Taiwan. Travelling with a baby is a different …
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