Breastfeeding in Japan: Nursing Room Locator App

For any mothers who breastfeed but also for parents who bottle-feed and/or change diapers, it helps to know where you can go when out and about. I previously covered two helpful resources for finding nursing rooms in Japan, and in response, Annamarie sent me an email about a useful little app called Milpas.

The name might sound a little strange, but this app allows you to search for nursing room locations in Japan on your iPhone, in English (though, names and such are Japanese, as to be expected).

The main screen - you can add a photo if you'd like to fill the gray background.

As you can see on the main screen, you have options for "Nursing Locations," "Growth Diary" and "BBS." Personally I use a different app for growth and keeping track of everything (Total Baby, if you're interested - it's really helpful), but if you just want a simple place to keep track (not including your Mother and Child Health Handbook) you might find that feature useful.

BBS allows you to chat with other parents, although so far it doesn't seem like anyone really uses it.

In this post I want to focus on the "Nursing Locations" feature.

Once you click on "Nursing Locations," you have a few options, such as searching by nearest location (using location services on your phone), or searching by keyword. You can also bookmark locations, which will be saved under the "Bookmark" option above.

Choosing "Nearest Location" results in a list of places closest to your location - in Japanese.

You can also choose "View Map" (upper right corner under the "Nearest Locations" option), which will open Google maps and show pins of the listed nursing locations relative to where you are.

Choose any result and you are given the available information, including name, address, phone number, location at place (such as if it's in a building), what facilities it might have, hours and website (the latter two aren't shown in the following image - have to scroll down within the window for them).

The red words in English are mine, but you can bookmark the location, add it as a contact, open the location in maps with a marked route, or email the result to yourself or a friend.

Currently available only for iPhone. There is also a Japanese language version (search for ミルパス in the Japan iTunes store.) According to their about information they also have plans to expand the app to other countries as well.

Thanks to Annamarie for the tip!

If you have any suggestions for helpful apps you think other expats living in Japan would find helpful, please let me know.

Breastfeeding in Japan: Nursing Room Locators

At the date of this post, I'm still somewhat new to the whole breastfeeding thing (just as I was new to the pregnancy and childbirth thing...). I must admit, the idea of carrying on a normal life while breastfeeding (meaning, being able to go out and do things occasionally, not that I have much energy to...) was a bit daunting at first, and to be honest, still is on occasion. Especially right now as the little one is going through an eat-only-while-being-walked phase. Not rocked, but walked. And she ain't gettin' any lighter, that's for sure...

On the plus side of all this, breastfeeding is commonly practiced in Japan, and many places are breastfeeding-friendly (particularly department stores, as they often have nursing rooms), but it's still largely unexplored territory for me. It helps to read the experiences and knowledge of others, so if you have an experience to share, I'd love to hear it.

So, in my anxiousness figuring out this whole nursing thing while going out, I was curious if I could find any specific information on breastfeeding-friendly places in Japan, and lo and behold, I came across a couple independently-maintained sites with databases of places all over Japan that have a breastfeeding or baby room of some sort. The sites are all in Japanese, but for those who can't read it, I've made a quick guide below for how to navigate and understand them. As long as you know the kanji for the place you are going to, it's not so difficult. (And if you don't know the kanji, it helps to check the names on Google maps, since they show up in Romaji and then have the kanji underneath the name, or else just do an internet search and somewhere you should be able to find the kanji).

Also, these nursing rooms are helpful even if you're using formula, as many of them have hot water machines. That aside, they also usually have diaper changing stations. Good to know whether you're breast or bottle feeding your little one.

The first site is Ikusapo (育サポ), short for childcare support.