People who have lived here (Tokyo) or traveled for extend period of time will understand that is not an easy task to accomplish.
Underneath all the politeness of the Japanese clerks and shops, residents and commuters in Tokyo are very highly stressed. It is not one but a myriad of reasons why this is but Tokyo is generally considered a difficult place to raise a child, reason including cost, environment, commute, education philosophy, competitiveness, etc. But as a foreigner/gourmet living in Tokyo for a few years, I would like to add one more aspect - how you are shut out of gourmet restaurants if you have a kid.
This comes in two ways, either a classy restaurant stating outright they don’t accept kids under a certain age, or it’s simply the crowded-ness or rowdiness, or smoking/drinking environment that passively turns you away. Either way, when first realizing this after having a new born here, I was shocked to find out. Coming from Taiwan and having lived in the Hong Kong and U.S. each for a few years, I have never noticed such unspoken rules.
Always having a passion to discover local good foods as I am, this started me on a mission to find and give positive comments to places that allow children, or even better, allow children & parents with children to have a good time dining. Not talking about chain family restaurants, although I appreciate their existence as a parent.
Below is an example, Ikkaku in 2018 established Tokyo Midtown Hibiya.
The style of food is “Izakaya” which used to be drinking and snacking places for salary workers in town. Since pregnancy, we have not been able to visit this style of restaurant as they are often crowded, noisy, and sometimes filled with smokers. That is great in its own way, just not for family. However, at this new restaurant, we were able to enjoy great tasting snack foods and drinks in a really brightly-lit and spacious environment. My wife and I were both very touched reminiscencing our pre-child days.
While building my own personal list, I do hope one day there will be a community or “Child-friendly Restaurant Map” of Tokyo which I can turn to and not have to worry about being turned-away or passively stared at for bringing a child while eating. And long term I do hope this community/mission will bring about some changes to the city and its restaurants to be more open to families. But really, not through online bullying (with bad reviews etc.), just through positive praising to model restaurants. I hope.