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Sassy Mama heads to the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan with suitcases & strollers

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We’re with the band! This week, family travel specialists and online magazine suitcases&strollers takes us on a family-friendly festival adventure in Japan.

A music festival might seem an unlikely place to travel to with children, but in Japan not only is this tolerated – it’s encouraged. The annual Fuji Rock Festival is an extremely family-friendly environment and caters for children to play and enjoy themselves in safe surrounds while parents rock to the tunes of Nine Inch Nails and Foals. If you love music festivals and travel, having children is no reason to stop attending. Fuji Rock Festival (26 to 28 July 2013) has an awesome international line-up – including Bjork, Fun. and Of Monsters and Men.

But before you start imagining head banging and drunken louts, the atmosphere is very chilled and relaxed. The Fuji Rock Festival is open to anyone people of all ages including kids. The only restriction is a curfew imposed on those under 18, but since it is 11pm, that’s hardly an issue with kids 12 and under.

It is well organised to ensure the environment is safe so everyone can enjoy themselves. Moshing and stage diving is prohibited. Smoking is restricted.

But most impressive of all are the facilities for the kids – there is a special covered families-only area so you are protected from the weather. The grounds are quite large so there are numerous options for places to sit back if you are concerned about the volume levels.

There is also a dedicated play area for children with a padded indoor space for tiny tots and an outdoor jungle gym and wet play area. These are not supervised so you will need to be there with your kids.

In addition, families have access to reserved portaloos where the queues are much shorter. The only downside is there aren’t any change tables, but there is plenty of grass to do nappy changes in the open air.

The Practicalities

While the whole event is well catered for families, you should still be prepared for some logistical hurdles. For instance, car-parking tickets must be purchased at the time of the entrance ticket – if you don’t reserve a car parking space you cannot drive your car to the festival. Even if you reserve your space, it could be several kilometers away from the venue, requiring transit via a shuttle. Similarly, accommodation is determined by a lottery and must be booked at the time of booking tickets. All of these difficulties can be made easier if you book as far in advance as possible.

Food is available but the queues can be long so pack snacks and food to bring with you. You cannot take umbrellas into the grounds, so pack wet weather ponchos and gear with you.

It’s advisable to leave the grounds at least half an hour before the last act finishes, as it can be quite crowded as everyone tries to exit at the same time.

Rock on, mama!

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