Although the Japanese government is always announcing plans supposed to alleviate the declining birthrate by making child-raising more attractive, going out and about with small children can be difficult in this country.
When it comes to eating out, the options are generally limited to fast-food joints or the ubiquitous family restaurant chains. Recently, however, there are a number of cafes and restaurants that strive to go the extra mile, promoting themselves as "child-friendly." This week's topic comes from reader N, who was decidedly unimpressed with the service encountered at one such establishment when she and her friend took their young babies out for lunch.
"At this cafe, both adults ordered a full set lunch and separate drinks," N writes. "We sat down to eat and our babies were provided with high chairs, but when we brought out our own food we were pounced upon by the manager, who said that we were not allowed to feed our babies our food. The only thing we were 'permitted' to feed our babies were packets of prepackaged baby food that she had on display.