Japan’s Pregnancy Freebies: A How-To Guide

October 6, 2020

One of the most fun things about pregnancy is signing up for maternity and baby freebies.. and there are so many available in Japan!

Through signing up for free in-store point cards and online registrations, we were able to collect 25 free diapers of various sizes, as well as sample packs of baby wipes, cookies, soap, laundry detergent, toilet cleaning wipes, disposable nursing pads, lotion, supplements, and more!

Following are some of my favorite freebies that we signed up for so far on our pregnancy journey:

Baby’s R Us

Baby’s R Us is available inside of most Toys R Us in Japan, and branches can often be found at malls.

When you register for a point card and share that you are expecting, you can not only receive a gift bag full of fun stuff, but if you bring your child and maternity handbook, you can also receive a coupon booklet for discounts at the store.

Some of the goods we received that are pictured below include a gift bag, formula sample (which we don’t plan to use), disposable nursing pads, diapers, lotion, bath soap, laundry detergent, and so on.

Akachan Honpo

Akachan Honpo is a popular baby and maternity store in Japan. Although some items can run a bit on the pricey side, one of the pluses of this store is that you can register for a point card and receive a gift bag full of goods if you are expecting.

Useful tip: if you are planning on making any big purchases at this store, you may want to delay your pregnancy registration until you are prepared buy something big.. because when you register, you can receive time-sensitive coupons that are good for that day.

I was surprised at just how much stuff we received.. including a reusable shopping bag, lots of diaper samples, disposable nursing pads, a cute keychain, and more. A plus for me was that the bag and keychain included 4-leaf clovers, which was a fun coincidence, since our baby is due in March!

Amazon Japan

We are using Amazon Japan to set up our registry. Amazon has come a long way in Japan within the past few years, and recently started offering a welcome box when you set up an online registry.

There are some slight catches: you (or someone you share the list with) must purchase at least 770 yen of goods off of your registry before you can qualify, and you must add at least one item from various categories to your registry (e.g. bathing, bedding, healthcare, safety).

Another plus of setting up a registry with Amazon is that you can qualify for a “completion discount“, which can apply toward selected items from the baby, beauty, grocery, drugstore, toys, and maternity departments. You become eligible for the discount 60 days prior to the baby’s due date. For more info. on the completion discount, see here.

Our Amazon haul was by far the best of the bunch.. it included MANY different diaper samples (including some that are organic), various baby wipes, toilet cleaning wipes, baby cookies, and more. The thing I appreciated was the volume and usefulness of the samples.

We are planning on using cloth diapers, but using disposables for the first few newborn weeks and during longer trips or when family babysits. Any additional stock of disposables for the early days is helpful and money-saving!

Merries Diapers

Merries diapers offers a lottery that you can enter online. We almost didn’t register for this, since Masashi was wary of the word “lottery”, and felt that our chances of winning might be low.. however, I encouraged him to give it a try, and soon after we received a package of free samples!

When you register for the lottery, you can select what sizes you would like to try if you win. Our samples came with 3 packs of newborn diapers, as well as baby lotion, a simple photo frame, and a booklet of coupons for Merries diapers at a variety of different stores.

You can find out more about how to register for Merries samples here.

To snag more diaper discounts and samples, you may want to browse the websites of popular baby brands in Japan.. for example, sometimes Moony and Goo.n offer temporary sample campaigns!

Totsukitoka

Totsukitoka is a Japanese pregnancy app that offers one free sample when you sign up. You can select from a few possible choices, and I decided on a child and maternity handbook cover.

When you become pregnant, you will receive a “child and maternity handbook” from your local city office. This document is very important, so you will want to keep it safe. Many women in Japan purchase a handbook cover to do just this.. but by signing up for Totsukitoka here, you can get one delivered for free.

Disney World of English

If you are a Disney lover that also desires to have your baby grow up as a bilingual English-Japanese speaker, you can receive a sample present through Disney World of English (see here to register).

I have been a fan of Disney since as early as I can remember, so I was excited to sign up for this sample! The pack comes with a CD of sample songs, a sample DVD, a song book with illustrations, a Minnie Mouse tote bag, as well as information on the Disney World of English program.

Baby Calendar

Baby Calendar offers a motherlode of freebies!

You can receive a dotted or striped child and maternity handbook cover, a children’s book, as well as a lottery chance to win 3,000 yen in JTB gift certificates and a baby food guide (あんしん、やさしい最新離乳食オールガイド) when you register here.

Plus, when you sign up, you will be offered the opportunity to register for many other freebies and coupons, and even a free trial of bottled water delivery services! You can choose whether or not you want to apply for each additional freebie / discount / coupon / trial.

Offers may change in the future, but when I registered I was able to apply for the following:

A diaper pouch from Merix
A 1,000 yen coupon off of the Combi Mini website
A financial planning book (赤ちゃん誕生で　かかるお金、もらえるお金) by Nissen Life Co., Ltd.
A notebook case and coupon gift from Sommelier
A customizable photo calendar by Famm
A digital pregnancy and childbirth financial planning booklet, and a lottery entry for a roll cake, through the Newton Financial Group
A 300 yen coupon toward Famm new year’s cards

If you sign up for and log in to the Baby Calendar app (see here), you can also be entered into another lottery for a 3,000 yen Amazon gift card.

After I receive the items I applied for, I will be updating this post! ^_^

Madonna

Madonna offers organic maternity and baby samples that you can register for here.

The samples I received from this company included body serum (a stretch mark cream), body firming gel, bust serum gel, two types of baby skin creams, and a maternity vitamin supplement (folic acid, heme iron, and DHA).

Although all of the samples are small in volume, it is nice to have an opportunity to try out multiple organic products for free!

Mitete

AFC offers a free sample of Mitete health supplement, which you can order here.

The supplement includes 28 tablets (a 7-day supply) of folic acid. Folic acid is one of the recommended supplements for pregnant women (for more information on folic acid, see here).

In addition to offering a supplement sample, you can also receive a sample of Mitete maternity cream through the link here.

Orbis

This is a sample that is more mom than baby-focused. It’s important for a new mom to take care of herself, too!

The Orbis company offers unique free samples that are customized based on your skin type. After taking a self skin check (see here), you can choose from sample options that apply exactly to your skin care needs!

I received samples of face wash, moisturizer, and acne care.

The samples are small in volume, but it’s still fun to try out a variety of products for free! On a personal note, the samples also worked really well with my skin.

Kewpie Baby

Does anyone remember Kewpie baby dolls? In Japan, Kewpie is still popular!

However, here it is not well known for its history as a comic character or baby doll, but as a brand of mayonnaise (better than “Best Foods”, in my opinion!), salad dressing, and baby food, as well as baby lotion and soap products.

Kewpie Baby offers a free face and body lotion sample that you can apply for here.

Natural Science

Natural Science offers a plethora of samples from its Mama & Kids line of products.

I received sample sunscreen, two types of shampoo, maternity cream, several types of lotion, nipple cream, kale drink powder, as well as a coupon for 1,000 yen off Natural Science products.

We discovered this set of samples through happy-premama, which also offers other present application opportunities (including some that we previously mentioned via different links), here.

Pigeon

Pigeon is one of the most popular brands of baby and maternity products in Japan, and they certainly do not disappoint with maternity and baby freebie offerings!

I received a sample of maternity cream, baby milk lotion, liquid laundry soap, nipple cream, a formula sample (we do not plan on using formula, but will save this for emergencies), disposable nursing pads, and multiple supplements.

To check Pigeon’s current sample present offerings, visit the link here.

カラダノート + Barabapapa

カラダノート (Karada Noto) has teamed up with the famous Barabapapa (that is a mouthful!!) characters to offer a free present and lottery of various baby and home items.

I selected the plastic bib present below, which also came with a sheet explaining the various stages of pregnancy, as well as a developmental milestone “bingo card” to check off for ages 0-1 and 1-2 years old.

To enter the lottery and select a free gift item, click here.

Baby Come

ベビカム (Baby Come) offers several “monitor” opportunities for moms, where you can receive sample products in return for reviews. However, they also offer a monthly lottery where 30 people can win a free sample set of skincare products!

I applied for the lottery, and was able to receive the Happy Skin Care Set below. It included a book on how to bathe infants, as well as a pack of baby milky lotion, and bath soap.

To apply for a monitor opportunity or sample lottery, see here.

Belle Maison

Belle Maison is a company that offers a variety of products at affordable prices including clothing for pregnancy and postpartum, infant outfits, home items, skincare items, outfit accessories, and more.

They also feature a lottery of baby and maternity items, as well as the opportunity to register for a free present!

I received a “baby board” that features spaces to write baby’s birthday, weight, and height after his birth, as well as a set of “Mama” and “Papa” books, which include places to journal about baby and ask your partner questions.

I thought that this was a unique gift, as I have not yet seen any other free items geared toward prompting discussions between new parents!

To apply for this lottery and gift set, visit here.

Other samples:

Rakuten: I am in the process of applying for the Rakuten Mama sample box, which is a lottery system with 150 winners per month. If I am able to receive a box, I will update this post later! (:

Medibaby: offers monthly lotteries for baby moisture cream. Click here to check their latest sample campaigns.

Do you know of more maternity or baby freebies in Japan (or any digital downloads offered worldwide) which we can add to this list?

Please leave a comment below!

Photo credits: (c) theharunafamily.com