I’m always surprised at how people react to my blog posts. In an earlier post, I made a brief mention about how much we loved the Combi Zeus-Turn car seat we bought in Japan and brought back to America. After that post, I noticed a very high level of buzz about the car seat so I thought I’d expand on our experience with this seat. Is Combi is planning to bring this seat to the US market?

First a disclaimer. As of this writing, the Combi Zeus-Turn (or simply, Zeus) car seat is a Japanese product that is, to my knowledge, not currently exported nor certified for use in the US. In preparing this writeup I do not claim to be a car seat safety expert. These comments and observations are strictly my opinions based on my use of the product over a 4 year period. There are probably very few native English speaking people who have used this car seat to even write a review. Car seat designs change, so I don’t know if the latest Combi Zeus is of the exact same design as this 2003 model. The seat could certainly have evolved since I purchased mine.

For all you child safety advocates out there, I understand your passion and professionalism, but please don’t jump all over me about this. I’m just a regular person who loves his children just as much as the next guy. In my opinion, child safety in a car is a combination of many things; a good car seat properly installed, the child properly restrained in the seat, the car seat position in your car, the type of car you drive, and your personal driving habits. So, is a kid riding in a Honda Odyssey with a $50 hand-me-down car seat better or worse off than the kid in the $200 Britax with the road raging parent driving a prone-to-roll-over SUV with under inflated tires? I am not one to pass judgment. I’ve already been scolded by one “safety patrol” person that the photo of my daughter in the Combi (in the earlier post) showed her in a forward facing position. My response: did you notice that the van was parked, the doors were open, and I was standing outside taking her picture? Come on, we weren’t moving! Before I closed the doors and drove off, I flipped her rear facing…with a Combi Zeus, you can do that (and I realize that some people will say that’s a bad thing).

What is the Combi Zeus
The Combi Zeus is a very different kind of car seat. It is a 360 degree swiveling clam shell seat on a large stationary base. It can go rear facing for infants, and forward facing for toddlers (and side facing to ease your lower back pain when loading your child). The 2003 Japanese model we own is only secured by standard shoulder seat belts — there are no LATCH straps. (See the Combi Zeus-Turn Japanese website…note, no English here.)

Click on these thumbnails for larger images:

The last image above has writing all in Japanese. But you should get the point. According to Combi, the car seat should be used rear facing with a child up to 9 to 10 kg (19.84 to 22.04 US pounds), after that Combi is recommending to switch the child forward facing up until 18 kg (39.68 US pounds). I believe the most commonly held recommendation these days is to have the child sit rear facing for as long as possible, so a 22 pound rear facing limit may not be enough for some. My daughter just turned 12 months as of this writing and weighed in at exactly 22 pounds, so I’ll be following the manufacturers guidelines and start facing her forward.

Buying the Combi Zeus
We bought our car seat in Japan from Akachan Honpo (like a Babies R Us in Japan), and much to our surprise, they would only sell it to us after they checked the make and model of our car to see if the seat was compatible. Not only that but we were supposed to show proof of ownership of the car as well! After explaining that we were American visitors and could not easily show them our car registration, they agreed to sell us the seat on our good word that we were telling the truth about our car . It was a while ago, but I believe we paid around $300 for it (not including the price of travel to Japan).

Installing the Combi Zeus
Even if you don’t read Japanese, the car seat installation was fairly straightforward. They even included a video on the proper installation of the product. Still, I found my Combi Zeus to be really hard to get a good firm installation without using another device to augment the belt system (read on). See the following pictures and captions for a first hand tour of some of these points.

Here are simple to follow directions on how to install the car seat belt through the Combi Zeus.

The first photo above shows the actual belt path. The second photo shows the final belt clip open, the third photo shows it closed. The forth photo shows the adjustable rebound bar.

A word about the belt clip (I don’t know what else to call it) in the second and third picture above. I don’t like that thing very much. While it is made of sturdy plastic, basically the same material as the car seat itself, it seems like a weak point in terms of safety. It does lock down with a positive snap, but I’ve always wondered what would happen if it pops open. From an installation point of view, I found that locking belt clip made the seat very hard to install because it was hard to pull the slack out of the seat belt to get a good firm lock. Even with another person pushing down on the seat, once that clip was locked down, it was very hard to pull the slack out of the belt.

I found a solution for that by using a Mighty Tite seat belt ratchet. This device installs near the anchor point of the seat belt, and makes tightening down a car seat very easy by simply ratcheting the slack out of the belt. I’ve heard most car seat safety experts frown upon the use of the product, but I’ve found it to be the best way to get the fit I want out of this Combi car seat. Again, I’m no safety pro, but come on, this thing is a basic ratchet. It is the same industrial-age technology that has been securing cargo in flat bed trucks and planes every day for decades. Still, from a purists point of view, I would agree that it is another possible point of failure.

The Mighty Tite installed.

Using the Combi Zeus - Making it turn
This is the feature that makes this seat unique, and it’s what everyone stops me in parking lots about. I’ll try my best to give a step by step in the following pictures.

In this picture, you’re looking at the bottom front of the seat locked in forward facing position.

In this picture, the yellow dial ring is the safety lock. With the seat locked into forward facing, this ring must be turned before the seat can be unlocked from forward facing.

In this picture, my finger is pulling up the release latch. This latch serves several functions. If you want to swivel the seat, you must first turn the yellow safety lock (previous photo), then pull up this latch and push the seat up and back. This will unlock the seat from forward facing and allow it to turn. If you want to simply adjust the reclining angle of the forward facing seat (like for a sleeping child), just lift this latch and push the seat forward or back (without turning the safety lock). In rear facing position, this latch is the only release to make the seat turn.

Now that the seat has been unlocked from forward facing, you can turn the seat. Above, is the rear of the seat. Note the two “rails” that extend down the back below seat cover. These rails are what lock into place and secure the seat in forward facing. The length of the rail is the amount of recline that the seat can do in the forward facing position.

Here the seat in nearly fully turned into the rear facing position. Your rear facing child’s feet will be resting here on the seat base. Note the two slots on the back of the seat base - these slots have bolts which are what lock the rails (in the previous picture) into forward facing.

The child’s harness is a 5 point design with a puzzle type buckle. The two sides first must be fitted together, then pushed into the snap. Note the middle photo, the red colored dot below the big red release button show that the buckle is not fully locked. In the final photo, the dot is now green indicating a solid snap.

I know some might be wondering if a child can turn the seat by him/herself. In my experience no. I think a child sitting in the seat would have to be from the planet Krypton to operate the seat by himself to make it swivel. An infant seated in the rear facing position will not have the strength, or physical dexterity to reach down to their feet and with one hand pull and hold the release latch, then simultaneously with their other hand, turn the seat. A larger child sitting forward facing, might possibly have long enough arms to reach and operate the release latch, but he wouldn’t be able to reach the safety lock that must be released before the seat can turn. Seriously, I don’t see how it would be humanly possible for a kid to make the seat swivel while seated. And, after four years of use, neither of my children have even attempted to turn the seat.

Conclusions - The good and bad
The upside:

1. Loading your child in the car is SOOO much easier because the seat will turn to face the door opening. Don’t under estimate this feature, this alone is a huge draw. As parents, we love our Zeus.
2. It’s convertible so you can use this seat for newborns up until 3 or 4 years depending on the size of your child.
3. Durable construction and high quality materials used throughout. Compared to other car seats we’ve used, our Combi seat has sustained a lot of wear and tear over 4 years and still looks and feels new.
4. In forward facing mode, the car seat can be easily reclined to make a more comfortable position for a sleeping toddler.
5. Child comfort. Our daughter can’t talk yet, but our son told us that the Combi is more comfortable than our other car seats. He was sad to give it up for his baby sister.

The downside:

1. In general, all car seats can be pretty hard enough to install (correctly). Our Combi Zeus was very hard to install correctly without the Mighty Tite.
2. Size and weight. This is a big and heavy car seat and it certainly won’t fit into all cars.
3. The rear facing weight limit is pretty low.
4. It is certainly possible to misuse this seat by failing to lock the seat into forward or rear facing positions before driving. Sadly, no child safety product can prevent parental stupidity.
5. As far as I know, it is not a US certified product. If you’re really into the “safety patrol” thing, lack of US certification means you probably shouldn’t buy it. On the other hand, Japanese child safety laws and regulations are not exactly “third world” either, so the seat did pass certification over there. I have many Japanese friends and I can tell you that they love their kids too.
6. Or if you’re of the camp that believes that more complicated things means more points of failure, then the Combi Zeus is not for you.
7. If you really think this seat is cool and want to get one, I believe you still have to go to Japan. The air ticket alone will make this car seat really expensive .

Japan, Parenting | 17 Comments »

Do you really know your sushi. How to eat it, how to order it and what’s the proper etiquette associated with Japan’s gift to world cuisine. Please watch this instructional video and tell me what you make of it (it’s in Japanese, but has English sub-titles). My Japanese friends love this. But I’d like to know what non-Japanese people think of this?

Japan | 3 Comments »

We love our 2006 Honda Odyssey, most of time. What’s not to like? It seats 7 real humans, holds a ton of cargo, luxury car ride, silky smooth engine, a turning radius so tight it’s scary. So what’s the beef? Anyone with a 2006 Odyessy and at least one active child can probably tell you…the damm interior lights!

Let me explain. Honda installed a nice reading light/air conditioner vent combo above each of the passenger seat areas. Nice. The reading light is turned on and off by pushing the light housing (like a toggle), so there’s no dedicated on/off switch on the light. So annoyance comes in when you have a young kid who likes to touch things.

Here’s how it goes: Open the doors to get in the van. The interior lights go on. The Boy gets into the van and promptly starts repeatedly pushing the various light housings. But because the doors are open, all the lights remain on and you don’t know which lights are have been manually switched on or off. Doors close, the interior lights go off, EXCEPT for the lights that were manually switched on by The Boy. You drive to your destination with SOME of the interior lights on. You stop the car. You open the door so you can get The Boy out of the car seat, all the lights go on. The Boy gets out of car seat and again starts to push the light housings. But because the doors are open, all the lights stay lit. You close the doors AND lock the car (the lights are on a delayed timer, so unless you lock the car, the lights will stay on for a few minutes). The interior lights go off, EXCEPT for the lights manually turned on by The Boy. Looking into your locked car, study which lights are still on. Unlock the car and open the door. All the lights go on again. Remembering which lights were still on when the doors are closed, you push each of the “on” light housing one time each. Close the doors and lock the car. Check to see that you actually turned off all the lights. Repeat everytime you drive the car.

CRAZY. Honda, you need to come up with something better. Sure the driver has is a master switch that can control all the lights, on or off. But you can’t “reset” the lights so all are in the setting where they are activated by opening and closing the door (which is what most people want). Cutting off said Boy’s hand is NOT a solution. How about a manual switch on the light that says, “on”, “off” and “door” like in the good old days.

Is it just me?

I feel better now.

Parenting | 1 Comment »

As a couple, my wife and I spent many trips exploring the ins and outs of Japan. With a JR Rail Pass, and we’d be zipping around on the shinkansen (bullet train) looking for the Japan you don’t see in the travel guides. And then…we had a child. Not letting the baby cramp our style, by the time our son was 10 months old we decided to take him to Japan. Thinking we could handle it, we made our travel plans just as we had when we were a couple. We decided to go to Japan’s northernmost island, Hokkaido, for their annual Yukimatsuri (snow festival). So, the first time traveling with a baby, we took a 11 hour airplane ride (with a transfer), to a foreign country - in the dead of winter time. How foolish of us.

We’ve now been to Japan now three times with our 4 year old son (the last time was to pick up our adopted daughter) and we’ve learned something from the experience that might be worthwhile sharing.

First, let me say that while Japanese people have a soft spot for kids, Japan is not a really kid friendly country from an American’s point of view. Specifically, I’m talking about the big cities, Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, etc… So, should you avoid travel to Japan if you have young children? I wouldn’t say that. But you should try to understand the differences between how everyday Japanese families (with children) live versus how we in America live.

Travel Topic; Getting Around in Japan
In America we all drive cars. You put your kids in the car. The most walking you do is to where you park your car. Kids stuff? No problem, put it in the car. Shopping bags? Put them in the car too. Got too much stuff? Get a bigger car. In Japan’s large cities, everyday people get around by walking, biking, trains, buses and taxis. Got kids? They walk. Kid stuff? You carry it. Shopping bags? You carry those too. Got too much stuff? You leave it behind.

While it’s true that most Japanese families probably own one car, they don’t use them like we Americans do. And if think you’re going to go to Japan and rent a car…you need to get real with your inner self.

Tip number one – Get in shape before you go!
If you have children of walking age, prepare them for A LOT OF WALKING! Parents, get ready to hear A LOT OF COMPLAINTS about the walking. Japan’s rail system (especially in the big cites) is world class, but you still got to do a lot of walking to and from the stations. So, before going to Japan you and your kids should get in shape by taking long walks everyday. To make it even more real, you should each take along a backpack full of books to simulate the various things that you will need to carry with you on your vacation (for example: camera, dictionary, maps, kids stuff…maybe a jacket, stuff that you buy).

Tip number two – Bring a small, light stroller!
If your kid is still in a stroller you’ll need to bring it. But keep in mind that Japan is not stroller friendly with all the stairs and hoards of people. Elevators are still not too common at the train stations (although this is changing fast). You will find that you’ll be frequently toting your child AND your stroller, so bring a light stroller with a carry strap. (Ever wonder why Japanese stroller makers, Combi and Aprica, produce smaller and lighter strollers than US designs? Leave your SUV-sized American stroller at home!) You’re better off with a strap-on carrier if your baby is old enough to hold his/her head up. Don’t have one? Buy one in Japan. You will be astounded with the wide variety of carriers they have, and after you’ve spent time there with a baby you’ll understand why.

Tip number three – What to do about car seats?
I’m not sure what car seat laws are in Japan, but I know that the times we did ride in the car, we didn’t have any protection for our kids! Yikes! Still, it is simply not practical to bring a car seat to Japan as you would when traveling within the US. Japanese taxis will pick you up even though you don’t have your kid in a car seat. But, I don’t think a taxi will pick you if you’re standing on the side of the road holding a baby and a car seat…he’s not going to want to wait for you to install it. Your choice is sometimes the lesser of two evils: risk the car ride, or have your child CRUSHED alive in a subway train…tough choice.

One more thing about Japanese car seats. During our first trip to Japan with our son we bought a Combi Zeus car seat from Akachan Honpo and lugged that big sucker home. It was one of the best baby products we ever bought. This model is not exported to the US, but we love it. It goes rear facing and forward facing - but the main thing is that it swivels 360 degrees which makes loading and unloading your child less back breaking. Now our adopted daughter uses it.

Little thumb-suckers are easier to get in and out of the car with our cool Combi car seat. Note the thick steel rod that extends from the front of the car seat to the floor board for extra safety.

Tip number four – On the trains, avoid the rush hour!
Japan is a highly structured society. One of the ways they keep the peace is by staggering peoples’ work/school days. For example, most office workers are at work by 9am, schools start a little later, and then retail stores open for shopping after that. It keeps the different groups of people (office workers, students and housewives) off the transportation network at the same time. But, because the largest of these three groups are the office workers, this means the trains are insanely packed between 7am and 9am – you’ve seen the pictures of station attendants shoving people in so the doors can close, that’s what I’m talking about. Riding a train with a small child at this time is so dangerous it’s simply suicidal. Japanese families just don’t do it. As a side tip, if you do get caught on a crowed train with your child, stand close to the door and put your child between your legs. And whatever you do, don’t get pushed from that spot. If you need to make a fast exit you’ll be able to without getting separated from your child.

A final thought related to getting around in Japan with kids. If you have children old enough to wander away from you, make sure you have some form of identification and phone number tattooed (joking) on to their bodies. If you can get this information written in Japanese so much the better, but, most people can read an English ID. Rent a cell phone so you can be reached in an emergency. Tokyo is one of the most densely populated cities in the world; can you imagine what you would do if your child got lost?

I’ll continue this subject in a later post…

Japan, Parenting | 6 Comments »

In September 2006 we got the call from the adoption agency in Japan that we had been paired with a 5 month old baby girl. That call kicked off a whirlwind of activity for us and I thought some people might find useful if I documented some of what we did.

If you’re adopting from Japan, you’re going to need to get there to pick up your child. Plan on staying about two weeks. Unlike Chinese adoptions (the most common from Asia), there’s no organized tour group. You are totally on your own. I’m assuming that if you’re even thinking about a Japan adoption that you’ve already been to Japan before, or have lived in Japan. If not, you should find a good Japanese travel web site to get the low down of how to travel there (it’s really not that hard).

Booking your flight. This was a new experience for us. We were a family of three becoming a family of four. So we had to book a round trip ticket for 3, and a one way ticket for 1. Most travel agents have never done such a booking. Important; you need to book the return ticket using the birth name of your adopted child because your baby will leave Japan as a Japanese citizen with a Japanese passport.

When you return to America, the baby and paperwork from the US Embassy in Japan will need to be presented to a special immigration officer. Essentially, your adpted baby will enter the US as a Japanese citizen with a green card. The adopted baby will keep his/her citizenship and name until a family court in the US finalizes the adoption proceedings. Remember, when you add your adopted child to your family’s health insurance, the child will also need to use her birthname until the adoption is completed.

Once in Japan, when do you actually pick up your adopted child? I suppose that depends on you and how your adoption agency works. In our case, we met our daughter a day after we arrived, but we didn’t actually take her “home” with us for a few more days. We wanted to take our son to Disneyland for one last outing as an only child, and couldn’t imaging taking a newly adopted baby along.

Next, assuming that you’re going to Tokyo to pick up your adopted child (I’m really not sure what happens if the child is in another city) you are going to need to go to the US Embassy to handle the immigration issues. For some reason, you need to also bring the baby along to the Embassy! As if the baby has to be interviewed or something. If your experience at the Embassy is anything like ours, plan on going there maybe 3 or 4 times to finalize the paperwork to take your child home. Because of this you should try to book a hotel that is in walking distance of the Embassy. If you don’t, you’ll get to experience morning rush hour in Tokyo’s packed subways (with a baby) to get your early morning Embassy appointment.

We stayed at a relative’s house about 30 minutes away by train, but a walking distance hotel would have been better. If it were just my wife and I, the morning commuter rush would have been tolerable. But because we had to drag our 3 year old son and new baby along, getting in and out of the trains was simply too eventful for them and stressful for us. We noticed that small children don’t ride the trains in Tokyo’s rush hour for a very good reason! If you have an older child, bring along a baby sitter so at least he/she doesn’t need to go with you to the Embassy. You’ll have your hands full with your adopted child anyway.

About the US Embassy. Japan is one of the US closest allies and Japanese people generally like Americans. This is why I was shocked at the level of security at the Embassy, so be prepared (I’d like to see what security is like at a US Embassy in an unfriendly country). The only thing missing from the security picture was a tank parked out front, but there was an urban assault vehicle. I wanted to take a picture but I didn’t want to get shot. You can’t bring in any food or drinks, no electronic equipment or large bags. Only your wallet and your essential paperwork is allowed in. Once in, be prepared for the same type of wonderful governmental experience you so enjoy at home. Our first visit took over 4 hours, but the subsequent visits were shorter. Still be prepared to camp out.

Another requirement for US immigration was to have the adopted child given a medical examination by an English speaking doctor. Our adoption agency (International Family) made this appointment for us. But it is possible that other agencies may require you to do this on your own. So you may need to be ready to find an English speaking doctor.

Paperwork to bring to Japan: I-600 petition (which was prepared when you applied for the adoption), I-600 notice of approval, husband and wife’s birth certificates & passports, marriage certificate, homestudy certificate, 3 years of tax returns, I-864, I-604, Exemption from Vaccination. When we went to Japan (in the Fall of 2006), this is what we brought along, but these requirements could change at anytime. So please only use this list as a starting point, you should consult with your adoption agency and the US State Department for updated details.

One final thought on packing for your adopted child. What to bring. Japanese baby goods are on par with stuff in the US so you could get everything you need in Japan. We really liked shopping at Akachan Honpo (which is like Babies R Us). But if you’re not that comfortable in Japan you should pack everything you might need; formula, diapers, bottles, blankets, baby soap, lotion and clothes. Japanese or American, diapers are diapers, and you don’t need to read an instruction manual to use them. But if you’re interested in reading the ingredients in the baby formula, than you’ll definately want to bring your own with English writing on the can. My 2 cents would be to pack everything for your baby before you leave home. Don’t count on your adoption agency to give you these things.

[8/20/2008 Update: Please see my other stories about our Japan adoption:
Here she is, our Japan adoption
Japan adoption agencies
Bonding with an adopted child
Traveling to Japan to pick up our adopted daughter
Our Japanese Adoption - Update]

Japan, Parenting | 9 Comments »