Some travel professionals will try to convince you that there are a host of activities to do with kids in Kyoto.
I have decided that these well-intentioned travel professionals don’t have kids of their own 🙂
Kyoto is a city that has fascinating temples and shrines, beautiful gardens and delicious food. But in all honesty, it’s not all that set up for the younger crowd. There are a few playgrounds (a tad questionable in both age and safety) and a handful of sites (the new Kyoto aquarium, the currently-closed-for-renovation Railway Museum) but for the 6-and-under crowd, there’s not a whole lot more.
The Kodomo Miraikan in central Kyoto
Which is why I was thrilled to stumble across the Kodomo Miraikan this past autumn just south of the Imperial Palace. The center is sizable, with the main focus being on a multi-story playset/maze in the large room on the first floor. Underneath the raised play set, there are multiple smaller sections – a play kitchen, a wooden ball pit, a dress-up corner, and a doll cubby. In the corner of the room, there were cubbies for parents to leave their things and the chests scattered around the room and used as seats could also be used to store purses/bags/etc.
A shot of the bottom “layer” of the indoor playground
A play kitchen in the Miraikan
When we arrived, the staff were just finishing up a daily “class” – many play centers conduct 30-40 minute classes with songs and stories and that seemed to be the case here.
The weather was bearable on the day we went, so we enjoyed a cold hour out on the playground. My daughter loved the cement climbing hill, with chains for scaling the “peak” and wide slides down the sides. There were also swings, monkey bars and bouncy animals.
Part of the playground outside
The Kodomo Miraikan (website here but Japanese only) is free to visit and a short walk from the Marutamachi metro station. It’s open from 9am-9pm (5pm on Sundays) and closed on Tuesdays. When your youngster gets burned out on temples and shrines, come here to give them a bit of rejuvenation.
Ha, I think this is why I have probably been to Anpanman Museum more times than I ever thought! It’s good indoor fun if it’s raining and gives the kid “their time” for a bit. I will say that baby girl loves temples/shrines because there’s endless amounts of rocks and dirt to play in…not sure if the priests dig it! 😉
My daughter has always been pretty good for a garden visit, so long as there are acorns to gather. 🙂 But actually, as she gets older, that doesn’t quite keep her as entertained. For us, this was a great solution that gave her a morning of creativity and play, and me much less whining when I dragged her all over to see foliage in the afternoon. 😉