A little tucked away in a corner of the Apartment Tower Kachidoki, there is a small but impressive looking play-facility catered to toddlers. The glass building reveals a bright red 2-storey rope-climbing tower in the center. Despite slightly hidden, the building is quite an eye-catcher, all glass and transparent, making you wonder whether it was intentional to select such a pleasant looking building to become a kids’ space.
On the ground floor, you will find a range of different toys and play equipment: a couple of push cars, a ball pit, a kitchen unit, wooden toys, Lego, a small book corner, stuffed animals, a basketball hoop set – everything to keep kids occupied with. And then there is of course the central piece, the climbing structure. Kids of all ages can climb the structure, with the smaller ones needing supervision by mom. Yes, that means you’ll have to scrape that bit of courage to go up the climbing tower with your toddler, as it is the only access to the slide. And naturally, every kid wants to go down the slide, no matter what it takes.
Once in a while, arts and craft activities are organized for free and held in the play area such as making animal and flower balloons for the kids. There is also a small space reserved for those that have brought their own lunch, as it is not allowed to eat and drink in the play area itself. Another rule is also that kids have to wear socks at all times and if you forgot them, you can always buy a pair on the spot (which we did last summer).
Outside, you'll find a wall-climbing structure and a small garden that belongs to the facility as well.
With wintertime now, the space can get pretty cold as the glass structure provides little isolation from the outside temperature, despite the heating on and electric blankets spread out here and there. For the kids, it won’t be a problem as they will be running or climbing around, but for us moms, perhaps it can become a tat uncomfortable.
The facility is operated by the NPO Growth link and requires a small one-time registration fee from users, 500 yen per person when registering online or 1000 yen when on the spot. As a member, apart from using the play facility, one can also register for classes such as children’s ballet, Hawaiian dance, yoga, baby sign classes, mommy and baby classes, etc. while being able to rent the multipurpose rooms and garden area for events such as birthdays. Becoming a member thus offers a host of benefits, with the most important one having a truly enjoyable place for children at your disposal.
