Toysrus on Route 254

Friendly staff, good selection of toys, but lacking in character

The Kawagoe branch on route 254 of this retail toy chain store giant, recently had a "renewal open". Honestly, nothing much has changed from the pre-renewal and the store is as dull as always. However, for their renewal open they had a fantastic sale and great value lucky bags. The (non English speaking) staff do make up for all that is lacking in this Toys-r-us, but apart from that the store is below average. They do have a couple of toys to play with laid out here and there in the store, which in fairness is better than the next closest children's store Nishimatsuyama. However, other branches of Toys-r-us in Saitama have decent play areas and events for kids. The bathroom is very basic and it has none of the additional services available in the Kawagoe branch of its sister company, Babies-r-us. There are no children's toilet, no nappy changing room (there is a pull down mat), no nursing room, no rest area and no designated play area. They used to let children ride the non-sample push alongs and bikes, but nowadays they have them chained up with only a few out to try. Prices of toys range greatly, some of their produce is cheaper than on Amazon or than in Costco, but there are some things that are more expensive including computer games and DVDs. Their baby goods such as formula milk and nappies are considerably cheaper in Cainz Homestore about 2 kilometres up the road in Kawajima Town. The nationwide point card system is quite good and they send out coupons in the post if you are registered member. They give children a birthday badge if they visit close to their birthday. The best way to get to this branch of Toys-r-us is by car. Parking is free. Currently, (September 2016) the rice fields next to the store have a great display of scarecrows. This is what they were like last year: http://insaitama.com/september-scarecrow-showcase-2/ Buses pass from Kawagoe, Higashimatsuyama and Kounosu, but they are very infrequent. **NB UPDATE FEBRUARY 2017** This branch of Toysrus have a note on their door that they closed their doors permanently on January 29th 2017.