Kawagoe Kodomo No Shiro

Serves its purpose, but lacking oomph

This is my least favourite children's centre of all the ones I have been to. Part of the problem is the staff aren't very welcoming or friendly. Mostly though, my issue is that they have a huge amount of toys they never put out. The saving grace is that they have a planetarium. Also, some of their mother and children events are quite good. The first floor has a large hall which is great for the kids to run around. They have floor to ceiling cupboards of toys, that are closed and they only take out the toys for certain events for a short period of time. There is a wall climbing frame in this hall too. Beside it in the hallway there is some climbing boxes and a slide. There is a smaller room on this floor that has a play kitchen and a handful of other toys. Upstairs they have a ping pong table in the landing, a small library, a tatami room where you can have lunch and a baby & toddler room. The baby and toodler room is only open at certain times and is only for small children. They hold some events there. There on toilets and nappy changing mats on each floor. The centre is open from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm Tuesday to Sunday, closed on Mondays. It is quite a distance from the nearest station, so a bus is advised. There is free parking a little bit away with a ground beside it that you can park in on busy days.