If you’re looking for family days out in Kumamoto or things to do with kids in the Kumamoto area then these suggestions might help you to find something that will suit your family.
1. Kumamoto Zoo and Botanical Gardens
A trip to the zoo always makes a great family day out and this is certainly true of Kumamoto zoo. The zoo itself is fairly compact which means it’s great for younger children to walk around, as larger zoos can be very tiring. There are some rides for small children in the central part of the zoo which is handy for breaking up a day out, and reasonably priced refreshments are available too. Many small children are interested in animals and seeing them in real life will be a great learning experience!
2. Kumamoto Castle
Sadly, Kumamoto castle took some serious damage in the 2016 Earthquake with entire structures collapsing, significant damage to the foundations and the roof. However, the good news is that a plaza in front of the keep will be opened to the public for the duration of the Rugby world cup in October this year and from then on will be open on Sundays and public holidays. The rest of the repair work will take longer but the opportunity to get up close to the castle and its grounds will certainly capture your children’s imagination. Understanding more about earthquakes and seeing the damage they can cause as well as the process of repairing historic buildings are also valuable learning experiences. Pointing out features of the castle and grounds is a great opportunity to develop complex vocabulary such as “keep” “turret” and “tower”
3. Aqua Dome Kumamoto
It is said that swimming is the only sport that has the chance to one day save your life, and this is so true! Life preserving techniques such as swimming to the side, or rolling to float on the back can be taught from the earliest age and help children to be safer around the water. Most children love to play in the water, and swimming is a great sport for building up physical skills and strength as well as safety.
Swimming is a low impact sport in terms of the strain placed on joints, which is important as children are growing, yet it still lets them build up muscles for crawling, walking and running. Swimming is a great sport for developing gross motor skills, large scale movements which are important pre-writing skills.
Whether you enrol your child in regular lessons or go along a public swim session as a family, we would encourage you to develop swimming skills and water safety at a young age.
4. Sea Donut Aquarium
The Sea Donut Aquarium, as the name suggests, is a doughnut-shaped aquarium. It is divided up by continents and features fish from each area. This can provoke lots of questions and discussion about different areas of the world, building an awareness of the wider world. Older children will love learning about natural habitats.
Even the youngest babies will enjoy watching as fish dart around, following movement with interest. For toddlers, the aquarium is a great opportunity to showing off their ever-increasing vocabulary “fish! Nemo! Oooh, blue! Look, big! Stripey!” and so on!
The dolphin interaction show is a chance for children to get up close to the creatures and provides the kind of hands-on learning that children thrive off of.
5. Contemporary Art Museum
Some parents might hesitate to take their kids to an Art Museum, worrying that they will be bored by it or too noisy for others. On the whole, though, children like to explore new places and look at different things. Even small children can have an appreciation for art. It may be expressed in different ways, through questions and pointing rather than the quiet, stoic adult appreciation, but it is appreciated nonetheless. As this museum focuses on contemporary art there are plenty of rich sensory experiences. For example, the infinity mirror installation under the stairs will leave little ones entranced by the visual effects.
