こ：こいのぼりII (Koinobori)

This Saturday is Boys Day/Children’s Day, a Japanese holiday. We started the week by making paper koinobori. I thought a simple color-cut-paste koinobori would be appropriate for my young kids this year. You can make one too by visiting Nurieyasan HERE and printing the size koinobori you want.

My daughter’s favorite color is “rainbow”, so this is how she colored her koinobori:

My son doesn’t have an attention span, so his went mostly uncolored:

I think they turned out so cute! If we have the time this week, I’d also like to try making THESE origami koinobori by Zakka Life, THESE koinobori wafer snacks by Camo’s Handmade, and THESE koinobori sandwiches from CookPad. They all seem really simple to make!

Other related links:

1) Past posts I’ve written about Kodomo no Hi (Children’s Day): HERE and HERE and HERE

2) Beautiful photographs of koinobori at Omiyage Blog.

3) Follow my Kodomo no Hi Pinterest board.

Things To Do In Japan With Kids: Visit the Tire Playground (たいやこうえん）

My grandpa lives near a really cool playground, called Taiya Kouen (たいやこうえん) which translates into “Tire Playground”. I played here when I would visit my grandfather as a little girl, and it hasn’t changed much since then. It is about a 15 minute walk from the Kamata Station (you’ll see lots of trains on the way there– bonus!). If you are in the Tokyo area and your kids need to release some pent-up energy, this is a GREAT place to go! I highly recommend it for any child ages 2 and up.

It was a gorgeous Sunday when we visited. It was nice to see so many families enjoying the beautiful day together. (It was especially great to see the usually-busy fathers having fun with their children)

Tires, tires, EVERYWHERE!

I enjoyed starting up conversations with other parents, and seeing my children interact with other little children.

Japanese Summary: 子どもたちを蒲田駅の近くのタイヤ公園に連れて行きました。おじいちゃんが近くに住んでいるので，私が小さいときも，ここで遊びました。とってもいい天気の日曜日で，子ども連れの家族がいっぱい遊んでいました。簡単に２時間が過ぎてしまいました。

Do you have a favorite playground in Japan?