I’ll have to admit, I was a little scared taking two newly toilet trained boys to Asia. Were we going to have to revert back to diapers? Would it be a giant poo disaster everyday? I was so thankful to find that the places we visited in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo were even more kid-friendly than so many places we visit here at home.
Take this bathroom for example. This stall was in the MEN’s room at a mall in Hong Kong.
There is a sanitizer for wiping down the mini seat AND the toilet is made just for kids! There was one in the women’s room too and I saw a few of these in women’s restrooms in Tokyo too. I really wish we had these here. The guys were so proud to go and use their own little toilet.
Another great thing we found was that so many malls utilize their roofs for kids’ play. This is the same mall with the toilet in Hong Kong and this playground was just beside the foodcourt on the roof. The name of this mall eludes me, but it was right next to the Bird Market and we spent a fantastic morning here just climbing and running off some energy.
Every mall we went to seemed to have at least a dozen of these ride on toys. I am not a big fan, but when traveling they sometimes provide just enough distraction so mom and dad can re-group.
Vivocity, a mall in Singapore had an amazing roof-top play area, where you could pay to drive these:
The kid behind the red car is actually riding a bouncy horse. I just saw one like it in the Little Tikes flyer and you can buy them in the US too if you were curious. This same mall also had an awesome play area and a ginormous mom’s room for changing kids.
But our favorite mall was the top of the Tokyu mall in the Shibuya area of Tokyo where we found a coin-operated kids’ paradise. The kids especially loved the trains that went around and around on different tracks. They all cost 200 yen (2.60 usd) a ride but with two riding it didn’t seem very expensive. If you ask the guys, this roof is why they want to go back to Tokyo one day. (We ended up here twice!)
And because there were so amazing places like this for kids in Asia, I think we definitely will.
I keep meaning to ask — why’d you pick your destination and how long were you gone? Photos are great and you definitely get an extra purple heart / star/ medal for taking them on such a long trip and not reverting to diapers. Hooray for Terumi!
Two weeks in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. The ultimate destination was Singapore to see family but I wanted kid-friendly stopovers in fun places so we wouldn’t be too frazzled:)
Have you been to Japan yet? Because the toilets there are a kid’s dream! So many buttons and sound effects and sprays and the likes =)
Yes! They loved the toilets there too. Definitely couldn’t go in the bathroom unsupervised without a small flood;)
Fantastic! I wish we had kid-friendly stuff like that here. If there is, they’re not in North Carolina!
Hopefully we’ll see more of it:) Happy weekend to you!
Who knew a mall could be so much fun – they look like amusement parks!