After nashi, we play

Last year I had so much fun going on an adventure to pick Asian pears with a friend and our kids.  The city sponsored tour included picking pears, going to a park, and a quick stop to buy cakes.  It sounds so simple, but I talked about it again and again. 

When it was time to sign up for the excursion again, I excited signed up again.  This time my friend couldn't go, but she sent her husband and son and I wrangled my husband into joining us.  I was excited to recreate the day, especially visiting the same park.  This was where I learned that my son loves ninja parks (better known as athletic parks by other people).

It wasn't until I got home that my husband informed me we were headed to a different park after picking Asian pears, known as nashi in Japanese.  I was more than a bit disappointed. 

When the big day rolled around, I didn't mind the change in plans.  I was just excited to spend the day with my boys.  My husband has been working a lot lately, so the special day together was very needed.

After picking our nashi, we headed to Tochigi Wanpaku Park.  The huge park has a variety of things to see and do. 

A fun entrance that comes to life when people walk through it!

We started with lunch in the lawn.  Luckily we found some shade to sit in because it was quite warm.  Something else that was looking for a bit of shade was a huge praying mantis.  It sat on my son's head for some time as he ate.  This made my son super happy to have a bug-friend hang out with him, especially since he released the praying mantis just this morning.

Once we finished our food, we wandered over to a maze.  The boys ran ahead, racing to find the way through the maze to the playground on the other side.  The kids climbed and slid and flew on the various equipment. 

We decided to explore a bit more and headed over to see a train engine.

I was impressed with the many play areas strewn about the premises.  So many things for the kids to explore and play on!

Everyone in the group received tickets to enter the Mysterious Ship.  We had no idea what to expect, but we were happy to use the tickets since it was already paid for.  Inside the ship shaped building was a variety of optical illusions and activities for children.  The boys ran from room to room exploring and testing everything. 

Soon we found ourselves headed to Banana Park - an indoor play area with lots of space for running, climbing, and hands-on energy expulsion.  My son loved the 2 story pink dinosaur that he could climb inside, slide down its tail, and go up and down spiral nets inside it's legs.  There was also a ball pit and water lily obstacle for the kids to play in.  The boys went crazy running around and zooming faster than I even knew possible.

Overall, I was impressed with this park.  It was a lovely place with many things to do.  It did not capture my heart like Gunma Children's Land, but it was still a great place to spend the day with my family and friends.