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Indoor playground in Miyoshi city, “Miyoshi Morino Pokke”

Address: 456-2 Higashisakeyamachi, Miyoshi, Hiroshima 728-0023
Call: 0824-62-6811

Opened in 2017 as an indoor playground that is available regardless of the season or weather, “Miyoshi Morino Pokke” has been popular with parents and children. They only hire people who are qualified for childcare and have a lot of high-quality wooden toys, even people from outside of the prefecture use them repeatedly, not only locals.

Miyoshi Morino Pokke was opened as a wood-themed, all-weather indoor playground. All of the staff including the chief manager, Fukunaga Akemi, have a license for being a childcarer or teacher. On the first floor there is a playground called “Harappa” (a field) for 3 – 6 year old children which has large playground equipment. On the second floor there is a playground called “Komorebi” (sunshine filtering through the branches of trees) for children under 6th grade that has wooden toys, and “Hinatabokko” (basking in the sun) for 2 years old or younger. The system is popular with parents because they can let their children play with other ages. They are also one of the best playgrounds that possesses a lot of wooden toys and playground equipment. Their reputation spread rapidly and now a lot of families from inside and outside of the prefecture visit there frequently. In 2019, 2 years after opening, over a hundred thousand people total have visited. “It’s close to ’Toretta Miyoshi’ and ‘Miyoshi Asobino Oukoku’ so it’s convenient for families to visit, for example when it’s sunny they can enjoy Miyoshi Asobino Oukoku and when they are tired they can come to ‘Pokke’ and rest. Another reason for its popularity is that it’s easy for fathers to visit here, too. We have changing tables away from the nursing room so that they don’t need to worry other people’s eyes. There is a family bathroom that parents can use with their children, too. So while mom is shopping at Toretta dad can wait for her here with their children.” Fukunaga smiles.

There are a lot of reasons for their popularity, but the best reason is that they hire qualified staff and heed their advice, such as a cleaning time between every term for a clean impression, a nursing room equipped with a water heater for formula, and baby change tables that are easy for fathers to use. They have a lot of ideas and equipment that is considerate of parents and their children. Their toys’ quality and variety is great, too, that they have all kinds of things that nurture children’s intellectual curiosity and imagination including wooden toys and board games. “KAPLA®” are wooden blocks that were originally created in France which you can make many kinds of shapes out of. Pokke has 15 thousands of them which is very impressive. Among their various kinds of toys, you can find some of them that are related to Miyoshi. On the second floor they have “a stump with caterpillars” which was designed by a toy maker, Fujiwara Kouji, and made from a stump of a Japanese cypress which is a tree related to Nakamura Kenkichi, an Araragi school poet who was from Miyoshi city. They also have a farming play area customers can use which has toys imitating pione, shine muscat and asparagus which are all specialty crops of Miyoshi. Wooden grapes and other market items are made by furniture makers as well as using denim made in Miyoshi for the “shopping apron” and “shopping bag.” They also use light and steady durable wood made from Chinese fir for balls in the “wooden ball pool.” As for the floors and walls of the facility they use wood made in Miyoshi. “We are hoping children will become interested in local specialities and history while they are playing.”

Thinking of children creates the future of the facility and the town

By inspecting similar facilities in other prefectures multiple times and many consultations, Pokke became a high quality facility. “We are attached to the name of the facility, too. We asked the public what they wanted to name the facility. Something not too long and easy to pronounce for children that also sounds warm is good, so that children can easily say like, ‘Let’s go to Pokke!’” says Fukunaga with love and consideration for children. For those who like children like her and want to help the facility, they have a class to train activity volunteers. After attendance of certain programs and registration, people can be involved with reading to children and guiding handcraft activities as volunteers. A lot of people including 18 year-old students and 80 year-old people are working as volunteers saying, “I want to be a childcarer in the future so I want some experience.” “I’ve finished child caring at home so I’d like to help parents who are busy with child care.” Fukunaga says, “We have about 30 volunteers helping us when they have time, and it’s very helpful. It’s a good system for children, too,as they can learn things from people of various ages.” As Miyoshi city aims to be a place where people can have a baby safely, the facility that is made by everyone, “Miyoshi Morino Pokke” will contribute to the goal.