Located within Hakodate Park, "Kodomo no Kuni" is a small amusement park packed with rides and other attractions.

Hakodate is closed during the winter due to heavy snowfall, but it reopens as spring approaches and becomes bustling with families on weekends.

This park, with its retro Showa-era atmosphere, evokes the glory of Hakodate City during its heyday as a thriving center of northern Pacific fishing. But it's actually a surprisingly fun and exciting place to visit!

This report covers Hakodate Park Children's Land, a park packed with attractions that parents and children alike will love.

<Table of Contents>
1. Purchase tickets
2. Yumbo Co., Ltd.
3. Festival Corner
4. Frog fishing
5. Bazooka
6. There are still more playground equipment
7. Summary

Tickets are sold in the building on the right after entering through the archway to "Kodomo no Kuni" (Children's Land). Each ticket costs 300 yen. One ticket allows entry to one attraction. A value pack of 8 tickets is also available for 2000 yen. Soft serve ice cream is also sold at the ticket booth.

Now, let's experience the attraction.

It looks easy from the sidelines, but operating an excavator is not as simple as it seems. The pins are thin and only fall backward, so it looks like you could knock them all down at once, but that's not the case at all. Once you've knocked down all 10 pins, you have to get the excavator upright again and keep knocking them down.

You'll be awarded based on the number of times you knock down each age group, and if you knock down a certain number of times, you'll officially become a full-time employee of Yumbo Co., Ltd. You can then be promoted to section chief, department head, and so on, with the highest rank being president. There's also a monthly ranking, so if you rank high, something good might happen.

A festival corner where you can enjoy games. There are shooting galleries and bingo games. Both the shooting gallery and bingo games involve aiming at targets on a wall, but the shooting gallery uses orange water gun-like toys, while the bingo game uses toy eggs.

The eggs are elastic and sticky, and the goal is to create a bingo by bouncing them off the wall. Don't worry if you fail the first time, you can try again. On your second attempt, you'll draw a lottery ticket to determine the number of eggs you get. You'll also be given three helpful items to make it easier to get the eggs in.

Frog fishing involves fishing for frogs that are packed tightly inside a round base.

The frog, perched on a base that rotates slowly clockwise, opens its mouth and lifts its head—the perfect moment to capture it! Dangle the fishing rod into its mouth, and as soon as it bites, pull it up.

If you lift the fishing rod before the frog has a firm bite, it will fall off, so you have to judge the timing carefully.

The frog fishing is also a 2-minute time trial.
The mission is successful if you can catch 7 frogs within 2 minutes. 7 may seem like a lot, but silver frogs count as 2, so try to catch some silver frogs first.

Bazooka is a game where you shoot baseballs at balloons. Adjusting the angle is key to success, so aim carefully before you shoot. When you pull the trigger, you'll hear a satisfying popping sound as the ball flies off.

If you hit the balloon even once, you're good to go. You'll get a Bazooka Master card. Once you've obtained the respective cards from frog fishing and the bazooka, head to the festival corner. You can draw a lottery ticket.

Besides those I've mentioned, there are still many more attractions at Kodomo no Kuni. The amusement park has familiar attractions like a merry-go-round, airplanes that make you feel like you're flying, and a bullet train that circles the area.

Furthermore, the Ferris wheel is the oldest in Japan that is still in operation. It's a thrilling ride in its own way, and I highly recommend giving it a try.

Photo by Wikipedia / Iso10970

If you're looking for a bit more thrills, try the rotary chair. The centrifugal force you feel as you turn corners will make you scream.

For even younger children, how about a baby mobile or coin-operated toys like those found in department stores? For disobedient children, there's also the option of the haunted house, "Ghost Land." You might find some children crying, and some adults screaming!

This was an introduction to "Kodomo no Kuni" (Children's Land) in Hakodate Park. What did you think? The grounds aren't particularly large, but there are plenty of attractions, so the 8-ticket booklet disappears very quickly. Be sure to take your children to Kodomo no Kuni on the weekend!

<Children's Land>
Address: 17-4 Aoyagi-cho, Hakodate City, Hokkaido 040-0044, Japan
TEL：0138-22-5039
Opening hours: 11:00 AM - 16:00 PM (weekdays) / 10:00 AM - 17:00 PM (weekends, public holidays, spring break, summer break)
Closed on: rainy days and winter
Official website:http://kodomonokuni.sakuraweb.com/

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