After what seemed like months of blanket advertising during the Sunday morning cartoons we were finally nagged into submission to take a little boy to the Tomica Roadshow in Niigata City. This is quite a feat with a mother who doesn't understand why you would want another toy car if you already have one! If you haven't been to one of these shows (which pop up for a couple of days each year in different locations), expect crowds, many of them small and over-excited. It's heaven for little ones as the jostle to get a good view of the next display case or model town.
The entry ticket is less than a thousand yen and for that each child gets a souvenir toy car. Once inside you will have to pay for the attractions but there are plenty of other things to see that will keep the small ones occupied for a while. The attractions have long queues for them much like a theme park, often with waits of over an hour. All roads lead to the gift shop though and the array of goods is staggering. Our little one didn't know where to look as each time he moved his eyes he saw something even better that he just had to have. We believe exposure to disappointment is an essential life lesson.
The kids will have a ball at one of these.
