Any foreigner who has spent time teaching in Japan’s public schools would have surely heard of Anpanman. Anpanman is of noble character. Because his head is made of bean jam, he will sacrifice part of his head to let others satisfy their hunger whenever necessary. His creator was said to have conceptualised him when he was a soldier trying to survive World War II. (Yes, Anpanman goes way back.)

But my impression of Anpanman has remained at the cerebral level. Until my son who fell in love with this iconic anime character, that is. He loves Anpanman so much that we made a trip to the Fukuoka Anpanman Children’s Museum.
I didn’t take many photos because I didn’t think most Singaporeans would be interested to read about a museum whose main attraction is an unknown to them. But in recent months, I have had a change of mind and heart. Of course, there would be people out there who would be interested to read about my gaijin’s take on quintessential Japanese experiences. And quintessential a visit to this museum was. Imagine two floors packed to the brim with parents and their children watching the Anpanman crew perform, playing carnival games, playing with sand, having meals and (needless to say) buying lotsa souvenirs. It’s like the indoor version of Tokyo Disneyland, except that we never had to queue that long for anything. The atmosphere evoked a sense of busy calmness. Unlike Tokyo Disneyland where people ran for their lives to snatch the fast passes, the parents at the museum seemed to go about their business less hurriedly.

So what were the memorable highlights for me? A pretend kitchen area where my son stared transfixed at the fake flames 🔥 (maybe he would grow up to love cooking and make my meals), a play area where he could jump to his heart’s content and expend his energy, an indoor train which took us one round around the premises (As the photo illustrates, Anpanman made a special appearance when we were waiting for our turn on the train).
So did I like the Anpanman museum to want to visit it again? Well, what I think isn’t of consequence because my fate lies in the hands of my boss. If he goes, I go.