Kidzania, Tokyo- WOW!!

Kidzania, Tokyo- amazing in every way! We had been wanting to try this place for quite a while and with cousin Victoria visiting from the States, it was the perfect time! The premise was allowing the kids to try different “jobs”, and get paid for their work during their shift (there are two shifts, morning or evening). There were over eighty jobs to choose from ranging from flight attendant, to entertainer, to delivery person.  And everything in between!

Always greeted by characters around here!

Our first job, pizza restaurant workers.

They had a teacher instructing them on the finer points of pizza making at Pizza La, a local chain.

Rolling the dough…

And, voila! The finished product!

The venue itself was designed to look like a town. So, each building in the town, had a corresponding job. Different companies sponsored each job. This was the theater, there was also a fire station, police station, department store, etc.

Upon arrival, we were given a reservation card to book our jobs. This helped manage the flow of kids to any given job. We were able to completely fill up the card during our shift!

Next job making smoothies at VegeteriA. First off, wash your hands!

They made a butternut squash smoothie, that I thought was fabulous!

Blend it up…

And serve your customers with a smile!

The girls tried their hands at performing next, as clock tower entertainers. They stood on this balcony and did a choreographed routine. They loved this! We were just disappointed that we couldn’t see better.

Picture time afterwards.

**(Side note- here are the girls standing in front of the real clock tower building, the famous Wako building in Ginza, Tokyo.)

This fire truck periodically drove through the town taking firefighters to the fire. Adorable!

This was the building on fire. This was a very popular job, we will try to do it next time!

Kidzania Airport was our next stop, to try out being a flight attendant.

The parents could only watch from a screen outside the airplane, but my sister and I were in hysterics! It was just so cute!  Eva and Victoria were the speech makers.

And Ella was drink service. This job was a favorite!

There was a professional photographer wandering around each job during the day and you could purchase photos at the end, if you wanted. I usually pass on that stuff, but this was just too cute to pass up!

Eva was just dying to work as a nursery nurse for the next job. 

They were taught how to hold the babies correctly,

and how to bathe them,

and finally, how to diaper them, dress them, and soothe them in their cribs. I wish I had been taught this much as a new mother!

Eva was in the clouds working with babies!

The kids were paid in “kidzos” for their work and the kidzos could be put in the bank, used to buy services, or could be spent in the department store. They were also given trading cards at each job.

The girls decided to spend some of their kidzos on making a writing journal. They got to choose their cover and binding color and put everything together.

The finished product.

Mitsukoshi is a famous department store in Japan and the kids could also spend kidzos here. Parents were not allowed in the store or in any of the jobs. They really wanted the kids to experience independence.

Our last job of the day was with JBMA (Japanese Building Maintenance Association) where they performed in a “Sweeping Parade” around the town. They were actually taught choreography and coached in what makes a good performer. So fun!

Basking in the glory!

They were given these photos as a free souvenir for this job. Loved it!

After a fun, but exhausting day, the train ride home. (It looks like the girls are faring better than their train companions!)

We loved our day at Kidzania, and it is such a neat concept. I especially loved the fact that each job only had room for about 4-5 participants at a time. So, even though it was a busy place, we got one on one instruction almost the entire day! Also, we attended on Wednesday, which was English day, so that was a big help to our kids, as well. We will definitely return…so many jobs left to try! But Ella said at the end, “So is getting money really that easy?” Uh-oh, I guess we still have some lessons to learn….