Seichi’s 3rd Birthday – Anpanman Museum Yokohama
Hi everyone, it’s Seichi’s 3rd birthday! We wanted to do something extra fun and unforgettable for our little one. His favorite characters were Anpanman and his friends, so we decided to bring them to the Anpanman Museum in Yokohama. It’s like an Anpanman dream world for our kids. 🙂
Since it was October, it was in a Halloween theme. The museum was in Halloween colors, decorated with pumpkins, cute ghost cutouts, and characters in costumes. Like many other kids in Japan around this age, they’re obsessed with Anpanman and his friends (me too, actually! 🙂 I even made a YouTube video of Anpanman and his friends finger puppets :). Kids just love Anpanman-themed items, and our kids are no different. They’re just cute Anpanman lovers.
Even though Seishin was just 9 months old at that time, he already seemed to understand that he was in Anpanman’s place. Everywhere he looked, he saw Anpanman and friends on the walls, banners, and almost every corner of the museum. He would point and excitedly say, “Anman, Anman!”
Seichi and Seishin were so excited. We were so excited too! We arrived at around 2PM at the parking area. While parking, the kids already saw Dadandan—like a big statue—and it made them even more excited.
For the parking fee the first hour is ¥520 then ¥270 for every succeeding 30 minutes.
We entered the building with shops around the Anpanman Square (outdoor area). We took some pictures at the ground area. 🙂 The building around the Anpanman Square has a lot of different Anpanman-themed shops. There’s also an area where kids can play with different Anpanman toys. Trash bins were painted in a colorful Anpanman theme and characters. This is also where the live performances are held.
1st Floor
2:30 PM – We went to the Anpanman Museum building.
On the 1st floor, this is where the admission, Yanase Takashi Theater, bouncy ball area, colorful slides, information center, elevator, restrooms, lockers, and more are located. The admission fee was ¥1500 for kids and adults.
Seikids were getting really excited now. Kids were given an Anpanman crown paper party hat and a small souvenir gift—an Anpanman den-den daiko, a traditional Japanese pellet drum. It’s a small flat drum with a handle or stick. Twist it between the palms or thumb and pointer finger, and the beads on the strings strike the side and create a cute drum sound.
3rd Floor
2:40 PM – First, we went to the 3rd floor. We saw the lineup of Anpanman and his friends—toddler-sized statues, where Seikids took some photos. Chizu and Batako-san’s statues were also in the area.
The Anpanman World – The 3rd floor of the museum was like stepping straight into the world of Anpanman himself. Everything was made to look just like the scenes from the cartoon. Walls were painted and decorated with trees, mountains with snow caps, blue skies, ponds, and more. It’s like being in the set of an Anpanman episode. 🙂
This time, Seishin didn’t want to get off yet and just wanted to be carried by Daddy, but he kept curiously looking around, up and down, and pointing to each character he noticed. 🙂
Above us, there was an Anpanman hot air balloon-like decoration, with Jam Ojisan, Batako-san, and Cheese flying along. Seishin spotted Dokin-chan and Horaman flying together. Baikinman was also up there, flying in a UFO saucer.
On the ground, Seichi went inside and explored the famous Mogurin Baikinman car. On the floor, there were plenty of glass viewing panels. When you looked down, you could see some Anpanman characters hiding underneath. You can actually see these glass viewing panels all over the museum’s ground and floors. That’s why, while roaming around, suddenly Seichi would stop, check, and watch the glass viewing floor. He found it quite interesting. 🙂
Seichi and Seishin were so surprised to see the Anpanman Mobile. 🙂 Of course, Seichi immediately got in, pretending to drive the Anpanman Mobile. 🙂
Next, we went to the Diorama Place. Seichi peeked into Baikinman’s face, and inside was like a mini home with detailed little items. Around the area were more interactive dioramas showing Anpanman’s world in different places and scenes like Forest Place, Sea, World, Wild West Town, Valley View, Snowy Land, Countryside Village, Town Festival, Ancient Egypt, Crystal Cavern, and more.
Some had buttons to press, and when the kids pushed them, little things would move, spin, or light up.
There was so much to see, play, and learn—especially for our kids with curious minds. It’s one of those places where imagination runs wild and everything feels magical, so the kids were thinking that they were in the real Anpanman’s world. 🙂
(2nd Floor)
At 3:00 PM, we went down to the second floor where the Yanase Takashi Art Gallery is, along with the SL-Man Train and Baikinman’s UFO. There was real-life-like role play with shops and Baikinman’s UFO. “Try-it-yourself” or hands-on experiences, puppet shows, and craft classes were also held here. There was a kids’ space where kids could play with some toys, and a Kids’ Room where some events were held.
There were areas set up like real-life shops—like an ice cream shop, a donburiya shop, a sushi shop, and more. The kids had fun pretending to cook, make, sell, and run their own little shop. Seichi and Seishin sold some ice cream at the ice cream shop. Seishin made and sold some sushi and cooked some donburi too. They were having so much fun taking orders and handing out food. It was pure imaginative play, and they were enjoying every moment of it like real shop owners. 🙂
Seichi also spotted a collection of Anpanman mini-character toys in a display, released from 2001–2011, that really caught his attention. 🙂 There was also a space for kids with lots of toys to play with while waiting.
3:30 PM
While waiting, they handed out mini black capes to the kids to feel the Halloween vibes. The Baikinman Hora Hora Mini Stage started. It’s Baikinman’s event. Yes, Baikinman himself! The cutest mischievous germ on the planet! Seichi was stunned at first, like, “Is that Baikinman?! Right in front of me???” You could see the surprise or maybe a little fear?—on his face. But with some encouragement, he started jumping, singing, and cheering while the “Sun Sun Exercise” (San San Taisou) song and Obake Nan Te Nai Sa (“There’s No Such Thing As Ghosts”) started playing. Seichi sang so lively while Seishin was cheering with his den den daiko. Later on, he was right up front dancing and partying with Baikinman and the other kids. Seishin joined too. It was such a fun, up-close-and-personal meet-up with Baikinman. 🙂 Seichi even got the chance to hug and shake hands with Baikinman. Seishin’s eyes sometimes got stuck just amusingly watching Baikinman, like he was trying to figure him out: “Huh? It’s Baikinman?” It was such a fun moment for the kids. 🙂
After Baikinman’s event, we went to Takashi Yanase’s Gallery. We got to see Yanase’s Anpanman and Friends paintings up close. We took some family pictures with the paintings.
3:50 PM
Next, we went back to the first floor. The Yanase Takashi Theater is on this floor. While waiting for the 4:30 event (Anpanman Do Re Mi Fa Party), Seichi played at the colorful slides. He ran so excitedly and went back and forth several times. Each slide came in different waves, so it felt like a mini rollercoaster ride for him. He was enjoying it so much, he kept coming back and having fun. After that, he ran into a tunnel while cutely smiling. There were some interactive, wall-mounted learning toys too—like busy boards with activities like tic-tac-toe, wheel mazes, and more. There’s also a museum shop here.
4:15 PM
Everyone headed to the theater in preparation for the next event—Anpanman Do Re Mi Fa Party!!! 🙂 It was Halloween, and they handed out small brown capes to set a cute, spooky vibe. When the event started, the welcome introduction was done, and everyone was waiting for Anpanman. The moment he stepped on stage, everyone shouted, “Aaaahhh Anpanman!!” along with the Anpanman Taisou welcome song. 🙂 I could hear everyone cheering with excitement, and kids were drumming their den den daiko too. About 6 seconds later, Currypanman showed up, and one second after that, Shokupanman appeared. Anpanman cheerfully greeted everyone with “Konnichiwa!”, the kids responded with a loud and cute “Konnichiwaaaa!” 🙂 Anpanman was so happy to see everyone and thanked everyone for coming and playing with them. They started singing their opening song, Do Re Mi Fa Anpanman. Seishin was also clapping in tune—still surprised, I think. 🙂 Later on, they invited the kids to the stage to join in singing and dancing. It was a kids’ party again. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 They even invited me to join the stage because I was carrying Seishin in his Ergo Baby, and I ended up sitting between Shokupanman and Anpanman while the Do Re Mi Fa Anpanman song was playing. Shokupanman also sat down, which gave more chances for the kids to see him more clearly. 🙂 Meanwhile, Seichi was dancing on the stage with the other kids, just having the time of his life. Another up-close-and-personal meet-up with the cutest and most famous superhero in Japan—ANPANMAN and Friends! 🙂 🙂
4:40 PM
We checked out the Bouncy Ball Park area. We stayed here for about 10 minutes, playing with the Anpanman character’s big, bouncy balls. The kids enjoyed playing with their daddy. Then, surprisingly, Melonpanna visited the area. She showed up for a quick meet-and-greet, and the kids excitedly ran to her, asking for high-fives, handshakes, and sharing cute short interactions. 🙂
5:00 PM
We left the museum building. As early as 5:00 PM, some had already started gathering for the final event—Yokohama Dance Dance! While waiting, we checked out the shops, service areas, food and drink, and gaming spots around Anpanman Square. There were so many different shops to check out—like toy and souvenir shops, a stuffed toy character shop, apparel, a bookstore, cookies and biscuits, a balloon shop, and a handicraft shop. For food and drinks, there was a restaurant, a bakery (that makes cute bread shaped like Anpanman and friends), candy shops, steamed meat buns, a noodle shop, hamburgers/hotdogs, juice, ice cream, croquettes, and rice balls. Services included a beauty salon, games arcade, popcorn machine, and photo studio. It looked like the shops were set up in themed zones. 🙂
Seishin wanted to try the Anpanman-yaki, a sweet treat, pancake-like or flat waffle-like snack shaped like Anpanman and filled with sweet red bean paste (anko). Soft on the outside, edges slightly crisped, and fluffy inside. 🙂 Really tasted good! We also tried the crepe with vanilla sundae and cream, with fruits like strawberries, bananas, and more, drizzled with chocolate syrup. We also had the Anpanman steamed meat bun (nikuman) with the Anpanman face bun. 🙂
5:20 PM
The final event was about to start. Almost everyone gathered around the museum’s open stage. Even before the MC came on stage, kids were already jumping and dancing to the background music while waiting. How cool is that? As the MC started giving instructions and introductions, they asked everyone to practice the Anpanman call-out :)—everyone shouted a big group, “ANPANMAAAAAN!!” 🙂 The kids were full of excitement. Wow, that was one huge call, and it was just practice! A few minutes before the actual event started, everyone was happy and clapping to the San San Taisou song. Then, Baikinman and Horrorman came out. After a few greetings, Shokupanman, Currypanman, Melonpanna, and Cream Panda showed up at Ike! Anpanman March song. Then, Anpanman followed after a short intro. 🙂 Seichi was singing and dancing. Even if we were toward the back, the area in front of us was seated, so Seichi could still see the stage. If I carried him, he wouldn’t be able to jump and dance. They played, danced, and sang different Anpanman songs. All the kids were so excited!
It started to drizzle just before the event ended. We took cover and continued to enjoy the show. We were so happy to see our kids having the best time, like they were partying with their favorite characters.
