Jumping around on an outdoor bouncy castle is a summer rite of passage that no kid should be denied, but with Japan's rainy season kicking in, it's not something that can be planned so easily. Fuwa Fuwa kids adventure 2014 in Osaka, though, offers inflatable entertainment indoors, so you can still get the kids out of the house and doing something active.
The inflatables also come in all kinds of shapes and sizes — dinosaurs, treasure islands, space ships, tree houses, polar bears, pirate ships, gardens and much more, so there should be something that appeals to even the fussiest of children.
Some of the inflatables have giant slides or mazes, and when that gets boring, there's a small train running inside the event hall. For the braver kids, there's a slightly scary attraction — a Dino-A-Live performance involving a six-meter-tall dinosaur that walks, roars and gnashes its teeth. If you don't think your kids are up to being attacked by a dinosaur, though, take them to the Kyoto Pony Zoo where they can pet some tamer animals.
Each attraction requires different numbers of "play tickets," which can be bought at the ticket booth individually for ¥100, or in batches of 11 for ¥1,000. If you're early, there's some free Pokemon sun visors and stickers up for grabs too.
Fuwa Fuwa Kids Adventure 2014 takes place from May 31-June 1 at the Asia and Pacific Trade Center, ATC Hall, Osaka. Admission is ¥500 in advance, ¥600 at the door, and additional play tickets are required for different attractions. For more information, call 06-6947-1912 or visit www.tv-osaka.co.jp/event/eventtool_kids.