My first-ever trip to Utsunomiya.
I finally made my wish come true and planned the trip.
Before reaching the city, I stopped by the "Bandai Museum in Omocha no Machi."
"Omocha no Machi" (Toy Town) is such a wonderful name for a town.
It’s apparently called that because there used to be many toy factories there.
If I were a child, I’m sure I would want to live here, work here, and spend my whole life in this town.
Though that dream won't come true, any child who loves toys would be absolutely delighted here.
Upon entering the museum, we were greeted by a life-sized upper-body statue of the original Gundam.
My eldest child, who is a huge Gundam fan, seemed beyond thrilled,
and was busy taking pictures of everything in sight.
There were exhibits featuring life-sized characters from anime scenes,
as well as a full-scale Gundam cockpit—so many things that boys love.
There were also displays of toys from past Kamen Rider and Super Sentai series,
and finding some toys I actually owned as a child
filled me with a sense of nostalgia and joy.
The museum has various genre-specific display areas, each about the size of a school classroom,
featuring not only toys for boys, but plenty of toys for girls as well.
For those of a certain generation, items like Licca-chan dolls and Sailor Moon will be nostalgic,
while they offer a fresh experience for those seeing them for the first time.
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After visiting the Bandai Museum, I headed into central Utsunomiya,
where the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, gyoza.
I spent most of my time just eating, but between that and finding fun places like the Bandai Museum,
this trip to Utsunomiya was truly a wonderful experience.
