The Delightful Cephalopodic Playgrounds of Japan

I’m not sure I would plan an entire trip around playgrounds - especially a major trip to a faraway land like Japan.  However, it’s one of the first things I look into whenever we go anywhere - it’s just good to know where we can go blow off steam and run around if we need to.  

Japan looks to have some awfully neat playgrounds worth keeping an eye out for - and a surprising number of them incorporate one of my favorite cephalopods - the octopus!  The play structures, most of which were built by the Maeda Environmental Art Co., are common and are typically found in neighborhood parks - nothing spectacular about these sites.  But sometimes a little stop at a neighborhood playground is just what you need when you’re on the way to something more spectacular!

There's a lot to love about these structures. The organic, amorphous shapes are very conducive to sliding, climbing, and slithering.  The faces of some these creatures are alternately slightly scary, poignant, or goofy.  While clearly octopi, the structures do not demand that the nature of your play be aquatic - they're suggestive but open-ended.  For more examples (and there are many, many more), click here.

Washington D.C.: Roy Lichtenstein at the National Gallery

Here's a big new art exhibit that may grab the kids' attention, and yours too - Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective just opened at the National Gallery in Washington D.C.

The paintings (the exhibit includes sculptures and drawings as well) are fun and thought-provoking - I'm fascinated by the Mirrors series and I think a child would be too!  Even if they're not usually excited by museums, Lichtenstein's work will likely get kids thinking about the possibilities of art, and how different ways of doing things (comics, big serious paintings) can relate to eachother.

The exhibit runs through January 13, 2013.

Upcoming LiveStream: Century of the Child from NYC MOMA

A while back I posted about the exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900-2000.  The exhibit runs for a few more weeks, through November 5.

This Friday afternoon (U.S. Eastern Time), the Museum is hosting a symposium entitled The Child in the City of Play, which will be livestreamed. While not directly related to travel, the symposium will touch on themes that should be inspiring to travelers with children, including the intersection of Cities and Play.  I plan to listen to at least part of it - join me!

Austin, Texas: Seven Old-School, Kid-Friendly Eats

Wherever we go, I like to find places that have a kind of authenticity to them - what you could call “old school,” whatever the local language.   As Austin’s population has exploded over the past decade, bringing with it all kinds of cool new places to eat, these old funky places have become increasingly rare.  So, I present to you, my picks for Old-School Austin Eats - all welcoming to children, naturally.  Visit them while you still can.

As you may notice, the dining establishments listed below are not the most healthful sorts of places - this is just how they rolled back in the good old days in Texas.  Burgers and ice cream figure heavily.  However, they do all have character and that counts for quite a bit in my book!  

Top Notch on Burnet Road

Top Notch
Top Notch is a fully-functional drive-in restaurant that serves burgers, fries, onion rings shakes, etc..  They also serve fried pies, which even my husband is nervous about eating.  Top Notch opened in 1971, and seems to have barely changed; you can get a look at it in Richard Linklater’s 1993 film Dazed and Confused.  

Dirty Martin’s
Another funky old burger place - this one has served the University of Texas community since 1926.  It was originally called Martin’s Kum-Bak place, but the dirt floor - now gone - earned it the nick-name “Dirty’s” or “Dirty Martin’s”. 

Cisco's on East Sixth Street

Cisco's
I will be honest and say that I have never ordered anything other than migas and biscuits while dining at this East Side institution.  I happen to find them divine.  My son adores the biscuits with a bit of honey. The walls are covered with framed news clippings about the owners and other miscellany. There is plenty for kids to gawk at and the service is pretty quick.

Nau's Enfield Drug on West Lynn

Nau's Enfield Drug 
This is a rare and precious thing nowadays - a real old-fashioned neighborhood pharmacy with a small lunch counter (and other seating) in the back.  Nau's serves the basics: grilled cheese, hamburgers, etc.  We usually go for the ice cream sundaes, which are just perfect.  

Sandy's on Barton Springs Road

Sandy's Frozen Custard
Sandy's has been handing out soft-serve custard (also known as ice cream - as well as burgers and other lunch grub) from it's walk-up window since 1946.  Located right in the middle of town on Barton Springs Road, it's still the perfect place to stop by on a ridiculously hot summer day.  Picnic tables are in the back.

Quality Seafood on Airport Boulevard

Quality Seafood
This place is part fish market and part restaurant (a little bar in the center divides the two).  It's my son's favorite restaurant - he is obsessed with their fried calimari.  I like it too - it is super casual, quite tasty, and one of a kind.  Sharks and other sea life hang from the ceiling, and the staff are nice as can be.

Matt's El Rancho on South Lamar

Matt’s El Rancho
Warning: this place is popular.  Go early or you may face a bit of a wait.  Otherwise, it’s your basic tex-mex served in a big, rambling, high-energy (but laid-back) space.  Lots of rooms for wandering through (when baby needs to move around); lots of sympathetic friendly people; a great spot for big groups.

Japan: The Hakone Open-Air Museum

We’ve been dreaming about traveling to Japan lately.  One child-friendly place I don’t want to miss is the Hakone Open-Air Museum.  Visiting a conventional museum can be tricky, but this is a museum where my child can wander and play and explore to his heart's delight.  And so can I!

The art is varied and fantastic; the focus is modern and contemporary sculpture.  Pieces are rotated seasonally.  There is also a large (indoor) collection of work by Picasso, featuring mainly ceramics but also including paintings, sculpture, and more.

"Floating Sculpture" by Marta Pan (1969)

"Miss Black Power" by Niki De Saint Phalle (1968) 

"Engraved Wind" by Flow Masayuki (1979)

The museum is particularly child-friendly. They offer a special map for children incorporating a finding game; it includes a stylus which “reads” the name of each piece when it’s pointed to on the map.  

Interactive Children's Map

Children are also admitted for free on Saturdays. Many of the sculptures are interactive, including an indoor play area, a big outdoor maze, a spiral staircase enclosed by stained glass and glitter, and a giant sculpture made from colorful netting. 

Forest Castle Bubble (left) and and The Net (right)

I love The Museum's description of The Net (as translated by Google):

“Let me play with abandon play sculpture that is felt in the whole body, the senses and the sense of color modeling through play.”

Sounds good to me!