When kids have to be hospitalized

Okay- so no blog post for a while, I guess February was not so great on the blog updates. I'll try to catch up a bit, but frankly we haven't been doing much. One big exciting thing from last month was a hospital ordeal: 3yr old S swallowed a lego. We didn't see it happen, but could tell he was having a little difficulty breathing. He told us that a lego went down and that legos made him burp. He quickly regained mostly normal breathing and so no need to call an ambulance. I took him on my bike first to a nearby hospital and they recommended that I go to one of the big ones because they didn't really have a pediatric specialist. They suggested Second Red Cross (Just west of the imperial palace and just north of Marutamachi) or the Prefectural Medical School hospital (on Kawaramachi just south of Imadegawa). I chose the latter. (Next time- I think I'll just go there first- though I am profusely knocking on wood so that there is no next time). We went to the emergency room and they took some X-rays and MRIs, found what they thought was the lego down the bronchial tube. This meant S had to go under to get it out and that meant he had to be hospitalized. So after a long wait to make sure he had digested his breakfast-they put him under and stuck a tube down his throat and got that pesky lego out. They doctors and nurses all did a stellar job with everything. Afterward we had to stay for two nights. (One night in the ICU and then one in a regular ward in the children's hospital-this may be the only hospital with a building dedicated for kids, but I'm not sure.) I guess they wanted to make sure everything thing was ok. This was tough-he had IVs in and wanted to take them off. He was confined to his bed and wanted to get out, couldn't run around etc. The first night made sense, but I thought the second was a little excessive.
Anyway- here is some information for those of you who might have to deal with this (heaven forbid). They have a pamphlet about it in Japanese, but I didn't read it until later. Main points:
You need to bring a cup and utensils for the meals (I wasn't expecting this), as well as changes of clothes, toiletries, diapers, towels, etc.
They ask that you limit toys to two, plus a favorite stuffed animal etc for comfort.
They have shared tatami rooms (separated by gender) for parents to sleep in at night, but you need to have your own sheets and pillows- they have blankets. I slept for part of the first night there, but night 2 I shared S's tiny bed.
There is a shared bath in the ward- like a sento, but we didn't use it.
We still haven't received the bill yet, but it won't end up being over 3,000Y because S is under elementary age.
All in all, I thought the hospital did a great job and a follow up visit showed no secondary issues- all good! Thank you nationalized health care!

Yu Kids Island in Aeon mall

On the top floor of the Aeon mall they have this amazing playground for kids in 2nd grade and younger. It has all sorts of inflatable moon bounce kinds of things that keep the young ones entertained for as long as the adults can stand it. It is a pretty fun place to go on a cold winter day. Our younger two could have stayed all day bounding from play area to play area
Here is the info:
500y per hour per child UNLESS you are a member in which case the price is the same but there is no time limit.
Membership is 1000Y BUT if you get a multiple use pass (available in 5 or 10) or one/three month pass then membership is free.
We got a five visit pass for 2000Y with the included membership. For each visit we can us two tickets for each child. (I guess we'll have to pay for one the third time we go.)
They have them all over Japan and apparently, even one in San Fransisco (though I can't find out any info about that one- whacha think sis?)
Aeon mall website
Company website (in English)
They have another branch inside the Kyoto Jusco Family Mall, west of the Saiin station on Shijo.

Sanjusangendo archery

Every year on the Sunday closest to the 15th there is an archery competition at Sanjusangendo- the temple of 1000 Kannon on Nana-jo south of Kiyomizu. This dates to the 1600's when the competition was to shoot the entire length of the temple. Nowadays you only have to hit a target half the length, still a difficult task from what I saw. Anyway, the event is from 9-3:30 and there are thousands of contestants who give it a try. The contestants are usually people who became 20 this last year and thus who celebrated coming-of-age on Seijin no hi. They appeared to be members of archery clubs from colleges across Japan. It was worth it just to see the kimono they had on (the same one's they wore for their coming of age ceremony earlier in the week I am sure), but the archery made it especially cool. Part way through they switched to a few rounds with really good archers and smaller targets. They still had difficulty, but hit the targets much more often than the 20 year olds before them. We only stayed for about an hour, but were glad to have seen it. It was crowded, but we were able to find a place to watch a little of it on the stands about midway across the field.
Also, FYI the entrance fee to the temple is free on this day and they have several stands for Tai-yaki, okonomiyaki, tako-yaki, sweets and so on for hungry kids.

Renting bikes with child seats in Kyoto

The kids grandparents came over new years and we had a lot of fun. When I was looking for bike rentals for them I found this place by the Eiden Demachiyanagi station that also had child seats on some of their bikes. Here is the website. By the way, it was also the cheapest place I found. 500Y per day, 2000Y per week, 2500Y for 2 weeks and 3000Y for a month.

Kid friendly restaurants in Kyoto: Ramen

Our kids love ramen and pretty much all ramen places are the same in their eyes. Since ramen shops are pretty much ubiquitous this makes finding somewhere to eat pretty easy. Unlike the kids WE have some places that we prefer more than others- when we find places that stand out I'll post on them here. In the meantime, (on the suggestion of another Kyoto parent) here is a useful phrase to help order for kids: Negi nashi kudasai- no green onions please. (Nashi is a useful word to put after things the kids don't like- some of our kids don't like ketchup: so we use it a lot. "Kechappu nashi kudasai" "Sōsu nashi kudasai" etc.)

Here is an unusual place- Mamezen. It is "Kyoto style" ramen with soy milk broth,with yuba and plum as toppings. We saw it on Kyoto Foodie and gave it a try- very delicious. It worked well because we were the only ones there, but the small space might not work so great with other diners. The couple who run it are super nice and have a young child of their own, so they looked with understanding at the antics of ours. The other downside is that they open late: 7:30 and we usually prefer to eat about 5:30 or 6. Lunch would be great though. They do have a kid's set that was perfect for our 5 year old.

Kid friendly restaurants in Kyoto: Other all-you-can-eat places

After the post on Obanzai I thought I would post about other similar places. Some of which we have tried and others we haven't. As I said before, these are good because the kids can pick and choose.
1- Harvest in Porta (under the Kyoto train station)
We went here early on in our stay and really enjoyed it. It is about twice the food for about twice the price. They have a decent array of deserts too. Drinks cost extra and there aren't many choices (basically tea and coffee). Lunch: 1468Y (1888Y on weekends and holidays) Dinner: 1993Y Elementary school kids: 838Y Younger than elementary school: 523Y
They also have a slightly cheaper branch near Shijo Kawaramachi.

2- Hasegawa Obanzai on Sanjo: south side of the street just east of the post office and the Kyoto museum. Similar spread to Obanzai, perhaps a little harder with kids because it was a smaller space.
Lunch: 950Y Dinner: 1500Y

3- 808 Cafe in Aeon Mall south of the Kyoto station
We haven't tried this yet, but the huge selection of deserts (including a chocolate fountain) certainly caught the eye of the kids. We'll certainly give it a try one of these days.
Lunch: 1280Y　Elementary school: 640Y　under:　350Y
Dinner: 1580Y　Elementary: 790Y　under: 400Y

Update: We gave this a try as promised and it was great. The food is primarily vegetable based and a hit with the adults. They had chicken karage and curry that went over well with the kids, but the kids really liked the all you can eat ice cream and cakes after dinner. (We did make them eat one plate of food before hitting the deserts- what meanies!) Maybe the best of the bunch.

4- There is another up the road from the Randen (Arashiyama line) station in Arashiyama, but I know nothing about it.

Kid friendly restaurants in Kyoto: Obanzai

Obanzai is an all you can eat natural food (mostly vegetarian) place near Karasuma Oike. It is mostly home style "natural food" cooking. Unlike other all you can eat places we have been to, it doesn't have a huge array of dishes but I liked what we had there. It is nice that the kids can choose what they want and when they find something they like, they can eat a lot of it. We also went for lunch and it may be the case that they have more for dinner. I think we'd probably stick with lunch anyway. They have a single price for kids and adults, but they didn't charge us for the kids under elementary age.
Nitty gritty:
Lunch: 840Y on weekdays 1050Y weekends and holidays
Dinner: 2100Y (closed Wednesday evening)
It is three blocks west of the Karasuma Oike intersection and almost a block north (on the east side of Koromonotana Street). Basically go north after the Roukin bank with the rainbow on it. It is a little hard to find so just keep your eyes peeled on the East side of the street.
I think Obanzai must be in Lonely Planet or something because there were several foreigners there.
phone: 075-223-6623