Kirk here. A while ago I posted about the opening of the new Kumamoto Children’s Book Forest (children’s library; こども本の森 熊本) and asked if anyone had been inside to check out the collection of books in English. Although I got quite a few comments, no one reported on what they actually observed inside in that regard (see the url at the end of this post). Part of the problem may have been that it’s not at all easy to gain admission. It’s a very popular place and so, to prevent little kids from being trampled by a stampede of curious adults, they require that you have a reservation and limit the number of reservations they will take for any single period.
There’s a link to the reservation interface from the main website:
https://kodomohonnomori.kumamoto.jp/
The main website has a convenient Google translate button that lets you translate the site into English and other languages but, unfortunately, Google translate and the reservation system haven’t learned to play nicely together (in other words, you can’t make a reservation via the Google translation). So, you need to deal with the Japanese interface which is here:
https://reserva.be/kodomohonnomori
If you give it a try, you’ll find that most days in the near future are full. At this writing, all weekend spots are taken for a parent and child (two people); only Wednesdays and Thursdays have openings. So, if you want to take a child (or some children) to the library, you’ll need to plan in advance.
In regard to English books, I was told when I visited the library (but wasn’t allowed into the Children’s Book Forest because I didn’t have a reservation), that they are mixed in with Japanese books.
By the way, if you haven’t seen it already, I highly recommend that you look at the Kuma Visit bilingual post about the library:
