Warabekan
A museum of children's songs and toys, with about 2,000 toys from Japan and abroad.
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Warabekan
SaveA museum of children's songs and toys, with about 2,000 toys from Japan and abroad.
The first floor lets children play eight nursery songs on a xylophone and drums; upstairs is a shoes-off play room.
MoreWhat kind of place
Warabekan opened on July 7, 1995, bringing two collections under one roof: a prefecture-run hall of Japanese children's songs and a city-run museum of toys from around the world.
The three-story building recreates the exterior of the old prefectural library, though work on the exterior walls runs until early May 2027. The top floor shows about 2,000 toys from Japan and abroad across 13 themes.
A mechanical clock performs on the hour for four and a half minutes, sending out figures from Japanese folk tales such as Kintaro and Issun-boshi.
Sources and evidence (24)
- A museum of Japanese children's songs and toys, run by the public interest foundation Tottori Children's Song and Toy Museum Warabekan.source
- The three-story building is made up of rooms for children's songs and rooms for toys, and most of the exhibits are hands-on.source
- The museum describes its exhibits as things to look at, listen to, and touch, meant for three generations of a family to enjoy together.source
- The museum says it is entirely indoors, so rain, snow, heat, and cold do not affect a visit.source
- It opened on July 7, 1995.source
- It was built to promote Tottori Prefecture's campaign as the home of Japanese children's songs, and to mark the success of the 1989 Tottori World Toy Expo held by the city.source
- It combines the Tottori Prefectural Nursery Song Hall, which traces the history of children's songs era by era, and the Tottori Municipal World Toy Museum, which displays about 2,000 toys from Japan and abroad.source
- The nickname Warabekan was chosen through a public contest.source
- The building has a retro look that recreates the exterior of the former Tottori Prefectural Library.source
- There is a nursing room on the first floor.source
- The rest area on the first floor is a space where you can eat and drink food you bring in.source
- The mechanical clock performs once an hour from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and each performance runs four minutes and 30 seconds.source
- The figures that come out of the mechanical clock are Daikoku-sama, the White Rabbit, the old man who makes flowers bloom, his dog Pochi, Kintaro, a bear, Issun-boshi, and a squirrel.source
- The clock plays Koko wa Furusato, Daikoku-sama, Issun-boshi, Hanasaka Jiji, Kintaro, and Furusato, plus a seasonal school song that changes with spring, summer, fall, and winter.source
- The children's song rooms on the first floor are divided into sections on traditional play songs, school songs, musicians from Tottori, nursery songs, and a music play room called Doremi Land.source
- The toy rooms on the second and third floors are divided into a toy laboratory, a toy workshop, a play area, a world toys section, and a sunset room.source
- The toy rooms on the third floor display about 2,000 toys across 13 themes, according to the museum's English page.source
- The building also has an event hall and a library.source
- The egg sculptures placed inside and outside the building stand for birth and creation.source
- Parking is free, with 20 spaces in the semi-basement garage, 65 outdoors, five for large buses, and three accessible spaces.source
- The outdoor lot charges 100 yen per 30 minutes for a car, but the fee is waived if you show your parking ticket at the reception desk when you enter.source
- The semi-basement garage takes up to 20 cars under 2 meters tall, and the museum does not recommend using it because the streets nearby are narrow and mostly one-way.source
- If the lots are full, the city's Katahara parking lot is also available, and on weekends and holidays so is the prefectural office lot, 550 meters away or about a seven-minute walk.source
- Work on the exterior walls and other parts of the building runs from July 22, 2026 to early May 2027, per a notice dated July 16, 2026 on the museum's home page.source
With kidsThe part that matters
If the weather turns, this museum of children's songs and toys is entirely indoors, so rain, snow, heat, or cold will not cut the visit short.
On the first floor, kids can hit a xylophone or an electronic drum to play eight nursery songs.
The same floor has a nursing room and a rest area where you can eat food you brought in, so a meal does not mean leaving the building. Plan about two hours, which leaves time for the shoes-off play room upstairs.
The museum closes at 5:00 p.m. with last entry at 4:30, so arriving by 3:00 leaves you the full two hours.
Sources and evidence (6)
- A locomotive sculpture that makes sounds and moves stands in the first-floor entrance.source
- The play area is a room where small children take off their shoes and move around freely, with toys chosen to encourage imagination.source
- Her 3-year-old stayed longest at the second-floor ball pool and small slide. They used 1.5 hours; she'd allow two.source
- With children they head straight to the second floor: the workshop hands you tools and makes a pair of spinning tops.source
- The first-floor rest corner takes your own packed lunch, and the nursing room is on that floor too.source
- January, with a 7- and 5-year-old: the heating runs hot for children who move, so dress them light.source
By age0-1 / 2-3 / 4-6
- Ages 0-1The locomotive object in the first-floor entrance makes sound and moves, and can be watched from your arms. The mechanical clock plays for four and a half minutes every hour from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Daikoku-sama, the white rabbit, Kintaro and Issun-boshi coming out. The whole museum is indoors, so rain, snow, heat and cold all stay outside.The nursing room is on the first floor. There is a barrier-free ramp at the main entrance and an elevator inside. Eight strollers and five wheelchairs are lent free. On the second floor there is a barrier-free restroom with an ostomate fitting. Admission is free for high school age and under. Exterior repair work runs from 22 July 2026 to early May 2027.
- Ages 2-3On the second floor, Asobo Hiroba is a room where small children take off their shoes and play freely, using toys chosen to feed the imagination. Downstairs, Do-Re-Mi Land is a room for playing with sound, where you can sing into a microphone or play instruments. At the street organ you can ring out eight nursery songs on a keyboard, a xylophone, or an electronic drum that sounds when you hit it.The rest corner on the first floor is a space where you may eat and drink what you brought in. The mechanical clock plays on the hour, so timing your arrival means no waiting. A visitor with a three-year-old had an hour and a half inside and writes that about two hours is the right amount to allow. Admission is free for high school age and under. The museum closes on the third Wednesday of each month, or the next day if that is a holiday, and stays open every day in August.
- Ages 4-6In the karaoke corner of Do-Re-Mi Land you can pick from more than 300 songs, nursery songs and school songs and anime themes, sing them, and have a photo taken against a seasonal backdrop. The toy rooms on the third floor are laid out in 13 themes with about 2,000 toys. The second and third floors also hold the Toy Laboratory, the Toy Workshop and Yuyake Hiroba.Admission is free for high school age and under; adults pay 500 yen, or 250 yen for foreign visitors who show a passport. The outdoor parking lot charges 100 yen per 30 minutes for a car, but showing the parking ticket at the reception desk when you enter makes it free. From JR Tottori Station it is about 20 minutes on foot, or about 5 minutes on the 100-yen city loop bus Kururi, green course, getting off at the Warabekan stop. The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., last entry 4:30 p.m., and a visitor writes that about two hours is the right amount to allow for the three floors.
By weatherRain, heat, cold
- Rainy dayThe museum describes itself as fully indoors, comfortable on rainy and snowy days alike. The song rooms on the first floor, the toy rooms on the second and third, and the Asobo Hiroba where small children take off their shoes to play are all within the three-story building, so the whole visit stays inside.
- Hot dayNot checked yet
- Cold dayNot checked yet
Time needed1.5 h
How was it with your kids?
Not greatGreat
- ElevatorElevator：with conditionsconditions
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：with conditionsconditions
- RentalStroller rental：with conditionsconditions
- NursingNursing space：with conditionsconditions
- ChangingDiaper changing table：not checked
- Family WCFamily restroom：with conditionsconditions
- Own foodOutside food allowed：with conditionsconditions
- EnglishEnglish support：not checked
* Other not checked (3)
Diaper disposal bin, Kids' toilet seat & step stool, Child switch (rider swap)
Green = we confirmed it. Gray = not checked yet. Gray with a line through = the place does not have it.
Worth a look before you go
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Her 3-year-old stayed longest at the second-floor ball pool and small slide. They used 1.5 hours; she'd allow two.
Tottori might suit traveling with small children: a trip with my 3-year-old
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
With children they head straight to the second floor: the workshop hands you tools and makes a pair of spinning tops.
Warabekan: three generations get absorbed — toy-making, fine in the rain, free for high-school age and under
Japanese · opens translatedGuide
The first-floor rest corner takes your own packed lunch, and the nursing room is on that floor too.
Warabekan, the museum of children's songs and toys
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
January, with a 7- and 5-year-old: the heating runs hot for children who move, so dress them light.
Tottori's Warabekan: a toy museum that works on a rainy day, with kids
Warabekan · Links & reads ▾
Where to go next
Where it is
3-202 Nishimachi, Tottori-shi, Tottori 680-0022source
Before you go
Basics
- Fee：Adults ¥500; groups of 20 or more ¥400 each; overseas visitors ¥250 on showing a passport. Free for high-school age and younger, and for visitors with a disability certificate and their carer. Free-entry days: 7 July (the museum's anniversary), 12 September (Tottori Prefecture Day) and one day of the Kansai Culture Day period. An annual passport gives unlimited entry for a yearsource
- Hours：9:00-17:00, last admission 16:30. Closed the third Wednesday of each month (the Thursday if that Wednesday is a holiday); open every day in August. Closed over New Year — the Japanese page says 31 Dec-3 Jan and the English page says 29 Dec-1 Jansource
- Time to allow：1.5 hsource
- Booking：Groups of 20 or more have a group rate and a reservation pagesourceOfficial booking site ↗
- Note: exterior repair work runs from 22 July 2026 to early May 2027source
Basics in detail (11)
- The address is 3-202 Nishimachi, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture, a cultural and sightseeing facility downtown, close to Mt. Kyusho, the symbol of the city.source
- From JR Tottori Station it is about a 20-minute walk, about five minutes by taxi, or about five minutes on the green route of the Kururi 100-yen city loop bus, which stops at Warabekan.source
- From Tottori Airport, take the airport bus for 15 minutes and get off at Kencho / Nisseki-mae.source
- About two hours and 30 minutes from Osaka on the JR limited express Super Hakuto, or about two hours from Okayama on the JR limited express Super Inaba.source
- Admission is 500 yen for an adult, 400 yen per adult for groups of 20 or more, and 250 yen for an adult visitor from overseas.source
- High school students and younger enter free, as do visitors with disabilities and the people caring for them.source
- The 250-yen overseas visitor rate requires showing a passport.source
- Admission is free on July 7 (the museum's anniversary), on September 12 (Tottori Prefecture Citizens' Day), and on one day during Kansai Culture Day.source
- An annual pass is sold that lets you enter as many times as you like for a year.source
Once you've decided
evidence & sources (9)
Opened in 1995, the museum puts children's songs and toys under one roof, in a building that copies the old prefectural library's facade. A music room on the first floor has a xylophone and electronic drums set up for eight nursery songs. A karaoke corner offers more than 300 songs. The third floor arranges its toys in 13 themes, and the second floor has a room where small children play with their shoes off. A mechanical clock performs on the hour.
| Stroller friendly | Yes | A barrier-free ramp at the main entrance and an elevator inside; strollers are lent free | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | warabe.or.jp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroller rental | Yes (8) | Eight strollers and five wheelchairs, lent free | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | warabe.or.jp |
| Nursing space | Yes (1) | One room, on the first floor | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | warabe.or.jp |
| Family restroom | Yes (1) | One barrier-free toilet with ostomate facilities, on the second floor | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | warabe.or.jp |
| Elevator | Yes | An elevator serves the three floors | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | warabe.or.jp |
| Diaper changing table | Not checked yet | ||||
| Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet | ||||
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet | ||||
| Indoor / outdoor | Indoor | Fully indoors — the museum describes itself as comfortable on rainy and snowy days, whatever the temperature | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | warabe.or.jp |
| Outside food allowed | Yes | The rest corner on the first floor is a space where you may eat food you brought in | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | warabe.or.jp |
| English support | Not checked yet | ||||
| Steps & slope caution | Barrier-free | Barrier-free ramp at the main entrance, an elevator between floors, and an ostomate-equipped barrier-free toilet | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | warabe.or.jp |
| Kids' price & free conditions | Yes | Free for high-school age and younger (adults ¥500) | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | warabe.or.jp |
| Child switch (rider swap) | Not checked yet |