LWIF EP23: How Japanese Kids Learn to “Drive”

交通公園 Kotsu-Koen (Traffic Parks) are a fun, free place for kids to learn the rules of the road in Japan.

The traffic parks are mini recreations of Japanese roads, complete with traffic lights, signs, and even friendly oji-sans (male elders / Grandpas) to help kids along the way.

Do the kids actually learn the traffic rules well? Well, if you watched the video, I’d say their on-course following of the rules was questionable.

Do the kids have fun? Unquestionably.

Someone asked where to find these parks. If you google 交通公園 which is Kotsu-Koen (Traffic Park) and the name of the city/area in Japan you’re visiting, you may have some luck. I googled 交通公園東京 (Kotsu-koen Tokyo) and this was the top result was this. If you follow the link, it’ll have a Google Map of the traffic parks found within Tokyo, and the blog post talks about them (it’s in Japanese though, but Google Translate is your friend).

Do you have traffic parks where you’re from?