After leaving InSquare Cafe, I turned the corner and walked pass a colourful window display of toys and dolls. I looked up and saw that this building is a toy museum. *squeals* How could I not visit this place…?
The first thing that greeted me when I entered the museum was this GIANT Keroppi-lookalike statue. I didn’t think it was Keroppi – firstly, the shade of green was wrong and it didn’t have the Sanrio character’s V-shaped mouth. (Keroppi is one of my FAVORITE Sanrio characters, the other being Hello Kitty. My first car was a Nissan March in a Keroppi colour.)
The two-storey museum isn’t that huge. After purchasing your entrance ticket, you will be shown the way to the first part of the museum which is called the Doll’s Town.
As the name suggests, all the exhibits in this room are dolls. Dolls of different sizes, from different time periods and reflecting cultures from different parts of the world. I spent quite a bit of time looking at the dolls, and reading the descriptions. Many were exquisitely made, from the facial expressions on the dolls to the clothes that they wear.
This place is a wonderland for little girls, if they like dolls, though I doubt little girls still play with dolls these days. Growing up, except for one Raggety-Ann doll, I don’t remember playing with dolls at all. I did not own a Barbie doll, simply because my mother felt that such dolls were expensive and encouraged vanity, or a Cabbage Patch Doll or a Strawberry Shortcake Doll. I was told to spend my time reading books instead of playing with dolls and toys. At six years old, I didn’t care too much for Barbie Dolls but I really wanted a Strawberry Shortcake Doll because they had just come out then and seemed all the rage amongst my friends. (Maybe I could have a Strawberry Shortcake Doll for my birthday this year…?)
As I didn’t bring my wide-angle lens with me on this trip, I had to take most of the photos of the toy museum with the paranomic function of my iPhone. Pity ‘cos the images are not great in the low light museum.
Although I quite liked looking at the doll exhibits, I found some of them slightly creepy ‘cos their expressions were either a little disturbing or they reminded me of Chucky in Child’s Play. But on the whole, I felt like I was reliving the days of being a kid, and experiencing a little of the euphoria of entering a giant toy shop.
Ooooooh, this Shirley Temple doll reminds me of the character Annie played by Aileen Quinn in the 1982 movie. I was crazy about the show when I was a kid. Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow is only a day awaaaaaay…!
This is the gift shop in the museum. Everything looks so whimsical and attractive. I very nearly bought a limited edition Lego set from the gift shop but managed to dissuade myself from doing so.
This is a really nice museum to while away an hour or two. I ended my visit with a cup of joe at the museum cafe, another pretty little place, watching the rain and dreaming away.
Directions to the Heyri Art Village are here.
