Toy Alley

They have massive markets over here and in the markets they have streets that are designated to specific items.  There is a toy alley, a bakers alley, fabric alley, a shoe alley (I'm particularly excited to visit this one but I'm waiting till school is back in session so I can go and browse at my leisure) and pet alley.  One day this past week we went on an adventure with some friends of ours out to lunch then on to toy alley.

The girls with their friends at lunch.  The younger boy isn't wearing a shirt because his mom was hoping to keep it clean for the rest of the day...it didn't work, it was dirty before we even walked out of the restaurant.

My girls love to hang out with and take care of these boys.

They attracted quite a bit of attention on the subway together.

Toy alley is a small piece of heaven for children...and a nightmare for parents.  :)  There are so many toy stores all packed with toys.  In toy alley they also have a few stores with party supplies and a few stores with arts and crafts supplies, but it is mainly toy stores.

An arts and crafts supply store-not quite the same as Hobby Lobby

There are at least 50 small toy stores in toy alley.  Now when I say small you have to understand the aisles are barely wide enough for us to fit through.

Sorry my picture is a little blurry.  I didn't realize it until after we had left and I was downloading them from my phone.

This was so narrow we had to walk sideways through it.  Probably doesn't meet American fire codes.

A lot of these toy stores sell wholesale as well as individual sales.  So when you are ordering from Oriental Trading you now will know where it comes from.

The toys aren't just inside either.  Often times they have so many toys that they won't all fit in the store so they stack them outside as well.

We had a fun day with our friends.  We didn't even buy anything huge, just a few stocking stuffers for Christmas and a few little dollar type toys.  It is just so fun to go and take it all in.

Showing off my new $3.00 canvas bag that I bought to put all of our purchases in.  (Often times they don't give you a bag when you make a purchase at a market-including grocery stores-so these reusable bags are really handy to have over here.)

My friend and I waiting for the subway on the way home.  The Koreans always make a peace sign when they get their picture taken so we did it too.