24 September 08

There was a TMG lunch date in Shinjuku Gyoen. We met the others at the gates. There were loads of new faces - I couldn't remember half of their names. We ate in the Eco House canteen-style restaurant in the gardens. Emily had her lunch as soon as we sat down, and was too much of a handful after that for me to master a plate of noodles so I went without any food.

Afterwards we walked and talked a while; a pregnant girl was pumping me for info and I was happy to tell her my experiences and recommendations. Hope I didn't put her off. We set up camp on a lawn of newly-mown grass. After tentatively chewing on a small stick, Emily had her first crawl on grass. I had to watch her like a hawk in case she found another leaf to swallow. She seemed a bit fazed at first by the amount of space available, then she was off at quite a fast pace, with me crawling alongside her. Every so often she would stop to watch the crows that were constantly flapping past, and bounce up and down excitedly on her knees.


I've been meaning to write for some time about something that annoys me about Japanese women. There is quite a proportion of young women who walk either knock-kneed or pigeon-toed. This is clearly an affectation, since there are so many of them, and I hardly ever see older women walk that way. I think they imagine it to make them look cute and vulnerable. Personally I think they look deformed. It makes me very cross!