27 March 2009

My first time helping with a TMG trip as a coordinator, and I fell at the first hurdle. We were supposed to be going to the Bornelund playcentre in Kawasaki, with me taking a second wave of mums in the afternoon. However, I heard in the morning that it was half term and that the usual daypass would not be available. As it was a fine day, and I only had two takers (one being Momo), I made an executive decision to go to a park instead. We met at Tamachi and went to Kyu Shiba Rikyu garden, next to Hamamatsucho station. The other mum had been in Tokyo for 6 months, but said this was only the third time she'd ventured out without her husband, so she needed a bit of hand-holding getting around.

The garden was looking lovely - I am fast thinking this is my favourite one in the city, and it is also little known so never all that busy. There were some early cherry trees that had just come out, and a bank of daffodils too.

Though it is small compared to some, the park is great for Emily to get around without the stroller, although I usually have to carry her a bit still. She and Mikele were trotting about happily on the grass (they actually had some green grass, which is a treat after the yellow lawns everywhere else), and playing with his ball. The other baby is not yet walking, and was very shy. Jill was on her way over with Sophia but got diverted by the slides and swings outside, so we only saw them briefly.

Unfortunately, after the earlier promise of fine weather it clouded over and got quite chilly, so we retired to the warmth of the jidokan, which is only a few minutes walk away. When I think about it, I will always be a country girl at heart, but there is so much to see and do in a city, and so much variety in playplaces for Emily.