26 May 2009

T-shirts gave way to fleeces as the temperature dropped significantly with a cold north wind.

Given Emily's obsession with trains, a trip to nearby Brookside, with its miniature railway, was in order. It was the kind that you sit astride rather than having covered carriages. Emily seemed a bit peturbed and stopped waving her Thomas flag when we set off. She seemed terrified of the dark tunnels but amazingly didn't cry, though she gripped Nick's arm like a vice, and emerged pale and wide-eyed. It was probably for the best that they were running a diesel not a steam engine, as the whistle would have likely caused tears. Well Nick, Kate and I enjoyed the five minute ride anyway!

After lunch I had to take Nick to Macclesfield to get a train to London for his overnight visit. The rest of us then went off to a lake near Congleton to feed the birds. It was a bit of a disaster-laden jaunt. First of all we were stuck in a traffic jam leaving Macclesfield as there was an accident on the road ahead, with multiple emergency vehicles attending. Taking a country road detour we hit another queue as a herd of cows made their very leisurely way into a farm. At the lake we found a host of waterfowl, including at least 20 swans. We gave Emily a piece of bread to throw but she had barely extended her hand when a swan shot out its neck and took it. I don't think it hurt her but the shock of it made her yell.

Walking along the waterside we were accosted by a strange man who addressed us from his car, banging on about the local MP's expenses (the hot topic in the UK right now, and very unfortunate timing given the economic situation, is the exorbitant costs that MPs charge to the taxpayer, and it has escalated to the point where the whole political system is near collapse as voters have lost what little trust they had in their representatives). After that the nutter, a middle-aged man who sported a frizzy mane of grey shoulder length hair, started expounding about his wife taking his son away. At that, Kate and I walked on and left Pam and Graham to extricate themselves as politely as possible, but not until they had been informed that he was an Iranian musician and his ex-wife an Austrian nun. Contrary to Graham's recollection, the land surrounding the lake was off limits so we took a little walk in a field, where Emily was in seventh heaven staggering around in the long grass.

25 May 2009

Emily was awake at 5.30, but how wonderful to hear birdsong - my favourite, a blackbird, I think. We spent a quiet morning pottering and Emily got to know Grannie, Grandad and Auntie Kate a bit better. Florence was very tolerant: Emily pursued her relentlessly and kept trying to poke her in the eye as she kept repeating 'eye' and making a passable attempt at her name.

Needing a few essentials, we popped out to Tesco's. It was like an Aladdin's cave for us (and so cheap too), and we both spent ages in there. It was tempting to go mad, but we have to think of the luggage space.

After lunch we all went to Lyme Park. Emily was ecstatic to have the open hillsides to roam about on, and I think she walked further than ever before, though it finally ended in tears as she grazed her hand falling on some stones near The Cage.

From the folly, we could see right across Manchester, though the cloud was thickening. Back at the estate buildings we stopped for tea and cake and Emily made a friend of an older girl who followed her around and chattered at her. We finished our visit in a play area in the woods, which was swarming with kids. Emily loved it, but it came on to rain and we made for home.

Again, she went down to sleep very easily, even though the room was still very light. I made it to about 10pm before I had to slip into bed. I must have still been quite jetlagged as my head was swimming and my eyes bleary.

24 May 2009

Emily woke at 1am and was really genki, babbling and wanting to play. I hauled myself out of bed and took her up to the living room, where we played for nearly three hours before I thought there might be a chance of her sleeping again. She lay between us and jabbered a while before dozing, but only until 5am. We traipsed back upstairs, and I tried my best, with limited success, to keep her quiet until Fi and Fern made an appearance.


At ten o'clock we were loaded back up and ready to set off for Macclesfield. Unusually for a bank holiday weekend, it was a gorgeous day. We had a clean run through and Emily slept the first hour. She did get fed up being confined for four hours or more in the car seat, but rather than cry she would just look really dejected and go quiet. At Stafford services we stopped for a long lunch break. I can hardly talk myself, but there seemed to be a very high proportion of overweight people around, but after being amongst the Japanese maybe my perception is skewed.


We made it to Pam and Graham's by early afternoon, where we were greeted by 'Welcome Home' balloons on the doorstep; Emily was soon out enjoying the garden, and hunting for the Night Garden figures that Pam had hidden for her to find. Everything looks so lush at this time of year - we definitely chose the right time to come back. The grass looks artificial, it is so vividly green. I'd seen some beautiful laburnums along the way, dripping with dangling yellow bunches of flowers, and it was lovely to see so many cows and sheep grazing in roadside fields.


After an afternoon of playing, coupled with such an early start to the day, I had no trouble in getting Emily down in her cot tent by 6pm. Straight after dinner a wave of weariness swept over me and I had to turn in as well, though it was barely dark.

23 May 2009

After all our trepidation about the flight home, it went remarkably well. Emily was more of a handful on the one hour train ride to Narita than the 12 hour flight. Once through Departures she was in raptures to see so many of her beloved hikoki (aeroplanes). I was very impressed with Terminal One, having only been through T2 before, which feels more like a provincial airport in some backward banana republic (well, bit of an exaggeration, but there is a marked difference). We barely had time to trawl for a few souvenirs before we boarded the Virgin plane.

Right from the start I was pleasantly surprised by the airline and will always use them wherever possible. The staff were genuinely friendly and not snooty like BA. They had given us a bulkhead row of four seats in the middle, which was great in terms of legroom. The downside was that the armrests could not be folded back to allow Emily to lie down, but luckily the flight was only half full so we were able to move her for naptime. She was happy enough watching kids TV and playing with some new toys I'd brought until nearly half way, when after being awake for nearly 10 hours she got upset. Nick took her off to another row and they both slept for a while. I caught up on some essential viewing and watched Slumdog Millionaire.

The rest of the journey was spent taking it in turns to walk up and down the aisles with Emily as she followed the other small children on board. Just before we arrived in London she slept again, missing the landing and waking up once in the terminal. I was surprised not to feel any strong emotions on touching down on British soil but maybe I was just too knackered. There were no obvious signs of any swine flu measures in place at the airport; I had envisaged forms to fill and heat cameras trained on us.

Given how weary she must have been, Emily was remarkably chirpy, but again she gave in to sleep on the drive to Reading. I'll gloss over the car hire: suffice to say it was an unwelcome reminder of the horror of British customer service, and when as tired as we were it made me feel like getting onto the next flight home again. After 20 minutes wrestling with the baby seat ('health & safety' cited as the reason they couldn't help us fit it or even explain it to us) we hit the road, making a few wrong turns before finally finding our way out onto the M4.

We were soon pulling up in School Terrace, where we were glad to see the welcoming faces of Mum, Fi, Dan and Fern. Emily was asleep again, but after rubbing her heavily-bagged eyes a few times she got stuck into Fern's toy basket. I quickly set up the basement room so she could get to bed; it was past 7pm and I had high hopes that she would sleep deeply through until dawn at least. No chance: after an hour she woke screaming and I had to take her out of the strange cot and put her on the bed. It wasn't long before I joined her there myself.

22 May 2009

Bingo! For the first time, Emily didn't cry when I took her to daycare. In fact she walked straight in like she owned the place and made a beeline for a Thomas model. If she cried when I left, I didn't hear it. Neither did she get upset when I arrived to pick her up. It sounded like she had a lot of fun, and they were impressed at her Japanese comprehension. A pity she won't be going for 5 weeks now as I expect she will revert to crying for the first few times on our return.

As for me, I spent the afternoon trekking out to Tsukuba and back to collect my mislaid mobile phone. I must have read nearly a whole issue of the Economist, though not much sank in as my head was full of thoughts of the flight home.

Not surprisingly, Nick called to say he would be late home, so I was really glad I'd done most of the packing Thursday night and only had odds and ends still to do.

21 May 2009

We spent a really pleasant afternoon with Jo and Bettina in Ebisu. Bettina knew of a small park where there was a playground and a water feature so I was prepared with a swimming nappy.

After giving me heart failure climbing the steep metal stairs of the slide a few times, I thought Emily would be better off playing in the water so I stripped her off in the hazy warmth (circa 28C today, though later it cooled down with a strong breeze, thankfully). All three of them had a tremendous time frolicking in the shallow water for half an hour or more.

After their fun came ours, as we stopped off at a great smoothie bar on the way back to the station. All the concoctions sounded so lovely I couldn't choose so I ended up ordering two. They were both really delicious; Emily preferred the blueberry and cassis and I liked the fig, prune and almond muesli.

19 May 2009

Well, there was some good news, of a sort. It seems that my mobile is not in the hands of an opportunist criminal, rather it is at Tsukuba station. However, the bad news was that they would not send it through to Akihabara for me to collect there. That leaves me with the dilemma of how to make a 3 hour round trip without Emily getting beside herself at being cooped up on a train, and the little matter of us leaving the country in a few days time.

After lunch, we went to Skip Kids again, this time to introduce Julia and Charlize to the delights of the kids' amusement cafe. As last time, Emily spent two hours with a big smile across her face as she clambered up and down the steps and wriggled around in the ball pit. My mind is made up now that we will have her birthday party there (assuming any of her friends are left in Japan over Christmas).

18 May 2009

We had to forsake Kspace in the afternoon so that I could go to Akihabara station to see if my phone had been handed in. Of course they didn't have it, and Emily was very frustrated being stuck in the stroller for more than an hour. I placated her with an hour's romp around a playground back at Tamachi, where she waved at every one of the many trains and monorails going by. All too soon it was teatime and that was our day over.

Nick didn't get in from work until after eleven o'clock and was so worn out I can't see how he'll get through a whole week like that. I just hope the thought of our imminent departure will sustain him.

17 May 2009

We woke at 7.30 to a dark rainy morning. I was mildly hungover, having polished off a bottle of red wine to myself the night before. Breakfast was a buffet of typical Japanese fare: salads, cold cutlets of fish, natto, rice. The saving grace was bread rolls, albeit fluffy white ones. The dispenser labelled 'orange juice' was full of something that looked like toxic waste as it was so bright orange, and the coffee was more like thin gravy. I would have killed for some freshly-squeezed juice and a decent cup of strong coffee.


Before we checked out we went to try the last of the three baths. This one was large and done out in art deco style, though labelled 'roman bath'. However, we discovered that it also had an outdoor pool in a lovely setting: a rock and pine garden with a backdrop of bamboo fencing to provide privacy. We sat around in that one for some time chatting before realising that we were cutting it fine to check out in time.

Luckily, it transpired that there was a bus due in ten minutes, so we traipsed off down the road to the bus stop and got aboard for the return to Tsukuba station. Once there we settled in at Starbucks and got that proper coffee we had been yearning for. There were plenty of trains and we were soon back in Tokyo. It felt like I had been gone a lot more than 24 hours. Big change in the weather too: now it was overcast and extremely windy. I found both Nick and Emily napping when I got home. It sounded as though they'd had a good time and she was definitely Daddy's girl for the rest of the day.

I was very annoyed with myself when I discovered that I'd lost my mobile phone. Having used it on the train I had put it in my pocket and no doubt it had slipped back out onto the seat. I expect I was too busy chatting to cast my eye over the seat before getting off.

16 May 2009

We had the stern teacher for Japanese again, and I must say I found it a better class; though it's less relaxed, she does force us to go over our weakest points. The lesson over-ran by nearly half an hour and I had to make my excuses as I was running late to meet Jill.

This was the first TMG overnight trip I had organised - first of many, I hope. I ended up with four takers: Jill and Jo, plus an American, Kit, and a Chinese, Cindy, so with four countries represented it was a good mixture of backgrounds. For Jo, Kit and Cindy it was the first time away from their child.


We convened at a cafe in Akihabara station and chatted a while before making our way to the privately-owned Tsukuba Express line. It is a smart, modern service making the trip to the newly-developed city of Tsukuba, in Ibaraki prefecture to the north east of Tokyo. The train was fast, and the 45 minute journey soon over. We needed to catch a bus to get us the last 20km or so to our hotel, and by luck there was one just due to leave. The non-stop service brought us to a cluster of hotels and souvenir shops on the lower flanks of Mount Tsukuba.

We were pleasantly surprised to be shown to a massive room of twenty tatami mats, and the big windows gave onto a great view of the Kanto plain rolling away towards the capital, with the nearby area given over to waterlogged rice paddies. You are supposed to be able to see Mount Fuji, but it would have to be an incredibly clear day to see that far. With a couple of hours to kill, we walked up the street, through the shrine (perhaps we should have dallied there, as I found out later it is one of the oldest in the country) and on to the cable car station. This was actually a funicular railway, which climbed very steeply through lush vegetation and jewel-like azaleas.



At the terminal we found that we were on a saddle between the twin peaks of Mount Tsukuba. One of them is deemed to be male and one female, being 871 metres and 877 metres respectively.

We set off on the ten minute walk up to the higher summit, on a rough path through the trees. It was quite cool up there and I could even see my breath, though I was dressed for summer. At the end of the path we found a small shrine on a rocky outcrop. There were splendid views over the mountain's foothills and out as far as a big lake in the distance. Such a shame it wasn't clearer, but at least it wasn't hot and sticky, and though cloudy it didn't rain until the night.






We returned to the hotel and wasted no time in donning our yukatas and heading for the first of three baths on offer. This one had both an indoor and an outdoor bath. As with the last trip away in Atami, I stayed in a lot longer than when I usually go in alone, as it is nice to sit back and chat while you let the heat soak into your bones. We were all very pink for some time afterwards.

Back in our room we had some very classy cans of plum-flavoured alcopop before going to dinner. Our meal was served in a private room and our futons were set out for us while we ate. The food was passable - I've had a lot better, but the rate was very reasonable so I didn't expect the highest standard. We tried a bit of most of the dishes, though I had to leave the crayfish mornay and some tiny purple squid-like things. In our room we had great fun playing Scattergories for an hour or so, then went up to the top floor to sample the small outdoor bath that had views of the twinkling lights of Tsukuba City. The water was so hot we couldn't bear to stay immersed for more than a minute or two.


We passed another hilarious hour playing 'who am I?' then talked until midnight. So much for getting in some much-needed beauty sleep. I struggled with my hard rice pillow for a while before discarding it. I don't know why they persist in using them in hotels.

15 May 2009

Emily was in daycare at Pokke again. She cried on drop off but they said she had smiled a lot and was dancing at 'genki time'. This was the first time she didn't burst into tears when she saw me afterwards though.

As for me, I had quite a hard workout with the pensioners at the aerobics class. It's low impact, but some of them must be in their 70s and they do extremely well. The class warms up my muscles nicely for a short sharp burst of toning exercises on the equipment afterwards. If I could do that a few times a week I might hold out some hope of getting back in acceptable shape.

14 May 2009

Emily and I had lunch with Nick. It's such a shame he is missing so much of her at this stage as she is very entertaining and coming on leaps and bounds. She talks about him all the time. On the way we stopped off at the park below Tokyo Tower and Emily played Pooh sticks in the stream.

After lunch I walked on to Midtown to meet Jo and Bettina. Having pulled off and thrown away both her socks when I wasn't looking, Emily eventually napped in the buggy on the way, and when I arrived I strolled slowly around the lovely little lakeside park there, catching up on current affairs with the Economist in one hand as I meandered around the paths trying to stay in the shade, because although the air is thankfully a lot cooler the sun is still just as strong, and dangerous for her uncovered feet.

Jo and Bettina had very thoughtfully brought me a belated birthday card and gift, and Jo had made some cakes to go with the coffee. They really are very good friends. Jo made an unexpected announcement that she is about 12 weeks pregnant, and yet again I was thrown into turmoil about having a second child, though it really would not be a good idea for so many reasons. It is just my body clock talking. I have to remember that my life is starting to become easier and I really don't want to go back to square one.

Emily didn't take long to discover the fountains. They have variable cycles, so she got caught out and quite wet when one suddenly plumed up as she was standing close by. They will be a godsend come the hot weather when she can go and run around in them in a swimming nappy.

13 May 2009

We were subjected to incredible, and unseasonal, heat and humidity. Looking out over the cityscape it resembled Beijing, though thankfully it was only water vapour rather than pollution. It served as a reminder of the awful conditions in the months ahead, though at only about 28C it was a long way short of the high summer temperatures we can expect.


Despite the weather, we had an outdoors playdate with Julia and Charlize in the morning. I had never been to the playground in the heart of Azabu Juban and wished I had as it is only 10 minutes walk from our apartment and is well equipped with swings, slides and a sandpit. Some of it is quite advanced for Emily but that didn't stop her following the big kids and nearly getting into a few scrapes.


In the afternoon we went back to Azabu as I'd arranged to show Jill the Appy jidokan. Emily was worn out after two energetic playdates, and slept very heavily that night, waking at 8am next day: the latest lie-in I've had in ages.

12 May 2009

My first outing as a TMG coordinator-in-charge. Sounds grand, but actually I fancied going to Odaiba anyway, and there were only three others who decided to take up my invitation. Everyone managed to meet me on time, and they all enjoyed the boat ride across the bay to the reclaimed island.

It was a very sunny day; we set up a picnic mat under a tree looking out onto the water. There was not much to see as the air was very thick with humidity. Emily ate everything I had brought for her and some of my roll to boot. Though she'd been up since before 6am she was really energetic and didn't seem ready for sleep, running along the waterfront path and spinning round in circles excitedly.

Despite that I bundled her into the buggy and set off on a stroll to get her to nap. She yelled for five minutes then all went quiet. I got very sweaty walking in the heat and did my best to shade-hop as her legs were fully exposed to the strong rays.

We hooked up with the others, who had all gone their separate ways to try to get their little ones to sleep, back in the cool mall. Two of the babies hadn't had a nap and their mums decided to call it a day. I was left with Teo and his grandma, his mum Kara being tied up with work. We spent a fun hour in the small jidokan in the mall and then caught the last boat back to Shibaura.

10 May 2009

We went to Nippori, on the north east side of town, primarily to have lunch at the Tunisian restaurant, Couscous, we'd happened across last year. I was hoping that Emily would partake of the food on offer so I didn't take anything along for her. Well, you do learn, don't you? She refused to eat anything except the bread and spent most of the time gnawing on half a raw carrot I'd brought along. We couldn't really enjoy our meals as she was roving around on the carpeted dais we were sitting on, and kept trying to climb onto the perspex-covered low table. On leaving, we found a convenience store and got her a sushi roll, which she chewed halfheartedly for a while.

Nearby is Yanaka cemetery, and we spent 40 minutes or so walking round there very slowly while Emily napped in the stroller. It was a very sunny day and the only shade to be had was along one central avenue, so it was repetitive scenery for us. After she woke we sought sanctuary in the coolness of a posh chocolatier, where we indulged in some divine desserts and I had the tiniest espresso I've ever been served.

Outside the shop we were puzzled by a small crowd that had gathered and then realised that they were looking at a snake that was coiled up on a tree, at about head height. It was a good three feet long. One stupid old man pulled its tail, and lightning fast, it turned on him and bit his hand. Maybe he was drunk ; I can't think what could have led him to do it. Anyway, he seemed to be OK and the poor creature slunk off along the fence and into a bush. Before Mum starts panciking, I should say that the most dangerous snake here is an adder. Mind you, that's the second one I've seen in a year, but as long as they are not provoked I'm sure there's no need to worry.

Our other objective for the day was to get a supply of contact lenses for me because I was about to run out of the ones I brought from the UK. One of the big electrical retailers also sells non-electrical goods and has a drop in eye clinic. They tested my eyes and a doctor briefly examined them (very cursory, since he didn't mention the infection I have had for a week or so in one eye), then I was able to walk away with three months' supply. They reckoned that I only needed minus 2.5, not minus 3 as I have been using for years, which perhaps means that my eye muscles have relaxed due to ageing.

By dark it was very close outside, and what with that and another early start with Emily, I found my regular Sunday run very hard going indeed. It made me wonder how on earth I will be able to train during the height of summer.

9 May 2009

After a week off for Golden Week, I was back to my Japanese class. But after a week of Emily waking in the night and rising very early, including today, I was too zonked to concentrate well so it was a good job it was the more easy-going teacher.

Meanwhile, Nick took Emily to see a dermatologist, as her previously mild eczema flared up about a week ago and she has been scratching furiously until it is red raw in places, especially the tops of her ankles, her buttocks, and behind her knees. He prescribed a mild steroid cream, and after just one application it had improved massively.

After lunch we had a date with a professional photographer. Emily looked very sweet in a pretty fuschia dress, but I made the big mistake of suggesting that we stop off at a playground as we were early for our appointment. She fell down on the gravel and skinned her knees, so what with the grazes and her eczema, her bare legs will not come out well on a high resolution photo. At the small studio, we had to try to get Emily to pose, first on a little wicker chair and then on a furry white rug. It wasn't that surprising that she barely smiled once, and kept trying to get away as soon as we had placed her where we wanted her. I thought the photographer would be constantly snapping, but she took her time with each shot and consequently missed a few opportunities. Well, we are under no obligation to order, but there may be one or two worth having.

We rewarded Emily with a visit to Hon Shiba park afterwards. After climbing up the pirate ship ladder a few times she made a beeline for the fountain, with Nick in hot pursuit. I was distracted, and when I looked round she was actually in the shallow pool with her trouser legs rolled up. I could see what was coming, and she started walking across the middle of the pool and then slipped, ending up soaked from the waist down. At first I was cross with Nick, but eventually saw the funny side and Emily seemed quite pleased with herself after a brief cry. Unusually, I didn't have a proper change of clothes with me as I usually do so she ended up back in the short dress.

After dinner Nick and I watched the first episode of The Office. We really enjoyed our dose of humour and ended up staying up later than intended to watch another episode. It was even funnier than I remembered.

8 May 2009

After lunch we had a date with Jill, Cindy and Steph at Skip Kids. I was really hoping that Emily would not be so clingy this time, and go to play while I drank wine and chatted. After an initial period of sticking to me like a limpet I finally managed to get her to stay in the play area. After that I hardly saw anything of her for an hour and a half. When I did go to watch her she always seemed to have a huge grin on her face, and she even plucked up courage to go down the big chute once or twice. I can see it being a regular fixture!

At home before tea there was a beautiful rainbow, probably the first one that Emily has actually seen and noticed.

6 May 2009

Once Emily had eaten breakfast we popped down to the bathroom for one final dip together.

Straight after the mammoth breakfast we finished packing and made a start on the journey back to Shuzenji, where we were due to drop off the hire car and pick up the train early afternoon. The pension owner tried to dissuade us from the route we planned to take, and maybe we should have listened. We wanted to drive along the 'Skyline' road back up the spine of the peninsula. However, since there was a lot of cloud and it was raining heavily, we ought to have realised that it was pointless. Anyway, we drove from sea level up a series of sharp bends to the Skyline, at about 1,000m. Of course, it was so misty that we couldn't see a thing: a great shame as there were several viewing car parks along the way. Still, as Emily had soon dropped off, having risen early again, we couldn't really have stopped anyway without risking her waking.

We joined the traffic lines as the Golden Week holidaymakers exited Izu, and made it back to Shuzenji in time for an early lunch at the same cafe we had eaten in before. We strung out the meal as long as we could because we were way too early for our train, but in the end, after we had dropped off the car we killed the time walking around the streets with Emily, trying to tire her out before the two hour journey.

We obviously didn't walk far enough, because the trip back to Tokyo was very stressful. Emily would not sit still, so we had to take it in turns walking up and down the carriages with her. She got upset every time we tried to get her to stay in our seats. On her travels she would keep stopping and trying to fiddle with people's things, and the train was lurching a fair bit too so she was very unsteady and I had to hover behind her the whole time with a hand ready to grab her if she fell. We arrived home with nerves in shreds and very weary. Not a good omen for our flight home! Well, at least we know what the worst case scenario will be.

5 May 2009

Today is Kodomo No Hi: Children's Day, marked by the flying of carp banners outside the homes of those with kids.

Emily woke at 5.50, even though it was not that light because it was raining. The moisture made the surrounding hillsides look lovely, with their variety of trees (and patches of the ever-present cedar, that was widely planted after the war to provide timber for rebuilding, only to proliferate at the expense of some native species).

After her performance the day before I was I knew that Emily was very hungry; however, she only deigned to eat half her cereal and a couple of inches of banana with much cajoling. When it was our turn to eat, we went downstairs to find her place laid with an omlette, rice and a pot of yogurt. We managed to feed her some before she took over and sprayed yogurt all around. At least she finished it, but we couldn't eat our own breakfast in peace. She started making a fuss, and seems to have several teeth breaking through, so I decided to give her a rare dose of Calprofen, and indeed she was all smiles afterwards.

With much solicitous advice from our hosts, we set off south along the coast road, armed with borrowed umbrellas for the expected rainy day ahead. It was only 15 minutes to Dogashima, where there is a famous sea cave with a collapsed roof. We'd heard that there were boat trips that went into the cave, so we joined the queue. Despite the rain the attraction was very popular, and we crowded onto a motor launch for a twenty minute trip that first took in some of the amazing islands and stacks close to the town,

before entering the narrow portal into the cave. From under the fallen-in roof we could see some onlookers peering down from a viewing area.

After getting off the boat we were waylaid by a gaggle of old crones who were excited at seeing Emily. One of them, with a lurid gash of red lipstick, practically pulled her from Nick's arms, then said 'byebye papa' and made as if to walk off with her. Emily looked thoroughly alarmed. Another quizzed him about where we were from, and on hearing that we live in Tokyo she made a stabbing motion and exclaimed that it is a dangerous place.

With rain starting, we quickly made our way up the cliff path to go and look down into the cave ourselves.

Now Emily got quite upset as she had been up for so long and was very hungry, so we went to the nearest restaurant in order to feed her. Luckily it was a reasonable sort of place and we ate fairly well too, after she'd wolfed her sachet lunch and started tucking into ours as well. I was very glad to see her with a good appetite after a couple of difficult days, and let her try most things even though not very healthy.

Carrying on southwards, the motion of the car soon soothed her off to sleep. It really was spectacular scenery, and we were surprised that there were hardly any viewing points on the narrow road. Emily woke up when we did pull over, and we quickly continued to a monkey sanctuary the pension owner had mentioned. The monkeys were to be found in a steep-sided valley by the sea; little more than a large cleft in the cliffs really. There were apparently around 300 in the area.

I found them a little aggressive at times and was worried that Emily would try to touch one, so we had to carry her most of the time. Along the shore we found a small beach of rounded rocks and pebbles and we stayed there for a while.

We were trying to teach Emily how to throw pebbles, without success. It came on to rain heavily so we made or way back to the car.

We'd noticed an unusual place on the way down, a Nepalese-themed cafe, so we went there for a drink and snack. It was such an odd find in an out of the way place like that. The coffee was excellent and so were the muffins. Our mouths watered at the smell of a curry being served, and we wished we'd known about it for our lunch meal. With the weather closing in we went straight back to the pension. It took a while to extract ourselves from the owners' enquiries about our day, so we rushed down to the family bathroom for a quick dip as dinner time was fast approaching. Emily had filled up on toast and muffins so I wasn't surprised that she refused her tea, though it was still a bit stressful to see her shaking her head and pushing away the spoon.

I stayed in the room and put her to bed after a bottle, while Nick went on down to our booth for what was to be a huge fish-fest. The piece de resistance was a whole bream baked in a thick crust of salt.

It was very moist and tasty, but after so many other fish dishes, both cooked and raw, I really struggled to do it justice.

I can't believe they can make any profit if they always provide so much food. Just when I thought it was all over they brought out a 'bonus' dish: a small deep-fried whole: head, fins and all. I munched a bit of its crunchy body but baulked at the peripheral parts. Finally, we were free to go, and collapsed in the lounge to digest some of the massive meal before bedtime.

4 May 2009

Emily woke me crying at 4am and was restive until six, when she woke fully, the room being too light by then. Breakfast set the pattern for the day: she slowly ate half a small banana and had a few mouthfuls of cereal before shaking her head and standing up in the chair to signal that she'd had enough. At eight we went for our breakfast and found that they'd made a meal for her this time. To my relief, she did eat some omlette and accepted some fish from our chopsticks.

Once packed we got straight on the road, driving about 10 miles west to the the port of Heda then due south along the coast-hugging highway. The road was full of bends, and apart from tunnels just before our destination, Usugu, it followed the contours of the sharp, wooded hills dropping steeply into the sea. Emily slept the whole way, luckily. It was only eleven when we pulled into Pension Kita, in the little port town. The owners and their toy poodle greeted us effusively, and recommended a nearby noodle restaurant for an early lunch. He told us to eat lightly as a feast would be served up at 6pm. We tried to negotiate a later mealtime due to Emily's routine, but they said they were providing food for her as well so we felt bound to fit into their plan, despite my reservations. Though she must have been very hungry by now, at the restaurant Emily refused to eat much lunch (obviously didn't fancy the particular gloopy slop from a sachet on offer that day); I got so stressed that in the end Nick had to take her outside, eliciting much crying and calls of 'mummy'.

After that we were able to check in, and found the modern pension to be in excellent order: nicely decorated and, fortuitously, geared up for families. Just inside was a small lounge that doubled as a playroom, and Emily's eyes lit up to see some Thomas trains and a stuffed Pooh. The owners' two kids were really good with her, especially the boy, who was 8. He even followed us up to our room, laden with toys and books for Emily.

We stayed there a while as they played, before venturing forth into the hot sunshine, which was tempered only slightly by a strong breeze off the sea. The town is not really a tourist destination, being a working port, though well placed for many attractions.

We were tempted by the sound of a place called Crystal Beach, which transpired to be only a few hundred metres away round a headland. Indeed, there was a beach, with a big campsite strung out just behind the sands. The only thing shiny about the beach, though, was the plastic flotsam cast up from the ocean, and to the left was a huge conveyor system for loading up ships with aggregates from the quarry up the road. I began to fret about the amount of sun exposure that Emily was getting; it is very hard to apply suncream adequately to a protesting toddler constantly trying to wriggle away. I was also frustrated by Emily's recent insistence on taking her monkey everywhere with her - he even had to go to the beach.

Nick had been determined to have a dip in the sea, so he gamely went in. To my disapproval, he also wanted to take Emily in for a quick dunk. I resisted at first but he seemed adamant, so I stripped her off, unfortunately just as the sun went in: she was immediately covered in goosebumps. She seemed OK as they waded out, but as soon as he lowered her in up to her waist, she cried. I quickly bundled her up in a towel and she recovered straight away, even paddling with me briefly afterwards. No lasting negative associations with the sea, then.

We went straight back to the pension, where she and Shintaro played again. There were two family baths, and the three of us all went down there for a pre-dinner wash and soak. Again, it was very child-friendly, with the water kept at less than 41C and stocked with water toys. Emily had never been showered before and shied away from the gentle spray; I thought she would enjoy it. We put her in the bath for a short while, then took her out several shades pinker and let her play on the tiled floor while we sat in the bath and watched her.

By six she was desperately hungry; when we went to the dining room, where there was actually a booth for each room, we found a little chair and a tray of food, a bib, and even a little bed made up in the corner in case she fell asleep while we ate. It was all so nicely done that I prayed she would not live down to my expectations, but she started shaking her head almost immediately. She didn't want any rice, and would only eat the fish if we offered it with chopsticks. There was a sweet egg custard that she deigned to eat, or rather sip from the pot, and she accepted a few tidbits from our plates, but it was very piecemeal and only small nibbles. It was impossible to enjoy any of my dinner under the circumstances, and I wondered at the Japanese way of dining with their kids, while admiring their togetherness.

Eventually I had to take her upstairs, give her a bottle and lay her on the futon. She gibbered away for a while then zonked out, allowing me to creep away and rejoin Nick. The owner, who was also the chef, had prepared some amazing dishes (mostly fish or seafood of course), and they were exquisitely presented, worthy of any ryokan in my judgement. We retired to the playroom-cum-lounge with a glass of orange wine. We had to share the room with three kids playing super-Mario on a massive TV though.

3 May 2009

Well, I've reached the grand old age of 42. These days I do feel quite old and weary, and it scares me to see that ageing face peering back at me in the mirror. Emily must have been excited about my special day, because she woke me up at 5.30. Hardly surprising, as yet again the curtains were too thin and it was fully light. She is making a good attempt at saying her name now, tapping her chest as she does so, though it comes out more like 'em-me'; sometimes she also tries 'chickie' since we call her that so often.

Breakfast was traditional Japanese, though thankfully the egg was partially cooked not raw. There was a dish of natto (fermented soy beans), and I decided to try it for a second time. It was not at all bad, though this particular version had been flavoured with something quite appetising, and it wasn't as stringy as usual. There were several small fish to cook on our own table stoves - lots of bones, but very flavoursome in a salty kind of way. Emily had already eaten in our room so she was up to her tricks and into everything. With a naked flame and hot drinks around it was hard to keep her out of harm's way, especially as she insisted on bringing her monkey and waving him around everywhere.

Afterwards, we walked into Shuzenji, first passing through the nearby temple. It had been recently renovated but was still atmospheric and very attractively set among overhanging maples and with a backdrop of heavily-wooded hillside. Emily enjoyed trying to wash her hands at the purification tank with its dragon water dispenser.

In town we tracked down a bamboo grove planted next to the river. Under the green canopy, powerful new shoots several feet high were pushing their way up, coated in sheaths of protective brown furry bark.

Nick came up with an Incredible Hulk analogy, as the green stems burst their brown clothes with the force of their growth. I was a bit taken aback to see a young child wearing a Tshirt with a very odd logo (see the attached picture - a bit blurry, but I just had to capture it). Presumably the parents can't read English.

At the end of the grove was the almost obligatory red bridge spanning the rocky river. Emily was very weary by now and fell asleep in the baby carrier before we could locate anywhere for her to eat lunch, so we had to stroll around for 45 minutes until she was woken by a tannoy playing a noon chime, just as we were contemplating the menu at a cafe. After my adventurous meal at dinner I was inclined to give myself a birthday treat, so I ordered a pizza and caesar salad. Their green tea cheesecake was actually rather tasty - they use it for all sorts of sweet dishes like ice cream and cake, and I don't usually care for it much. After the boy's T-shirt earlier, a fellow diner's New York F*****g City (my asterisks) shirt slogan seemed quite tame.

Replete, we sauntered back up the hill to the ryokan, where Emily was delighted to find a book all about beetles and butterflies in their children's amusement box. She is so sweet sometimes: she actually kissed the picture of a stag beetle, no doubt remembering her two foot long stuffed version at home.

We jumped back into the car and drove the short distance to the Niji No Sato theme park. We were intrigued to see their version of an English village and also wanted Emily to experience riding on their 15 inch gauge railway. Just inside the entrance was a fake shop called 'UK Margaret' and a London bus turned into a snack bar. There were several black and white mock-Tudor buildings and a red brick Georgian style one with a massive Union Jack made of bedding plants on the lawn in front.

We wasted no time in boarding the next train, christened Northern Rock II, which was built in Cumbria and modelled on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. It was a genuine steam engine; we were in the last carriage and had good views of the train as we rounded each corner on the ten minute trip.

The track passed through a large estate with quite mature woodland and gardens that did feel vaguely English - enough so to make us feel a little homesick. After disembarking in the Canadian replica town we went to look at the engine while it was loading return passengers. Just before it set off it let out a loud shrill whistle, and Emily, who was in Nick's arms, went rigid then burst into tears. She summoned enough courage to wave goodbye to those aboard a minute later though.

We hung out among the clapboard shops and eateries for a while before walking the 600m back to the British end. Emily found a furry friend.

We were most disappointed not to be able to get a cream tea (a missed opportunity, I think, as surely a lot of Japanese would like to try an English teatime treat, not revert to dango rice balls and other familiar snacks), but we did find a cafe that served proper tea in bone china Wedgewood. We had to settle for Walkers shortbread biscuits though. Next door was a 15 inch gauge visitor centre. There was a very strong oily smell in the engine maintenance hangar, but I expect Graham would poo-poo them as toy trains. Emily fell down and cut her knuckles, and the resulting tears told us it was time to leave.

At the ryokan, she insisted on standing on the chair while we fed her. Monkey was even grubbier and smellier after she tried to feed him her curried noodles. Again, Nick had to go off to dinner while I stayed in the dark with her chattering away for nearly half an hour. There was way too much food - nearly all fish, naturally - but nothing too challenging this time.

We followed up with another session in the rotemburo, though I was a bit nervous as a previous occupant came along with near-hysterical tales of three large spiders in one of the other baths.