31 July 2009

Tokyo's weird summer weather continued with a max of only around 27C and grey skies. I for one am certainly not complaining, though had to change the afternoon's planned visit to the pool with Jill and Victoria to a stint at Skip Kids instead.

Emily was great fun again today, apart from an unexpected outburst at lunchtime. I really feel privileged to be able to spend all this time with her, and I think it is paying off as she seems to be building on her communication skills manyfold. The BBC has a new report out about the importance of parental input in early life as the science says that the brain is hardwired to particularly pick up on what parents say and do.

30 July 2009

A foray into the searing morning heat to Appi Azabu bore fruit as I met a nice British mum, Anna, who has two children. She's been here since January but I haven't bumped into her before. We exchanged numbers and I hope I can show her Meguro pool and maybe some other jidokan.

After lunch I took Emily to the pool again, to meet Bettina and Jo. This time the water was a very comfortable temperature as it had been warmed by the sun all day. There were at least thirty kids there, up to about 5 years old; Emily was happy with all their laughing and shouting to keep her excitement level up. Thanks to their example she was also keen to use the water slide this time, and went down repeatedly with me holding one hand. She was also more confident in the water and took her feet off the bottom lots of times, relying on the flotation of the armbands. She must have been worn out after an hour: I know I was!

29 July 2009

It was decidedly hotter at around 32C, and still humid. I didn't want to go out but Emily was going mad stuck indoors with all the doors shut due to the aircon being on. I decided to leave the stroller at home and just walk round the block to the playground. On the way I had a go with the reins Jill had lent me for a trial, but Emily got very upset as soon as I pulled her from her collision path with a bicycle, so I ended up carrying her the rest of the way. Even though plastic, the slides were too hot to sit on, but Emily went down the chute (she calls it a tunnel) lots of times, climbing up the staggered steps well each time. I feel that I can relax my guard a bit these days and not hover quite so protectively, though there is still the odd mishap. Unfortunately, she managed to pick up a piece of cat poo. In Japan you hardly ever see dogs' mess as owners are very conscientious, but the cats are no different here and do as they please. The fine gravel floors and the sand pits you get in kids' playgrounds are perfect litter trays.


After naptime I took Emily to Meguro pool, as it still seemed hot enough despite plentiful cloud cover. I was very surprised to find only two other mums and their kids there, though like last time the water temperature was a trifle cool. Emily had a lot of fun until she slipped and her face was submerged. She seemed to have swallowed some water, so she got upset. Unfortunately, after that she pulled off her armbands and would not spend much time in the deeper water. She also bottled it on the slide, though I didn't blame her as the water being sprayed down it was decidedly cold. The other children left and we were on our own; she was more subdued once they weren't around for her to spark off, but we stayed another half an hour.


Walking away from the sports centre she fell and grazed her knee. It wasn't too bad but this was the first time it had happened, because I rarely dress her in anything that doesn't cover the legs. She has some nice dresses but unless we are only going to be playing indoors I don't use them. Carrying on, some spare seats outside Starbucks tempted me to stop off for a green tea frappucino and a roll, though gratuitous eating is hardly the best way to conduct a diet. On the way to the station I saw a T-shirt with the slogan 'Get Undead. A Girl's Feelings'. Usually you can figure out what they were trying to say, but not this time!


It doesn't sound much, but Emily can now count to two. She has done it several times in the last day or two. She also seems to recognise the numeral one, and sometimes says 'ichi', which is Japanese for one.

28 July 2009

First up we went over to Nursery Ui, for another quick reccie before Emily starts there next week. I really dislike the route I had taken so far, but now I got my bearings I realised I could get there by another route, albeit taking about the same time, but less hassle with lifts. Emily clung to my leg when we went in, though she was curious to look at what the kids were doing and Sophia was there too. For the first month Sophia will be there on Tuesdays, which should help Emily settle in a bit. Still, I am envisaging many episodes of heart-rending crying.


As it was 'only' high 20s with cloud cover, afterwards I decided it would be OK to play outdoors so we went to the playground in Akabanebashi. There was only one other child there, a boy of about three, but he did interact with her quite a bit, causing her to squeal happily a few times as they climbed up and slid down. Given the example of his agility, Emily was a lot more confident than usual on the equipment. As we left she blew a kiss to him, though he didn't notice, or respond to her wave either.

We continued on to Roppongi Itchome for lunch with Nick, where Emily wolfed down everything we gave her. On parting she volunteered 'I love Daddy', which must have sent him back to work with a spring in his step.

After a very late nap we didn't have time to go far afield, but popped over to Hon Shiba park, where we found that the fountain had stopped and two of the three pools had been drained. I hope that is only a temporary state of affairs. Nevertheless we had a full hour of fun, starting with a paddle then onto the pirate boat. There was one other child, a boy of two, there with his Chinese nanny, and we talked quite a bit. She was telling me about life in a Chinese village for a girl (awful), especially when she was one of seven girls and had only one brother. Apparently the family was bullied as a result. We anguish about the second class status of Muslim women, but forget that they are also despised in other cultures.


Emily was very confident again, and looked strong playing on the pirate boat. She was hanging from the bar above the top of the slide like a monkey. I'm afraid that I got complacent and she fell twice; the same Japanese mum caught her both times, though the second time Emily caught her jaw on the side of the slide and ended up with a bruise. Goodness knows what the other mum thought of me.

27 July 2009

In the morning we played in Azabu but despite factor 50 suncream Emily's arms still turned a bit red after only half an hour of intermittent sunshine. We had great fun going on the long roller-bar slide together; it gets up to quite a speed and she was laughing all the way down. She is taking steps in her stride now, if you pardon the pun, though can still only manage very small ones downwards.

After a bit of a trying morning (for once nothing to do with Emily, who was good as gold), the discovery of a bouquet outside the apartment door on our return was lovely. Nick can be very thoughtful at times.


We'd planned to play outside with Jo and Isy and Jill and Sophia, but on the way to Hon Shiba it went very cloudy and started raining, so we diverted to the Shibaura jidokan for an hour's play. While we were there we saw a few lightning flashes and heard some rolls of thunder, though nothing on the scale of last summer's storms.

As I was about to put Emily in the bath I noticed a gorgeous rainbow made by the setting sun. Only the bottom third was visible at each end, but the colours were amazingly vivid. The northern end looked like it was coming straight out of the top of the NEC building. No pot of gold there, though: the company has been very hard hit by the recession.

Our evening dessert was courtesy of our nice next door neighbours, who rang the bell and handed over 3 huge white peaches, which are a seasonal delicacy. I'm not sure if that is customary, but we had better think of something traditional to do for them sometime, though I did give a couple of trinkets from the UK to thank her for watering my plants.

26 July 2009

We spent a very hot, but luckily very windy, day in Yokohama with Jill, Jim and Sophia. Steph and her family were also supposed to be there but she hurt her back and couldn't make it.

First up was a visit to Bornelund's Kid-O-Kid playland. Nick and Jim took the girls in for an hour of quality time while Jill and I went for a coffee and a natter at nearby Starbucks.

Afterwards we looked around for somewhere to grab some lunch, and found a heaving pizza and pasta place in the next mall. We didn't have to wait long, thankfully, as Emily and Sophia were ravenous, and so were we! Emily picked at a sachet of food and then pieces of my gorgonzola pizza, but I think there was too much activity and other children to watch, and it was already past her normal naptime, so I wasn't surprised at her lack of enthusiasm.

Jill and I left the men to finish eating and pushed the girls along in their buggies. In less than two minutes they were both out for the count, and we continued on quickly from the blowdrier heat to the shelter of the huge mall beneath Landmark Tower. After half an hour we decided to take the weight off our feet, and stopped at yet another Starbucks (if only they had loyalty cards), where Emily surprised me by staying asleep for another thirty minutes; normally she wakes as soon as the stroller stops moving.

On enquiry as to their whereabouts we discovered that instead of going for a coffee, Nick and Jim were to be found at the Kirin Beer Hall. After a night of indulgence on both their parts they had plumped for hair of the dog. On the way to meet them Emily said 'Emily poo', which I wrote off as she says it quite often. But Nick immediately detected a tell-tale whiff, so she really was trying to tell me this time. It's still way too soon to think about toilet training as far as I'm concerned though. Given the sun's strength we didn't want to go outdoors, and we had all had enough refreshments, so I suggested that we make our way home and relax for the remainder of the afternoon.

In the evening I left Nick and Emily in the bath and set off for my night out with Jo and Bettina at TY Harbor. After a year of playdates, this was the first time the three of us had been out together. We had a reservation for the terrace and got lucky with a table looking out onto the waterfront, the restaurant being located on one of the many waterways separating all the manmade islands around the area. Though humdrum by day, it looked quite pretty after dark with the lights on. We chatted nonstop for three hours, and had some fantastic food (and in my case, three glasses of wine). It's so nice to talk without the constant interruptions of our toddlers, lovely though they are. Looking at the photo afterwards I realised that it is high time I started eating more sensibly, since I am unable to exercise adequately. I look larger than pregnant Jo!

25 July 2009

It hardly seems a year, but we found ourselves back over at Odaiba for Nick's department's BBQ again. Thankfully it was a bit cooler and a lot fresher than last time, though I still ended the day saturated in sweat. We took the boat over, with Emily excitedly pointing out trains, boats, aircraft, and lorries on Rainbow Bridge. We parted company after we disembarked, so that I could give her some lunch in the mall, as I thought that if we went straight to the BBQ site she would prefer to be running around and exploring under the trees. However, Aquacity was busier than I've ever seen it, which may explain why she hardly ate anything. I tried in vain not to get cross with her as she toyed with her food and then attempted to climb out of the baby chair.

We rejoined Nick, and found that only a handful of his colleagues had so far materialised. It felt a bit awkward, and I was glad to have the excuse to play with Emily and then push her off in the stroller so she could nap. I found the only shady stretch of path available and walked up and down the 200 metre stretch for half an hour, before returning to the BBQ area. While we were away a number of others had shown up, including cute Max, the golden retriever who was there last year, and 7 month old Oliver, who was just a small bump last time. Poor Ollie was passed from pillar to post, but took it all in his stride and didn't cry at all. Nick got a turn at holding him, and did look quite at ease though he worried (unnecessarily!) that Emily would be jealous.




Emily happily tucked into fried noodles and then sank her teeth into a huge slab of watermelon. At least it helped with her poor fluid intake, which has reached worrying proportions.



After packing up the BBQ we said goodbye and headed indoors to the hell that was Toys R Us on a Saturday in sale season. I bought yet another drink bottle, in an effort to tempt her to drink more, and a doll pram, which I had been meaning to get ever since she had such fun with Tom's and Fern's on holiday.




At Mita we split from Nick yet again, as he had an invite to meet an acquaintance for the Sumida river fireworks. He seemed relatively comfortable with the prospect, despite it being an evening with a group of gay guys whose invite was entitled 'A lot of banging'! Emily and I whizzed home and she was ecstatic when I unwrapped the pram.

22 July 2009

The long-anticipated Asian solar eclipse was a bit of a wash-out. The band of totality started west of India and ran through China before passing over the southern Japanese islands and petering out in the Pacific. Many people had paid a lot of money to cram onto the small islands for the spectacle, but it was very overcast. They did get to see the sun disappear through the clouds, and experienced the eerie darkness fall though. In Tokyo you wouldn't have had an inkling it was going on though the sun was about 75% obscured. We had gone to meet Nick for lunch and timed our arrival to the moment of fullest eclipse, but we stared up at the grey sky in vain trying to decide if it was just a tad darker.

Again it was relatively cool, being only mid-20s; a couple of degrees warmer than the 22C of yesterday, but very humid. It's hard to get my washing dry when the air is so moist.


A comment on Japanese toilets: there seems such a vast gulf between the so-called Japanese-style squat toilets you find in public lavatories, stations and some lower-end restaurants, and the 'western-style' type that sometimes have all sorts of gadgetry to pamper your derriere. Not to mention the commonly-found feature that allows you to play the sound of water flushing to mask your own tinkling. However, despite this WC wizardry they have yet to discover the joys of two ply paper. I guess they really must use the wash and dry buttons because otherwise, like me, they must always end up with a wet hand! Surely there's an opening for Andrex here. The cute puppy would be a sure-fire winner too.

20 July 2009

Emily came into bed with us sometime after dawn and then slept until 8.15. She was very moody all day, with frequent tears. Also, she is not drinking enough so her nappies are hardly wet at all and she has a sore bottom as what urine there is is too strong. A dilemma - how do we get her to drink enough? Breakfast was a disaster: it was very busy so we had to wait though Emily was very hungry, there was no baby chair available, and Emily refused her cereal and would barely deign to eat one small roll with jam and a handful of fruit. There was no chance for us to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, despite paying 1,000 yen (six pounds) each for it.

We quickly packed and checked out, as we were due to meet Mr Murase at the station at 10.30. He came with Ryou (Rena was at home studying with Miho). Emily was very excited to see the 'boy' again. We walked over to take the nearby ropeway up to the Nunobiki Herb Garden. The ride took about 10 minutes and we quickly ascended high above the city, yet again getting glorious, if hazy, views over Kobe and out to sea.

At the bottom it had been quite hot and humid but by the time we got to the top it was a lot more comfortable and I hardly needed to employ my sweat cloth.

The herb garden is a lovely attraction, with some pretty displays of flowers and herbs. It spreads hundreds of metres down the hill to the middle ropeway station. There's quite an English feel to it, with woven baskets of dried herbs and even a large Victorian-style dolls' house. Emily loved running around after Ryou though there were some bouts of tears as she got overexcited or fell over in her rush to follow him. He was very solicitous of her welfare and sometimes held her hand or picked her up.

Halfway down were some large glass structures and they housed a beautiful water feature; a stream ran through the centre over stone in which pieces of white coral were embedded. It grew until it came out in a pool, which was just too tempting for Emily. She was straight in and got her clothes very wet. We took in another fabulous view from the large patio outside and then continued down the winding paths through more beds of herbs and a fragrance garden full of huge headily-scented lillies.

Just before the middle station was Wind Hill, a grassy knoll where we all wandered around in the clover and Emily used up her final reserves of energy. As we rode the ropeway back to the base it began to rain a little, so we had timed our visit just right. We walked back through the mall, where we narrowly avoided Bornelund toy store (luckily Emily didn't spot that they had a Kid-O-Kid play area too) but did let her play briefly on a large wooden train. We reluctantly pulled her away so that we could get some lunch before returning to the station.

Mr Murase's choice of restaurant was great: an all-you-can-eat buffet of tofu and vegetables prepared in a wide variety of styles. Emily liked Ryou's slippery, fat udon noodles. Nick and I had seconds then thirds before we ran out of time.

The train journey was one of two halves. Emily dropped off to sleep on me straight away. But when she woke an hour later she got upset very quickly. The offer of a walk through the carriages didn't do the trick this time, and no amount of pointing interesting things out through the window could stave off the tears. We took it in turns to hold her in the area between carriages, as her crying would have made the whole car annoyed. She was throwing herself around and her face was a mess of snot, dribble and tears. She was obviously totally fed up with being confined and the proof was that she brightened up as soon as we got off. Once at home she played happily, and then we all ate dinner together. Nick and I had a really early night, which we felt we needed after the journey.

19 July 2009

Emily made it to 7am before waking, and then dozed another hour between us in the massive bed. Breakfast was a tense affair as she was very picky and then got agitated, so we called it a day and left our food half-eaten.

The forecast was for cloud then rain, but it was quite sunny when we finally got our act together and went out for the day. We had settled on going up Mount Rokko, but this involved quite a convoluted journey. First we walked 10 minutes to Sannomiya station, where we picked up a train for the short hop to Rokko station. There we got on a crowded bus for a 15 minute ride uphill, trying to keep on our feet as we swayed round several bends. I was annoyed that I was struggling to hold Emily while a boy of about ten sat close by without offering his seat to me. I'm sure the same would have happened at home too though, and sometimes people are nervous about addressing a foreigner. Getting off the bus we leapt straight aboard a cable car (funicular railway to you and me). The 10 minute trip was wonderful; the ascent was very steep, through slopes of natural woodland and some attractive hydrangeas at the trackside. As we climbed we began to get great views back towards the city and the sea. At the top station we just had time to gaze from the viewing area back over Kobe before we got another bus for a quarter of an hour ride to the Garden Terrace.

This was a new development of a few good quality shops and eateries, set in pretty English-style gardens. In fact, I was struck by the British influence, down to the Stratford-on-Avon postcards, and roast beef lunch at the grandiose cafe we picked. It's not surprising, I suppose, since it was at Mount Rokko that the first golf course in Japan was opened by an Englishman. The beef set lunch turned out to be very good but nouvelle cuisine in size, so no hearty roasties, just a few strips of meat with an arrangement of vegetables.

My fish set was also small but elegant. The restaurant had a terrace with a superb panorama taking in Osaka and adjoining Kobe with all their manmade islands.

It was getting late for Emily's nap, so we put her in the carrier and set off to explore. Not far away we stumbled upon a landscaped valley with multiple attractions. There were chairlifts, a boating lake, grass-sleds, bouncy castles, trampolines, go karts, and a miniature train encircling a tiny petting farm. They were also advertising a snow festival, and lo and behold, we came across a large patch of the stuff, about three feet deep and fifty feet square.

Everything was pricey; luckily Emily seemed happy to watch the train and look at the animals from a distance. We decided to splash out on a go kart though. It was a very tight squeeze, with Nick's knees up near his ears and me hugging Emily close as we made the circuit of the small off-road course.

Despite, or perhaps becasue of, all the stimulation and being given more-or-less free rein to run around, Emily got upset a few times. By 4.30 it was high time to leave anyway, so we made our way back to the city via the painstaking route, with her getting more fed up with each stage of the journey. We had planned to eat dinner on the way but instead returned to the hotel to let her play for an hour first and eat a sachet of gloop.

By now it had started raining quite heavily, so at seven we left the hotel under borrowed brollies and walked down the street as far as an Asian restaurant we had seen earlier, the Oriental Frog, which was advertising Vietnamese and Thai food. Inside we found it to be quite fancy, with about eight tables separated by colourful veils, which although see-through lent an air of intimacy and romance. Hardly the place for a lightning fast dinner accompanied by a fretful toddler! We did our best to entertain Emily while we wolfed down each dish, the whole experience taking 40 minutes. Although she had eaten, she naturally wanted to try our food, but it was extremely spicy so we had to refuse, which didn't help.

Back in our room we finished Emily's bedtime routine as a thunderstorm brewed outside. Once she was asleep we rolled back the curtain and sat on the bed in the dark with glasses of wine, watching the lightning and listening to the thunder and accompanying downpour as the storm passed over the city. It seemed almost like turning back the clock to the days before Emily was even a twinkle in our eyes.

18 July 2009

Early cloud cover made our walk to Tamachi station, with baggage and Emily in the back carrier, just about bearable. We got on the fastest shinkansen service, the Nozomi, for the 2 hour 40 minute trip to Kobe, where we were spending the long weekend that includes the national 'ocean day' holiday. Emily was quite good for an hour or so. After that Nick had to take her for a walk, which ended up being a mammoth 40 minute trek from car 14 to car 1 and back again. A drawn out early lunch kept her occupied until just before we arrived.

The very swish Shin-Kobe station is tucked into the wooded hills that hem the city into a 2 mile strip down to the sea. We could see a ropeway (what we would call a cable car at home) ascending from directly behind the station, which we hoped to try during our visit. From the start I liked the feel of Kobe and imagined it to be a really pleasant place to live. It has a very cosmopolitan atmosphere, thanks to its old trading links with the west, and also has, I believe, a fair-sized gaijin community. We took a short taxi ride to our British-themed hotel, Hotel Tor Road. Outside hangs a large Union Jack and the lobby is populated by Harrod's teddy bears in beefeater and police costumes. It didn't quite capture the English air faithfully, but after so many Japanese ryokans it was a welcome change. The staff seemed to have studied the snooty style of hotel staff back home closely though.

We couldn't go to our room yet, so we left our things and forayed out to get a coffee in the half hour that remained before Nick's friends, the Murases, came to collect us. Not far away was a Starbucks: the cleanest, quietest and comfiest I've been in; pity we couldn't have hung out there for longer. Emily was on good form, 'dancing' to the muzak and trying on our hats, looking very coquettish as she peeped from under their brims.

At the hotel we made our introductions (I had only met Mr Murase before); thankfully both he and his wife Miho speak good English. Their children were Rena (12) and Ryou (7), who were both quiet at first. Mr Murase had hired a people carrier for the day in order to take us out, but the baby seat was way too small. I felt vindicated, as I had mentioned to Nick days before that he had better tell them her size and weight. We dumped the seat in the boot and Emily had to sit on our laps all day. Though it is illegal in Japan it is still common practice to hold kids on laps, though obviously we felt very uncomfortable with it.

Traffic was heavy getting out of the city in the direction of Awaji island. We took a different route to avoid the expressway congestion, and enjoyed stunning views over Kobe and its modern architecture as we made our way to Akashi Kaikyo, the longest suspension bridge in the world. Emily finally dropped off and we continued south down the spine of the island. I hadn't realised that Awaji was so long, and Emily woke long before we reached the other end, where the Murases had planned to show us the Naruto whirlpools. As she was getting quite upset we diverted to the beach at Goshiki instead.

At 3pm, the attractive coarse-grained sand was still almost too hot to walk on, so I had to carry Emily; luckily the water was only about 50 feet away. We hired a parasol for some much-needed shade, and put our costumes on (thankfully I had packed them just in case).

At first Emily was scared of the waves, small though they were. But when Nick and I both went in with her she relented, and loved being dipped in and out and swirled around.

The sea temperature was quite decent, but the quality poor, as it was green with some sort of algae; slimey fronds of floating seaweed draped themselves around my legs. But it was pleasant enough, and refreshing in the heat. Emily kept asking to go back in the sea, but I was worried that she would burn despite her sunsafe suit and cream. Indeed, she did pick up quite a bit of colour in that one hour we were there.

We packed up and drove back north a while. Getting off the expressway we took a winding country road that kept climbing for 10 minutes, past hillsides thick with acid-green bamboo and lush rice paddies. The journey was handsomely rewarded by our arrival at Awaji Hana Sajiki 'flower park'. Covering the top of a broad hillside overlooking the coast, wide swathes of grass were banded by massive plantings of pretty flowers.

The nearby wooded hills and the sea acted as 'borrowed scenery' to enhance the flowers' vibrant strips of colour. Emily was in seventh heaven: at the entrance was a table of pots for sale, each containing some soil and a stag beetle. She has never seen a real one before though she is always excited by pictures of them and has her toy one at home. She ran around laughing and chasing Ryou, who was playing with a small ball on the grass. He was very good and included her in his play. There were some steps set in a raised flower display, and for the first time ever, Emily managed to walk down steps unaided.

We strolled while she and Ryou ran around. She got in among some rows of purple salvia, trying to catch the many small butterflies flitting around them. In the distance I noticed a gigantic white statue at the sea's edge, which I correctly guessed to be Kannon, Goddess of Mercy.

By now conditions were very comfortable, with a strong breeze and sinking sun, but we couldn't stay as we needed to be back at the hotel no later than eight and had yet to eat. Mr Murase had somewhere in mind, just 10 minutes drive away. It turned out to be a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant. The saucer-sized plates made the circuit of the booth tables and we picked up the ones we liked the look of as they came past. A team of chefs inside the belt kept up a supply of fresh new dainties to replenish the selection. Emily sat at the end of our table and happily tried eel, beef and tuna sushi. At the end of the meal the bill is calculated by an examination of the empty plates: each type of colourful plate has a different price. Mr Murase insisted on paying, which was embarrassing but not unexpected.

It was getting dark as we headed back over the bridge to Kobe. Emily kept up a steady commentary of things she could see, getting especially excited about tunnels and 'lolly' (lorries). All day she had referred to Ryou as 'boy', which they found funny; now she tried to say his name, but with the pet name suffix 'kun' which is used for boys, it came out like nyanko, which means kitten! Behind us as we entered the city, last vestiges of the setting sun set the sky alight with deep pink. As I am always indoors with Emily at this time I hadn't seen a sunset in months, so it was a treat. Nearing Tor Road, I was amused to spot a restaurant called 'Penetrate'.

At the hotel we found that we virtually had a suite: it was extremely spacious for Japan, and very western in style; the bed was a massive 7 foot wide. It made a change to walk on carpet too. Emily went bonkers when we went in; even though she must have been very weary by now she wanted to explore the room thoroughly. I had to spoil her fun and get her into the bath before it got ridiculously late. I had realised to my horror that I had forgotten her milk bottle, so we tried with limited success to get her to drink from a carton with a straw. It took half an hour before she would go off to sleep in the cot tent, after which we sat and read, with glasses of plum liqueur, unable to leave because we were on the 8th floor and the monitor would not work if we went downstairs.

17 July 2009

What a change overnight! It was raining when we first got up, and stayed overcast the whole morning. I don't think it topped 27C all day.

After lunch we went to the pool at Meguro again, this time escorting Jill and Victoria, neither of whom had been before. I was amazed when we arrived to find that there was no-one else in the pool. Yesterday there must have been more than 30 children plus their mums. I soon found out why. After a morning without sunshine to warm it, the water was actually very cool; Emily and I both sucked in breath when we first got in, though we quickly acclimatised. It was great to have the pool just for the three of us. Jill and I took our little ones for a few goes down the slide; the rather stern lifeguard looked on and I thought that perhaps adults weren't supposed to use it as it ends in water only 50cm deep. Maybe he cut us some slack since no-one else was around. Soraya (15 months) amazed us by doing doggie paddle several times. Try as I might I couldn't get Emily to stay afloat and kick her legs. I wish I could get some pictures there, but don't want to take the camera into such a wet environment, and can't leave Emily unattended for long enough to take snaps anyway.

16 July 2009

After going stir crazy at home yesterday we had to go out, despite another scorching day. I nearly had a change of heart when we stepped out from the comfort of the aircon. It is such a shock to go from 26C to about 33C in one fell swoop. We shade-hopped for quarter of an hour to Appi jidokan in Azabu, where Emily had an hour's play before the usual trip to Nissin on the way home. At least I can buy frozen food there, because they give you a little bag of dry ice to put in with your shopping.


On the way back we passed yet another newly-opened dog parlour. Surely the area has reached saturation point? Admittedly there are an awful lot of pooches that need grooming though. When a new shop or restaurant opens here they always have huge flower arrangements outside - the big bouquets on a stand that you see in a church back home. This one had no fewer than five. It must have cost a packet, so I hope there are a lot of hirsute hounds queuing up to succumb to the clippers.

In the afternoon we went with Jo and Bettina to the public open-air pool in Meguro. It only cost 100 yen (60p) and was fantastic. I wish we had gone last summer (it is only open for about 10 weeks). Emily went absolutely mental let loose on so much water. I have been worried about her attitude to water, but her previous full-immersion experiences were mainly in deep water, sea or pool, whereas this wading pool was a maximum of 50cm so she could stay on her feet. She tore around, frequently falling over and submerging her face, but never got upset. She wore armbands, which I think helped a lot too when she did fall. In the shallow section she loved rolling over and over; at the end of the deep water there was a water slide, which she braved a few times. After an hour and a half of staying alert and following her every move I felt quite exhausted, but really pleased at how happy she was there. We will be frequent visitors, especially as we can be there in half an hour.

15 July 2009

Phew, what a scorcher, as they say. It was over 30C by the time Emily and I got up at seven. I just couldn't face going out, so cancelled a playdate with Victoria (I think she was secretly relieved) and decided to try staying in with the aircon for once. In any case, Emily has a cold and quite a chesty cough, so I didn't think we would be welcome at a jidokan. What a bad decision. We were both climbing the walls by the end of four hours. I did my best to engage her and we went through her whole toy box and book shelf, but it was a carton of old rubber bands and bag ties that captivated her for the longest time.

I had to rouse her early from her nap so that we could make our way to Hamamatsucho jidokan for a TMG meeting, as I was coordinator. There was a surprisingly good turnout of about 10, considering that a lot of expats have left for the summer. I did my best to make sure that I talked equally to everyone, though naturally I gravitated towards Jill and Jo. Helen, a British girl married to a Japanese guy, came along with two year old Kiki and her two month baby Isla. At one point she had to see to Kiki and I offered to hold Isla for her. I was amazed at how nice it felt to cradle the little thing, given that I am not at all a maternal sort of person. Emily looked quite worried but didn't make a fuss, other than cling to my leg for a bit. Further fuel to throw on the raging fire....but there are so many negatives to take into account too. Definitely a head versus heart debate. And why I am making my thoughts public I don't know, as I am the only person who can decide.

12 July 2009

We spent the day in Edogawa ward: the 'downtown' area of Tokyo in the Edo period. It was only half an hour from Mita, so we ought to have explored it before, but we only just read about it in the guide book. It was really hot, though luckily a strong breeze was blowing along the river corridor. There is a high manmade embankment along the river, set up as a cycling route, with many sports grounds sandwiched between. Waterskiers and jetskiers were tearing up and down the river, providing further entertainment.

A little walk along the path brought us to an iris garden, which apparently has around 50,000 plants, but it was very hot there and I was too worried about us burning to enjoy those blooms which were still out. As it was past her mealtime we sat Emily on a bench under a shelter to eat. She refused the jar of food I'd brought for her and was generally a bit out of sorts, not even wanting to walk much after an hour of travel. We sought sanctuary in a restaurant nearby; it was busy and all heads turned as we entered. I don't think there are many foreigners to be seen in this part of the city as it is off the beaten tourist track. We had some very acceptable cold noodles, though the tempura with noodles looked better. Emily was happy to join in now, and was eating quite well with a fork.

We got back onto the path and walked northwards as Emily napped. Again I fretted, as she had a very red face because no wind was reaching her in the enclosed buggy. On the sport fields between us and the river some interesting sports were being played; we saw an all-women team frisbee game, played a bit like netball but with a disc. Next along was a lacrosse game in full swing. I thought that was just a game for English public schools.

Emily woke after only half an hour, as we paused for cold drinks while watching a ferry with about 30 on board being punted across to the other bank. We left the river and tried to find a park for her to play in. All we could come up with was the small garden of an old merchant's house where she loved the water feature and bamboo ('babboo') fence. Up the road we happened across a fine temple, Taishakuten, with beautiful wood carvings on the gates and interior buildings, and a pine whose incredibly long branches spread right across the front of the temple.

A large bronze urn with water gently splashing to the ground was naturally Emily's favourite. In one corner of the courtyard we were treated to a puppet show with dolls in old fashioned costume. The puppeteer used incredibly complicated moves with the strings to create a very life-like and comical effect.

My run in the evening was OK, considering the heat, which was tempered only by a light breeze. I wish there was scope for more than one a week as I really feel my lack of fitness more these days (especially when pushing a heavy stroller and Emily up some of the steep hills around here).

11 July 2009

My final Japanese class was harder than ever. I really felt that I was struggling, but then, I did miss five weeks. The other students' vocabulary seems much more extensive than mine, but the main difference is that they are not self-conscious about speaking in class. I don't want to say anything unless I am absolutely sure I have got it right. I think it is quite a British trait. We finished up with a small party, which was rather awkward at first. One of the students had brought a bottle of amazake (sweet, unfiltered sake), which was not at all nice, and is traditionally drunk in the winter not high summer, but perhaps the alcohol helped to break the ice a bit. I felt I should make small talk in Japanese with the teachers, but struggled to think of anything worth saying.

In the afternoon the three of us went to Tamagawadai. We let Emily have free rein in the large playground first

then carried on down the other side of the ridge to the banks of river Tama. There we found a wide grassy path next to the water, though there was no easy access to the river. Lots of sports were being practised in riverside fields, especially baseball. Emily was happy picking clover and pointing at trains crossing on a nearby bridge.

10 July 2009

For our morning playdate with Victoria and Soraya we decided to go back to the Nature Studies Centre again. The forecast had been for 31C, but it was somewhat cooler, with good cloud cover and a very vigorous wind. So strong indeed, that Victoria reported that their paddling pool had blown off their balcony overnight, giving me pause for thought about ours.

Although not as muddy there as the week before, we soon found that the mosquitos had moved in. We were all attacked repeatedly by the horrible bloodsuckers, and we cut our visit short as a result. The little park next door was a better option, and especially when we discovered that the water feature was now full, having been dry all year. Emily and Soraya wasted no time in getting soaked, but having lots of fun with a couple of Japanese boys who were there with their grandmothers.

After lunch nap I took Emily to the hospital for her 18 month check up. She came in at 12.3kg (75th centile) and 87cm (98th centile). The doctor had enough English for us to be able to talk through their questionnaire and be satified with Emily's progress. We spent an hour afterwards around Shiba Koen park, then on the way to the supermarket I came across a playground I hadn't seen before, down a side street. This one had lovely lush grass, swings and a sand pit, and a great piece of play equipment with several slides and chutes and a climbing wall. It's great to still be discovering new places after so long here.

9 July 2009

Emily woke at 4.45. Eventually I gave up trying to settle her and took her to bed with me. She was about to drop off at last when Nick's alarm went off at 5.40. After he went she did calm down and I managed to doze on and off until 7.45, but I felt terrible when I got up.

It was a very hot morning but I felt I ought to leave the sanctuary of the aircon behind and take Emily out. We went to the local playground but the sun was really strong and I was worried about her burning even with cream and a hat. We moved on to a second small playground behind the supermarket, which was shadier but had a higher mozzie count, then shopped and dashed home.

Emily picked at her lunch, perhapos becasue she was now very tired after her early stirring. I got her down in bed and ate mine, then showered and went off to bed myself. I woke after an hour and a half but felt so bad I wondered if I should have, a rare headache nagging at my temples.

Skip Kids seemed the last place to go with a bad head, but after a while I felt a lot better, despite the squeals of a handful of excitable kids. Emily was really lively and beaming her best grin a lot. I had a good chat with Jo and Bettina, which eventually turned to the usual subject on my mind these days. The discussion continued later over dinner, when Nick came home early (8pm!). I am really 50/50 on having another child, and we concluded that we will never be absolutely sure either way. But that is exactly the way we felt before we had Emily! I used to worry about material issues such as the stability of Nick's job and the size of our apartment, but my main concern has changed now: what if I had twins, or there was an abnormality? Entirely possible as the incidence of both increases with maternal age. And of course the idea of two children with no family around as support is scary too. So where does that leave us...?

8 July 2009

Emily woke even earlier today, at 5.45. She was babbling away in her room and I thought I heard her say 'Emily poo'. She never does one at that time of day but surprise, surprise, this time she had. It's the first time she seems to have been aware she has done one. I'm not about to start toilet training her yet, though. Not until at least 2 years old. I haven't even got a potty or trainer seat yet, though all my friends have.

I was glad to find that it was a dull day again, though it was nonetheless very warm and sticky. During the morning there was the odd shower, but we went to meet Jill and Sophia at Kyu Shiba Riyku anyway. The girls had a whale of a time running around on the grass and playing with the water fountain.

They also discovered a female turtle laying eggs in a hole she had scraped on a grassy bank. The eggs were very large for such a small creature - almost the size of a hen's egg - and there were several in the bottom of the hole. In fact, they weren't much smaller than the eggs we watched a metre-long sea turtle laying in Borneo, though she lay nearly 70. I hoped our children's squealing and proximity hadn't put the poor creature off, as she began to fill in the muddy hole.

7 July 2009

Emily woke early again, at 6.20, and when I took her into our room she was wide awake straight away and would not let me rest, so I reluctantly got up.


We ventured out into the searing heat for a trial of a Music Together class, held at a Lutheran church in Roppongi. Emily didn't enjoy it, perhaps because it was a small room with about a dozen adults and as many children, and we spent 45 minutes singing and moving around. She only perked up a bit from her sullen state when props and musical instruments were brought out. The rest of the time she was looking out of the window and trying to open the door.


We played briefly in Robot Park next door afterwards, as I felt too guilty to take Emily straight home without much chance to play. There is a series of ever longer and higher slides all accessed via a walkway and stairs. She went straight past the others to the highest, a helter skelter, but chickened out of using it.


Emily had her first afternoon in daycare since we got back. I was worried that she would have forgotten Pokke and be as upset as she was the first few times she went, but when we got there she walked straight in and started playing. I don't think she even cried when I disappeared. On picking up, she wasn't looking out for me as before, and had to be pulled away from the toys to come to me. She then said 'Emily shoe' and was ready to leave.


Apparently Tokyo is now the most expensive place to live, or rather, for a company to send an expat to. That's somewhat different, since they use a 'basket of goods' comparison, and probably include a lot of goods that I don't buy. In any case, as Nick is paid in yen there is no issue with exchange rates, which is what has mainly been the cause of the increase in the cost of sending an expat here.

5 July 2009

We had arranged to go to the Embassy to see Tracey, James and Lottie, as it had been several months since we were there. An Aussie couple, Megan and Hugh, and their two daughters were there as well. All the children played nicely inside and out in the garden. Before eating we went across to the pool. Nick took Emily in but she got very upset, probably because she had already been up for 5 hours, and was very hungry, but also because the water was actually quite cold.

As Emily scoffed her food, Tracey kindly knocked up lunch for us adults - a good thing too as we hadn't given thought to where we'd eat. We finally left at 2.30 so that we could get Emily asleep in the buggy, but we saw Ryan, Sharon and Taylor in the pool so stopped for 10 minutes to chat to them. We made our excuses and were about to leave when we realised Emily had done a poo.

In the end she only napped for half an hour, but that was enough for us to get the tube to Kiyosumi. It was the first time I had risked Emily napping on a train, but she was oblivious to the noise, although after nearly 7 hours and lots of play she must have been exhausted.
We were pleased with our discovery of yet another great garden, and this one right next to a park and only a few hundred yards from the Sumida river. Kiyosumi is really lovely; it has similar features to Rikugien, Korakuen and Kyu Shiba Rikyu (lake, trained pine trees, maples and cherries), but they are all subtly different and have their own charm. Inside there was a big arrangement of bamboo branches festooned with colourful wishes, for Tanabata festival. I added one to the collection.

Emily was raring to go though we had to restrain her while we traversed the many stepping stones around the lake edge. She loved the huge koi and turtles.

My evening run was a lot better than last week's, though it was very humid so I as glad I had taken a wet flannel to cool myself off with.