27 August 2009

I took Emily to Nandemo for our morning playtime. There was a bit of a Filipina nannies convention going on as I was the only one among about 8 of them. Still, I am used to being surrounded by people I can't understand, just that it is usually Japanese not Tagalog!

I was disgusted when an American mum came in with her two year old daughter, as the child had pierced ears. I just cannot get my head around what these sad individuals are thinking of, mutilating their babies like that. Nick says when we dress our children we are influencing how they look, but that doesn't inflict pain, however temporary, on a small person who is totally dependent on you.

We met Nick for lunch, then dashed home for Emily's nap. I had been feeling wiped out, so took a rare nap myself. I was astounded to wake and see that it was quarter past three. I had been asleep two hours and Emily two and a half. She usually naps less than an hour and a half and I had relied on her to be my alarm clock. Well, I must have needed it. It had been a late evening thanks to Nick being late in from work again, and Emily had me up at six fifteen. The only problem was that I was supposed to be meeting Jo in Meguro at three thirty! We managed to get there by four and Emily and Isy had fun exploring the Children's Hall there, which we had not been to before.

26 August 2009

We met Jill and Minako and kids for a trip over to Odaiba. Neither of them had used the boat from Shibaura before and really liked it. Emily was in ecstasy as there was so much to see and comment on (planes, boats, birds, bridge etc).

As soon as we arrived we went straight to the mall for lunch. Luckily there were still some tables free at the food court; Jill and I got noodles with tempura, and Sophia and Emily both ate very well. Given Emily's usual reluctance to eat when we go out, I was surprised and pleased. She managed to get her hands on Haru-kun's MacDonald's fries and wolfed a few before I snatched them away, to her chagrin.

Afterwards we took the children for a walk along the waterfront. Emily soon dropped off to sleep but the other two were full of beans. We went as far as the 17m Gandam replica 'robot' that has been erected in the park. It is supposed to represent Green Tokyo, but I fail to see why.

Minako had to leave early, but we continued on to the small man-made beach near the pier. Emily and Sophia had fun there for half an hour, though it was hard to stop them going out into the deeper water, and we were especially nervous because there were a lot of jellyfish around.

After a while we headed indoors for some refreshment at the cafe, while Sophia finally gave in to slumber.

Emily and I took the boat back, but Jill was planning on using the monorail, so it was time for making our farewells before they left Japan for good on Saturday. It was a sad occasion, as we have become good friends, and won't see them again until at least our next visit home.

23 August 2009

Our planned day trip to Zushi had an early setback, when Nick phoned the boat company and found that the trips for the day were all fully-booked. I felt that maybe we shouldn't go as that was to be the highlight, but as we also wanted to swim in the sea we decided to go ahead anyway.

Splashing out on green car seats proved very worthwhile as Emily was able to sit comfortably opposite us and play, so the hour-long journey passed without upset. There were plenty of trackside diggers and the odd passing shinkansen for her to spot.

At Zushi we left the comfort of the airconditioned carriage and set out in the strong sunshine for the beach, quarter of an hour's walk away. The sands were already packed with sun worshippers - the unfortunate western trend for brown skin is slowly taking a hold among the young here, it seems - and music was pumping from the many bars along the back of the beach. There were lots of children too, and the sea was full of people playing and swimming. At first I didn't enjoy it there at all; I was really worried about Emily and Nick burning in the intense sun, I felt woefully unprepared for a day on the beach (not even considering that we would need something to sit on, and Emily's tent might have been worth bringing for a little shade), and also I felt very uncomfortable surrounded by so many slim young women in bikinis. However, I gradually loosened up, especially once we had both awkwardly changed under a small towel and taken to the bath-warm water.

Emily had a fantastic time, perhaps because it was shallow so she could touch the bottom. The odd wave came and swept her off her feet and she went right under a few times, to my consternation. She got a bit upset when she swallowed the salty water but soon recovered.

Back on the beach, we people-watched a little before packing up. There were lots of American servicemen from the nearby base at Yokosuka, most tattooed and with well-developed pecs. A good proportion of the women also sported tattoos and bleached hair. Just about everyone who passed by was clutching a can of beer. I wondered if we had been magically transported to the Costa Brava.

Emily's nap was overdue, so we got her into the buggy and set off to the end of the sand, then walked along the road towards Hayama. She was soon fast asleep, and remained so for an hour and a half, even though we soon went into the coffee shop there. Nick and I sampled a couple of their scrummy cakes accompanied by lashings of decent coffee, and made the most of being able to relax and talk. Once Emily woke, we went across the road to the small beach there, where there were only a handful of people. Nick and Emily went in the sea again, then she played sandcastles with me, managing to eat some in the process.

There was a convenient bus stop right by the beach, so we hopped onto the next one along, which inched its way through the heavy traffic back to Zushi station. We returned to Shinagawa in the luxury of the green car yet again. We mustn't get too hooked on travelling that way, as it is about two thirds as much again as a regular ticket, though still comparing favourably to UK rail prices.

I was amazed when Emily tucked into some pickled ginger along with her sushi roll. It is quite fiery stuff. Maybe I should try her with chili next!

In the evening I persuaded myself to go for a run, and found it relatively easy, compared to recent weeks, despite the heat. The summer air is quite clear this year, and the lack of humidity helps so much.

22 August 2009

I just about managed to keep my head above water in Japanese class, but feel more than ever that I am lagging a long way behind the others.

It was a very hot and sticky afternoon, so we decided to stay close to home and plumped for Kyu Shiba Rikyu gardens. It was hard to dissuade Emily from throwing small stones at the carp and turtles in the lake; generally though, she is easier to handle all the time because she understands so much of what we say now.




On the way home, while I rushed around Nissin for some essentials (pizza and cheesecake!), Nick played with her at the playground nearby.

There is a general election here next week, and as we neared the apartment a minibus drove by with yet another party on the campaign trail. This time is was the 'Happiness Realization Party'. Three women were waving enthusiastically from the bus as it pootled along, all wearing white gloves, which in the UK would be an affectation, but is commonplace here.

21 August 2009

Emily and I went for a playdate at Tracey's . It was very stressful getting there, as we had to navigate rush hour. After missing the first train because it was totally rammed full, the next one was like the proverbial can of sardines, though as we were first on I did get a seat. Emily kept asking to get out of the stroller, and was bucking around like a junior bronco, kicking the commuters on the shins in the process. I felt my blood pressure mounting rapidly and was mightily relieved to make it four stops without tears from one of us.


We emerged into the early heat and humidity for the 15 minute walk round to the embassy, where we had to pass through at least four security doors. James was still home and immediately picked Emily up, to her consternation. I was amazed she didn't cry as he has a bit of a beard and she doesn't like them. He took off for work and we went in to find Lottie finishing breakfast. The two of them played very nicely together and chattered away. Emily wanted to chase one of their two cats, who was out in the garden tormenting a cicada it had caught (one of many by all accounts). We let the girls outside, where they proceeded to get wet and dirty playing with the soil and copious amounts of water. After that they sat down to an early lunch, and I was pleased that Emily ate some of the food Tracey had prepared, though I had to spoonfeed her.


Once fed, we needed to get home quickly as Emily had to nap before nursery. Lunch had overrun, so in a rare fit of profligacy I decided to take a taxi. We sallied forth into the scorching heat of midday and eventually flagged one down. Emily got upset when I collapsed her buggy, but once on the road she cheered up, and kept up a running commentary for the fifteen minute drive home: 'man green'(?), 'big lolly' (lorry), 'bugger bike' (I think I prefer her version to motorbike), 'lady 'brella' etc.

She submitted to a nap without protest and we were soon on our way to Tsukijishijo again. As last time, she didn't cry on dropping off, though she was well aware that I was going to leave her. She can't seem to say nursery; she says 'sorcery', for some reason. I hotfooted it (literally) to the sports centre for my aerobics class, which I enjoyed immensely.

In the bath Emily amazed me ; she has some foam letters and numbers, and she picked up the K and said 'Kate', then the D and said 'Daddy', then the N and tried to say 'Nicholas'. I must be imagining it, as it seems beyond belief. She was also trying to sing the ABC song, which I think they do regularly at the nursery.

I was reminded that it was this time last year the Olympics were happening in Beijing. I can't believe that a whole year has passed since I was mortified by the sight of a dishevelled Boris Johnson shambling up in front of billions of people as our representative. There is controversy over a female race winner at the World athletics championship, and I have to say that I won't be surprised if the tests show it is a man as she/he certainly looks and behaves in a very masculine way. Usain Bolt has shattered both 100m and 200m records, and I am sorry to say that after so many doping scandals it is very hard not to suspect him of using a hitherto undetected drug. I hope I am wrong and feel a llittle ashamed for my doubts.

20 August 2009

Jill and I took the girls to the Science Museum in Kudanshita, an idea I had from another mum at TMG whose two and a half year old apparently likes it there. Emily was quite grouchy and inclined to tears all day, and didn't like most of the exhibits. Admittedly they are aimed at older kids, but on a good day I'm sure she would have found more to enjoy. She liked a big tunnel-like structure made of metal (tunnels being one of her current fads), and was excited to see a display of model diggers, but then got upset when she realised that they were behind glass. There was a dinosaur robot which she took a dislike to (her favourite phrase, repeated many times a day, is 'don't like it'), and she was positively frightened when I stood her on a raised platform around which I pulled a ring that formed a massive soap bubble all around her as it rose.

After an hour and a half we gave up and went down to the restaurant in the basement. It had rather a school canteen feel, and there wasn't all that much on the menu that I thought Emily would like, but I got a bowl of cold noodles with shredded cucumber and fish paste strips. Added to the beans and sweetcorn that I'd taken it was enough to satisfy her, though I drew the line at the almost raw poached egg on top, which looked like a horrid gelatinous eyeball.

We had planned to stroll around the Imperial Palace gardens while they napped, but as it was well over 30C we decided instead to jump on a train to Shibuya and go to the Children's Hall there. Both of them dropped off to sleep as we left the station, and they completed their naps inside the Hall. Emily managed 40 minutes, despite the constant background of squealing and shouting from the hordes of children there. I knew there was a good reason why I don't go there much: the playroom has a section where shoes must be taken off, with the remainder requiring them. It is very tedious, constantly taking Emily's shoes off and putting them back on depending on which part of the room her whim takes her to. The best part is a large wooden structure of many levels, with a suspended 'bridge' and a slide. Emily really liked it, but there were loads of older kids who kept bowling past her roughly and making her nervous on the quivering bridge. In the end I gave up and decided to take her home, as I felt quite worn out.

On the way back I was seized with a fit of conscience and thought I would take her to Hon Shiba first. Before that I badly needed a boost, so we stopped off at Starbucks (I am fast becoming bored with going there!) for a coffee and snack. Fortified, we carried on down the road to the playground, with Emily getting very animated as the shinkansen trains went by. She eagerly got into the fountain pool to play, and I was very happy to paddle and cool my feet. At 4pm the sun seemed just about weak enough for me to stop worrying about putting suncream on her. After all, it is now dark before seven.

19 August 2009

Another visit to Appi jidokan in the morning. Emily was playing very nicely with the other children and even sharing once or twice. There was a baby lying on a mat there, and she took it a few toys over to play with.

Afterwards we carried on to meet Nick for our weekly lunch date, where Emily stuffed her face with bread and quite a bit of smoked salmon.

As it was my turn to be coordinator for a TMG meeting, I had picked nearby Nandemo, but we wouldn't have time to go home for Emily's nap so I had to walk her around in the heat to get her off to sleep. Once she was away I went straight there and parked her in the air-conditioned foyer, where there happens to be a little cafe. I had barely drunk my iced tea when she woke up again, having napped for all of 25 minutes. Not surprisingly, she was upset at first, but in the end she had two hours of quality playtime with quite a few other toddlers who turned up. Not a bad turn out at all, considering so many are out of town for the summer. There were two new English mums who were both very nice, but neither of them is here for more than a few months so it does make you feel like it's not worth the effort to get to know them.

We seem to be spending all of Nick's salary lately, so I am going to start monitoring our expenditure again, though I already know that it is the cost of familiar foods from home that is driving our budget sky-high. I bought two apples for 600 yen (about three pounds), after Emily spotted them on the shelves and kept asking for them. I am very careful to stick to my list where possible, so we don't throw much away at all, though the fruit and veg here seems to go off more quickly than at home.

16 August 2009

The ladies had asked us what time we wanted breakfast, and we'd plumped for 8am. But having set the alarm to go off at 7.45, we received a call at 7am to tell us that the bath was ready for use. Jill and Anna were already awake but I had been dozing. It was great just lying there with my eyes closed though.

On checking out, the old lady at the desk actually used an abacus to calculate our bill! A taxi soon arrived and deposited us at Kinugasa station, where we decided to be decadent and pay extra for a green car seat again. At Shinagawa station we went to Starbucks for a coffee, but once back in Tokyo I found I was missing Nick and Emily a lot and was keen to get home to them as soon as possible.

Later we all went to Meguro pool. It was a very hot afternoon, so it was packed, but the water was still fairly cool. The novelty seems to be wearing off for Emily and she made it clear that she wanted to leave after a while. On the way out she stopped to dance to some piped dance music. Her version of dancing involves bending her knees and waving her arms in the air; it's very amusing.

I'm afraid I talked myself out of going for my Sunday run as I felt that I had seen so little of Nick all week, but surely 40 minutes wouldn't have made much difference. At least it meant that we ate early and got to bed at a sensible hour though.

15 August 2009

In trepidation I attended Japanese class. My fears were justified, as I have slipped so far behind. Mind you, there were only a couple of familiar faces. New to class were a Korean girl and a Chinese guy, who could both speak quite a bit of Japanese. In fact, she was able to hold a conversation with the teacher, and I wondered why she was coming to lessons at all. It only served to make me feel even more useless.

I made my excuses at noon and rushed off to Shinagawa station, where I was meeting Jill and her friend Anna for our night away in Kanagawa. We splashed out on 'green car' seats, which are spacious and comfortable, though they do cost half as much again. But the fare for the hour's journey was very reasonable anyway. We nattered away and ate our lunch, and soon pulled in to Zushi station, at the coast. Anna doesn't have any children, so it made it easier to avoid talking about the kids!

It was a scorching day - perhaps 35C - but the humidity was thankfully low. We walked slowly down to the beach, which we found to be heaving with Japanese taking a rare day off to play. In any case, we were heading around the bay for the harbour, as Anna had suggested a boat trip. I felt for 6-month pregnant Jill, as we walked quite a distance in the blazing sun with only a mild breeze to take the edge off the oven-like heat. I can usually get away with unprotected sun exposure (though I know I shouldn't), but after only half an hour I could see strong marks where my T-shirt had been.

We finally tracked down the boat company's desk and booked onto the trip. Their launch was a fair size and mainly covered; once we got moving it was lovely to be in the fresh air and under shade.



We moved slowly out into the bay through many sailing boats, canoes and jetskiis, passing by some outlying rocks on which a large red torii (a sort of shrine gate) had been erected.



Once into open water the young captain opened the throttle and we surged forward excitingly, making quick progress southwards towards Enoshima island.



As we neared the famous attraction we saw that the rocks around the seaward base of the island were swarming with people. I remembered reading that there were lots of shrine caves and could see that there were walkways allowing easy access into the caverns.



Having viewed Enoshima we turned for home, speeding back along a mile or so off the shore. Some sail boats looked very attractive in the light of the sun as it started its slow descent towards evening.



We had noticed some nice looking cafes on our way to the marina, and made our way back to one for a coffee and some dainty cakes. Next to the cafe was a small piece of beach, and we decided to have a quick dip before we returned to the station. We found the dark volcanic sand to be very pleasant under our feet, and the water temperature was surprisingly comfortable. I wished I had packed my swimwear after all as there was no-one to see me anyway, the crowds all being on the main beach some way off.

After a long paddle we walked back to the station (our accommodation for the night was a further 15 minutes up the line in Kinugasa). We were running a bit late and jumped into a cab, as Jill had negotiated for dinner to be held back until 6.30 and it was already past that. The taxi ride took an eternity, winding around narrow back lanes up into the wooded hills beyond the town. Just as darkness began to fall we finally arrived at the guesthouse. It was extremely traditional, and like a lot I have stayed in, rather run down. It seemed to be staffed by just a trio of elderly women in aprons. I think we were the only guests, and possibly the only foreigners they had accommodated. We were shown to our room, which looked out over the hills and town back to the coast. It was reasonable enough for the price we were paying, though a bit grubby in places.


We changed into yukata while the women scuttled off to cook the meal. Dinner was served in another guest room down the corridor, which allowed them to make up our futons while we ate. The food was decent: very good tempura and the usual array of tiny dishes of unrecognisable vegetable matter and some thick slabs of sashimi. We sat and chatted for quite a while before we realised that we were probably holding them up from clearing the table, and repaired to our room which was now set up as sleeping quarters.

As always, there was a communal bath, and we trooped off down there for a quick dip. The room was lined with white tiles and there were just a few rocks around the bath to make it look a bit natural. Jill and I found the water too hot to do more than put our lower legs in, but Anna managed to submerge herself for a while. High summer is not the best time to appreciate a lingering dip in scalding water. We sat and talked there for a while, listening to the cicadas and other night noises outside.


It was only about 9pm, but poor Jill was flagging and immediately lay down. I had promised to show Anna a shooting star, as she had never seen one before. The Perseids annual shower was just past its peak, but I thought we stood a good chance as we were out of the town and the sky was clear. The two of us ventured back down to the lobby, only to find everything shut up for the night. Luckily one of the old ladies was around and Anna, who can speak some Japanese, managed to convey our desire to stargaze. The woman came out with us onto the steps outside to look, and even turned out the outside lights for us. We were rewarded for our trouble within a few minutes by a magnificent meteor that streaked across directly above for a whole second, and we all happened to be looking the right way at once. Anna and I stayed out for a further 10 minutes or so but failed to see another.

14 August 2009

Emily's fourth visit to the nursery. She cried as I put her down but went in to the playroom and didn't even notice me leave. When I returned three hours later, several kids were lined up behind the gate like hopeful puppies at Battersea; Emily cried a little when she saw that it was me, but soon recovered.

It has come to my notice that many Japanese, especially older women, wear synthetic fibres even in this heat. Do they not have any sweat glands?! It makes me feel ill to even think about wearing nylon at 35C.

13 August 2009

I would be lying if I said I wasn't getting a bit concerned as we had another earthquake at 8am, which lasted more than a minute, though perhaps a little less strong than the other two this week. Tokyo sits on the boundary of three Tectonic plates and is widely believed to be due for a very big tremor any time. There is also a separate risk from another zone a hundred and fifty miles south west, which is the one responsible for this cluster of quakes. We have an emergency bag in the hall cupboard and 20 litres of water outside the front door, but I feel woefully ill-prepared all the same. There's only so much I can carry in addition to Emily, should I need to evacuate, though I'm sure I would have super-human strength with all the adrenalin.

In the afternoon we met Minako and Haru at Meguro pool. It was very busy, with quite a few dads there since it is O-Bon week (Buddhist festival of ancestors). Emily had been getting a bit grouchy, but as soon as Haru came she perked up and was chasing him and laughing. Yet another boyfriend!

12 August 2009

For once the humidity dropped and although it was about 28C it actually felt tolerable. I only mopped my face with my sweatcloth a couple of times all day, and didn't have to change my clothes for the afternoon, as a measure!

Despite the comfortable conditions, I had already planned a playdate with Jill at Skip Kids. She had also invited Minako with 2-year old Haru. They were at the party on Saturday and she seemed really nice. We spent a couple of hours there and the kids had lots of fun. Minako lived in London from 1990-95, but her English is still very good after all this time. It will be nice to get to know her better.

11 August 2009

Bracing ourselves for the onset of an approaching typhoon, instead we were surprised to be woken at 5am by the violent shakings of another earthquake. Nick said that this one was of a similar intensity to the Sunday evening tremor, but lasted longer. I'm sure I am not the only one, but even while it is happening I feel a frisson of excitement, although I expect that is caused by the flow of adrenalin. I think it took about 20 minutes for the thumping in my chest to completely subside afterwards though. Emily was oblivious, naturally. The JMA website confirmed it as a level 6 off the west of Izu peninsula, about 100 miles from Tokyo. They use their own scale so it is hard to know what the corresponding Richter number is.

Emily was back in nursery again in the afternoon. She cried again as I handed her over to one of the assistants, but apparently quickly recovered and was in a great mood for the three hours. I took myself off to Akachan Honpo baby store, where I had a stress-free shopping experience for once.

9 August 2009

We walked over to Hon Shiba park in blazing heat with little wind, where we splashed about in the fountain pool. After only half an hour we left as Emily was quite grouchy. Maybe it was just the heat getting to her, as I know I feel very grumpy if I am too hot.

After lunch we went to Meguro pool, as I was keen to take Nick to see what fun we have there. By now it was very overcast and threatening a storm, but that that didn't materialise. Nonetheless there were about 20 children there, playing in the rather cool water, and Emily played happily for 40 mins or so.

At home I realised that Emily was singing. Her attempt at 'Twinkle Twinkle' was recognisable. She didn't use the right syllables most of the time but it was the correct tune and some words were distinguishable.

After dark I went out for my run, despite it still being 30C and very airless. It went surprisingly well. I ran my longest route in reverse, which felt very strange, and it also meant that the steep hill came halfway instead of at the beginning. Why is it that the crossings are always showing green when you secretly wish they would be red? Thank goodness for a wet cloth to mop my bright red face.

Near the end of the run I noticed several garage shutters rattling hard, and it did cross my mind that there might be an earthquake since there was no wind to produce such an effect. However, I didn't feel anything at all so I continued running. When I got home Nick said there had been one and that it was quite heart in mouth at one point. I felt almost disappointed not to have felt it, though that's easy to say in retrospect. To illustrate the violence of the force, I'd left a large pan half full of water on the stove and it had sloshed all over the stove top and onto the floor.

8 August 2009

Nick came in at 2.30am, and was drunk and rude. I reacted to it at the time, but later relented because it was the booze talking. At 3 I wondered why he hadn't come to bed and found him on the loo slumped against the wall and fast asleep! He doesn't drink that much anymore so he's not used to a big session. I knew he would suffer for it anyway, but it turned it into a bit of a lost weekend as he stayed in bed until lunchtime and we ended up staying at home in the afternoon. Bang went my Japanese class as I ended up taking Emily to Appi for a play. I have now missed so many classes that I will have to drop out and hope that they run that level course again soon.

Later on we spruced up and headed over to Jill's apartment for Sophia's 2nd birthday party/their leaving do/fireworks viewing combined. This was a new experience for us as it involved keeping Emily up an hour and a half later than usual. However, she was really bright and lively all evening. At first she was wary of all the strange men (Jim's work colleagues as well as a few other families), but she got stuck into Sophia's toys and then sat down with the other three kids for tea, and she was quite relaxed after that.

There were so many things for her to look at from their balcony too: helicopters, aeroplanes, boats, lorries and even an airship.

At 7pm the hour and a half of fireworks began, out in Tokyo Bay, near Odaiba. Jill's place is on the 47th floor so we had an amazing view from their balcony. How could I have doubted that Emily woud love them? She had a huge grin on her face and started babbling 'bang' and listing all the colours (not necessarily correctly) and copying us all as we 'oohed' and 'aahed'. After some while the lure of the toys was too strong and she drifted off to play again.

We left just as the grand finale began, deliberately planned so that we could get back to the station before the hundreds of thousands who were in the area to see the show began leaving too. It was already busy by the time we got on the train so it was the right thing to do, though remembering last year I'm sure we missed a spectacle. Emily managed to stay awake until we got home and even seemed affronted to be bundled straight off to bed without playing first, though she was flat out in less than 5 minutes.

7 August 2009

Not entirely unexpectedly, Emily bawled when I left her at the nursery this time. I knew it was too good to be true. She was sobbing 'Mummy' and it was like a knife in my guts. I almost wanted to say that I had changed my mind as I felt so guilty. After all, it isn't even for the noble reason of needing to go back to work (yet). After painfully extricating myself, I did just make it back to Tamachi for my aerobics class. I was already drenched in sweat by the time I got there, and there was not enough aircon in the gym so I was dripping by the end of it. However, it did take my mind off Emily and I really enjoyed it. A quick revision session in Starbucks afterwards had me panicking about resuming my Japanese lessons tomorrow.

The nursery provides a little book to record her activities each visit, and they also take a photo and paste it in. It is a lovely record of her early years that we can treasure, though it gives me a pang to read about her doing things without me being there.

Just as we arrived home, a storm came over the city. Last year it felt like we had one nearly every evening in August but this was only the second one this summer. Emily and I stood out at the front of the apartment and watched the show, though it was only sheet lightning and distant rumbling, so we were obviously not that close to the centre. Nick will have been pleased as he has been bemoaning the lack of Thor's wrath most nights.

6 August 2009

After another bad night. I resolved to take the financial hit and go to the doctors. It was very cloudy so for some reason I was stupid enough to put on a pair of jeans. Of course, within ten minutes I was dripping with sweat as it was still high 20s and extremely muggy. You'd really think I would know better by now!

After a half hour dive into the jidokan to placate Emily, we went to the clinic. I got the requisite antibiotics, but what with the consultation fee it set us back more than a hundred quid. Sharp intake of breath. Well worth it though, as I began to feel an improvement only a few hours after the first tablet. While I was there I also asked the doc about a niggling ache in my calf. He asked me to lie on the couch so he could feel the muscle, and Emily immediately started wailing. She had shown definite signs of nervousness around him but that was unexpected.

Later, we met Bettina and Jo for another visit to Nandemo. Neither of them had been before, but it seems a good venue as we can all reach it in the same amount of time. The kids ran riot for an hour in a state of high excitement, while we caught up on a week's natter.

They are both going home soon so we will be without our regular playdate for a few weeks. We finished up at the Starbucks at the station, where we took over all the comfy chairs and the children tormented the salarymen/women who had dropped in there for a quiet drink and read, with their squealing.

5 August 2009

I saw a woman on the subway with a T- shirt that said 'the enemy of love is not hate it is not different'! I doubt it was a deliberate misquote, so it must be a poor translation dictionary that the designer used, to change 'indifference' to 'not different'. I was also musing on how I dislike and fail to understand the widespread trend for mini-skirts here, but the flipside is that women rarely wear revealing tops. It is refreshing to be able to walk down a street and not have your vision assailed by a pair of massive mammaries barely restrained by a tiny vest top, or too much midriff on display. Not a muffin-top to be seen!

It was overcast but steamy, so I wanted to stay indoors. Emily and I revisited Nandemo jidokan after nearly a year. I'm not sure why we haven't been for so long as it only took half an hour to get there and it had plenty for her to play with. There was a huge box full of trains, several slides, and two Rody ponies that she liked bouncing on.





We moved on to have lunch with Nick, whose office is only 10 minutes walk away. Emily was extremely vocal and charming the world-weary office workers, as always.

4 August 2009

As soon as I could, I went to a drugstore and tried to ask the pharmacist for something to treat the cystitis. I wasn't sure I made it clear enough, despite my demonstrations of needing to go to the toilet. She eventually said I should go to a doctor, but I bought the product she had pointed out at first anyway. Note to self - ask for Cymalon from home!


Afterwards I took Emily to the park as it wouldn't be fair to keep her at home and I could just about cope with the symptoms. She was as bright as a button, talking a lot and running around. After lunch I had to cut her nap short so we could get to the nursery for her first afternoon. As soon as we entered the building, where we have visited briefly twice, she went quiet and clingy. How could she know I was going to leave her there on her own?! We went into the play area together and I stayed until she began playing with some toys, then sneaked away with everything crossed.

I didn't want to go far off in case they called me, so I did a bit of shopping around nearby Ginza. Now armed with the right Japanese to ask at a drugstore, thanks to Nick, I obtained another box of sachets. I am not hopeful though, and can see myself ending up needing antibiotics from a doctor. At a bit of a loose end, I called Jill and arranged to meet her for a drink and chat. On returning to nursery Ui I heard Emily say 'Mummy coming', so they had obviously been telling her that. She surprised me by not crying, as she often has when I pick her up at Pokke, and the staff said she had only cried briefly when she realised I had gone.

3 August 2009

In the morning we sought sanctuary from the humidity at Appi, with Jill and Sophia. Later, Emily returned to Kspace after missing the last 10 week term. Just as before, she was really nervous around the male staff. At first, we were the only ones in the class, and that must have made it even more daunting, though she had a happy reunion with their character, Kokomo. After a while a few other mums and tots joined us, but it was a fairly muted affair for all that.


In the evening we had a visit from Gary and Claire, the Taiwanese couple from Nick's MBA course in Durham. They were in Tokyo for a short holiday and had asked if they could drop round to see us. Unforunately Nick couldn't get out of work early, so they came at 9.30 and stayed until after eleven. It was nice to see them and be reminded of our happy time in the North East.


Overnight I was plagued by a sudden and severe attack of cystitis. It seemed to come from nowhere, though I am not surprised as I know I ought to drink more water, and often delay going to the loo if I am busy with Emily or on the move. I lost a couple of hours sleep to it and wasn't sure how I would deal with it in the morning, not having any sachets of remedy to hand.

2 August 2009

What a terrible night. Emily was extremely disturbed and as I was lying next to her I woke at every whimper or change of position. Around 1am she got very upset and even Nick woke up from his sleep-deprived stupor. We couldn't figure out what was wrong, and she pushed us away rather than wanting to be held. In the end we administered some medicine and adjusted her clothing in case she was too cold under the fan blast (in the mountains people don't tend to have aircon but it was still 27C so we needed the fan). Even after that she was disturbed right through to dawn. There was a Velux skylight directly above our heads, and as there was only a thin white blind to cover it (why bother?!) the morning light fell fully on us. Emily got very fretful again after that and eventually woke for good at 6.30. I felt like death warmed up as I don't think I had a full hour's sleep at any point in the night.

Breakfast was the usual Japanese version of continental, with a small salad, asparagus wrapped in bacon, fruit and yogurt, and some chunks of soft white bread. The accompanying homemade jams were tasty. Jam is the area's meibutsu (speciality: every part of Japan has one and tourists always buy shedloads of the local produce for their families and friends). We were also served a small glass of a red concoction which was made by brewing red shiso (perilla) leaves with water and vinegar. It was surprisingly good, and no doubt has claims to health benefits. Emily was fascinated by the host grinding the coffee on a little device with a wheel.

After we'd packed up we wandered in the garden briefly. The owner said that we could pick some of the huge blueberries they had growing there. We got the our first glimpse of Mount Asama through trees and swirling cloud. We hitched a lift back to Miyota station and took the little train to Naka Karuizawa, where we planned to pick up a bus to the lava fields called Onioshidashien (quite a mouthful even when you know how to pronounce it!). With nearly an hour to wait we realised that we were stranded in a backwater with nowhere to have a coffee, so we just strolled up the street to keep Emily from being too bored at the bus stop.

The bus ride took over half an hour, but luckily it wasn't busy so we bagged the back seat and Emily could stand up and look out of the rear window. When we arrived at the lava field in light rain we found a rather rundown facility with damp and ugly concrete bridges over the road to an equally drab cafe and restaurant that had seen better days. As it was nearing Emily's lunchtime we had to go inside though, especially as it was drizzling. She declined the sachet of food I'd brought in no uncertain terms, but seemed happy to pick at soba noodles and some of Nick's pork.

Afterwards we loaded her up in the carrier for a nap, while we strolled around the walking course that was laid out among the lava stacks.

The area was not at all bleak because among the rocks were plenty of young trees and shrubs. From time to time the clouds parted to reveal parts of Asama-yama's summit far above.

The path brought us back around to the famous shrine among the lava, where people were sounding the huge bell hanging there.

Emily woke just as Nick was pressing a coin into a crack in a boulder as an offering to the shrine.

Soon we were back on the bus bound for Karuizawa, but again we had the back seat so Emily didn't get too fed up. Back in the town she spotted that there was a boy in the passenger seat of the car behind and was waving to him and holding up Mickey Mouse to show him.

We jumped off the bus halfway along the main street and walked towards the station, looking for somewhere to get a bite to eat. There seems to be some strange obsession with German sausages in Karuizawa as there were several speciality restaurants serving them. It came on to rain just as we found a place that was mentioned in the guide book, Krastanie. Though mid-afternoon we were just in time to order lunch; we ended up with far more food than we'd really intended, and failed in our main objective to get Emily to have some of our food though she did try some of the mozzarella pesto salad. She was agitating to get down, and the staff thoughtfully brought out a wire and bead frame for her so that we could finish the meal in peace.

We just had time to get back to the station for the shinkansen back to Tokyo. After the very disturbed night the last thing I felt like doing was going for a run, but I forced myself as I had missed two Sundays already. Actually it went OK under the circumstances, and thankfully began to rain in the last third, just as I was getting overheated.

1 August 2009

Another weekend, another getaway! This time to Karuizawa, which we mainly chose because we could get there in just over an hour from Tokyo using the shinkansen, and because it is in the mountains and therefore likely to be cooler. Given the short journey time and the fact that it was over Emily's lunchtime, the trip was easy. By the time we'd eaten our packed lunch together we were halfway there, and she didn't even get as far as roaming up and down the aisles.

When we arrived the mountains were wreathed in low cloud, but it was certainly several degrees cooler than Tokyo and the air felt cleaner somehow, though Karuizawa is a busy place. It is one of the principle resorts for city-dwellers, with hundreds of holiday homes tucked away in the woods all around town, from glorified chalets through to the almost palatial (and ugly). The place was 'discovered' by an Englishman in the late 1800s and there is a strong British theme; there is more mock-Tudor here than in the average Essex town. The main drag is a good mile long with lots of nice little shops, boutiques and cafes; without Emily in tow I would gladly have spent an hour or two browsing in them.

We got some gen from the Information office at the station and then boarded a bus for a twenty minute ride up into the hills to Shiraito no Taki (White Thread Waterfall). We joined the dozens of tourists going to view the horseshoe falls that have about a 10 feet drop but are a couple of hundred feet round.

Having taken the falls in, with plenty of time to kill before a bus back, and a sleepy Emily to lull, we walked off along a hiking route which quickly took us away from the throng. Most people were probably put off continuing along the path by a set of vertiginous stairs that had me wavering a bit, but once we'd puffed up more than 120 of them at about a one in two angle, we found that it levelled off into a pleasant ramble among the trees, with just insects and birds and a rare person or two to accompany us. I almost felt that we could be back at home as there was little to say that we were in Japan - further down there had been a lot of dwarf bamboo undergrowth but up above it was mainly ferns under broadleaved trees. We walked for twenty minutes or more and Emily woke soon after we had turned back.

She wanted to get out of the carrier and walk, of course, and she seemed to enjoy strolling along with us, picking up the odd twig and larch cone. We had spotted several huge caterpillars that were almost fluorescent yellowy-green, but luckily Emily didn't see any as I was worried that they might be poisonous.

As we approached the waterfall again it came on to rain, and within minutes it was torrential and thundery. There was still half an hour to wait for the next bus so all we could do was huddle in a makeshift shelter next to a food stall where they were doing a roaring trade in fish speared on sticks and cooked over charcoal.

Back in Karuizawa we got off at the top end of the main street and soon found a nice cafe where we could top up with coffee and a cake and wait for the rain to stop before returning to the station. Emily got quite a long way down the road under her own steam but we had to prevent her from running into half the shops along the way. We picked up the local train to make the final short journey to Miyota where we were staying. The line skirts round the base of the local volcano, Asama-yama, whose 2500 metre peak was unfortunately not visible. At Miyota we were collected by the pension owner who drove us up the hills another 10 minutes to their lovely wooden lodge, Pension White Cloud Blue Sky. It turned out that he was a former salaryman who had had enough of the rat race and downshifted: probably a common story up here, given the proliferation of pensions and B&Bs.

Our room was small but adequate for one night. I quickly laid out our futons before it was time for dinner. Emily joined us, though she had her own food, which she picked at. Of course she preferred to try ours, though most of it wasn't really suitable for her. We just about made it through the meal without her spoiling it by getting upset. When they saw Emily, the only other guests, a young couple, must have realised that they were not going to have a tranquil or romantic weekend away.

We took Emily up to bed and gave her a bottle of milk, having no en-suite in which to bathe her first. But after I had put her in her sleeping bag and turned out the lights she was awake and moving around for a good half hour. I lay there quietly with her listening to her recitation of her favourite words. 'I love goki' featured heavily. Finally she gave in and I was able to creep out and join Nick for a while in the small lounge area. We had a bottle of Japanese wine which tasted more like white grape juice but was apparently 12%, and watched some truly inane Saturday night TV before tiptoeing back into the room for a nice early night.