29 September 2009

After picking Emily up from nursery, we went to Julia's apartment to play with Charlize. The poor thing is suffering with an ear infection, so was very grouchy at first. For some reason she wasn't wearing any clothes, and Emily soon got the idea that she wanted to copy her. The thing is, Charlize is already toilet trained (at just one year ten months old). I was a bit worried about letting Emily wander around without a nappy on as I knew there would eventually be an accident, but Julia encouraged me to let her. She spent quite a while sitting on Charlize's potty and talking about wee-wee and poo, and she put Goki on there too. It was sweet to see the two of them running around completely bare. Inevitably, we soon ended up with a wet patch on their carpet though. I know Julia didn't mind, but I knew Emily was nowhere near ready to begin as she still doesn't know when she is weeing. Maybe it is worthwhile getting her a potty though, so that she can practise sitting on it. At least we have hard floors, so puddles won't be a problem.

Emily can finally identify the colour blue, so at least I know she isn't colour blind. She still insists on counting 'one, two, five' though.

27 September 2009

Nick still looked a bit haggard and had bloodshot eyes, even after a 9 hour sleep. But then, he is not only jet-lagged but suffering from 18 months of too little rest. We didn't feel like straying far, so just popped over to Hon Shiba park for an hour in the morning, where Emily and I happily played in the sandpit for ages. Nick joined us later but had to stay home while some maintenance men did an annual service on the aircon; not cheap, but I don't want Emily to get sick and we are still using the one in her room to regulate the temperature when she sleeps.

After lunch we went up to Korakuen garden. I was under heavy attack from mozzies as soon as we arrived, though I managed to make a few of them pay for their impertinence. Emily walked round the whole garden, though she got a bit testy towards the end. She liked the stepping stones a lot, and was kept occupied with so many leaves and stones to pick up. I liked the pretty red nirene lilies, just a little past their best now.

It will soon be autumn leaf viewing time: the leaves of a few cherries are already turning yellow. There was constant background noise from Tokyo Dome, where there was a baseball match on. Japanese fans are exuberant and provide very vocal support for their teams.

My evening run went very well. I felt quite strong and it was cool with a strong breeze, so very comfortable conditions. I only intended to do 45 mins but actually clocked in at nearly 55 in the end. I feel I should be able to put in a good performance for the charity run next month.

26 September 2009

Eagerly awaiting Nick's return, we got up early in order to get the Narita Express that would deliver us to the airport for 9am. The carriage was packed and Emily did very well considering we were penned in to one seat for 70 minutes. She got a bit fed up for the last third of the journey and my nerves were fraying by the time we pulled in to the terminal. Nick's flight was half an hour late, so I took Emily up to the outdoor observation area on the top floor. We arrived just as the BA jet came in to land, so I was able to tell Emily that it was 'Daddy hikoki'.

Although he had only been gone for 6 days, I felt quite choked up as we watched the plane taxi towards us. Emily had been allowed to bring Goki along for the outing, against my better judgement but in order to get her out on time and without a tantrum. When Nick came round the barrier her first reaction was to thrust her monkey at him then make her funny little face where she pushes out her jaw and bares her lower teeth.

I didn't want to bundle her straight onto another train, so we had a snack then hung around for an hour and let her loose in the terminal, where she had plenty of space to use up some energy. Even so, she was fed up quite quickly on the return leg, though obviously very happy to see her Daddy.

Back in the family home, Nick snatched a quick nap while Emily slept. By the time they were both up we didn't have much of an afternoon left so we just went up the hill to the local park for a while.

There is still the odd chirrup of cicadas, but autumn must be here because as dusk fell I heard the mournful refrain of the yaki imo (hot sweet potato) seller for the first time in ages.

Needless to say, we went to bed nice and early.

24 September 2009

Jo and I had planned to take the children to Yokohama for a day out, and as Bettina was now back from her trip home we asked her to come too. Due to the three 'silver week' national holidays, both Olly and Steve were off for the week, so they came as well.

We went to Kid-O-Kid first. Isy and Tim hadn't been to one of their play centres before and seemed to like it as much as Emily does. After an hour, we had to drag them away so we could get some lunch. In a carbon copy of the previous week, we ate at Keke all-you-can-eat restaurant, where Minako had taken us before. Emily ate quite well, and loved chomping on slices of corn on the cob, though she tried to eat the core too. I was completely stuffed, and ate far too much tiramisu.

Isy fell asleep straight after lunch, but we had a lot more trouble with Emily and Tim. Walking around the waterfront park didn't do the trick and an hour later, Emily was still fighting her nap. Finally, she dropped off as I walked back to meet the others at Starbucks. She slept just long enough for me to down my daily fix of caffeine. Outside the cafe was a pedestrianised area with lots of room to run around, so we let the three of them do just that for a whole hour, with many squeals of excitement.

All in all, a successful expedition, though I did feel Nick's absence frequently, as I watched the two other dads having such fun with their little ones.

23 September 2009

As it was a holiday, when I dropped Emily off at nursery there was only one other girl there. It was so quiet compared to the usual cacophony when the door opens and that may be why she cried when I left.

Holiday meant no aerobics class, so I whizzed over to Shinjuku for a spot of shopping instead. Up-market Takashimaya had a bit of a sale on and I ended up visiting the childrens' clothes floor, though it wasn't on my list. Why is it that if you think you have got a good discount you are still willing to pay over the odds? I bought a couple of tops that were heavily reduced, but still cost far more than I ought to pay for two T-shirts. They were pretty cool though: one had a faux coat of arms with two black rabbits rampant and part of the Union Jack showing, with a logo 'really sweet and fluffy'; the other is retro style with 'Pink Floyd' on the front and 'Dark Side of the Moon Tour 1973' on the back. I am a bit worried about imposing my choice of clothes on Emily, but she's got the rest of her life to dress how she wants.

After picking Emily up I took her to the playground in Azabu. There were loads of kids there, some quite a bit older, and I had to stay close to her to keep her out of harm's way. Within two minutes she had managed to get competely filthy, and I struggled to contain my annoyance. Oh, for a hot water washing machine!

I made a bit of a miscalculation that cost me some sleep. I gave in to a chocolate craving and bought a bar of good quality, dark chocolate on the way home. Realising that it would give me a caffeine hit I ate it at 6pm. However, at 11 I was still buzzing and lay awake for ages. In between, I sat and watched Dirty Dancing, in honour of recently deceased Patrick Swayze. I had forgotten just how luscious he was in that film, and can't believe he has died at just 56.

22 September 2009

With trepidation I took Emily for her modelling job. The first hurdle was a half hour ride on the train, but she was very good and stayed in her buggy the whole way (admittedly with liberal snacks to keep her occupied). After the awful little hole where the auditions were held I was nervous about the studio, but again I needn't have been: it was a light, airy building in the suburbs, almost like a massive greenhouse. The inside had been decorated in what I'll decribe as American beachhouse style, with minimal wooden furniture, a floor to ceiling bookshelf, cushions scattered on the floor.

Emily soon started playing with a box of toys provided. She coped very well with the attentions of some women who helped dress her in some pyjamas, cleaned her face and hands, brushed her hair and put in some hairslides. After a while they called us over for the first set of photos, which were to be taken with a little American boy with beautiful long curly blond locks. Emily was very worried and would not stay where they wanted her to stand at first. The boy was very confident and seemed unfazed. After a few tears and calls for Goki she calmed down and more or less managed to do what they wanted. There must have been about 5 or 6 other people involved, beside the photographer and us mums. One guy was playing the fool and trying to make the children smile with limited success; they don't seem to realise that a strange man waving soft toys at a child is not necessarily going to make them laugh.

We were released back to the play area, where she was dressed in a pair of trousers, a T-shirt and an apron. After some time, she was summoned again, this time to pose alone. She did a little better and there were probably some reasonable shots as she looked up at some balloons the joker was throwing around. The third set of clothes was a pair of Bambi-print pyjamas, and she posed in them with another, slightly older girl, even holding hands with her when asked.


The final set of clothes was another outfit, which I hope was PJs as I wouldn't consider taking her out in it. This time we ended up waiting over an hour, and I started to worry as she was obviously flagging a bit and probably getting hungry too. This set of pictures was with a different girl, who just would not sit down on the chair next to Emily, as requested. Emily got fed up and there were a few tears as we waited for the other kid to stop messing around. At last, she condescended to sit briefly, and then we were free! Not a bad way to make a couple of hundred pounds, though I still feel guilty even though it wasn't too traumatic for Emily.

After wolfing her lunch at the studio I wasted no time in getting Emily out of there and took her off to Rikugien garden,a few stops along the line. She was asleep before we went in and I sat in the busy park while she napped for half an hour, trying unsuccessfully to fight off the unwelcome attentions of many mosquitos. Once awake, she was keen to explore. We met a couple of boys with their families and the three kids had great fun grabbing handfuls of dusty shingle and putting it on some large leaves. Further on we crossed the bridge of stone slabs, where we saw dozens of turtles and some monstrously large carp (not surprising since there were several visitors feeding them all sorts of unsuitable snacks).

Despite continuing to fall victim to the army of mozzies we strolled under the trees around the lake, with Emily running along a path of stepping stones shouting 'haiai' (fast). Approaching the exit she stopped and I was aware she was doing a poo. Once I got her to the changing table, yet again she made a fuss and struggled to get up as I wiped her. She always seems to be in denial about doing a number two, so maybe she doesn't want me to clean her up because it means that I have found her out. All I can do is to keep telling her that there's nothing to worry about, we all do it.

20 September 2009

Nick left before 8am, and I took Emily to Shiba Koen park, in strong sunshine and temperatures around 28C. Maybe we will have an Indian summer after all. She was a bit grouchy, perhaps because she sensed that things weren't quite normal (I told her Nick was going to work, but she doesn't usually get to kiss him goodbye and see him off). While we were in the park Nick called from the airport, and I felt quite a pang at the thought of him going away, even though I suppose I will hardly notice a difference, given his recent working hours. But it seems so unfair that when we ought to be enjoying five days together (Mon, Tues, Weds being public holidays) we only got one.


On the way home Emily pointed out two cafes. She recognises the logos for two chains from quite a distance and starts saying 'coffee shop'. What does that say about me?! She loves to sit at a table with me like a grown up and have a glass of water and cake. I suppose I do go rather often, and confess that I am addicted to coffee these days, though I limit myself to one big cup a day.

Twice today Emily struggled when I tried to clean her up after a poo. I'm not sure why she has altered as she has always submitted to lying down quietly for a change up until now. It makes it very difficult, not to say messy, to clean her up properly when she won't lie down and is trying to run away.


After a very long nap, we just about had time to go to Roppongi, as I had planned. The streets on the way there were relatively deserted, but it was obvious why when I rounded the corner of the massive complex and saw hordes of people. I had intended to take Emily up to the top (it has over 50 floors) for a good view and also a look around the apparently very artistic aquarium that is 'visiting' temporarily. I got a bit cross trying to get through the crowds (luckily Emily didn't repeat back the expletives), and the queue for the lift was ridiculous, so I flounced off and took her instead to Robo park, which has about 10 slides of varying type and length. She had a fantastic time, especially on the long roller slide, laughing heartily as other children came whizzing down behind her.

19 September 2009

As Nick needed to prepare for his trip to London we stayed close to home. I spent another morning floundering at Japanese class. I'm rapidly losing the desire to carry on as it seems an insurmountable task sometimes. I think my disillusion is partly because the others in the class are better and more confident than me.


After lunch, while Nick packed I took Emily to the local playground where she managed to get extremely dirty. I must learn not to get cross if she is mucky because it doesn't do any harm and it's perfectly natural to play that way. It didn't help that some older girls were working intently on making mud balls and she naturally wanted to copy them. At least now autumn is coming there will be more dark-coloured trousers in the shops!


Despite Nick's Sunday morning departure looming, we went ahead with our plan to go out for the evening, having booked Erna to babysit a while back. I had made a reservation at an Ethiopian restaurant, prompted by my acquaintance with Victoria, whose husband is from Addis Ababa. It was hard to find and the taxi cost a lot both ways. The meal was pleasant and parts seemed pretty authentic, with injera (a bread made from fermented teff grain that looks like grey underlay! Nicer than it sounds), spicy lentil dishes and a wot (stew). The other food was less authentic but very tasty. The owner was very friendly and interested to hear that we had been there.

18 September 2009

Emily cried at Ui, the first time in a while and I've no idea what triggered it, as she is used to seeing me leave now. Even Goki couldn't stem the flow of tears. Having calmed her down I rushed off to my aerobics class. As on the previous two occasions, the routine was complicated and I had trouble trying to keep up. Luckily there was another foreign woman next to me and she was struggling just as much; we kept catching each other's eye and laughing, which made it tolerable. If I had ended up close to tears yet again I think I would have decided to knock that class on the head.

17 September 2009

We had our weekly lunch with Nick. Another attempt to eat at Organic House ended in me deciding that we should steer clear of there for a few months at least. Emily picked at the food and mainly ate salad things. She managed to smear grease all over the table and her chair. She did like the funky music though, and was dancing in her chair. She kept looking around to see if anyone was watching her (which they weren't): definitely likes an audience. It must be Nick's musical genes - maybe she will end up performing in a band like he did.

Later we went to Kyu Shiba Rikyu gardens with Jo and Isy. The girls both did well to stay on their feet for over an hour (likewise Jo, now she is 30 weeks pregnant). Isy is very relaxed with me now and even asked me to hold her hand as we walked along some stepping stones; Emily was happy to hold Jo's hand too.

In the bath, I counted out how many of the letters Emily knows and it was 14. But when I say 'know', I only mean that she associates at least one word with that letter eg. M = Mummy, G = Grandma, Grannie, Grandad, and it is only the capital letter, not lower case too.

16 September 2009

I took Emily to Yokohama, where we met Minako and Haru-kun then walked over to Kid-O-Kid play centre. Last time we were there Nick went in with Emily and I had coffee with Jill, so it has been quite a few months since we played there together. It was tiring, but rewarding to see her excited, flushed face as she tried out all the different areas and chased Haru up and down the inflated walkway. Of course, I had plenty of fun too, especially in the bouncy castle, though it is amazingly hard work.

After over an hour of full-on stimulation, we left to go in search of some lunch. Minako recommended a place called Keke, which is what the Japanese call a Viking restaurant. Basically, it is an all-you-can-eat buffet. There were some healthy dishes, but quite a lot of fried food as well. Emily ate surprisingly well, perhaps spurred on by Haru's good appetite. It was hard to watch over her and go off to browse the rows of dishes, but admittedly even I was full by the end. They also had a chocolate fountain, with marshmallows and cake squares to dip in it, but Emily was getting restless by then and it was probably for the best that I only managed a couple of pieces.

After leaving Keke we parted company, so that I could walk Emily off to sleep (Haru is nearly a year older and doesn't nap anymore). I took her down to the bayside park, but it took her half an hour to go off though she must have been worn out. I strolled along there for a while enjoying the big view of the bay with its bridges and docks. She didn't sleep for very long, though long enough for my feet to ache, so I took her back for another stint at KoK.

On the train home it was rush hour and busy, so Emily couldn't get out of the buggy. I had to entertain her with songs for half an hour and just about managed to keep her from going stir crazy. An exhausting day but with plenty of fun for us both.

13 September 2009

Having seen the island of Enoshima during the Zushi boat trip with Jill and Anna last month I had a hankering to go there. On investigation, it turned out that we could get there in less than an hour from Shinagawa so we wasted no time in setting off there to explore. On the way to the station we stopped to watch our local portable shrine being walked along the main road; at that time of morning the chanting was a bit more subdued without the beer to enlivened it.



Again, we splashed out on green car seats to Ofuna, then transferred to the Shonan Monorail. This line is very unusual as the train hangs down from an overhead track, and winds up through some steep little hills to get over to the coast. It was quite exciting, and almost felt a bit risky as the carriages swayed out on the bends.


The additional height afforded great views of Fuji too, which was visible thanks to the clear early autumn air.

From the terminus we walked down the main shopping street for ten minutes, to the parallel road and pedestrian bridges that cross the gap from mainland to Enoshima island. In the old days it was only accessible at low tide, across a sand bar. There is only one street, which is narrow and lined with shops selling tourist tat and Japanese fast food, such as thin sheets of dried octopus and sweet rice crackers.




This leads up the hill to a shrine, at the foot of which an escalator is incongruously placed, to whisk people up to the observatory. We plumped for continuing on foot as far as we could go, and took the path leading round the west side of the island, on top of steep cliffs. We eventually had to navigate a series of steps with the pushchair, after which we came across another couple of shrines. The second was fashioned like a grotto, with a huge copper dragon sitting atop the entrance.


From there we had to abandon the buggy at the head of a series of stairs down to the rocky sea edge. It was quite stirring watching the surf crashing on the rocks, with Fuji as a backdrop.

Around the headland we came to some caves, and decided to stump up the entrance fee and see what they held. The first rocky passage was lined with stone images of various deities. It was not lit, so we were given tiny birthday cake-sized candles to light our way. Emily was a bit scared at times and gripped our hands tightly in the darkest places. There didn't seem to be anything much in the second cave except a naff dragon lurking at the end with a glowing 'pearl' in its jaws and surrounded by phoney glowing jewels. On the way out Nick noticed a large collection of the cockroach-like bugs that we've seen at many seaside places in Japan.


Emily slept in the stroller, while we walked back off the island and wandered the streets looking in vain for a suitable lunch venue. I wanted somewhere that did noodles, usually about all you can get in some places we've been lately, but nowhere to be found here. Emily woke up and was upset. Even a biscuit didn't calm her down. We exchanged a few words, as I got stressed by her crying and Nick was fed up at me being fussy about where we ate. We saw a bog standard Chinese that did noodles and settled for that. Emily ate some strips of cucumber and a little tofu; I thought she would enjoy the noodles but she was still upset and pestered to get down. Then I realised that she was doing a poo. After an awkward standing up change in the basic facilities, she still didn't seem at all happy so we finished quickly and left.

We went back down the street to the beach of brown volcanic sand. It is a very long stretch of beach so there was plenty of space, and most people there were surfers and windsurfers plus a few families. Nick and Emily wasted no time and went straight in the water. The waves were powerful but the sea was shallow. After some tortuous manoevres changing under a small towel, I went in too; the water was cool but not freezing. I enjoyed jumping as each roller toppled.



Back at the station we stopped for refreshments at a little mom-and-pop cafe we'd spotted earlier. I'd noted earlier that the cakes in the window looked homemade. They were really delicious, and unlike the usual Japanese offerings that pass for cake, these were heavy in texture, more like English ones. Nick's moist apple cake was to die for and my walnut tart was fab. They were lavishing praise on Nick's Japanese ability and he got extra brownie points for telling her the cakes reminded us of home.

12 September 2009

We woke to thick cloud and temperatures in the low 20s, so we wracked our brains for an indoor option and finally came up with a trip to Shinagawa Aquarium. We hadn't been back since our first visit late last year, but even then Emily was really excited by it.

She certainly seemed to like the many sea creatures on display but was equally as enthused by all the other kids shouting and running around, especially in the perspex viewing tunnel. This time I felt less able to see past the conditions that the larger fish and mammals were housed in; perhaps I was blinded by Emily's excitement last time.

11 September 2009

Nick was out at work drinks and karaoke until nearly 1am and blundered around the apartment for quite some time before flopping into bed, and Emily woke at 6am, so I was pretty zombie-like all morning.

Emily had another good day at nursery. In her daybook there was a cute photo of her and Isy and a couple of other children, being wheeled to the park for their morning outing in the 'chariot'. This photo of a photo may not show it particularly clearly...

Meanwhile I went to my second high-intensity aerobics session. Again, I really struggled to take in the succession of complicated moves, which were extremely dancey (eg. mambo, cha-cha-cha). The pamphlet says it aims to burn fat through 'variations of walking and running'. A bit of an understatement, I feel. Several times I thought I had better give it a miss in future and save myself much angst, but decided in the end that I should stick with it as there aren't many other options for me to exercise for so long, at a convenient time, in a structured way.

Afterwards I met Anna, Jill's friend, for lunch. She brought along a nice guy called Glen, who is also a Brit and has been here for about a year. We chatted about life as an expat here, and aired a few of our more critical observations! As neither of them have a child I didn't mention Emily much, which makes a refreshing change.

9 September 2009

Emily had been selected to attend an audition for Combi, a big Japanese childrens clothing and products company. We met the agency rep at the station nearby and she escorted us a few blocks to the casting venue, which was in a few pokey rooms in a narrow back street apartment block. I was amazed by how many other children were there; in fact, half the foreign kids in Tokyo seemed to be in the area, and the small rooms were crammed with hopeful candidates, from babies to school age, and their parents. Not unexpectedly, Emily was rather peturbed by such a chaotic place full of strangers; hardly the right approach to get the best out of nervous children. A few toys helped to calm her down, but as soon as she had to be measured for foot size and height she cried. We were ushered into the next little room where we changed her into a Combi outfit. I think they were pyjamas (well, I certainly wouldn't take her out in public dressed in them) and the colour was a terrible clash with her hair and skin. Thankfully we didn't have to wait long, and we watched the boy before us so I tried to explain to her what was happening. They had made a cross on the floor where she was to stand, but as soon as I took the toy she was clutching away from her she moved towards me. I repositioned her and I think she managed to stay on the cross for just long enough for a few quick shots, and then they said we were finished. Since she didn't get anywhere near as long as the boy I can only assume that they didn't think she was up to the job, but we'll see. At least they slipped us enough yen to cover our train fare and coffee and cake afterwards. To be honest, I am sort of hoping she doesn't get the job anyway, as it was all very stressful for us both and a prolonged session wouldn't be much fun, albeit lucrative.

8 September 2009

Emily is naming yellow and red now as well as green and pink. Blue continues to elude her though. She knows now that Goki goes to nursery, and insisted on carrying him all the way there. They did manage to stop her from taking him out to the park with them, but after her nap she kept hold of him the rest of the day again.

I found aerobics really hard, though it was not very high intensity. Maybe the slightly longer run had an effect, but it is so disheartening when I think back to the amount my body was capable of three years ago. After class I went round to Jo's for an inpromptu spot of lunch. It was fun to be able to eat and chat in peace for once. Bettina is still in Europe so it feels strange her not being around when we two meet.

6 September 2009

Nick badly needed a lie-in, so we didn't go far in the morning, just to the local park. We were going to pick up lunch from the Israeli deli but in a fit of confidence I suggested that we might as well eat it there. Emily didn't seem too impressed at first and I was about to throw in the towel and declare it a mistake, but eventually Nick managed to get her to eat some of the meatball stew, though she was happier chomping on cucumber.

After her nap, we went to Musashi Koyama park. We had hoped to go in the splash pool but it had already closed for the year. It's a pleasant park but ridden with mozzies. Emily tried out some of the adventure equipment but most of it, like the death slide, is still too advanced for her. I can't wait for her to be a bit stronger and steadier so we can play together properly, though by then I fear I will have lost too much fitness; I am already finding that I tire very easily, even just walking with her in the buggy sometimes. She liked stroking a tabby cat we found lying on a bench, though she persists in rubbing their fur up the wrong way, which I know cats hate.

On another bench, we saw a tortoiseshell cat with similar colouring to Rosie lying prone, with an old chap sitting next to it cooling it off with a hand fan!

Back near the station a matsuri (festival) was in full swing. There were hundreds of men dressed in the ubiquitous blue patterned short cotton pyjamas, often with bandanas tied round their heads, drinking lots of beer. Kids were decked out in their sweet little yukata or jinbei (pyjamas). Several portable gilt shrines were being toted along the shopping arcade (supposed to be the longest in Japan).

Emily loved all the drums and chanting, and the highly decorated shrines. As it was already dusk, it felt like we were out really late. The nights are really starting to draw in again now. We decided to buy Emily her very own jinbei as there may be one or two more matsuri (festivals) to go to this year. She can always wear them round the apartment as PJs anyway.

In the evening I had a great run, assisted by the cooler conditions. In preparation for the Run for the Cure 10K next month, I upped the run time to 45 minutes. I changed my route to do a couple of circuits of manmade Shibaura Island. The island is ringed by a wide brick path surrounding modern apartment blocks, and is nicely landscaped. It is 1500m and I did two laps, plus getting there and back home.

5 September 2009

My Japanese lesson went quite well for once. I didn't feel that I did any worse than the other three students who turned up. I really am going to have to make time to study during the week though, if I want to do more than keep my head above water.

After lunch we all went to Hamarikyu. Entering the gardens, we found dozens of dragonflies flitting around among the blades of the iris plants. They were very striking and I felt moved to compose a haiku about them:

Gauze wings trap the sun

Copper and bronze shards of light
Dragonflies' bright lives

Emily had great fun chasing them with a stick. As usual, there were a lot of stray cats hanging around, and we had to stop her from chasing them too.

It was a glorious afternoon and lovely strolling around the lake, which contains seawater via channels out to the bay.

I made a serious error of judgement in only bringing one spare nappy out for the afternoon. Emily did a small poo, but after I had changed her, she did a much larger one. That meant that we had to curtail our visit before we had had a good look at the huge field of cosmos that had been the main reason for going. The flowers were a bit past their best but still amazing.

In the evening, Nick went out with Jill's husband, Jim, and their friends Yuji and Anna. Yuji runs some football bars, and they met at the one in Ebisu. He also met a couple of other Brits including someone nicknamed 'Sausage John', a master butcher who creates his own saussies. I must try to get hold of some as the Japanese efforts are very poor and the meat content very low.

4 September 2009

Another good day at Ui. Emily didn't cry at all, and ate and slept well again. Jo put Isy in for a few hours trial, and is going to have her attend on the same two days as Emily, so they should become firm friends in time.

I went to the sports centre to try out a 90 minute aerobics class. This one was twice as long and much more full-on than the ones I have been going to up until now. I liked the level of exertion, but the instructor incorporated some very complicated moves, and I was close to tears once or twice as I tried to stay with it and failed miserably. Good thing I was at the back where fewer people could see my ridiculous attempts. Still, I should get used to her methods in time. Despite the higher intensity of this class, there were still a lot of pensioners among the participants.

Emily often sings 'Twinkle Twinkle' as we go out and about and is also attempting the ABC song, which has the same tune. Today she counted to three for the first time.

2 September 2009

There has been a change in the weather. It really seems almost autumnal though no leaves are changing yet. The temperature is down to under 25C.

We had a change of venue for lunch with Nick, as we are a bit bored with Paul. It is a formula that works though, as Emily always eats a lot there. We switched to Organic House, where we piled our plates with tasty and relatively healthy fare. Unfortunately, as we were sitting outside, Emily was distracted by all the passers by and traffic. She didn't seem at all interested in eating and we had to coax her with every small morsel. Eventually she wandered off to the flowerbeds and started denuding the bushes. We'll try again though, and sit inside where she can be more focused.

After parting company, I walked to Hamamatsucho while Emily napped in the buggy. I was grateful that it was cool enough to do so (Emily was even wearing a cardy since she wasn't moving to keep warm). We spent 2 hours at the jidokan as it was my turn for a stint as TMG coordinator.

Emily can now identify pink and green, but the other colours seem to be eluding her for now.

1 September 2009

I hoped my nerves didn't show as I took Emily to nursery Ui for her first day involving eating and sleeping there. She did cry slightly as I dropped her off, but I hurried off to my exercise class and tried to put her out of my mind. In the end, she apparently had a great day and the staff said she did fantastically well, eating all of her lunch and then sleeping for an hour. Most of the children sleep on small futons but they do have a few cribs and she was in one of them. I had packed Goki to help her settle, and maybe that was what did the trick. She was clutching him when I arrived, and did not let go of him once for the rest of the day, even while at a playground on the way home. In her nursery record book there was a photo of her sitting on a wall at a nearby park with about 10 other children, all with matching pink hats on and sipping from their drink bottles. It was very heartwarming, while bringing home to me that she will have sets of memories in which I do not feature.

As we approached our apartment building I let her out of the buggy, as usual. She wanted to go and explore in the bushes outside, and gave me a cheeky little smile then said 'bye bye, take care'. I have no idea where she got that from as I don't think I say it.

31 August 2009

Emily had me up at 6.30, to another misty morning. She was not very good at breakfast and even refused toast with jam, which I was relying on if all else failed.

As we packed, we watched the Diet Lower House (Japanese equivalent to the House of Commons) election result. As polls had suggested, the opposition DPJ won by a significant margin, ousting the LDP who had been in power for the vast majority of the last 50 years. I must admit I was a bit surprised, as I had thought that voters would waiver at the last moment and lose the courage to make such a drastic change. Whether there will be any real change remains to be seen. Their politicians are cut from the same cloth as those of the LDP (indeed, one of their most influential leaders, Ozawa, used to be in the LDP, and was recently implicated in a bribery scandal that led him to give up his leadership of the DPJ).

We were not sure what to do until our train left at two, as a typhoon off south-east Honshu was expected to generate a lot of rain. We decided to drive up to Matsumoto and look at the famous castle there. We knew it would be a rush as we would only have three hours to get 30 miles each way and look at the castle too. However, it did prove to be worthwhile, and we had fine weather to boot. The 'black crow' castle as it is known (due to its sweeping 'wings'), is very picturesque, with an attractive red bridge across the moat, willows and pines in the grounds, and mountains as a backdrop.

It is one of very few castles in Japan in its original condition (many have been restored or are replicas).

There are about six levels to the castle joined by very steep wooden stairs, like going up into an attic, so Nick had to carry Emily, watching his head on the extremely low beams as he did so. There are displays of artefacts but no furnishings inside, so the shell seemed rather devoid of character. However, the thick beams and floors felt quite warm compared to the cold stone castles we have at home.

Emily slept on the drive back to Chino, but only for half an hour, waking just as we pulled in to the car hire centre. We ate in a cheap restaurant by the station; the noodles and beef lunch seemed to satisfy Emily, though my small bowl of mountain vegetables in a thin broth with noodles didn't keep me going for long. We topped up with icecream from the gelateria before hotfooting it to the station for our train.

It was so hard to amuse Emily for two hours, but it went fairly well and there was no major upset. As we travelled through the valleys between mountains the clouds looked amazing, long wisps of white boiling up out of deep valleys between soaring dark peaks. On arrival in Tokyo it was chucking it down, so the typhoon had hit after all. It was all over by 7pm though, as the storm veered away from Japan at the last minute. We got drenched just walking from Tamachi station to the apartment. With a large pack on my back and a smaller one on my front, covered with my big black rain cape, I must have looked really odd to the rush hour salarymen. Emily was dry as a bone in her covered kid carrier on Nick's back.

30 August 2009

Emily woke several times during the night, and thanks to the thin curtains she was wide awake before 6am. I managed to occupy her until breakfast at eight, while Nick lay in bed, still very tired, as she nattered ceaselessly and played.

Outside, mist was hanging in the trees and the cobwebs were beaded with droplets.

At breakfast we got some fruit and pieces of sausage down her. It's ironic that in the week experts have publicised the danger of processed meat for children, Emily has had ham plus her first taste of bacon and sausages! As always, her restlessness meant that we couldn't take our time and enjoy the big spread.

Though it was still cloudy, we set off for our pre-planned day out. Although it's not that long since I drove in the UK, I had been feeling strangely nervous about taking the wheel, but soon relaxed into it, and the roads were really quiet.

Most of the time, though in the countryside, the speed limit was 50kph, but I found it impossible to keep it any lower than 60kph, and was overtaken a few times even then. It took about half an hour to get to Lake Shirakabako (white birch lake), which is at about 14oom elevation, and looked very mysterious in the mist. There were the inevitable ugly concrete hotels but it didn't seem too developed.

We pulled over so that Emily could have a walk, and our steps took us to the lakeside, right by a host of swan pedalos and a big swan pleasure boat.

Emily liked the ducks there, and then we saw that the water was heaving with huge black carp. The reason they congregate there was soon obvious as a large party arrived, their kids armed with a packet of biscuits, which they started chucking to the ducks and fish. A girl offered Emily a biscuit and she loved throwing pieces into the gaping maws of the carp. We coaxed her back into the car and completed the circuit of the small lake, passing a massive family amusement complex at the other end, before stopping again at another boat hire outlet. Having Emily means that I can do things like go in a pedalo without feeling totally embarrassed! We paddled around for half an hour, letting her take the wheel when there was no threat of collison with one of the many other pleasure craft on the lake.

On one island there was a stand of the eponimous white birch trees sheltering a little shrine, with a red torii standing in the water before it.

Emily was showing obvious signs of flagging by now, so we decided to switch her lunch and nap around and continue on to the ropeway (cable car) next on our route. Within 2 minutes she was asleep, as we climbed up into thick cloud on the 'Venus Line' road. Sadly, we couldn't see the views, but we soon turned off and carried on upwards to the ropeway station, emerging into sunshine as we did so. We sat in the car park until Emily woke up, after just 35 minutes. She was quite grumpy and prone to tears, and at first refused to eat. Nick and I had noodle dishes in the restaurant attached to the terminal, and he did well to persevere and coax her into eating quite a bit, including the pouch of gloop I'd brought speculatively but with little hope.

We got on the next departure of the large cable car, which whisked us up to 2250m over attractive pines and swathes of dwarf bamboo covering the winter ski runs.

At the 'summit' station we found that we were in a cradle formed by some of the Yatsugatake ('eight peaks') range, their forested, rocky flanks soaring up into cloud. The immediate area was a jumble of rocks and low vegetation, with alpine flowers in the crevices. Being that much higher the air was refreshingly cool, though it was still just about T-shirt weather. There was a 15 minute loop path marked out among the rocks and we set off around it. After a few minutes we saw a post indicating that we could get to one of the peaks in an hour. We were both tempted by the thought that we could bag a mountain, so we struck off along the trail, and were soon navigating a path made of rocks with the odd wooden step thrown in.

First, we dropped into a damp, cool vale, then began a tough climb. I really pushed myself, my quads complaining a little as we had paddled the pedalo quite hard once or twice. The path seemed to go on and on, and as we were in trees we couldn't gauge our progress. Finally, after nearly half an hour's slog, we came to a refuge house, placed for the overnight use of hikers on the long path that takes in most of the 2,000m+ peaks in the range. At that point I said that we ought to return, though the man at the refuge said that it was only another 15 minutes to the top. I am usually an all-or-nothing person, but Emily would not have been happy to remain in the carrier all that time and she already seemed very subdued. My resolve was strengthened by the onset of light rain, and we turned tail after a quick go in a wooden swing chair (at first I sat on it with Emily, but she very imperiously insisted 'Daddy sit here' and pointed to the vacant end).

The descent was rife with opportunities to turn an ankle and took almost as long as the climb. The peak disappeared in thick cloud, so it would have been a waste of effort, though elsewhere blue sky periodically showed through the wind-rent cloud. Just as we got to the cable station a brief but heavy shower rolled in, so we were more than happy to get aboard and return below.

We arrived back at Zigzag with half an hour to dinner. Yet again the meal was a struggle; Emily didn't seem comfortable in her chair and refused most food. We let her get down but she continued to say 'don't like it'. Then I caught an unmistakable whiff and realised why she was upset. After cleaning her up she and I returned to the meal, and though she wouldn't settle at the table we managed to get just about enough morsels down her as she roamed around. Goki is an invaluable ally in getting her to accept proffered tidbits. Back in the room, we decided to try the bath, after topping it up with cold water. As the deep vessle was completely full, she was literally up to her neck in hot water. She liked the jet of bubbles in the aged jacuzzi and was happy playing with a couple of bath toys from home.

Once Emily was safely asleep Nick and I shared a bottle of wine and chatted upstairs in the lounge. For the first time, I found out that one of the names the Japanese have for Blighty is 'Eikoku', which apparently means 'splendid country'!

29 August 2009

With just a little last minute flapping on my part, we managed to get away on time for our return to Haramura in Nagano prefecture.Emily was not very happy with being confined in the baby carrier all the way to Shunjuku, frequently saying 'I get out'. The two hour journey from Shinjuku on a limited express wasn't much fun. She didn't show much interest in walking along the carriages, which was just as well as they were rocking considerably and even I had trouble staying on my feet. Frequent sightings of diggers, and the odd plunge into a tunnel, stayed the upset for a while; even an early lunch failed to calm her down. I think she may have been slightly motion sick, because she looked a bit pale and became drowsy, eventually dropping off half an hour from Chino. As we got off the train she woke and said 'bye bye densha (train)', so that was the end of her nap.

We had an hour to kill before we could pick up our hire car, so we dropped in at a gelateria, where Emily enjoyed my chocmint icecream and I had to settle for the raspberry frozen yogurt I'd chosen for her. The car collection from Toyota Rentals was smooth and quick (we both recalled the horror of Heathrow Budget-Rent-A Car) and it was a 20 minute drive on very quiet roads to Pension Zigzag in Haramura, up at the base of the Yatsugatake mountain range, which was visible but purple with cloud shadow. The bright yellow pension had changed somewhat since March, as it was now a riot of plants and flowers.

It is totally rampant but very charming. I liked the flowering thyme growing all over the wooden steps at the front, and I noticed a bee hive in one corner, which must do well given the plentiful supply of nectar in theirs and surrounding gardens.

It was only 2pm, so we set out on foot straight away, to the nearby mountain centre and farm. Emily was very excited by the big slide and had lots of goes on it before we carried on down to the large open grassed area, where we kicked a beach ball around for a while.

Cloud was gathering, so we thought we had better carry on to the farm, which is half a mile away through birch woods. There was a veritable thicket of wild rudbeckia near a stream; a favourite autumn flower of mine. Emily really liked the handful of goats and sheep and wanted to feed them handfuls of grass, like the bigger kids, but chickened out and dropped it short of the fence most times.

Nick took her to feed the two ponies too, but one sneezed violently and scared her (and sprayed her with muddy phlegm).

After a quick visit to the produce shop to get Emily some fresh milk direct from the farm, we beat a retreat to the pension as raindrops were falling.

It didn't come to anything, but Nick appreciated an hour chilling out in our room (aka snoozing) before dinner. Emily and I watched a little kids TV then walked around the garden. There was a party going on down the road, and there were frequent cheers and claps, which she copied gleefully. Dinner was at six, and though Emily was dog-tired due to such a short, early nap and busy afternoon, I really hoped she would eat well as we were paying a lot for food for her. She did pick at the Italian-style spaghetti with mushroom, bacon and courgette, and managed a little crab salad, but soon she was showing signs of restlessness. The food kept coming and I was stuffed, so I volunteered to take her back to the room and initiate the bedtime routine. Unfortunately the bath was Japanese, in that it is kept perpetually full (literally to the brim) of hot water. It was too hot for her to go in, so I just hosed her down with the shower head. Once she had her milk I settled her in the cot tent, expecting her to flake out. But as usual, she rolled around and recited her vocabulary for half an hour before giving in to the sandman.

Nick and I spent a couple of hours in the comfy lounge, to the therapeutic accompaniment of heavy rain drumming on the conservatory roof overhead. I made a huge mistake in knocking back a mug of coffee, with the predictable consequence that I lay awake for hours. We crept back into the pitch black room at 10, but I was still awake at midnight. Despite the coffee, Nick seemed flat out, so his deeper weariness was unaffected by the stimulant. He must have been very tired because the other guests, who were students, came in and thundered around in the hall and slammed doors until past 11.30.