31 October 2009

Emily is counting effortlessly to ten now.

We had a very quiet day close to home. In the morning I had my Japanese class, and in the afternoon Nick went off to a rugby international (Australia v New Zealand in the Bledisloe cup), so I just took Emily for a walk round the neighbourhood.

My evening alone was spent making pumpkins, bats and spiders webs. I am not at all creative, but in the end I was quite pleased with my webs, though they were rather painstaking to make. I just hope we have enough decorations to spread around the whole room so it doesn't look pathetic.

Nick arrived home late, with tales of familiar faces spotted at the game and in a bar afterwards. A couple of possible job leads, in the form of a friend of Ali's and one of Nick's fellow students from Edinburgh, both of whom are in high-powered roles in Equities with big banks.

30 October 2009

Another Friday, another nursery day. Aerobics is not getting any easier, but I'm not taking it quite so much to heart now when I can't get the complicated routines. I have a partner in crime who is always at the back with me, and we often have a laugh about how we are so uncoordinated.


Afterwards I popped to Shinjuku for more Halloween bits and pieces. I am still worried that our efforts are going to look very sparse, and amateurish. We are expecting upwards of 30 families, so the budget for decorations could probably have run a bit further. Back in Azabu, I saw a few American families walking down the high street in costume - it seemed very incongruous in mid-20s sunshine, and not one of their costumes was even spooky. I'm not sure why the Yanks have departed from the original concept of Halloween to turn it into a giant fancy dress parade.

At home for the remainder of the afternoon, I turned into a human whirlwind, with two lots of cooking on the go at once as I did some ironing and dashed off the odd email. Amazing what you can achieve in 90minutes if you put your mind to it!


On picking Emily up, I learned that yet again she had not slept. Admittedly, you would never guess that she had been awake more than 10 hours, perhaps slightly more prone to tears, but still singing as I put her to bed exactly 12 hours after she had woken!

29 October 2009

Jo was under the weather and unable to come out to play, but I arranged with Bettina to meet at Midtown anyway. On the way there, passing through Azabu Juban, I noticed a Chinese restaurant called 'Harden Tighten'. Why that sounds rude, I'm not sure, but more to the point, what an odd name.

Where the hot air balloon had been the previous week, there was now a balloon 'installation'. Well, they weren't actually balloons, which would be too tempting for a vandal to pop, but inflatable balls really. Emily and Tim loved them, and ran among them in a state of high excitement. While we were there, I noted a golden retreiver being pushed around in a huge dog stroller. Unless it is disabled and unable to walk then surely that is tantamount to cruelty?

Today, as on previous occasions, I noticed that there was a station set up to entertain children after school - a couple of ward employees were there with boxes of bats, balls, frisbees etc that the kids can borrow while they are in the park. Of course, if they tried that in London with latch-key kids the gear would all be stolen. They had also set up some old-fashioned spinning tops, so naturally we had to have a try. It was devilishly difficult to wind the string around correctly, but the lady offered me one she had already wound, and after a botched attempt I did manage to get it spinning on the board.

27 October 2009

While Emily was in Ui, I spent the best part of 6 hours scurrying around Shinjuku and Azabu trying to buy stuff for the TMG Halloween party this weekend. Somehow I have managed to go from begrudging 'volunteer' (I was asked to do it) to chief organiser. Admittedly I am in a better position to do so, as Helen has two children to manage and lives out in the sticks, and Steph is working. I wish I had researched it sooner though, as a lot of the cheap 100 Yen shops (Japan's Poundstretcher) were nearly out of Halloween stock; indeed, many shops are now putting out their Christmas decorations.


At least I managed to pick up a pair of half-price wellies while I was shopping though: beige with polka dots and faux-suede trip. Tres chic! Bring on the rain.


My efforts took so long that I didn't get to the gym though, and I felt very out of shape as a result, though in truth I had been on my feet nearly all day. If only that was it, but there is still mountains to do before Sunday. With a number of Americans coming I am keen to do a reasonable job of it because they take the whole festival so seriously. It's going to be very amateurish though, I fear, with the small budget we are working on, but, heck, we are a non-profit organisation after all.

26 October 2009

Typhoon number 20 of the season is in the Pacific off to the east of Japan, with winds rotating from the north, so temperatures were down a lot today: maybe to as low as 15C. Staying in is not an option, however, so Emily and I went out to meet Julia and Charlize at Appi jidokan. Note to self: about time I got a pair of wellies. I am fed up with squelchy shoes and wet trousers. Boots have come on a bit since I last bought some; I've seen some quite jazzy ones around, and lots of women here wear heeled ones though that's not for me.


Later, we battled through awful driving rain to Shibaura jidokan. I coaxed Jo and Isy to come over - easier now that they live literally across the road from there. The two played sweetly together; being at nursery in tandem has brought them closer. They enjoyed lying on the baby rockers together, though I was worried that Emily would break them now that she is so hefty.


We had wee number three in the potty before bathtime. Julia lent me a storybook about a girl using a potty and Emily sits on there happily while I read it to her, which is sometimes long enough to produce a tangible result!

25 October 2009

As it was wet, we just popped up the road to Toyo-oka childrens' hall in the morning. Though Nick had taken Emily a few times, I hadn't returned there since my first visit a year ago. Back then I had come away with the impression that it was run-down and grubby, with very few decent toys. But this time I thought it was a lot better and that it would make a good alternative on a rainy day when we don't want to go far. They had a huge box of trains that Emily went wild over, and also a kitchen set with lots of fruit and vegetables to cut up. In the hall, we played with a push-along Shinkansen and trike and there were also nets up so we could play netball.

In the afternoon we attended Roman's 2nd birthday party, which Steph had arranged to hold at Skip Kids (always a popular venue for both me and Emily!). Emily was even more pleased because Charlize was also there. For two hours I hardly saw her, apart from when the cakes came out, when she miraculously surfaced, to scoff the best part of a large portion of strawberry and cream gateau. Saved my waistline, at least. I was very impressed that Roman managed to blow out all six candles on the three cakes, but he has always been developmentally advanced.

24 October 2009

It was very gloomy all day, with leaden skies that turned to drizzle, then rain just as we arrived at Happoen, the traditional garden twenty minutes' walk from our apartment. Emily was very happy, since Nick bought her her first umbrella on the way there. Naturally, it had a monkey on the handle! I was surprised at how well she managed it; until now I had assumed she couldn't hold one properly and hadn't bothered buying her one.


As on any given Saturday, there were several weddings in full swing there, but we were the only ones braving the rain to stroll in the garden. We sat in the quaint arbour built out over the water and watched the huge, colourful carp lazily swimming under the raindrop ripples.

In the evening, Nick and I went out for dinner, to a local Japanese place we have been to once or twice in the past. We enjoyed some wonderful food and a few glasses of very mellow sake.

23 October 2009

On the way home from nursery, Emily sang all of 'Twinkle Twinkle', and a fair amount of 'ABC' too.

22 October 2009

Emily and I had our second visit of the week to Midtown park, this time to meet Julia and some of her friends, who were having a teddy bears' picnic. The upper lawn was roped off, and the reason soon became apparent: a hot air balloon was laid out and soon inflated. The children all found it fascinating; Emily talked about the balloon for days afterwards and about the 'balloon fire' ie. the gas burner used to inflate it. I had intended to leave before the others began their picnic, as I had lunch ready at home, but they started very early and Emily naturally wanted to tuck in too. She went straight for a packet of Jaffa cakes, and necked two before I managed to tear her away and set off for home.

Nick was very subdued on his regular lunchtime call, and I found out why when I logged on, to see that he had forwarded an email telling him he had failed the regulatory exam. It was no more than he had expected, but I had allowed myself to harbour a little hope that he would scrape through. Now he has to resit it, and also do a lot more revision, which could eat into our weekends together.

After lunch we met Jo and Bettina at Kyu Shiba Rikyu. The kids had a wonderful time playing there, especially with the gravel. Emily collected enough in her pockets to make her sink to the bottom if she fell into the lake.

As we crossed the bridge to the little island I caught a flash of blue in the corner of my eye, and realised that it was a kingfisher. It sat on a rock overhanging the water and darted down to catch one of the tiddlers in the lake before flying up into a pine tree with its catch. Emily loved the many huge carp there and called out 'Hello fishies. How are you?'!

20 October 2009

Today I saw an albino Japanese man. I am used to seeing people with bleached blond hair here now (usually chavs with too much jewellery and sometimes tattoos), but this man's pure white hair and pink skin was really freaky.


It was mid-20s, but the haze in the air today was caused not by moisture but by a yellow dust storm that has drifted over from China, after a very dry summer there.

18 October 2009

In the afternoon we headed over to Midtown park. Emily managed to spill most of her bottle of water as we went along so she arrived there with sopping wet trousers. I felt embarrassed as people might think it was wee and that I was a bad mother for leaving her wet like that.

The park was full of Tokyoites at leisure; as many people had pooches as had kids, and the poor creatures were often better dressed than their human counterparts. I saw a black dog stroller that was studded with diamante. One woman had four long-haired daschunds on a set of leashes and the horrid little mutts had a go at two passing elderly ladies who were taking exercise around the short jogging course encompassing the park. The bad-tempered pooches got their comeuppance soon after, though, when a wolfhound went for them.

Emily didn't seem that bothered about the slides and swings, which were in any case very busy with all the families in the park. She soon discovered the fountains though, and spent ages happily empting water from one container into another.

Back at home, Emily managed to do a second wee in her potty, though again it was purely because she happened to be sitting there at the right time. Nick and I had kept her on it by singing 'the wheels on the bus', because she won't stay on it for very long unless entertained.

17 October 2009

Finally Run for the Cure day came around. The registration process was a total shambles. Despite record online registrations, they did not have the resources to deal with all the people. What is the point of signing up online first if you still have to queue on the day? All the different queues blended into one anyway, and the Japanese volunteers were not doing a good job of directing people. Given that a lot of participants are gaijin they need to enlist the help of some English speakers too, I think. But I feel mean for complaining since they are all giving up their time for the charity. Anyway, I hooked up with a couple of other TMG runners and chatted while we waited. It took an hour and a half to finally get to the head of the queue and pick up my goody bag. I presume that there must be a reason why they can't hand them out to people after they cross the line, like many other events I've been to.

The run itself went pretty well, once it started an hour and a half late. I felt quite strong for the first circuit of the palace, but almost as soon as I wistfully passed alongside the finish line to begin the second lap, I felt the energy drain from me. Despite that, my second leg was as fast as my first, so must just be a matter of perception, and I finished the 10km in just over 58 minutes. Assuming that it was definitely a full 10km, that's almost as good as my pre-Emily form!

In the afternoon, Nick's friend Alistair (aka Uncle Mac) came over. He is in Japan on business again, and I was so pleased that he had a window of opportunity to spend some time with us as Nick likes him a lot. We all went for a stroll up to Shiba Koen park, in the gathering gloom of an early dusk in cloudy weather. We also took in Zojoji temple, and I realise that I had never actually looked inside it. There were lavish golden decorations and some monks beating out a rhythm on large hollow gourds, and heady incense was burning outside. Back in the partment, the guys began their evening as they meant to go on, with plenty of beer. Emily had been nervous of Mac to start with but soon relaxed with him.

16 October 2009

Nick was off work to revise for his upcoming regulatory exam, so Emily was really happy to have him at home in the morning. It was still a nursery day though.


Jo and I had coffee after we dropped the girls off, and while sitting outside the cafe basking in the glorious warm, clear air we saw the nursery kids on their way to the park for their morning outing. Emily was waving regally from the 'chariot'. I felt quite guilty to be spying on her like that, but it was very cute to see the little procession.

I went on to Shinagawa, where I joined Anna and her friend Glen to look over a print exhibition at the Tokyo American Club. I felt like such a philistine, pretending to look intently at some of them when I could tell straight away that I didn't like them. There were a few I would have liked to buy if the price was a bit lower, but it would be silly to buy for a future, unknown home anyway and we can't hang pictures at our current place. At least Anna and Glen were no more connoisseurs than I am and we had a bit of a giggle. After our flirtation with art appreciation we had a two hour lunch at a brasserie nearby. It is pleasant to spend time with people who don't have children and discuss wide-ranging topics.

Nick dragged himself away from his books to meet me in Ginza at the end of the afternoon. Emily was a little upset when she saw him come in at Ui, but by the time we got to the station she had started babbling and running about as usual.

15 October 2009

Up at the local park I saw that there were two orange trees laden with ripening fruit and also a large walnut tree, with clusters of the green nuts dangling just out of arms reach (have to enlist Nick's help to gather some of the bounty).

Our regular playdate with Jo and Bettina was in Ebisu again. We started at the smoothie bar and then went on to the playground. Bettina had a visitor over from San Francisco, and I felt sorry for her having to spend her aftenoon with all of us as she is in her fifties and has no children.

In the bath, I taught Emily the final letters of the alphabet today: Q and V. She is getting better at counting, able to say the numbers in the correct order up to 8 sometimes, but she doesn't recognise the numbers, apart from 1, yet.

14 October 2009

My latest introducee (is that a word?) to Bornelund's Kid-O-Kid play centre was Charlize. I really ought to look into getting commission as Julia is the fourth mum I have taken there! We met at the station and Emily and Charlize were very boisterous and vocal on the way to Minato Mirai. Emily spotted a dish on a roof and kept yelling 'satellite', whereupon Charlize took up the refrain and they were both shouting it, causing a woman opposite to pointedly move to the other end of the carriage.

Finally we got to our destination and were able to let their rampant energy loose in the more-or-less safe environment of Kid-O-Kid. We all had great, if tiring, fun on the bouncy castle before moving on to the more static toys. Charlize was very moody as she needed to go to the toilet but wouldn't do anything when taken there. Julia was worried that after two hours she would make a big puddle on the floor, but amazingly she held on until the end of our hour of play. She was also whingeing and crying on the way to the restaurant, but thankfully she made it through the meal without making a fuss. They both got in a terrible mess with various sauces and chocolate.

Walking to the bayside park, Charlize fell asleep instantly; Emily took more than half an hour to succumb to her nap, and only managed 25 minutes then. Waking refreshed, the two of them had a rare old time chasing each other around on the grass, chasing butterflies and bubbles.

We finished our day out at a cafe, where they had a kids corner with a wendy house.

12 October 2009

It was a national holiday (Sports and Exercise day - founded in remembrance of Tokyo's 1964 Olympics). However, Nick had to stay at home revising for his upcoming regulatory exam while I took Emily to the local playground.

After lunch Emily woke quite upset, so Nick serenaded her on the guitar to cheer her up.

Then we all went to Tamagawadai. Emily walked backwards for the first time and was immensely pleased with herself. She didn't seem very interested in the playground so we didn't stay for long.

As we walked back along the ridge through the trees, the sun was beginning to set over the Tama river. It was too cloudy to see Fuji, unfortunately. We just had enough time to call in at the hippy cafe near the station, and sample their homemade cakes.

At home, I let Emily go without a nappy for a short while, and she actually condescended to sit on the potty for a minute or more. I'm not sure who was most surprised to find that she had done a wee in there. She was very interested, and came with me to pour it into the toilet and flush it away. I don't think this is the beginning of anything though, just pure chance that she happened to 'let go' while she was sitting there.

11 October 2009

The weather was kind to us for our day out to Zushi, but the air was cool enough to discourage the crowds from the beach. It was still very pleasant for playing on the sand and for Nick to take a dip in the sea (just a tad too cool for me to give it a go but lovely to paddle in). Emily enjoyed digging sand and collecting pebbles and shells.

We struck lucky with a decent lunch at a randomly chosen place called Red Lobster, which had views over the beach and across to coy Fuji-san which was hidden in cloud apart from oen corner of the cone top. The food was quite western, and dare I say it, the fish and chips was extremely good. Emily obligingly went to sleep after being pushed in the buggy for 20 minutes, allowing us to park up at the cafe and squeeze in a cake and coffee. She woke just as we were due to rush up the road to Hayama Marina to take the boat trip across the bay to Enoshima island and back. Nick and Emily enjoyed it as much as I did the first time; she spent the whole hour chewing on the whistle that is attached to the life jacket she had to wear.

On the way back into harbour one of the boat staff told Nick to look at the harbour wall, which had been partially demolished by the recent typhoon.

By now it was late afternoon and the sun had begun its inexorable slide down to the horizon. As we walked back to the station along the road behind the beach, we had a wonderful sunset display of colours over Izu peninsula.

10 October 2009

Kids here, especially boys, wear very militaristic school uniforms, with high-collared jackets adorned with brass buttons, and sometimes with peaked sailor type caps for the younger kids. This is somewhat surprising in a nation that renounced war (albeit at occupying America's unofficial bidding) and enshrined a path of peace in its constitution.

Nick had never been with Emily to Robo park, behind Roppongi Hills, so I thought it was high time he saw her having fun there. This time, though, she didn't seem to enjoy it as much as our last visit, and only rode down the roller slide a couple of times. She liked the big helter skelter slide best of all.

9 October 2009

While out and about today I saw a woman in her eighties wearing a sweatshirt saying 'Surf Girl'. Maybe it's true, as she did look like a bit of a rebel, but it's probably just another case of a Japanese person thinking anything in English is sophisticated.


I have never mentioned it before because I quickly got used to it as part of daily life, but today I reflected on the quaint habit here of having to put one's money on a special tray when paying in most shops, restaurants etc. The change is then given back on a tray, sometimes a different one(in the PO that I use I put my money on a blue tray and the change is given on a pink one). In posh department stores they don't even have something as uncouth as a till on the shop floor: your money is removed while you wait for them to wrap the goods bought (and you are often offered a chair).


Emily was extremely bubbly when I collected her from nursery. Apparently she had told the staff that Isy was on holiday ( I had mentioned it to her the day before but not on the way there, in case she was upset that her friend would not be there that day). She walked all the way to the station, down to the platform, onto the train and then up to street level at the other end.

8 October 2009

The typhoon that had been working its way towards us finally hit this morning. Apparently it is the first time a typhoon has made landfall over Japan for two years. When Emily and I got up the wind was terrifically strong and gusty. I decided that we had better stay at home and managed to entertain and exercise Emily with jumping on the bed and chasing her around the apartment. It was our day to lunch with Nick, though, so we couldn't miss out on that. Goodness knows he sees little enough of her as it is.


Almost as soon as we left the building the rain stopped and the wind lifted; it was actually quite pleasant. But when I got to the station I found that the trains were suspended anyway. Since conditions were better than expected I decided to walk to his office, and it only took half an hour or so. At the top of the hill outside Izumi Garden Tower I let Emily get out and walk as she had been cooped up long enough, but halfway down there was an incredibly strong surge in the wind; the buggy blew over and I let go of her hand to pick it up, whereupon she was immediately blown over and started to yell. From the safety of the restaurant, we looked out at the trees being buffeted by the renewed storm. All of a sudden a big branch snapped off a tree outside and was hurled 50 feet across the courtyard to land against the glass tower. Another came soon after. It was a good thing there weren't many people about as one of those could easily have knocked a person out. Thankfully the underground reopened just as we finished, so I didn't have to brave the wind to walk home again.

7 October 2009

Emily counted 12345 for the first time today.


The weather was very miserable, though the temperature was still comfortably in the high teens. We hung out with Julia and Charlize both morning and afternoon. The two kids seem to get on really well, though Charlize did hit Emily a few times for no obvious reason. I am pleased they like playing together because Charlize is very advanced and it will do Emily no end of good to spend time with her. Our afternoon was spent at Akachan Honpo kids store, where they chased each other around the aisles and played with all the sample toys. My mission there was to get a potty, since Emily has shown an interest ever since she first saw Charlize sitting on hers (after that she kept saying 'Charlize no pants').

6 October 2009

What with the autumnal rain front hovering close to Japan, and now the approach of a typhoon, we were in for a wet day again. Emily was at Ui and I lunched at Jo's new apartment, along with Bettina. I was expecting to be jealous, and so was not surprised to feel myself turning a deep shade of green as we looked around the 100sqm flat. It would be crazy to move when we don't know how long we have left here and would potentially be clobbered with yet another round of 'key money' (in effect, a gift to the landlord as it is non-refundable) and a deposit on top. But, it sticks in my throat to know that for only a little more than we are currently paying we might be able to live in such a spacious and light place with great facilities (the apartment block has a kids playroom and even a gym).


After the three of us parted company I went to the sports centre and tried the pool there for the first time. It felt so good to be back in the water, and I swam hard for half an hour. I had forgotten how tired I can get swimming, and how ravenously hungry too. I do so wish that young children could be allowed to go there as I really want Emily to be at home in the water. She can't go in until she is three years old and toilet-trained.


On collecting Emily I was told that she had not had a nap. This is the first time ever she has not slept during the day and I hope it is not a sign of things to come. Mind you, she was even more bright and bubbly than usual and ate her tea with relish too, so no harm done. I wouldn't like to lose my lunchtime relaxation just yet though. She was singing 'Incy Spider' all the way home as that is one of the nursery theme songs for October, in keeping with Halloween, which they mark here.

4 October 2009

It was a lovely warm early autumn day so in the morning we walked up to Shiba Koen park. We had a nice family time there for an hour or so. Nick and I also managed to squeeze in a fair amount of discussion about our future, given that we get so little time during the week now.

Emily blessed us with a whole two hours' nap at lunchtime, then we went across town to Kiyosumi garden, which we had only discovered in July. This park has a large central lake surrounded by the ubiquitous pine trees trained to within an inch of their lives, and also has lots of large stepping stones around the edge. I thought Emily would like these as she sometimes mentions them, but she got quite upset as we made our way around the path, even with Nick helping her step across. She eventually calmed down and then had a lot of fun. There was one grassy bank which she insisted on exploring though it was out of bounds.

The park was home to several herons, and two males were having an aerial fight at one point, ponderously flapping their massive wings as they turned this way and that while a female sat on top of a pine tree and paid them no attention whatsoever.

Perhaps as a result of the coffee and cake we indulged in on the way home, my evening run went well again and I did 50 minutes at a decent speed for me. I was doing my three circuits of Shibaura Island, and just as I was flagging a bit a runner dropped in behind me and that spurred me on to keep ahead of him, which I just managed to do. Eventually he pulled over and as I turned a corner I saw him began some ostentatious stretching; I admit I took my foot off the gas a bit after that, but I had been going at my absolute best rate until then.

3 October 2009

I returned from Japanese class to find Emily asleep on Nick's lap. Apparently she had fallen down a few steps outside while he was putting the buggy away. It was very unlike her to sleep like that as she can go a long time without sleeping now and had been awake less than five hours, and also she had refused her lunch despite a poor breakfast. When she woke she was quite lively and talkative and ate her lunch, so we relaxed a bit, but then she suddenly cried while she was playing on the sofa. We wondered if she had broken a rib and also she seemed to be using her right arm a little oddly, so we decided to get her checked out at a hospital. Luckily we didn't have to queue for long. The doctor checked her eyes for concussion and looked her over, but she seemed to have a normal range of movement. Just to make sure we had an Xray done; all was well and we got a taxi back home, having lost most of the day. We squeezed in a short visit to Hon Shiba park before teatime.

2 October 2009

Another wet day. Emily was really fed up being cooped up behind the raincover by the time we got to nursery. I had managed to persuade Bettina to join me at aerobics as she has Tim in a different nursery on the same days and wants to do some exercise. As always, it was complicated, but I felt a lot better about being useless at the routine with her to laugh it off with.


Before collecting Isy and Emily, Jo and I had coffee up the road. She has been feeling very emotional. It's hardly surprising, being 7 months pregnant and with a move and a weeks' holiday abroad in the same week, let alone the prospect of impending birth and double trouble afterwards.

1 October 2009

Our playdate with Jo and Bettina this week was at the playground in Ebisu. As it was off-peak I risked going there on the bus again, and it was certainly quicker, plus it something unusual for Emily so there was less grizzling. First port of call was the smoothie place at Garden Place. I had my 'usual': fig, prune and almond. Naturally, Emily assisted me with my pint-sized portion. Emily was showing off her vocabulary, naming the animals in Isy's book. She is doing well verbally, and it is hard not to mention it without it sounding like I'm boasting. But then, there's always another child doing better (eg. Charlize). Emily and Isy went wild running around the pedestrianised outdoor area, with indulgent smiles from most of the passers-by whose legs they were running in and out of, sporting huge grins and squealing a fair bit.

In the nearby playground the three children played well for a good hour or so. They liked riding together on the rocking dog.

The proximity of the railway tracks next to the park was too good to resist, and Emily and Tim made a beeline for the footbridge over the rails (Isy doesn't seem that bothered about trains). By the time we packed up just after five, dusk was already beginning and the near-full moon quite high (Emily is crazy about tsuki-sama and usually spots it long before I do).