8 November 2009

Thanks to my Japanese class and then Nick's need to stay in and study for his re-sit, we hadn't had any real family time all day Saturday, so decided to have a Sunday outing together to Odaiba.

As usual, we took the boat across, with lots of planes, trains and automobiles to see from the launch as we crossed under Rainbow Bridge to the island. We went straight into the mall to find somewhere to eat, eventually plumping for an Italian place with tables looking out at the bridge and bay area. We ordered quite a selection of dishes and Emily grazed from each, though her favourite seemed to be the assortment of Italian hams ('hums' on the menu!). The mushroom pizza was liberally sprinkled with thick slivers of roasted garlic and I must remember to try it at home as it was utterly delicious.

Afterwards we went back out into the lovely warmth and walked along the bayside park. T-shirt weather in November: can't be bad.

Emily seemed fairly tired so after a while we loaded her aboard the stroller. It still took her at least quarter of an hour to go off but eventually she gave in, and we carried on walking a mile or so, beyond where we usually turn around and as far as the path goes, stopping when it reached a container port.

Once Emily woke we hung out around the playground and in the park for some time.

I had brought a newly-acquired kite which I thought she would love. Unfortunately there was hardly a breath of wind but I was determined to give it a try. With Nick giving it a good high send off we attempted to get it airborne, but it immediately dropped to the promenade again, at which point Emily started crying and yelling 'put it away'. She was inconsolable for five minutes and I am still not sure if she was scared of the kite (hopefully not, as I bought it for her; it is a turtle with lots of smaller ones along the long tail) or upset because it crashed.

The sun began its long slide down the sky around 4pm as we made our way back to the pier, and we watched it disappear behind the skyscrapers across the city, flushing the sky with delicate shades after it had gone.