31 January 2010

With Emily on the path to stardom it was our turn to be models. Minako and her husband are in the advertising business and had asked for volunteers for a campaign for a popular pot noodle, and both mine and Nick's photos had been picked. At Y15,000 (100 pounds) each for a morning's work, we thought we would give it a shot, along with Julia, Steph and Helen. The studio, once we found it, was in a plush neighbourhood near Shibuya. Like the place where Emily modelled, it is set up in the style of a European house and garden. That is obviously what appeals to Japanese tastes. We each took our turn with the photography team while the rest hung out upstairs. Luckily there were some toys in one room to occupy Emily, and Haru, Minako's boy, was also there. I felt very self-conscious as I posed on a high stool with the noodle pot. I managed to smile quite a lot despite, or perhaps because of, my nervousness. The photographer seemed to be happy with the results, in any case, so now I shall just have to wait until March to see if I appear on the final ad, which is going to feature 50 smiling people (all foreigners, I believe). It is going out in all the main daily newspapers so I must make sure to get a copy for posterity.

On our way back to the station we found ourselves in a very affluent street and there were several designer houses. One had a double-width garage with a gold door. On the street outside were some parking cones, but not just any old cones: these were white with a gold band and a Chanel logo!

After Emily's nap, we just about managed to get out at 3.45 and hopped on a train to Tamagawa river. Here we just played along the wide riverside green space. Emily was quite adventurous with the climbing frames.

There are several rail bridges near there and one has shinkansen trins going across every couple of minutes, to her delight.

We finished up stopping for light refreshment at the hippy cafe near the station and found that they were holding an 'open mic' session. The cafe owner seems quite taken with Emily and took a small bongo drum over to her. He got her banging out a rhythm of sorts and then moved her over to sit in front of the guitar players. She seemed a bit bemused but carried on playing the drum.