31 May 2010

In the morning, with Julia having just given birth to daughter number two, we had a playdate instead with Lydia and Mia, who are new in town, though Lydia is a Japan old hand being married to a Japanese guy and having lived here before for six years. I met her at a TMG playgroup and she seemed really nice, so as Mia is similar in age to Emily I thought it would be good to meet up. They live close to us, in Mita, and Lydia had mentioned a playroom in Akabanebashi that we hadn't tried yet, so we agreed on that as a venue.


While we waited for them to arrive at the playground outside, Emily used the slides and then hopped onto a ride-on horse. A smaller girl came over and looked wistfully at the horse, and Emily very sweetly got off so she could ride it saying 'I'll get off so she can have a go'. I was very pleased with her generosity; it is the first time she has shown such consideration.

The playroom turned out to be small but very new and bright, with a great selection of toys, so I think we will be going there regularly in future. After about an hour, Emily and Mia began to interact quite nicely. It turned out she also likes Thomas a lot, so that should help them bond better. The two of them loved the little house we built for them out of foam blocks, and played happily in the ball pit too. Chatting with Lydia, it turned out that her family moved to Poynton when she was 13, and her brothers actually went to the same school as Nick. Small world indeed.

In the afternoon we met Jo, Isy (and Cooper !) at Starbucks. When the girls got too raucous we moved rapidly on to the pirate boat playground on Kaigan-dori. We only stayed half an hour or so as neither of them had slept so were prone to tears. This is the first time Isy has skipped a daytime sleep, so interesting times ahead for Jo.

I spent the evening feeling very mean as Emily went to bed on a sour note with me shouting at her. I had been on a short fuse all day and sometimes at bedtime she makes excuses to keep me with her. With a lot of chores to do it riles me to be held up, but that's no excuse for me to be horrid to her. I have to learn to be more patient. Where have I heard that before?!

30 May 2010

With Saturday a wash-out for Nick he had to devote Sunday to study, so I decided to take Emily to Kid-o-Kid in Yokohama, since it was a dull, cool day. When we arrived we first had lunch at the Keke buffet restuarant. It was a little hard to manage on my own as it was crowded round the buffet counters and Emily would not stay at the table by herself. She kept trying to toouch the food on offer.

On the way from there to Bornelund I stopped to show Emily a street performer who was juggling and about to ride a very tall unicycle for the benefit of a hundred or so people gathered to watch. I'm not sure what spooked her but she tugged my arm and said 'I want to go home', so I never did get to see him finish his act. Spotting a Zara store on the way through the mall I took her in to get a couple of things, and let her choose a T-shirt and pair of shorts. It is much more expensive than the Zara shops back home, with just those two items coming to about 16 pounds at today's rates.

Finally, we got to Kid-o-Kid and I let Emily loose for an hour's fun there. It was packed, and I always forget how overheated it is in there, so we were both sweating and red-cheeked after a session in the bouncy castle. That place is a diabolical parent-trap, because right outside is the Bornelund store, and while their toys are amazing they are also hideously expensive. Being single-handed I lost sight of Emily while I paid for the playtime, and of course she was wandering in the shop, so that was another tenner gone! Not that she pestered me very hard but I always see something there I want her to have, and also I am now stocking up on new things to dish out during the long 12 hours on the plane.

29 May 2010

Nick was out on a work do and didn't get in until 4am, so unfortunately he wasn't in any shape to watch Emily so I could go to class. I'm afraid that is probably it for Japanese lessons, though I was struggling to keep up, and would have had to finish at the end of June anyway as I will be away too long in the UK to pick up the same class again. I can always drop into a lower level on my return.

We left Nick in bed until noon and I took Emily to yet another new playground, on Takanawadai. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, but after she had tried out each piece of the equipment she was only interested in picking up berries and leaves. maybe she will become a botanist, after a year of this obsession that shows no sign of abating.

In several places we have been lately there have been wild strawberries (the small berries look gorgeous but have absolutely no taste whatsoever), and here I also found a rogue raspberry plant. There were some delicate lilac-coloured cranesbill flowers that reminded me of dragonflies.

After lunch the three of us went to Kyu Shiba Rikyu for some much-needed family time in the garden there. We had a nice time just following Emily around as she explored.

She really enjoyed herself rushing up the little hills and running back down, out of control.

There was a special display of azaleas and it was amazing how many blooms were crammed onto each small bush.

Well, it seems that the fat lady is waiting in the wings but yet to begin her performance, by which I mean that my reproductive system is still showing signs of life, albeit after 70 days.

27 May 2010

We had a nice playdate with Jo and Bettina in Midtown park. The kids went wild around the neatly landscaped area near Starbucks, snapping off bamboo shoots and collecting handfuls of decorative pebbles. We moved them on to the lawned park area and enjoyed a picnic while they periodically ran up and down barefoot on the grass. Eventually we carried on down to the playground, but after all the recent rain it was very mucky and by then Isy and Tim were running out of steam so we decided to call it a day (Emily was getting a bit upset too, but I knew she would not nap, regardless).

Jo had dropped the bombshell that she was expecting Cooper at this place more than a year ago. As I knew Bettina and Steve were trying for a second I should not have been surprised, but still, it was quite a coincidence that Bettina should announce her impending motherhood at the same venue. How she got to 14 weeks without letting on beats me as I would find it hard to hide from my mates for more than a month or two. My first reaction was joy for her, but once we had all gone our separate ways I couldn't help but dwell on our inability to give Emily a sibling.

As we walked home there was a sudden downpour and though Emily was showing signs of dropping off in the buggy I decided to take her to Appi for a play. We ended up staying more than an hour, so by the time we had also had a snack in Starbucks and shopped in the supermarket it was four when we got home. She was very weary so I settled her in front of the TV and we watched 'Finding Nemo' together. I hadn't realised how many scary bits there were in the film so had to employ fast forward a fair few times, but she liked it as it reminded her of her Tiddler book, which she is really into at the moment.

Once Emily was safely in bed, with Nick working late as usual I had too much time to think about my lack of fertility, and ended up hitting the wine. Not the best answer to one's woes but it did blunt the misery a little. My only consolation is that if I am already in menopause (65 days with no period now) then it is remarkably trouble-free so far.

26 May 2010

Sometimes I forget that tobacco advertising has been banned back home. I don't think it is allowed on TV or in trains etc here, but there are tobacco kiosks all over the place and they have ranks of cigarette machines outside as well. There is a new ad campaign I have spotted lately which makes me chuckle though:


Makes me want to rush stright out and take up smoking! As a side note, at today' exchange rates a packet of fags costs around two pounds. Criminally low.

25 May 2010

Back to searing heat after the rain (well, around 28C, but that is a little too much for me already).

I think I have been here too long. Today I walked behind a woman wearing beige knee socks with 6 inch gladiator-style sandals and didn't think anything of it. What is it about bare feet here? Many OLs ('office ladies') and shop workers go out at lunchtime in black or navy socks paired with awful cheap black sandals of the type that no woman under 60 would be seen dead in at home.

I had organised a TMG event for Wednesday to Odaiba, but the forecast is not good so I spent half the evening trying to get round the dozen or so women who said they wanted to come to postpone it. I wish I hadn't mentioned it to Emily either as she will be disappointed. Of course, sod's law, the weather is sure to turn out fine.

24 May 2010

A second rainy day and running out of indoor options I resorted to the jidokan at the end of our road. We really should use it more often because it has a good selection of toys and there are lots of trikes and ride-on toys in the gym hall. It was hard to tear Emily away, even with the lure of many muddy puddles to splash in, Peppa Pig-style.

Today it is 9 weeks since I had a period, so I really am wondering now if this is the end of our hopes for a sibling for Emily. I have a list of minor medical complaints to bombard a doctor with when I go home, and this will have to wait until then as I have no intention of clocking up a huge bill here to be told what I suspect already. We went over to Julia's to play in the afternoon and I have to admit that I am finding it harder and harder to be around pregnant women now, as the chances for me recede. Naturally I have thought about it a lot, and it is the amazing feeling of new life growing inside that is what I wish for more than anything else. Plus, lately when we have been out for family day trips it seems really sad for Emily to only have us for company and play.

19 May 2010

I was coordinator for TMG and had decided to use the jidokan in Meguro as the venue, the first time it had been used for the group. In the end it was a good turnout, but I didn't actually do much as Emily would not go indoors to the playroom where most of the mums and babies were, preferring to play outside with the trikes and just generally picking up sticks and leaves. Bettina and Tim came along and it was our first get together for about four weeks. They had been holidaying in Thailand and had actually been staying at the embassy in Bangkok with Sam and Mario when all the recent trouble was at its height, nearly being shut in just when their flight was due to leave. Something to drop into conversation at dinner parties, I suppose!


At bedtime, Emily brought up an issue I had hoped wasn't troubling her. She has had a small wart on her forefinger for some time and said right out of the blue 'someone has put a button on my finger. I can't get it off'. I know it isn't a big deal, but it has clearly been bothering her and I feel really bad about it though it's not my fault.

17 May 2010

We went to Haru's house in Naka Meguro to celebrate his recent 3rd birthday. We were the only foreigners, but the other mums were very friendly and some spoke a little English. Anyway, it was a good chance for me to practise my Japanese in a relaxed unpressured environment.

Emily was in ecstasy as Haru has a huge Thomas track set with many of the trains to run round it.

It really is a huge global brand, though Japan is a natural place for it to thrive with the nation's obsession with trains. After play and food we adjourned to a nearby small park; very pleasant, with grass to sit on and attractive trees, plus a small playground. Emily hadn't eaten very much lunch and gladly tucked into the basket of snacks Minako had packed.

It was a bit of a schlep back home from there. On Minako's advice I took a community bus to Shibuya, which took ages in rush hour traffic, and then we rode the Yamanote home. Emily was very grumpy by the time we arrived back and the bath ended quickly in floods of tears.

16 May 2010

It was a glorious day with strong sunshine though a keen wind. We walked to Shibaura and then across Rainbow Bridge. I had assumed that Emily would enjoy it with the fine views onto the bay, but she was upset by the traffic roaring by on the road right next to the footpath so she ended up in the buggy most of the way. As we took the north route across we could see some of an ongoing waterborne firefighting festival, with several red helicopters hovering in close formation and some fireships spouting high fountains. At one point they added dye to the water and made a beautiful rainbow effect.

Switching to the south route once near the other side, we got off the bridge at the back of the manmade beach. Emily naturally wanted to go onto the sand though we were in a hurry to get to the mall for lunch. There were many transparent jellyfish washed up on the shore, about 6 inches across, which was a little disturbing in itself as many kids were paddling (though swimming is not allowed); however I was alarmed when we came across a monstrous one - dead, of course - about two feet in diameter, with long red tentacles all around it.

I hurried Emily away as I wanted to get her out of the sun anyway, and was ravenous. We made our way into Aquacity mall and found Sizzler restaurant, another branch of the chain of all-you-can-eat buffet places I went to in Korakuen recently. Just like last time I ended up overeating because it was all salad, until the dessert at the end. The salads they have are many and varied: some delicious combinations. Emily really enjoyed the fresh lychees, as did we.

After lunch we parted from Nick so that he could go and study in Starbucks. I took Emily down to the waterfront as we were taking the launch back across to Shibaura and while we waited we pottered around there, finding oysters, mussels, barnacles and snails around the rocky breakwater.

15 May 2010

In the evening we had dinner guests: Masato and Yukiji Ando, from Nagano, who Nick used to work with at MHI. I was nervous about the meal as I had taken a chance and made a swordfish dish, though sometimes I have been very disappointed in it if the fish has been tough. Thankfully this time it was soft and not at all chewy. Nick put Skype on so they could see Alistair, as he is also a friend of theirs, and they ended up chatting for an hour or more. They didn't stay too late as he had been up until the small hours drinking the night before and then risen before 5am to play golf.

I was happy to be able to get to bed at a sensible time. Since Emily swapped to a bed I have been getting steadily more tired as a night does not go by when I do not have to go in to her at least once because she has fallen out or dislodged her duvet and got cold. I usually clock up a total of 6 hours sleep or more but it is no good if my sleep cycle is broken at the wrong point. It doesn't help that Nick gets home so late either, as I feel guilty going off to bed as soon as he has had dinner. It is rare that I get to sleep before midnight and Emily usually wakes for good around 6.30am now. I have never been a morning person and have always needed eight hours sleep; these days I am a zombie and Emily gets fed up with me if no sooner than we get up I collapse onto the sofa while she gets stuck into her toys.

11 May 2010

So the Tories are getting into bed with the Libdems, after days of flirtatious negotiations on the latter's part. It is hard to see how they managed to square some of their more divergent views though. It looked so freaky seeing the two leaders stood side by side outside Number 10. I think it is just because they are so alike: similiar build (and hairstyle) and both in their forties, and because we are not used to seeing coalitions in Britain. I await the first few months with interest, especially the first budget. I was not surprised to hear that Gordon Brown had resigned his leadership of Labour, and hope he enjoys a bit of peace now that Fleet Street has its attention elsewhere, though his outgoing speech was rather cheesy.


It was a really dreary day in Tokyo. In the afternoon I met up with Becky, a British mum who has recently arrived in town with 6-month old daughter. She probably thinks I am weird as I have volunteered my services to show her around a bit on Emily's nursery day, but she seems really nice and it will give me pleasure to get her up to speed, not that she appears at all needy.

9 May 2010

It was sunny but the wind had shifted to the east so we had a welcome cooler breeze and drier air, though the thermometer was at 27C at 3pm.


We took a ride over to Odaiba on the boat; always a fun experience even after so many trips now. There is just so much to point out on the way there. We took a picnic and ate it in the shade as it was too uncomfortable in the sun and anyway a burn risk for Nick and Emily. I got my first mozzie bites of this year, and was surprised as I thought they needed warmth and humidity to breed, which have been in short supply until now.




Walking on round the bayside park we stopped when we reached the pirate boat play area, where Emily clambered around happily for some time. As soon as I pointed out the nearby splash pool though, she couldn't wait to get in with the other kids. I'm not sure if the water feature was designed with kids' fun in mind or just as an ornamental piece, but it was very popular with the many children there. I liked it as the water was only ankle deep and the surface not at all slippery (important by the afternoon as if Emily falls when tired it invariably ends in floods of tears). Nick and I took it in turns to play there with her.



I'm sure she would have gladly stayed there a lot longer but we didn't want to leave it too late to make our way home. I will certainly take her there again in warmer weather.

We went home via the Yurikamome line, and again managed to get front seats in the cab-less train. As we crossed Rainbow Bridge I saw people walking across and decided to try a new running route taking in the bridge crossing that very same evening.


I got a bit lost trying to find the way to access the bridge but eventualy worked out how to get to it. I felt ashamed taking the lift to the 7th floor to start the crossing but could not see where the stairs were. The bay area looked great from up there, after dark, with lights shimmering on water. I was not worried about personal safety as there were many cars going by on the double-decker road and it was fairly well lit. Having gone one way using the north-facing path I then crossed over to the south side for the return. It was a long steady pull uphill to the crest of the bridge, from near sea-level to 58 metres. As in the last few runs I felt very strong though. On the way home traffic lights were against me so I detoured along Kaigandori and came across a great-looking playground with a big wooden boat and what looked like a water feature. I resolved to take Emily there next day as you can never have too many options when it comes to playgrounds and jidokans.

7 May 2010

The UK general election results rolled in, and as had become ever more likely, it finished with a hung parliament, with the Tories taking most seats, followed by Labour then LibDems. The recent surge in the popularity of Nick Clegg had failed to crystalise into bums on seats; I suspect those who professed to be wowed by his peformance in the televised leader debates lost their bottle at the last. Still, an interesting situation with Clegg becoming kingmaker after all, and many coalition negotiations getting under way. Alternatively, Cameron could decide to go with a minority government and hope for a majority at a quick follow-up election. For myself, I would like to see a Tory/LibDem pact. I feel quite hypocritical because I am always railing against 'short-termism' in politics so ought to be in favour of Labour staying in and dealing with the results of their actions. Though I am usually a LibDem voter I naturally lean slightly left, but I can't face another 5 years of jaded Labour, so would like a coalition to reign in the more reprehensible Conservative policies, while acknowledging that it would be harder to pass legislation acceptable to all sides.

6 May 2010

The weather forecast underestimated the heat, as it was way more than the 23C predicted by the Meteorological Agency. On that basis I had dressed Emily in long sleeves and trousers, so I spent the morning worried that she was going to get heat stroke and hassling her to drink cold water. I worked up a sweat going over to meet Julia and Charlize in Midtown Park. We haven't been there for ages and it would have been nice if not so hot. The girls were a bit tetchy but pottered around the lake area in the various small watercourses in the rocky landscaping and played Pooh sticks on a bridge.

In the afternoon I took Emily to Hon Shiba so that she could paddle in the pools there. We had a nice hour or so playing well together before going home for early tea.

Nick didn't get home until 10.45, which I had kind of expected after a week off, but it was a rude awakening after our pleasant week together.

5 May 2010

It was the last day of Nick's week off, so I suggested another seaside trip, this time to Zushi. The weather was kind as it was much warmer this time. We spent a happy hour playing on the sand and taking a dip before heading to the Red Lobster for lunch. The shore there is scattered with some beautiful shells, and it is a pleasant place for a seaside day out, apart from the surprising dearth of decent toilet facilities.

After a blow-out meal where we over-ordered yet again, we had another hour or more back on the beach, with Nick braving the searing sun for a further swim. Along the beach we found that a sand sculpture competition was under way, with some large and impressive exhibits. We made some sculptures of our own, including various marine creatures and even Thomas and his coaches on a track!

I became quite absorbed making them and the sand was the perfect texture, velvety and moist.

This Golden Week been a success for us. No stress or planning, and a fraction of the usual cost with no shinkansen, flights or hotel bills.

3 May 2010

Emily was more excited about my birthday than I was (probably because there is a Peppa Pig episode about Mummy Pig's birthday). The day began with tears as Nick was showing her some video clips of Godzilla on the PC, and there was one where an airport control tower (another of her little obsessions) got knocked down, which had her in floods. Before we went out for the day I had a nice delivery: a bouquet from Nick.

We joined the throngs of public holiday daytrippers on the packed train to Kamakura, and upon arrival we decided not to try to cram onto the dinky little Enoden train and walked instead for half an hour to Hase. By the time we got there we thought we had better have lunch straight away before the restaurant got too busy. We ate at the usual waffle place. After a decent repast we crossed to Hasedera temple. In the six weeks since we went with Mum and Toshiko all the trees had come out into leaf and there were flowers everywhere: peonies (with their sunshades), jasmine, wisteria, irises.

The maples around the large pool were particularly attractive.

It was incredibly busy but we spent a while pottering around before getting fed up with the hordes.

Stopping by the modern Jizo (guardian god of children) statue which Emily really likes, she was immediately surrounded by a swarm of people wanting to take her photo with it. She spent a couple of minutes posing very knowingly before we dragged her away from her audience.

The relative seclusion of Inamuragaseki beach meant a further 20 minute walk away, so back into the buggy went a resistant Emily. As soon as we got to the road running along the shoreline the wind hit us. Though coming from the south, it was a good 30mph or more so it felt pretty cool. Once at the beach Emily was happy again, though by now weary.

She had lots of fun playing on the black sand. We made a pair of little sand people, and scavenged for interesting plastic flotsam to decorate them with.

Nick braved the cold water and wind chill to hit the surf, but Emily and I settled for paddling.

The trip home was difficult as we had planned to use the Enoden to get back to Kamakura and the main line, but when the little train pulled in it was so full we could not possibly have squeezed on even without the buggy. We had an hour's walk back along busy roads and pavements all the way to the station, and then had to employ elbows to get onto the Green Car back to Shinagawa. Emily had unsurprisingly fallen asleep on the long walk and then stayed asleep with me holding her until we were halfway back to town. We bought a fancy chocolate birthday cake on the way home and she was very keen to blow out my candle for me.

2 May 2010

Nick had to do more study for the SA exam, but Emily and I went to Asukayama park again. This time we had company, as I had offered to show it to Julia and Charlize. Unfortunately, Julia was feeling rough (only three weeks to go now), so in the end it was just me, Cliff and the two girls. They had a good time going there on the underground, aggravating the other passengers by squealing a lot. Once in the park they spent half an hour or so trying out the various pieces of play equipment, then we adjourned into the shade for a picnic.

It was a beautiful day with dry air and about 25C. We finished off with a good session in the splash pools, and after the initial intake of breath when I walked into the cold water I found it very refreshing to potter around in the ankle-deep water with Emily.

Returning home on her current favourite train, the Keihin Tohoku (aka ' the blue train'), we chilled out on the balcony with Nick for a while, then he took a flagging Emily off to Hon Shiba while I did some chores and generally went off duty, as I had found my four hour stint quite tiring. This is when I feel guilty that I am an older mum as, despite my reasonable level of fitness, a 20-something would presumably be able to cope much better.

1 May 2010

We were in the mood to try out a new destination, and plumped for a park we'd heard about at the north end of Tokyo Bay called Kasairinkaikoen. We were pleased to find our instincts confirmed as it was a very big park full of grass and trees which stretched down to the edge of the bay where there was a beach (well, more mud flats, but still a place to paddle and get mucky). Though it was very busy with Golden Week crowds, it was large enough to absorb them all and still feel spacious.

Emily was very excited about a Ferris wheel there, but we ran out of time and had to promise to take her again. There was also a road train made up like a little steam engine, and again we will have to give that a try next visit.

The reason we could not fit them in was because we had tickets for a boat back to Odaiba early afternoon, and Emily was so absorbed in playing in the sandy mud that we didn't have the heart to tear her away. She seems to be quite an exhibitionist as after a while she took off her swim nappy, though we didn't let her take off her T-shirt as the sun was very strong.

The boat ride lasted 45 minutes and skirted round the manmade islands on the west side of the bay. We followed a crane being transported on a barge, then watched helicopters land and take off at a small waterside airstrip, before passing under the approach flight path for aeroplanes heading into Haneda just at the point where they drop their landing gear. With one plane a minute it provided plenty of entertainment.

Finally, as we passed under Rainbow Bridge we saw an airship, which landed incredibly close to the two Kachidoki towers.

In Odaiba I was amused to see a large ad for Spam dishes outside a restaurant. The Japanese don't seem to have got the hang of bacon and ham, and they do go in for this abomination in quite a big way.

We rode the Yurikamome light rail back across to Shibaura, striking it lucky with a clear view out of the front of the unmanned train. Emily fell asleep just before we reached home, after a highly stimulating day. When we woke her after an hour slumped in the buggy in the hall she really got upset, and it took the best part of half an hour to calm her down enough to have dinner. That served to remind me why I had decided to drop the nap, and made me feel less guilty about doing so.