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.