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.