28 November 2010

We hadn't been to Tamagawa together for a long time so that was our destination for a sunny late autumn day. Instead of going the usual way out of the station we turned the opposite way because I had noticed lots of trees there before and often wondered if there was a park. We found a nice little wooded ridge with manmade waterfalls and pools, which was absolutely ablaze with leaf colour in the low sunlight.

Lunch was at the small restaurant near the river which serves rather good fish and chips. I wish I knew where they got such chunky pieces of cod as it is never available in the shops I go to other than as tiny thin portions with bones (nearly all fish you buy here still has the bones in it). It was such a good helping that I couldn't quite finish it and was so stuffed that I didn't eat again for 7 hours. Carrying on to the riverside path with a crotchety Emily, she soon brightened up as we strolled along in the sun. It wasn't long before we were down to our T-shirts. Emily was happy just to play in the grass for an hour (though she later ended up with a bit of a rash. She must be slightly allergic to certain grasses, like me). She pretended a stand of tall grasses was a shop, then a house, and then wanted us to roll backwards with her.

27 November 2010

For the third year running (sorry for the pun) I took part in the Run For The Cure event, signing up for the 10K race. Nick had been out for the evening before and was not in a good condition, but nonetheless I had to leave the apartment with him still in bed and Emily roaming free. He deserved a night out after missing out on so many lately though, and I didn't resent him for it, rather I pitied his depleted state.


At Hibiya Park, where entrants had to register, I was soon stripping off layers as the sun quickly warmed the air, though it was still rather chilly in the shade. It was a lot better organised than the previous year (which was totally shambolic), and we were soon walking over to the race start, at Sakuradamon. One rubber-necking driver was so busy looking at the hundreds of competitors making their way there that he got rear-ended at an intersection.


Nick and Emily made it to Sakuradamon just as the race was about to start, so there was just time to hand over my effects and I was off. The pace was perfect though I knew it was faster than my starting pace when I run alone. I was conscious that I ought not to get swept along and run out of steam later, but in fact I really found my stride and was soon passing people comfortably. That made me more worried that I was beginning too quickly but as we approached the Start line and lap number two I was feeling positive and strong. As always with lap races I felt deflated heading away from the end line and my pace dropped, but after a few minutes I recovered and was passing people again. I put on a powerful spurt for the last couple of minutes and was pleased to see that my total time was 56:36. Though the second lap felt slower it was only a few seconds behind the first. I think I have only bettered that time once, when I was a good deal younger.



Feeling buoyant, I sought out Nick and Emily. I found her to be in a very sullen mood and Nick confirmed she had been like that the whole time. Her cold has taken a turn for the worse and she has a hacking cough, so I'm sure that affected her behaviour. Also, she had narrowly failed to finish breakfast so I had told Nick no snack. However, I thought it prudent to let her have a couple of biscuits as it would be a while before lunch; she was all smiles straight away.





We made our way home and had lunch, then I could see that Emily was really tired so I suggested a nap, and she was very willing. In the end she slept for two hours. Nick went out for a haircut and I decided to lie down for a while too. Of course, I dropped off, and when Nick came back he joined me as he was done in. When Emily woke I had to get up and felt rotten, as I knew I would. We let Nick sleep on for some time then had a family meal. Emily finally went to bed at 9.30, the downside to napping. We did just have time to watch Rambo 2, which was a lot more thought-provoking than I recalled, though of course full of blood and guts.

26 November 2010

For about the fourth time this week Emily failed to eat her breakfast within the allotted half an hour, resulting in withdrawal of morning snack and no TV. It is turning into a daily battle, so I will have to think of some way to tackle this that doesn't send my blood pressure soaring.


After aerobics and lunch, I met Jo and Cooper and we headed over to Bettina's to see her and new baby Samuel. You forget what tiny little scraps newborns are. Steve was able to take the week off, but it will be tough for her once he goes back.

25 November 2010

Emily told me as soon as she woke that she had done a wee in her pants, and she did have a very wet nappy. That is the first time in weeks though. I am still planning on switching to pants at night after she turns three. She is making leaps and bounds in other ways. With the odd mistake she now also recognises all lower case letters and it very interested in every sign she sees out and about, spelling out the letters out loud. We have begun making words with the bath letters and stressing the phonetic sounds of each letter. She is also managing some very basic adding up. Her favourite sum is 2+2=4, but she can handle other sums with a little coaching.


In the morning I took her to Kamezuke park where she spent a whole hour just collecting leaves. She was so engrossed that she did not go on any of the play equipment.


Jo and the kids came to ours mid-afternoon and stayed for tea and bath. I made pizza dough (seemed a bit of a faff compared to bought bases, but the result made it worthwhile), from which I shaped two Mickey Mouse heads and got the girls to decorate their own with toppings. Emily surprised me by barely eating any of hers, even though it meant foregoing trifle. Isy ate all hers, with a little encouragement.

The three children had lots of fun in the bath and then it was time for them to get off home to bed. I was glad that Emily didn't mention being hungry as she turned in as I was convinced we would end up in a battle at bedtime.


I had a bit of a row with Nick when he got home. His boss had again mentioned planning the transfer to London, probably for March/April. For some reason I did not respond as positively as I might and he was very angry, rightly so as he has put in so much effort to get the qualification that makes this possible. On reflection I think I am a bit scared about the move, and upset to lose my good friends here. I am not great at making proper friends, though can pick up acquaintances easily enough. I'm also worried for Emily as it is hard to break into ready-made cliques of mums and their kids. At least she will be able to see a bit of her cousins though.

23 November 2010

Yet another day off for Nick, this time Labour Thanksgiving Day. After a bit of wrangling over where to go, as it was wet and cloudy to begin with, we followed my suggestion and went to Minato Mirai. Emily had failed to finish her breakfast in the allotted half an hour for the umpteenth time, so she had no morning snack. Therefore, by the time we arrived at noon we had to go straight for lunch. Being busy there were queues at most restaurants already, and we ended up waiting half an hour to get into the Sizzler all-you-can-eat establishment. I am going to have to put that place on my blacklist; despite most of the fare on offer being very healthy, I always overeat, and even though full I always end up eating icecream and making a couple of trips to the chocolate fountain.


Stuffed, we wandered down to Rinkai park, by the bay. By now it was bright and clear, though there was still a chilly wind. We pottered around there for an hour or so then meandered back towards the station, past the funfair. I hadn't realised that it is possible to freely wander around there without paying an entrance fee. We hoped we might all be able to ride the log flume but the height minimum was 110cm. We all enjoyed watching the rollercoaster plunge past our eyes down a 20m drop into a hole in the ground, and I egged Nick on to give it a try, which he did. Emily was happy because she got a ride on a Thomas train. We will have to go back again because there were several rides on the other side of the inlet that looked suitable for Emily (and that I could cope with!).


By the time we got on the train home it was getting dark. Emily was flagging but made it home awake. While Nick gave her tea I went out and did a run, going strong for exactly an hour. On runs like that I do begin to think about trying a full marathon but could never find enough time to train so will settle for a half marathon next year (hopefully we will be back in the UK and I can do Macclesfield in the autumn).

21 November 2010

Emily woke us at 6.30 - the pale curtains were letting in an awful lot of light (this seems a recurring problem in Japanese accommodation). Even after a straight 8 hours sleep Nick and I were still out of it, and she roamed around the room and clambered on the beds while we lay there, until 7.30.

We had decided to go back in the rotemburo before breakfast, with Emily too this time. It was too hot for her, but she was happy enough sitting on my lap with just her feet in the water, though I did drape a towel round her to save her from the frosty morning air. In daylight the view was equally as fantastic as the night before: shafts of sunlight were streaming through notches in the mountains onto the rice paddies in the misty valley below. A cloud bank smothered the very tops of the mountains to the south. I wish every bath I took could be so picturesque!

The buffet breakfast was OK and filling, but I have had much better. It didn't help that the dining room was hideously hot, what with the heating working overtime and the powerful sunshine penetrating the blinds. We were thankful to stumble out into the fresh air and potter in the garden, enjoying the vibrant red foliage of a couple of small trees.

We were soon packed and on our way. We drove 10km up a side valley to Daigenta Canyon. Here we found a small lake formed behind a small dam, nestling in a pretty valley with lingering remnants of autumn glory.

We walked down a path to the water's edge and spotted some small fish. Emily enjoyed the sensation of some green slime she picked up in the stream.

Dozens of small beige butterflies fluttered up from the leaf litter to mingle with falling leaves dislodged by the gentle breeze. There was a path that lead up the small cliff next to the lake and back down to its other end, through a beautiful wood of maple and cherry trees.

At the other end was a bridge above the dam, and we found that there were thousands of fish milling there in the sunshine. A handful of very large ones, perhaps two feet long, were almost herding the tiddlers in shoals that moved as one.

We drove back down into Yuzawa and dropped off the car. We soon found a great place for lunch, Muran Gozzo. Despite Emily's presence, it was quite a lingering affair with five delicious courses of beautifully-presented dishes, mainly using local fare. It was quite full so we had to sit at the counter, but that was fine anyway as we could watch the sous chef preparing roulades and purin (set custards). Emily was not very interested in her huge kid's meal of homemade burger, chips, rice and veg, but was content to graze on our food. She was rather worn out and seemed to want to sleep on our laps at one point but soon perked up again. Nick and I felt quite drowsy ourselves, after two generously-poured glasses of the local Hakkaisan sake.

Along the street was a free outdoor foot bath, taking advantage of a geothermal upwelling in the town, and we all soaked our feet for a while.

As the sun was beginning its long slide to the horizon we made our way to the station, pausing to admire some sheafs of rice hung out to dry.

We were soon boarding the double decker Max Toki train that would whisk us back to Tokyo station in only 80 minutes. The first half of the ride was all in tunnels, but as we emerged onto the Kanto plain we were greeted by a lovely sunset, and even Fuji-san silhouetted in the dying light.

20 November 2010

Freed from the shackles of Nick's study, we were able to take an impromptu weekend trip to the mountains. Jo had passed on the name of a hotel someone had recommended in Echigo Yuzawa, Niigata prefecture, so we took a chance on the tip and set off there mid-morning. The Joetsu shinkansen only takes 80 minutes to whisk passengers 200km into the heart of mountain country. It was spectacularly expensive to build the line to Niigata as it comprises a series of extremely long tunnels - so much so that it is said it will never become profitable. Mind you, even though there was no snow for winter sports our train was full, so clearly there is demand for the service despite the area itself being sparsely populated.

On arrival we had a decent lunch of soba noodles and tempura at a restaurant in the smart station, then went to pick up our hire car. Emily seemed very groggy so I was convinced that she would sleep as we drove to the ropeway at Hakkaisan that we wanted to ride, an hour from the town, but she would not give in to slumber. She soon perked up when we got out

having fun roaming about the grassy area around the ropeway station (which would normally be a ski slope). There were swing chairs, loungers and even a hammock, so we tried them all out and enjoyed the clean air, tranquility and mountain views while we waited for the next gondola to depart.

At the top of the 2km-long cable, the upper station had some patches of snow scattered about and we added to the collection of small snowmen.

On a low ridge behind the building we climbed a small tower that afforded glorious 360 degree views, though as the sun was getting low by then it was quite hazy.

After a snack and a snowball fight we headed back down to the bottom.

At the end of the hour-long drive back down the valley it was dark but the hotel was easy to find thanks to satnav, being perched up on the side of a mountain at the top of a switch back road 10 minutes from the town. The hotel was pleasant and our room a reasonable size and equipped with three single beds and a sofa. Our window gave onto a piste and a chairlift. We must return in ski season as the hotel is ski-in, ski-out and the angle of the slopes around look achievable for a scaredy-cat like me.

Nick and I were presented with a five course dinner and Emily happily munched on pouches of beans, sweetcorn and olives while we tucked in. Apart from us the other guests seemed to be exclusively students. The reason for this became apparent when we explored the corridors to discover about ten music studios. Being sound-proofed they was not a cause for concern for the prospects of a good night's sleep. Emily was whacked and soon dropped off. We went back up to the lounge and had a couple of glasses of wine/beer, then visited the rotemburo. I've been in a few, but this outdoor hot tub was lovely; a cypress wood bath big enough for about 10 people (which I had all to myself) set in a bed of raked gravel and with fine views over the valley below and across to the mountains opposite. The only shame was that being segregated Nick and I could not enjoy it together, each lying in our own baths divided by a high wooden fence, but both with the same view at least. We were back in the room and fast asleep before eleven.

I heard from Jo that Bettina had delivered the baby in the small hours, after a relatively short labour. Welcome Samuel Oscar Horne!

19 November 2010

Only one thing worth reporting today, but what news it is! Nick passed his Series 16 exam. No more lost weekends! And also, as this is a very portable qualification it means that if his boss does not follow through on the suggested transfer he ought to be able to land a job back in London more easily (and hopefully on a better salary). Plus, if he stays put until February this should put him in line for a decent bonus, which will do our house-buying potential a power of good. Hurray!

18 November 2010

It remains cold, but at least the sun put in an appearance today. Nick had the day off to do some final revision before his looming exam, so at least we got to see a little of him. Bettina had gone into hospital at dawn so our planned playdate at her's was off, but Jo and I agreed we would meet anyway round at her place. Emily and Isy played quite nicely with only a few minor wrangles, so I was pleased not to have a repeat of Emily's selfish behaviour.

After lunch I managed to prise her away as it was clear that Isy needed a nap and I had mentioned the possibility of heading out to Haneda airport for a spot of plane-spotting. I had been meaning to take her for ages but never seem to have enough free time on non-nursery days. We really enjoyed the monorail ride out there, with Emily chattering nineteen to the dozen about all the things she could see from our great vantage point: various Tokyo landmarks, the airship, shinkansen, boats, planes, control tower.

We stopped off to have a quick snack (Emily ate a whole Christmas tree danish)

then went up to the roof to see the action. It was quite chilly up there but we stayed half an hour. Though two runways were in use there didn't seem to be that many take-offs occuring, given that from our balcony we can usually see a plane rising skyward every two minutes. Emily was chuffed to see both Pikachu planes though; one landing and one taking off.




With the sun rapidly descending towards the mountains

we made our way home again, with one final treat when the airship flew directly over us as we walked home from Tamachi.

A message from Bettina was awaiting me in the evening, but not what I expected: she had been sent home at noon and contractions had stopped for now.

17 November 2010

It has suddenly turned very cold and damp. I even contemplated using the aircon to get us a bit warmed up but toughed it out in the end.

We had visitors for a playdate so didn't have to venture out into the chilly drizzle: Tracy came over with Lottie and Rudy. Emily surprised me by being very possessive with her things, snatching toys and generally not at all happy to share as she usually is. I ended up having to take her to her room to reconsider her attitude. After that her behaviour was just about acceptable. At least she ate her lunch, though I had to load her spoon for her. Lottie was very reluctant to eat any of it but I think that was partly due to Tracy being occupied with feeding Rudy as once Tracy came over to help her (and give her attention) she did end up eating a reasonable amount.

After they left we stayed in and did some painting then watched The Snowman, which I am happy to play frequently as it is so charming.

15 November 2010

We had another playdate round at Mia's, and again the girls spent most of it messing about with Playdough.


In the afternoon Julia was out but we went over to play with Charlize anyway (she was at home with their helper). They played well for an hour then Charlize took a toy Emily was playing with and then got cross when the helper gave it back to Emily. She came over and gave her a shove. Emily pushed her back - unusual for her but I secretly cheered that she wasn't being a doormat for once while outwardly telling her not to retaliate and to just say 'please don't do that'. I told Charlize off and she promptly fell to the floor and bawled. I told her I was taking Emily home as her behaviour was unacceptable. I could see the mood was soured and anyway it was dark and had begun to rain hard, but I also wanted to make her realise that her actions could have consquences. As we put on our shoes she came over and threw her comfort blanket at Emily and that was the last straw. I told her off again and left the poor helper to deal with her until Julia returned. It was rather chilly on the way home and had been raining for a while, which continued all evening.

14 November 2010

I can't remember the last time Emily slept right through without calling out for me due to nightmares. Most nights it is at least twice, and I am getting quite weary as I don't get through a full sleep cycle.

Nick was studying all day so the two of us took the bus to Hibiya Park. Emily was rather tiresome and I got thoroughly fed up. As the bus there had been very busy I decided we would take the subway back and that was a mistake as we had to walk several hundred metres of tunnel underground and then had to walk back home from Shirokane Takanawa (whereas the bus would have dropped us just up the road). Emily refused to walk much and my arms were very strained after lugging her 16kg around so much.

In the afternoon, I decided that I was too tired to go out and it was also a bit overcast, so Nick went out to study instead. Emily and I made some apple and date slices then she vegged out with a Thomas DVD while I prepared dinner and did a few chores.

I went out and ran for 35 minutes and felt very strong. On my return I helped Nick feed a very sluggish and uncooperative Emily, while dashing about getting ready for my night out with Jo and Bettina. I had a lovely time at Gonpachi with my mates, but found a large pin - the kind you use on noticeboards, with a plastic head - in a mouthful of grated daikon. Thankfully I spat it out. The staff were naturally highly apologetic, with the manager coming to our table repeatedly, and desperately offering us bowls of dessert which we didn't want. We laughed it off but if I had swallowed it, it could have been quite serious, I think. At the end of the meal we asked for the bill and were told the whole thing was free, which I hadn't expected, and appreciated, as we had eaten and drank a fair amount. Bettina was very tired and we left at 10pm, so the taxi had me home in time for a very early night (compared to recent averages at least - I am rarely asleep before midnight these days as I don't like to leave Nick up on his own for too long after a hard day's work or study).

13 November 2010

Emily attended Shichi-go-san (7-5-3), which Julia had arranged for her and Charlize. This annual event in November is when children who turn three, five or seven that year (odd numbers are lucky in Japan) dress up in kimono or hakama and visit a shrine to give thanks for their good health and to drive out evil spirits. I really should have gone too and deeply regretted my absence later, but had thought I had better not skip class. I'm sure my teacher would have approved of the reason for me missing the lesson though. Nick went with Julia and family to a kimono rental shop, where it took an hour to get them ready. I was amazed that Emily put up with that, especially all the fussing with her hair. They had a photo shoot in the studio there (definitely a lost opportunity for Robinson family portraits)

and then went to a shrine in Akasaka.



Looking through Nick's photos later, I saw that his attention was briefly (excuse pun) diverted on the way through seedy Roppongi!

By the time my class finished they were on their way back to Julia's so I met them there. At least I got to see Emily looking so cute in her kimono before it had to come off for eating the messy pasta lunch prepared by Cliff.

Emily was very weary so I was worried that she would drop off on the way back to ours, but thankfully she remained awake. We had a quick change and dumped the buggy, then Nick stayed home to study while I took her on the bus to Ebisu. By coincidence she was to go before the camera again, this time for an audition for a catalogue. I wished I had taken the stroller after all as I ended up carrying her all the way up the hill from the bus stop. The audition only took a couple of minutes (she managed to raise a couple of coy half smiles but was too tired and fed up with being photographed to do enough to get the job, I think) and then we were free to go for a wander around Ebisu Garden Place. They had a fabulous Christmas tree set up, and most trees and bushes were strung with pretty lights too. As it was a gloomy afternoon they were turned on at 4pm so we got to see them before we went home, after pottering around collecting yet more leaves. The autumn colours are superb now and the cherry leaves in particular are gorgeous shades of yellow, orange and red.

The reason I had been concerned about Emily napping was because Erna was booked to babysit, and indeed I was still in Emily's room getting her off to sleep when Erna arrived. Nick and I decided to return to the Peruvian restaurant in Yotsuya that we'd tried a couple of months ago, and again we really enjoyed both the food and the Pisco Sour drinks. We were pleased when the server said 'nice to see you again' too.

11 November 2010

Today it was hot in the sun, but cool in the shade, so the layers were going on and off all day. We had a playdate at NikoNiko playground in Shinanomachi. We were there for two hours on our own before Jo, Bettina and kids arrived. Bettina had been to see the doctor and is probably going to deliver early as she is already a little dilated and he could feel the baby's head!

Isy was really grumpy as Jo woke her prematurely from her nap, but once warmed up the three friends had a crazy couple of hours, especially on the high roller slide. As always I went home with my pockets stuffed with acorns and leaves which I had been charged to look after.

At the playground a large poster showed children in national costume from around the world, and I felt that it was a bit sad that the England picture was a boy in a kilt with bagpipes. But then, to most Japanese the name England covers the whole of the British Isles (if you tell people here you are from the UK they often don't understand). On the other hand, golf is hugely popular here so you would think they ought to know that Scotland is separate, at least.

Emily's latest overworked phrase is 'I'll do it - I'm a big girl'; but then she gives up each challenging task far too easily. I can see that she takes after me in lack of determination and therefore I can't be too annoyed with her lack of persistence.

10 November 2010

Our anniversary coincided with a lunch date with Nick, which we were able to take outside as it was very warm in the sun.

We carried on afterwards to visit Lottie. Rudy had just taken his first steps; he is not even 11 months yet! We left him sleeping, with Brigida babysitting, and took the girls off to the local park, which was a pleasant spot and had a decent playground. They ended up collecting leaves, of course. A four year old girl wanted to play with them and they managed a few rounds of hide-and-seek, though she could not understand why they did not stay hidden for long, and she got frustrated a bit when she tried to get them playing tag and they didn't get it.

Emily counted out 10 objects twice today and also seems to have mastered most lower case letters now.