16 January 2011

On a bitterly cold day, we made a trip to Inokashira park with Julia, Charlize and Serafina (Cliff was flying off for another job interview so could not come). I wished we had gone there before, as it took less than an hour, and with only one change of trains, to get to Kichijoji station. From there it was a short and pleasant stroll to the park, via a street lined with hippy type boutiques and eateries. At the end of the path was a small lake set in deciduous woodland.

Julia had tickets for a show at a nearby art museum, the animated film being a very famous one called 'Tonari no Totoro', which Charlize had seen but Emily had not. The creator was Miyazaki, who made Spirited Away. We spent half an hour crossing the park and finding our way to the Ghibli museum, which was a folly in a vaguely European style filled with odd Japanese animation characters in various arrangements and some rotating in zoetropes. Upstairs there was also a huge furry 16-legged stripey 'cat bus' which was very reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat. Kids could play on it but it was very busy and there was a queue. As Julia was off feeding Serafina somewhere, I was watching over Charlize, and she decided she wanted to have a play on the cat. I was very surprised that Emily didn't want to. I realised afterwards that she was envious of the attention I had to give my charge, but at the time it was very frustrating that she just shrank away and refused to join in; I left Nick to deal with it while I waited with Charlize then watched her while she had her five minute slot on the bus.

Once Julia found us we left in search of food, as the other reason for Emily's meltdown was hunger. It was hard to find any restaurants that were not already full or too small for all of us and our two big strollers. We spent 20 minutes walking in the freezing cold in vain before we eventually settled on a Chinese place that was large and empty. The food was surprisingly good though Emily only ate rice and a bit of egg and prawn.

It was so cold that I would happily have turned for home then, but having eaten (and in Charlize's case, napped), the kids got a second wind and insisted on going to the small zoo abutting the park that we had already mentioned to them. First we headed for the petting area, where dozens of guineau pigs were available for holding and stroking. Just as the last opportunity, Emily was again strangely reticent with the animal on her lap and held it very half-heartedly, only stroking it when I encouraged her. I thought she would leap at the chance, as she spent ages pursuing Florence to stroke her, when home in the summer. Hopefully that means we won't get pressured to buy a rabbit or hamster when she is older!

Aside from a lonely and very old elephant, most animals here were small or medium-sized. Some were exhibiting distressed behaviour though the large troop of monkeys seemed happy enough. I can never understand why the Japanese are so cruel to their zoo inmates when they profess to be animal-lovers and make such a fuss of their horrid yappy pooches.

Beyond the little zoo was a fairground, with half a dozen rides that were perfect for preschoolers. Nick rode a shinkansen, a carousel and a tea-cup ride with Emily and Charlize. I declined to join them - these days I even get dizzy on a swing. We managed to extract them without trying out every single attraction, on the promise that we would stop off at the playground on the way out. It was so perishingly cold that we had to call it a day after 10 minutes, though the girls didn't seem to be overly bothered about the temperature.


On the way back to the station we called in at a funky cafe that had several retro-style hanging coccoon type chairs. Emily and Charlize loved them, naturally, and sat side-by-side in one while they ate their snacks.

My evening run was amazingly good, considering I had not drunk enough water or eaten any high energy foods. I did a full hour again and made my mind up to do a half marathon by the end of 2011 (hopefully Macclesfield in the autumn if we are living back in the UK by then). Post-run, my weight was down to 62.5kg (9st 12lb) - the lowest reading yet!