27 February 2011

We enjoyed a great family day out to Motomachi, which is the Chinatown district on the south side of Yokohama. We had never been before though we'd seen it from Landmark Tower some time back. To get there we took a sea bus from behind Yokohama station and enjoyed seeing Minato Mirai from a different viewpoint on the 15 minute trip to Yamashita Park.

This was a fairly unremarkable space running along the bay, but nonetheless a pleasant enough spot to while away a sunny day, and it is very popular at weekends. We didn't tarry long, as we wanted to go up the nearby Marine Tower before lunch. This rose about 100m above the park, and provided a great 360 panorama over Yokohama and beyond, though the mountains were not quite visible due to haze.

Though very sunny, it was a blustery day and we could feel the tower shifting a little, which made me feel rather queasy, so I was happy enough to go down after 20 minutes.

Chinatown was heaving, with many tour groups (seemingly comprising mainly of pensioners). We tried to find a restaurant recommended as being kid friendly by a guide book, but it turned out to have closed, so we took our chances with another decent-looking eatery nearby. We ate very well there, and Nick managed to amuse Emily into eating several large prawns and some crab legs.



We just had an hour left before our planned return time, so we looked around a retired cruise liner anchored permanently next to the pier, the Hikawa Maru, which was in service from the late 20s to 1960.

It was very interesting to see inside the first class cabins, which were opulent, and the third class berths, where eight bunks were squeezed into one small room and the occupants would have whiled away a trans-Pacific journey to Seattle - they could only walk on one of the decks if they applied for permission. The luxurious rooms above were done out in an Art Deco style and there was a smoking room for the men and a drawing room for the ladies. Emily wasn't much interested and just wanted to get out onto the deck and run along it, though she did quite like the engine house and took the wheel briefly.

We returned home the same way, via the sea bus to Yokohama, and vowed to go again soon and explore an extensive park we could see from the tower.


Later, I did a 1 hour 25 minute run. The Tokyo Marathon had been held earlier in the day (Jo's husband Oli took part and finished in 3h 58m in his first attempt at one) and I was inspired, but feel it is a tall order for me to run that much twice more over. I did get a reading of 63.1kg for my trouble though. That's more like it, though I fear I still haven't really got a hold of my portion control, and now I often eat dinner early with Emily I find myself snacking later in the evening, since I am up so late with Nick.

26 February 2011

After my Japanese class and a swim for Emily, I let Nick have a couple of hours off duty to relax and she and I stayed at home for the afternoon. We made a cake, and then she amazed me by doing several 24 piece puzzles pretty much by herself, with only a couple of guiding suggestions from me if she got really stuck.

In the evening I went off to Roppongi for a farewell dinner with Julia (and her friend Rieko) at a restaurant called Ichii. I think they like to keep it a secret for those in the know, as you would never guess such a place was hidden away in the depths of a very non-descript building off the main drag. We had a succession of superbly-crafted dainty morsels, including some sea urchin mixed with yuba (tofu skin). I had many glasses of yuzu umeshu (liqueur made with a type of Japanese citrus akin to lemon) on the rocks.

A couple of other friends came along to join after we'd eaten, and we moved on to the Oak Door, a swanky bar and restaurant in the Hyatt Roppongi. It was full of loud, self-satisfied gaijin business types puffing fat cigars, with attractive women hanging on their every word. I had one cocktail that set me back 1600 yen (about 12 pounds), which was rather good but as always I did not savour it enough and it was gone within 5 minutes, leaving me without a drink for the remaining hour we were there. Two hookers came in, and they were extremely obvious, with nearly non-existent tight skirts, legs up to their armpits and a lot of cleavage on display (very unusual for Japan). We decided that though they were speaking Japanese they were probably Thai or Chinese. Then we realised that one had a deep voice and it was clear she was a transsexual. I was surprised they would be allowed in but suppose they must pay a cut to the staff or just be deemed to be providing a useful service. Or maybe they were just genuine customers with a taste for the lady of the night look! I was flagging badly and not enjoying myself as I felt very uncomfortable in such exclusive surroundings. Julia was also more than ready to call it a night, so at midnight we made our way home.



Fianlly home just after midnight. Can't hack it these days.

25 February 2011

Today it hit 19C and was a beautiful springlike day. I'm sure it won't last as it is a bit too early to warm up.

Emily measured up at 106cm, which confirmed my suspicions that she had had a growth spurt. She is now over the 99.9th centile. Previously she was always 98th or above but this is off the scale for the first time.

24 February 2011

We had lunch with Nick then carried on to Midtown park for a playdate with Tim. Unfortunately the weather, which had been looking promising, turned to showers, so we sheltered in the long hut by the pool and forayed out whenever it stopped. As always, Emily enjoyed playing Poohsticks from the bridge over the rocky landscaped stream.


A group of amateur Japanese photographers were taking snaps and as soon as they spied our children they were clicking away like hungry paparazzi without so much as a 'by your leave'. Once Bettina and I wandered over they did ask if it was OK then but it was a bit of a cheek.

On the way back home afterwards I saw my first cherry tree of the year in Azabu - must be an early-flowering variety as most only have closed buds still. I also saw a woman of about 70 in a fur coat and heels, wearing a black bobble hat decorated with a sequinned skull and crossbones!

23 February 2011

Our weekly ballet class came around, and this time was to be Charlize's final lesson before their move to Chicago mid-March, so it was more like a photocall. Julia's good friend Rieko even took time off and came along to take some pictures. The actual class was not very orderly and I think Miss Rosie got a bit fed up with the girls' lack of focus at times. They did perform very sweetly when they were given butterfly wings and had to flutter around the room and drink nectar.

22 February 2011

Today we heard that there had been another large earthquake in Christchurch. After the magnitude 7 tremor there six months ago the buildings must have been a bit unsound, because this time many collapsed, and it is feared there could be substantial loss of life. Dad is actually in NZ at the moment and I don't think we even know his itinerary, but I doubt he would have been in the city at the time as he would be off walking some mountain trail somewhere. Still, would be good to hear that he has called in to report he is safe.

20 February 2011

After our late return from Echigo Yuzawa the night before, Emily was kind and gave us a lie-in until 9.15, and as we had retired soon after her that meant that we got nearly 11 hours of much-needed sleep.

In the afternoon, we headed over to Shibaura for Isy's birthday party. It was actually a fortnight earlier but they had been away in Australia so Jo threw a small celebration at their place. She had been suffering from a respiratory illness for days and looked very haggard and was subdued, so I had taken along a few savoury nibbles and was glad I could help. The only guests were Emily, Tim and little Darcy.

The kids had not all played together for some time but even so there were a few blow-ups, as there often are when the terrible trio get together. Jo had prepared a couple of party games: pass the parcel and pin the tail on the donkey. I don't think the kids understood any of the rules at all and it was a bit chaotic, but Jo fixed it so everyone won something. Emily had been quite clingy and quiet and was a little nervous about the donkey game as it involved being blindfolded.

Oli made the cake, and it was magnificent, though he said it hadn't gone quite according to plan.

The children were all hyper after juice and lots of cake and sweets; Emily finally loosened up but then just when they were all finally playing really nicely together it was time to leave and I didn't want to outstay our welcome with Jo being so off colour.

19 February 2011

We trooped down to the banquet hall and did more than ample justice to the extensive breakfast buffet, before returning to our room to pack and change into snow gear. Outside we found the snow had stopped overnight and it was very sunny. I was worried about Emily's eyes, so ended up shelling out for some goggles (which she only wore for five minutes, so I hope she can use them again in the future as they were 20 quid). I was glad that Nick and I had bought some for ourselves, at least, as the brightness was painful to the naked eye. Julia offered to stay with the girls while they went to Pingu ski school, so that Nick and I could join Cliff on the slopes. It was all a bit stressful as the gear rental shop was heaving and by time they had got their skis on and joined the class, they had missed the first 20 minutes.

The instructor waved us out of the way so I left Emily to practise, shuffling about on one ski first to acclimatise, and stepped into my own skis - at least I remembered how to do that. Then, feeling some trepidation, I joined the guys and we made our way to the skilift.

It was a short but pretty ride up to the top of the resort's pistes and as we rose we were treated to amazing views of the surrounding mountains.

The hotel's snow resort is not particularly high and very compact, having only 8 runs in total. The good thing is that snowboarding is not allowed, making me feel safer straight away as those guys are a bit of a liability until they are very skilled. There was a green run all the way down to the bottom but the first 100 metres or so was rather steep and also narrow. As it was a Saturday it was pretty busy, so I waited some time for a decent gap to open up so I could painstakingly snowplough my way to where it got shallower and wider. I felt very ungainly and such a novice, and my wonky knee was immediately feeling the strain, but once I got to a wide, shallow stretch I found that I could remember some of what I learned last year and made reasonable progress. With such a lot of new snow on the slopes it felt safe but I didn't fall at all anyway. There was a second steeper busy section near the bottom where I had my skis in a large V most of the way, but I did feel happy with it so far and as there was time for one more descent before the end of Emily's lesson I jumped back on the lift with Nick and Cliff. This time I took only half as long to get down. Nick was faster than me but by his own admission, not concentrating so much on style!

Julia and the girls had dropped out of the class early, but I gathered that Emily had done OK. She seemed ready to remove her skis and play in the snow though, whereas Charlize, true to character, was batting Julia off and insisting on having a go at skiing by herself, which she did pretty well for one of such tender years.

It was time to retire indoors to the huge canteen restaurant to fill up on Japanese fast food: noodles and curry rice. After lunch, the adults took it in turns to ski while the other halves played childminder. I entertained the girls in the Pingu playroom for an hour and a half with a napping Cliff while Nick hit the piste again with Julia, then he relieved me from duty and I had nearly two hours more to perfect my technique. Until I feel that I can safely stop myself at speed I shall never get the courage up to zoom down even a green run, but I was pleased with my performance. By the final descent my quad muscles were groaning and my knee felt totally twisted, but I was happy as I trudged back to the hotel to meet Nick. He had been playing with Emily at the Pingu kids snow garden, where there was even an igloo.

Julia and family had left some time earlier for town; we changed into civvies, checked in our heavy bag with the takkyubin (cheap overnight courier service) desk handily located in the hotel and then took the shuttle bus to the station, where we ate tasty soba noodles and tempura washed down with local sake then browsed the indoor market there until it was time to ride the Toki back to Tokyo. As we rushed through the evening, a massive blood red moon rose to the east, just past the full. Nick and I imbibed several cans of decent local Echigo beer and chuckled at a train magazine with the word 'Shag' emblazoned on it: an ad of some kind, I gathered.

18 February 2011

It looked as though Emily and I would be enjoying the delights of Naspa Ski Garden on our own for a while: we waited on the platform at Tokyo station in vain for Julia & co to show up, boarding a couple of minutes before the Max Toki slid out of the station on its way to Echigo Yuzawa and beyond. After half an hour Cliff finally called to say that they had just missed the train but managed to get seats on the next one. It was only a 75 minute journey, but as we were on the downstairs part of the doubledecker carriage we couldn't see much of the view over the barrier fences so I struggled to entertain Emily. But in any case, the last half hour is spent in tunnels, as the line punches through from the Kanto plain to the heart of the mountains. Before the tunnels there was no snow in evidence, but as we emerged and pulled into Echigo Yuzawa we found ourselves in a winter wonderland, and indeed it was snowing heavily; this continued unabated for the rest of the day.


We waited for the others to catch us up at the station, then took the shuttle bus to the resort hotel, only a mile away. Emily and Charlize were chattering away in a jumble of words, sometimes having one of their comical 'conversations'. After a prolonged check-in we had lunch then let the girls work off some of their energy in the small playroom there. The resort has a Pingu theme, and this room was amply supplied with character toys, cushions and posters. Both Emily and Charlize had brought their Pingu soft toys; there was ample opportunity to buy them anyway in the on-site shop. Finally, we were told that we could go to our rooms, on the 23rd floor of the tower annex. We had a suite each - a bit of a splurge, but it was not actually much more expensive than a regular twin, though far more than we really needed as it was nearly as big as our apartment (mind you, that would not be hard).

We changed into winter wear and headed out to the bottom of the piste.



Here was a special fenced-off childrens' play area, even having a mini-travelator and variety of sledges. We spent 45 minutes riding up and toboganning down.



After one ride together, Emily insisted on going it alone. The gradient was enough for her to pick up quite a bit of speed, but I was pleased that she was being adventurous. Despite a few spills she did well, bombing down really fast.







Unfortunately the area closed at 4pm so we went back indoors. With time to kill before dinner we all went to the hot spring onsen, but none of the baths were cool enough for Emily to get in. Our stay package included a buffet dinner, and for once it was both generous and of a decent quality, with a mixture of Japanese and western food. Emily did not eat very well and complained of being tired, so I did not really get a chance to tuck in. Probably for the best.



Just as we were about to leave, Pingu put in an appearance: a six foot version, who happily posed for photos.





I got the girls ready for bed while Julia and Cliff took care of Serafina. It took some time for Emily to go to sleep in her double bed. As always, it was far too hot in the room, and also she had a hacking cough that took an hour to wear off. Later, Julia dropped by for a drink on her way to the baths, and I wished I could go too but couldn't leave Emily. Nick finally arrived at eleven, and we stayed up for a couple of hours chatting and watching the snow fly past the window.

17 February 2011

We went to Kid-O-Kid in Minato Mirai with Lydia and Mia. First we had a very early lunch at Sizzler, where I ended up effectively bribing Emily with dessert to get her to eat properly, something I don't like to do, and usually she is very happy to eat bread, veggies and noodles. Maybe it was because she was with a friend.

We spent over 90 minutes at the recreation centre and they had a fantastic time. It was Mia's first visit, but it soon became clear that the tumbles were her favourite and she spent most of her time on them.

Emily liked them too, but the softplay obstacle course was best this time.

As she behaved well there I said she could buy a ragdoll like Charlize's in the shop outside, but she said she didn't want one so we bought a pegboard game instead. However, she didn't end up getting to play with it because on the way home she had a total meltdown and I said she didn't deserve it. She stood up on the train seat after I had asked her not to do it many times, so I went through with my threat to fasten her into the buggy for the rest of the journey. It was so embarrassing in the rush hour carriage; every time she started crying and yelling I told her we would have to get off the train unless she stopped, then she would soon begin trying to escape the straps again, begging to be let back out. I had to really harden my heart - it is tough to see your child so upset and know you can stop it so easily. Not great for my blood pressure either. She was fine once we got home, of course.

16 February 2011

I held the TMG playgroup meeting at Hamamatsucho jidokan, and this time felt that I had been more helpful and managed to talk to all the mums for once. It is usually hard to do so with Emily clamouring for attention, but I think she is old enough now to understand when I explain why I am talking to them and not playing with her.


Back at home for lunch, she called my bluff and regretted it. She just will not sit properly at the table and take mealtimes seriously, so I told her if she sat with her legs dangling over the side of the chair again I would remove her food. Sure enough, I turned my back and she did just that, so I took away her cheese, which she had been saving until last. I don't know how long it will take for the message to sink in that I mean what I say, but I am sticking to my guns every time and maybe I can win her respect ultimately. I see too many mums cave in and am determined not to be weak.


At ballet none of the girls were very focused and all broke ranks repeatedly. Emily told me off if I tried to join in with her at all but then was too busy messing about with Charlize to listen properly to the teacher so I was a bit annoyed with her. She finished with a good curtesy though.

15 February 2011

What's going on? A second consecutive wet bed. I hope this is not a regression. I have no intention of reverting to nappies at night, but neither do I wish to be washing the bedding every day.


I will be so glad when Isy gets home from her trip to Aus and Emily stops telling me she doesn't want to go to nursery (or more exactly, asking 'why do I have to go to nursery Mummy?'). I feel so guilty when she gets upset about going.

Steph sent an email to announce the safe delivery of number two son. Now I don't have exposure to any more friends' pregnancies I am glad as it has been difficult at times. The only thing is, with Cooper and Rudy walking now and beginning to interact with their older sisters, I shall feel sad about Emily not having a sibling to play with.

14 February 2011

When I woke Emily she announced that she had wet the bed. Still, that is the first time since we dropped the nappies at New Year, and she was very tired indeed.

We took delivery of a gift from a florist: a large bouquet for me and a small one just for Emily from Daddy. She was over the moon to get her own bunch and I was very pleased with Nick for being so thoughtful, though annoyed with the florist for getting her name wrong on the card.

After our hectic weekend I had hoped for a quiet day but it was not to be. We had a playdate at the local library, at Julia's suggestion. It was our first trip there and found it to be a good resource. Most books were in Japanese but still good to flick through, but there were a couple of hundred in English, though many were for older children.

Lydia also brought Mia along, and after the others left she asked if we would like to have lunch together. We went to Homeworks in Azabu, which is a fantastic burger and sandwich joint, very western in style, which means big portions! They have a good veggie selection on the menu there, which I am gradually working my way through.


After lunch we could tell that the girls had a lot of energy to work off so I mentioned Appi jidokan. Lydia had never been before so I took them there to register. We stayed a good hour, then both felt the lure of the coffee shop calling and dragged Emily and Mia off for refreshments. Finally, Emily and I carried on to Julia's, where we played a further hour and a half with Charlize. It began to rain while we were there and I had to jog all the way home with the buggy as I had not gone prepared for wet weather. After Emily went to bed it began to snow and was even sticking, which rarely happens in Tokyo.

Nick called at teatime and expressed surprise about Emily's bouquet. The penny then dropped that it had been intended for another child (the card said 'to Isabelle-chan from Daddy'). Nick was annoyed that Emily would be mistaken in thinking he had sent them. I didn't have the heart to disabuse her as she was so delighted with them, but of course that means he will have to send them every year from now on!

13 February 2011

Emily hurt her neck, sleeping badly on it overnight, so right from the start she would not stop going on about it so I'm afraid I was quite tense all morning and the mood was a little strained. A dose of Calpol seemd to help a bit. Before we had to leave for Nara, we had an hour to look around in Yoshino, and Nick wanted to visit Kinpusenji Zao-do in particular. The way there was downhill and only half a mile, so we walked there. We passed a natsu mikan tree draped in snow, and also a house selling homemade umeboshi (pickled 'plums' - actually Japanese apricots).

The temple building is the second largest wooden structure in Japan, and very impressive. Emily was more interested in playing in the accumulated snow while Nick went for a stroll around.

The clock was ticking so we had to curtail our visit and make our way back up to the car. Having played quite happily for half an hour, now Emily refused to walk at all and was moaning again about her neck, so poor Nick ended up carrying her up the steep hill.


It was a good thing we left on time because the drive to Nara took full two hours. I was at the wheel this time and felt a bit nervous on the slightly slushy, twisty roads, before we made it down to the clear main road. Luckily Emily slept more than an hour as we hit heavy traffic halfway. We dropped the car off and had a brief lunch in the station cafe before getting the train to Kyoto.

There we met Masahiko and his wife Satoko in another cafe. Poor Emily was unsurprisingly fed up with being seated all day so she and I adjourned outside and had a bit of a run around then tried to find Starbucks in a nearby mall to get a coffee for the shinkansen journey. I couldn't find the cafe and it was getting close to departure time so we went straight to the ticket barrier to meet Nick, who had meanwhile gone off to the mall to find us. I had it in my mind that the train was at 4:15, but as we scanned the departure board in vain for a train that time Nick looked at the ticket and saw that it was actually 4:09. We had missed it by two minutes! If only we had stayed together we would have made it on time. We had to take our chances in the unreserved carriages of the next train, which was very busy. Emily and I got one seat sandwiched between two businessmen with Nick a few rows down, but luckily the man next to him got off at Nagoya and were able to sit side by side for the rest of trip. We were very lucky as a lot of people had to stand in the aisles or sit on their bags (which in the old days I would have been fine to do but not now with Emily to think of). We were pooped by the time we got home and all got off to bed at the earliest opportunity.

12 February 2011

None of us stirred for ten hours, with Emily finally waking us at 7:15. We had a very substantial breakfast followed by a long and fruitless session on the loo. We were soon packed and made our way back to the station, opposite which was the car rental outlet. Nick drove our small car southwards out of the city. It took ages to get out past the strip mall area, where we also spotted some dear deer road barriers. In fact, the area employs deer characters in every possible situation.

The hills and low mountains of the Kii peninsula looked attractive, with a silver dusting of light snow cover. Brooding cloud added to the scene rather than detracting.

We broke the journey at Imaicho, where Nick had read in the guide book about the old town area of five hundred wooden houses and also a place where we could eat noodles. It was indeed a scenic and atmospheric district.

We spent ages roaming the streets trying to track down the restaurant; no-one seemed to know of it but most were trying to be helpful, pulling out maps and making convoluted suggestions that only served to hold us up, and in the end we got there under our own steam. It was now past noon so without further ado we went in and found ourselves in a wooden house with stone flagged floors and a raised tatami area. It was chilly in there but a wooden charcoal brazier provided relief though we could still see our breath, and then the waitress brought a heated electric fan that just about made it comfortable. Emily was a bit scared of the glowing coals; maybe I overegged my warning about sparks burning her coat or Goki. I enjoyed blowing gently to bring the grey ash to life.

I have always liked messing about with bonfires, log stoves etc. We had a bowl of kitsune soba each, and a dessert, though Emily ate most of my cheesecake. As we made our way out we discovered two old-fashioned kaleidoscopes and Emily was very taken with them.

It was time to continue with the other half of our drive to the mountain shrines area, Yoshino. It is apparently the most famous area in Japan for cherry blossom, though there were only the ubiquitous cedar trees in evidence until we climbed the final steep hill dotted with religious sites. It all looked extremely pretty with six inches of snow, which was just enough to embellish it without causing inconvenience.

Emily had dropped off five minutes from our destination so we took it in turns to browse around the hotel environs while she napped for half an hour.

Once she was awake we checked in. Our ryokan was once a temple and had plenty of character.

The staff were all really friendly and we were shown to a room that was the polar opposite of the previous night: a massive suite, super-heated, with great views over a wooded, snowy slope. It was more expensive but we got substantially more than we expected for that price on a holiday Saturday.

We wasted no time in getting out for the final two hours of daylight. We were aiming for a viewing place half an hour's walk further up the hillside so we set off, with many delays for Emily to play in the snow. After a wrong start or two we thought we had the right path and followed a winding path that lead to a small hilltop village about a mile away. On the way we passed a thicket of very tall bamboo, some quite weighed down by the weight of snow. Nick showed Emily how to make a snow angel.

Eventually she got tired and began complaining to be carried, so I, ever empathic, became fretful to get back, and in any case it was nearly dusk and a snow shower was starting. Thanks to poor maps we were not quite sure of the way back but we took a chance and discovered that we had gone the long way round and were soon back at the hotel. We looked around the lovely grounds before retiring indoors. Our hotel was formerly a temple and still has a fabulous garden with all of the necessary Japanese touches: pool with drooping cherry, sculpted pines, stepping stone paths, pom-pom azaleas, maples, mini-Fuji. The pond was iced over and all was covered in a cloak of pure white.

Back in our rooms, almost as big as our apartment back home, we all donned yukata

then Emily and I played while Nick tried out the hot baths, which he had to himself. At dinner we were served a huge meal of many courses, and I was relieved there was nothing very challenging.

Emily broke off halfway to return to our room for a huge poo, so we were very relieved. After our meal it was my turn to go in the onsen while Nick bathed Emily in the room. I had the outdoor rotemburo to myself and luxuriated in the piping hot water while gazing at the surrounding cherry trees and snow scene. Thanks to her nap, it took Emily ages to go off to sleep for the night, and as always I almost dropped off on the futon next to her.