Japanory

A Quick Update for You

Hello again!

Yes, I know I promised to fill in the missing years from this blog, but I really can't see it happening. Which is a massive shame. Maybe one day...

I'm creating a photobook for Rhiannon detailing her years in Japan as I think it will be a wonderful keepsake for her. The early parts of this blog are proving to be invaluable to my memories, stirring feelings of nostalgia and homesickness. Isn't it strange that a place that isn't my native country can cause homesickness?

We all miss Japan dreadfully. It's just not the same here in any respect at all. Rhiannon is continuing to keep her Japanese language alive with private lessons in the hope she can return there at some point in the future.

We've all been very busy - you can see details here on my Berlinfusion blog.

Everybody's doing well: Rhiannon's started Middle School and is really enjoying it. The system is extremely different from the previous schools but I think it suits her very well.

Kita the dog loves the huge garden we have here and gets a lot of attention while we're out as she's a rare breed outside of Japan.

Raymi the cat is rarely seen. He no longer has massive fights as there are no feral 'ninja cats' here, but he comes back to eat so I know he's still alive! I think he just likes the countrified area we're living in.

I'm studying graphic design - it's never too late to have a career change! It's hard work, but enjoyable.

I've also very recently set up a new venture which may interest any expat parents out there - it's a website called 'Your Expat Child' - and aims to provide advice and resources to parents moving overseas, including those already 'out there' who have become parents.

It would be great to see you on Facebook, and if you could share the website details with people you know who may be interested, I'd be very grateful.

Hopefully, I'll find time to visit Japanory more as my own Expat Child grows more independent by the day, and my own projects calm down.

Japan, I miss you!

 

 

Guten Tag!

Thursday 14th April 2011

Well hello again!

I just wanted to let you know we've all arrived safely in Berlin. I'll blog more fully about our trip and arrival as soon as I have my full sized computer and a decent keyboard.I can't type properly on this, the tiniest laptop with Korean keyboard.

It was a long, long journey. Nearly 24 hours in all. We arrived late at night on Monday and our pets arrived late at night on Tuesday. We are all extremely jet-lagged and discombobulated. None of our stuff has arrived yet, so we're living on basics for now.

Rhiannon has been to school already - she loves it so much more than her school in Tokyo. And I really love the fact there's a door-to-door bus service! No more school runs for me - and regular readers will know how much I hate them.

Tomorrow (Friday) I am also going to school. They've asked me to talk in two assemblies about the earthquake. So I suppose I'd better write some notes or something.

I have decided I WILL fill in the blank two years of Japanory in due course, so do pop back when you can - if you follow me on networked blogs, you will know when I've made an update.

In the meantime, I'm still awaiting inspiration for a new blog name for our time in Berlin.
Please help me! Either make a suggestion in the comments below or email me at [email protected]

Thank you and see you again soon!

 

PS - I still have jishin yoi! Most unpleasant, but hopefully it will go soon.

Freelance Working & Trying to Have a Life

September 2008

As I've mentioned here and here, I have a LOT of work on. As everything is deadline related, I have to intensify my workload significantly in order to have a life away from the computer. This is especially important when I go on holiday or have visitors.

There is a now a new web system in place, replacing the clunky old software but it's more time consuming and for some reason, I'm finding it really hard to get to grips with how to make it work in an efficient manner. The deadline for uploading all the pieces is around 6^th monthly – most of them arrive on 4^th or 5^th and then need to be proofread, edited, formatted, photos sourced and approved by the boss and then everything uploaded onto the internet.

Not only that, but the articles I write have to be uploaded two months ahead, so my writing schedule is extremely strict. I had to write solidly before the holidays so that I can have some free time. For instance, before the summer holidays started in June I had to write all my articles up to Christmas. All this means that I normally work until 3am then I'm up for the school run at 7am. It's taking its toll. Work is no longer fun, but I need the money and occupation, so I continue. Remember, I get no recognition for my writing and very little thanks.

It's vital to stick to a timetable, but occasionally this goes out the window, for example, when Rhiannon's ill or something else comes up. However, it all works out in the end – by me working my butt off at ridiculous hours of the night. So although it's no longer fun, as such, I truly enjoy the challenge of getting it all done - I've always worked well under pressure.

Whinge over! I'm setting the scene for a post to come in a few days…

Don't Drop the Hog!

Each and every day in Japan I see something that makes me do a double take.

I particularly love what I see on the roads here.

Here is a lorry full of big boxes - "Do Not Drop".

Inside the boxes are Harley Davidson motorcyles! "Your Hog Has Arrived!

“Please Do It At Home”

May 2008

There's a "good manners" campaign on the Tokyo Metro at the moment.

This is a sign I spotted.

Others can be found here and if you Google etiquette signs on Tokyo metro you'll find some more – they're really funny. And make a good point too.

Loss of Information

April 2008

I have no idea what else we did this month as I have lost my diary for 2008 and the only photos I have are the ones in the previous post.

However, on the 3^rd it was my birthday and the 15^th was our wedding anniversary (even now I have to double check the date, eep!). I can't remember what we did or whether I got a present or not – unlikely unless I bought it myself to be honest. Luckily I'm used to him by now!

I can only presume the rest of the month was spent working and general day to day stuff.

Sorry!

Red Double Decker Bus

I've mentioned before that I'm not too on the ball in the mornings

Driving to school one day I pointed out an old Routemaster red double decker bus to Rhiannon. Just in a matter of fact way as she's never been to London. I told her I used to catch one of those to work sometimes.

Then I did a double take.

Hang about! A red double decker bus is a LONDON inhabitant, and not normally seen outside its normal environs of the Big Smoke. What on earth was one doing trundling its way down Meiji Dori, Harajuku? And more to the point, how the hell did it get here? These beasts are not known for their flying abilities but it had obviously migrated somehow.

It turned out to be a tourist bus and inside is a bar!

Japan has strong links with Britain as the British Embassy in Tokyo is the oldest surviving consulate, which was built in 1906. A Japanese diplomat in London persuaded London Transport to donate one of these wonderful buses to Japan.

Nice to know these typically English buses have a new lease of life. They'll like it here.

Shopping, Cocktail Parties and Credit Card Fraud

Wednesday 12^th March 2008

Why does everything happen when Tim is away? He's off on business again.

I have to go to a cocktail party at the Embassy tonight on my own. Merle, my helper, is to babysit Rhiannon, but I have no intention of being late so she shouldn't be too troubled by Rhiannon playing up.

I fancied a shopping day so went to "my" antique store and bought a lovely granite frog for my garden. As you do!

Real frogs always return to spawn in the pond from which they hatched. So the frog is a symbol to ensure your family always come home to you. I couldn't resist this! 

I'd also paid a visit to Tiffanys and treated myself to some silver trinkets. Can't resist those turquoise boxes either.

A very nice day by my standards!

In the evening I spent a couple of hours self-consciously standing around at the cocktail party before making my escape and got home in time to put Rhiannon to bed, albeit a bit later than she'd normally go.

Did some work on the PC to get a head start on the dreadlines before the Easter Holidays begin.

Then the phone rang. At 1am. Luckily I was still up. I panicked when it rang - it being so late here. Amazing how many dreadful thoughts can run through your mind in a few seconds.

It was my bank.

"Did you make these payments to xxx and xxx for £360 and £750?"

"NO!!!"

Some bastards have taken my credit card details off the internet for the 2nd time in a year. But well done to my fabulous bank for noticing the fraud so quickly. Luckily my bank is run by human beings who are on the ball and they know where I am (apart from thinking about the time difference) and recognise my spending habits… hmm!
 
So, all is well. But for now, I now have no credit card as I had to cut it up, but that's OK considering the past couple of days spending spree!

A New Car!

7^th March 2008

As you may have read here, Tim's Landrover died in spectacular fashion. (I didn't get the technical facts right, apparently, but never mind; the end result was the same).

He managed to find a breakers yard – very rare here – and the manager came and somehow drove the clanking heap of junk away, enveloped in clouds of black smoke. This was quite a sight! You just do not see old, knackered vehicles on the roads here at all. Even lorries carrying rubble are polished and chromed to mirror-like perfection.

I have a little runaround Toyota (Corolla in the UK) for the school run and stuff. Poor Tim has been reduced to fighting the rush hour metro squeeze. A long and uncomfortable journey involving a train change which requires a nearly 1km walk between stations. Now he may know how I felt doing the school run <evil cackle!>

So he's been looking at getting another car and I just figured he'd get another Landrover, as he's always been such a geek about them. But he's got cross with them and all the work they entail. Instead, he's been looking at "ordinary cars". It's against his (and my) nature to buy a brand new car. I used to be in car sales so know the depreciation as soon as they are driven off the forecourt. Such a waste of money. However, the secondhand car market here is extremely difficult to track down. Japanese like brand new cars.

One day he phoned me to ask "Do you like Celicas?"

Silly question – he knows darn well I love Celicas.

"Yes, you know I do. Why?"

"Well, someone here at work is leaving early and wants to sell his". (Why on earth would anyone want to leave Tokyo early?) OK, I guess that's not the point really…

Tim continued, "It's a convertible, are you OK with that?"

"WHAAAAA?! Yes, of COURSE I'm OK with that. When can we get it?"

So we got the gorgeous Celica and I now pose around with the lid down. Lots of non-car people at school think it's some kind of supercar and I get a lot of envious looks (and probably snippy comments behind my back) but who cares? It's gorgeous! And apparently very rare in the UK. We think we may ship it back when we leave here.

Oh and the GPS speaks English too. That's quite a strange change after a year or so of getting directions in Japanese. "Slight right turn" "Traffic congestion ahead"… usually when I'm already stuck in the jam anyway.

March 2008 – Day to Day Life and Manicures

Generally life goes along the same way as usual. Here's a summary of my day to day life so I don't need to bother you with it again and can concentrate on "special" events or occurrences.

School run:
Juggle after school activities so I remember what time to collect Rhiannon on particular days:
Ikebana lesson on Monday mornings:
Coffee on Tuesdays with my good friends:
Work work work – often until the early hours of the morning:
Shopping trips – grocery and Carole-time treats.
And so on…

We rarely go out in the evenings.

Sometimes I have my hair done.

Very occasionally I treat myself to a facial, but stopped going there when the lady told me I needed Botox... and it wasn't something the salon offered so wasn't a sales spiel at all. Not happy about that and complained to the manager who laughed and said "isn't she wonderful?!". Erm, no, bye!

And my new "thing" is to go for a manicure, something I've never done before. I consider my nails to be my best feature (yeah, that's all!) and they grow very long and strong. I used to paint my own until my eyesight got too aged to do them neatly. The school mum's rave about gel nails, but I've heard they ruin your real nails so refuse to try them.

Whilst in Hawaii I discovered nail art and soon found out this is a very Japanese skill and, having never been one for French Tips or neutral nails, I embrace this funky fashion. It took a while to find a salon who worked the way I like. They are always amazed that my nails are my own and sometimes try to take them off! This makes for a great ice-breaker in a language-challenged environment. They are ready to do something avant-garde and "not kawaii!".I usually go for black & white but can't find a pic of them.

Once again, it's the little things in Japan that make all the difference: when it's time to pay, the lovely girls get my purse and money out of my bag for me so I don't smudge the varnish.

I was so sad when this shop closed down a year or so later and I haven't found another such good one since.

Customer Service Above and Beyond

We had a phone call from the water authority. They had taken the trouble to find someone who spoke English in order to call us.

They were concerned about a sudden increase in water consumption during December and January and were worried in case there was something wrong with the water meter or perhaps a leak somewhere. Should they send someone out to take a look for us?

We explained that we'd had many visitors over this period and therefore, yes, water consumption would have been increased substantially. They understood and thanked us!

Another little bit of Japanese culture that is just amazing.

A Magic Floor

Sunday 2^nd March 2008

We went to a different shopping mall over at Odaiba. Nothing much to see in the way of shops (for us) but it was a beautiful building. The area is called Pallette Town and the mall, Venus Fort. The interior architecture was lovely, like wandering around an old European town. Restaurants are nice too.

  On the walk over there were spotted (well, couldn't miss it really) the enormous ferris wheel with its multi-coloured gondolas.

And this fabulous sign – "Beam me up, Scottie!"

In Venus Fort there was a "magic floor" which responded to the pressure of people walking on it. We had a wonderful time – the picture changed from time to time, sometimes there were bubbles to "pop" or balls and butterflies to chase. At one point it changed to look like a pond with fish swimming in it. Rhiannon leapt off in alarm, so realistic did it appear!

Outside the mall was a giant "baby bouncer" thing. Naturally Rhiannon wanted to have a go but ended up really hating it as the helpers bounced her too high.

There was also an amusement arcade nearby, so a fair bit of money was thrown away in pursuit of trying unsuccessfully to get something from "The Claw" machines.

Recycling - Tokyo-style

February 2011

Just wanted to pop this in while thinking about it (we're currently de-cluttering ready to move across the world, so this is relevant, but not chronologically necessary).

The rubbish collections here are remarkable. There are no public waste bins on the streets; everyone takes their garbage home with them. Roads and pavements are spotless. Absolutely no litter at all. People (usually women) go out early in the morning to sweep away any specks of dust that may have collected outside their home or shop.

Attention to detail is incredible.

In the autumn, they are out there almost constantly, sweeping away leaves.

I don't.

But I do have a waste disposal unit in the kitchen - aka the Kitchen Monster. It needs feeding regularly. I have no idea what happens to whatever goes down there, but it's pretty scary and extremely effective.

The only bins you will see are the bottle and can bins next to vending machines. And occasionally there are bins outside conbeni (convenience stores).

Oh yes, and cigarette "stations" with large, water-filled ash buckets where smokers congregate so their cigarette butts don't mess up the streets.

Signs at these stations show the Japanese view of litter. Although these signs indicate a bias against smokers, this is one of the few countries in the world where you can still smoke in a restaurant.

We don't have wheelie bins but use translucent white bin bags. They are translucent so the collectors can see if you're sticking to the rules. Each year, we are issued with a pamphlet showing how and when to put our rubbish out. If we don't comply, the bag is left behind for the whole neighbourhood to see!

On the relevant day, the refuse needs to be put out by 8am. You're not meant to leave the food waste overnight due to feral cats, giant Jungle crows and the occasional tanuki (google it!!) The bags then need to be covered with a blue nylon net to prevent these creatures getting in. However, the crows are very clever and I've seen one lift the corner of the net while his mates attack the thin bags with their enormous beaks.

Here are our Rubbish Recycling Rules: as you can see, almost everything has been accounted for.

Tuesday & Friday

Food waste
Paper scraps
Clothes
Flowers
Rubber
Leather
Dirty food containers
Dirty PET bottles (PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate, the plastic from which they are made)
Cooking oil/fat
Plastic products that are not food containers or packaging

Wednesday

Plastic packaging
Clean food containers
Plastic tubes
Plastic bottles (not PET)
CD's
Videos
Toys
PET bottle lids

Wednesday in a separate bundle (has to be flat and bound with special tape or string)

Newspapers
Magazines
Cardboard
Paper packs (milk / juice cartons)

Thursday

Food tins
Drink cans / bottles
PET bottles – not lids

Saturday

Glass bottles
Ceramics
Pans
Lightbulbs
Small appliances
Razors, knives etc

When I lived in the UK we only had our rubbish collected every other week. Papers were also collected once a fortnight and the bin we had to put them in was about the size of a supermarket shopping basket. If we put out more paper recycling we had a visit from the council threatening to charge us "Business Rates"! Outrageous.

I think this puts the UK to shame.

 

SNOW!

Sunday 3^rd February 2008

Oh my god! It's snowing!!! Proper snow. In Tokyo! How exciting!!!

As you can tell by my overuse of exclamation marks!!! Isn't it pretty?

The cat was not impressed. He went out to do his business, looked at his paws in disgust and promptly came back inside again, miaowing at me as if I'd deliberately made it snow in order to spoil his day.

It was snowing hard. And the flakes kept getting onto my camera lens. It was strange to see blossom covered in snow.

And just down the road are grapefruits on a tree. Very peculiar in the snow!

After coming home poorly from school on Friday, yet making a miraculous recovery yesterday, Rhiannon was a bit lethargic today.

I thought she was just tired and wanted to watch TV as she's a bit addicted to the box. She had no temperature; therefore, I was insistent that we all went for a walk in Shinjuku-gyoen. Fresh air and fun in the snow is far better than being stuck inside a stuffy house. So we bundled up and went out.

It was beautiful.

Tim and Rhiannon built an enormous snowman! Judging by the reaction of the other people in the park, snow in Tokyo is rather rare and they were all very impressed by our snowman.

After building it, we trotted over to the shelter in the distance to warm up with a tasty can of hot chocolate from the ubiquitous vending machine. I turned back to see "our" snowman being appropriated by everyone! They popped their own hat or scarf on it and then posed for a photo beside it.

Then we realised that Rhiannon was actually not-very-well-at-all. So we hurried back home.

She ended up with some sort of 'flu and was off school for the rest of the week.

Bad mum moment.

A Busy Friday for a Mum

Friday 1^st February

Today was a busy one!

It started off with getting Rhiannon to her stupid o'clock gymnastics class. We will never, ever do morning classes again. It's hard enough to get Rhiannon out of the house on a normal day, but to get her to school for 7.40 in the morning is horrendous. Actually, she loves the class, it's me that loathes mornings.

After this, her class group is holding one of their assemblies, so I go to have a much-needed coffee before it starts. All the children did extremely well, showing no signs of nervousness at all when they have to stand up in front of the entire school and the mums and dads. Unfortunately, my camera isn't good at taking photos in the big hall. Once the assembly is over, and all the other attendees has left, the parents of the class involved get to take photos of their kids and have a little cuddle. Rhiannon is a bit weepy, for some reason, but trots off like a good girl when it's time to say goodbye.

Then we had a Class Mum Coffee Morning – so over to another Starbucks for a get-to-know-you chat and more latte for me.

While I'm in that area – Shibuya – I went for a wander around Tokyu Hands after coffee. Well, I had to get rid of the caffeine buzz somehow! And Tokyu Hands is the best place for that. Such a fascinating, yet confusing store.

I got home just after lunch time and had settled down to work when I had a call from school to say that Rhiannon was unwell and with the nurse. So another drive back to school – if I'd gone to another shop, I'd have saved myself a double trip. I even remembered to send a text message to her violin teacher to let him know she wouldn't be coming to her lesson after school.

Rhiannon's running a bit of a temperature and is very quiet, which would explain the weepiness after assembly, but she didn't say she felt ill then. I tucked her up on the sofa, dosed with the ever-useful Calpol (imported from the UK – medicines are pretty much impossible to get here) and she had an early night.

She was much better the next day. Of course.

Yet More Visitors…And I'm Not a Happy Bunny

See, this is the problem with writing a blog so far in the past – I get dates confused. Anyway. Having checked various diaries, bits of paper and so on, I've got this post to put in, out of sync again.

18^th January 2008 – 23^rd January 2008

Tim invited his friend, and friend's girlfriend to visit. It's all timed so that they return to the UK just before Mum comes back here from Borneo.

A week or so before they are due to arrive, Tim casually dropped into conversation that a couple of other extra friends will also be joining them… "oh, I thought I'd mentioned it". Errrr NO! But I guess I should not have been surprised as this lot always do everything together.

I'll call them D1 and D2 (or Thing 1 and Thing 2 as we've recently been re-reading The Cat in the Hat). So that's four people coming to stay, when I was only expecting two. I am not happy about this at all. But what can I do but deal with it?

I won't be going on any day trips with them as there is no way we can all fit into the car and I will, of course, need to be on hand for the school run.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 share the twin bedroom next to ours. You have never heard snoring like it in your life, I can promise you. One of them always ends up going downstairs in the middle of the night with no regard to the rest of us by trying to be silent. I am greeted by the sight first thing in the morning.

None of them eat anything other than "safe", semi-vegetarian British food. Therefore, I refuse to cook: besides, with the prices here, I can't afford to buy expensive British food for all of them. They eat McDonalds all the time.

While here, they barely spoke directly to me, although the volume at which they speak is decibels above normal volume. And the conversations are beyond inane. I just kept out the way because with all of them sitting in the living room, there was no room for me.

Talk about being excluded in my own home. Humph.

When they returned to the UK only one of them said thank you to me for "putting up with them"...

Time to Start 2008

With a couple of free weeks…

On Monday 7^th January we all went to take Mum to the airport to catch her plane for her Borneo adventure. It was a fairly early flight to we parked and went into the airport for a rather nice breakfast. There's not a lot to do in Narita airport – you certainly can't spend hours browsing the shops like Heathrow and most other airports. It's quite dull and disappointing really.

Rhiannon started back at school the next day and I went for my Tuesday coffee morning and a much needed catch-up and relaxing chat with The Girls. After school was a Japanese New Year Festival, complete with warm sake (which was alcohol free – what was the point of that? It's vile, anyway!). Rhiannon doesn't like the dragon – it terrified the life out of her on her first day of school last year and she hasn't fully recovered. So we didn't stay long.

Then it was back to work for me – juggling everything with school runs, after-school clubs and so on as usual.

It was lovely to have some time to myself, even though I was putting myself under a heap of pressure to get all my articles written before Mum returned.

But there was another trip to the tattooist in the middle of those two weeks – more about that in the next post!

First Anniversary

22^nd November 2007

(Hell's bells - this post got lost amongst a heap I did recently and I forgot to press the Publish button. DUH!)

So, we've been here exactly a year now. Tim keeps asking "do you remember what we were doing one year ago today?"

Frankly, no! I've been so busy that I can barely remember what I did last week, let alone a year ago.

Naturally I remember the excitement and thrill of moving to Tokyo. I also remember the slight sense of disappointment upon seeing the rather dull buildings here, when I expected to see dramatically designed tower blocks similar to Hong Kong.

My freelance writing work has gone from strength to strength, so this is very satisfactory.

Of course, there's been a steep learning curve involved in day to day life, but unlike many people, I am extremely self-sufficient, well-used to travelling in unusual countries and more than happy to be in a very foreign country. In fact, I'm so loathe to ask for help that our liaison officer contacted me once to find out if I was OK because I hadn't asked her loads of questions! It seems that most other "spouses" are extremely needy and want everything handed to them on a plate.

Actually, it's not that I'm opposed to asking for help – far from it – it just doesn't even occur to me most of the time. I just get on with it.

Tim is thoroughly enjoying his new job and accompanying responsibilities; Rhiannon is settling in fine, with just a few school hiccups. But I'm confident this is just the fact that it's school, rather than THIS school. She doesn't particularly miss her friends in the UK and is making lots more here.

In fact, I've made more new friends in one year here in Tokyo than I did in the entire 6 years I lived in Northampton. Of course, this is a lot to do with the expat culture, which in such a foreign land as Japan, is very close. Sometimes too close – ie cliquey – but that bitchy little side of people has no bearing on my life, that's for sure!

I am aware that I am writing this in long-distant hindsight with rose-tinted spectacles. Obviously there were day to day pressures and not-such-good times, but they were obviously of little importance as I can't remember them at the moment!

So, with the exception of losing my lovely cat, Inti, I've had a wonderful first year.

Some random photos of funny signs

December 2007

I could fill an entire blog with funny signs I've seen in Japan, but I will restrict them to when they appear in my monthly photo folder.

We saw this wall of white. Just there, on the street, doing nothing in particular apart from inviting people to draw on it!

How polite is this notice?

Can you imagine this in the UK? And yes, all the crayons were put back in the pot.

 

And now we know where Superman lives!

 

And this sign is one I see every day.

It's just up from the school and I have NO idea what it's referring to. It's at the top of some steps leading down under the road so must relate to whatever's at the bottom.

I sent it into the Daily Telegraph for inclusion into their "Sign Language" place and to my great surprise was actually included! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/picturegalleries/signlanguage/4978119/Sign-Language-week-39.html?image=17

Thanks to Facebook - I found out it had been published by a friend in America who read a British newspaper online and sent me the link here in Japan!

Japanese Kanji

November 9^th 2007

Today I went on a little course to gain some insight into the beautiful Japanese lettering, kanji.

It appears I cannot learn a language unless I can see the words written down. For example, with hard-won O levels in French & German, a smattering a Latin and an evening crash course in Latin American Spanish, I can read quite a bit of these languages, even though I can't speak them anymore. It also means I can work out some Italian and Dutch words, according to their roots.

However, this method is obviously not going to work in Japan!

Even though it was absolutely fascinating, I was hoping to be able to learn how to read the words, but the course centred on the evolution of the characters and their individual meanings rather than their pronunciation.

This site shows the sort of things I learned today.

Since then I've picked up a few more but don't necessarily know the sound AND the meaning, usually one or the other.

So I know that this 出口 means exit – very useful in the enormous underground car parks or train stations. Another useful one is 東京 meaning Tokyo.

This 分 means "minutes" and we worked that one out from various food cooking instructions. Don't know the sound – we call it the "jellyfish", so "boil for 7 jellyfishes" is now a standard comment here.

山 is "mountain" so I presume (for most of the time) that it's pronounced "yama" as in Fuji-yama. But I fully realise that this is doing the Japanese language, both written and spoken, a huge disservice. It seems that all the individual symbols have numerous meanings and sounds depending on the other kanji around them.

北 means north – and I also learned east and west but can't find the characters in my symbols list – sorry! We weren't taught south as apparently it was too complicated. Feel free to Google to learn for yourself!

There are more than 60,000 kanji. Children have to learn 1,006 kanji before they reach the end of primary school! Can you imagine?! To be able to read most books and newspapers you'd need to know 1,945 kanji.

The Japanese government have a kanji proficiency test for scholars. Apparently the highest score has been 6,000. So what's happened to the other 54,000? Does anyone know them?

Oh, and as well as kanji, there are hiragana and katakana to learn!

Katakana is used for foreign words, so my name looks like this: キャロル ハレット モッブス

On my meishi – business card - my name appears as above, most of my address is written in kanji because it's "original" Japanese, while "House" is written thus ハウス

I don't stand a chance, do I?!

Freelance Writing Work

October 2007

In between all the day to day life of school runs and getting used to living in Tokyo, I have been offered more freelance writing work. This is for the same people I write the Tokyo Tales articles for, as well as the garden articles by "Rose Henfrey", and a couple of quarter page "fillers".

Each month two extra pieces are required. These are  classified as "Time of Year" and a "General Article". So for each month I have to find a subject to write about relating to that month – not quite as easy as it sounds. For example, October would probably be Halloween, November – Guy Fawkes, something Christmassy for December and so on.  That's OK for this year, but what about next year? I need to write these about 2 or 3 months ahead of the relevant month. Lots and lots of research required – unpaid research – I only get paid for the final article.

The "General" article is a little easier to plan as, in theory, it could be about anything. However, as I used to run one of the local, community magazines that these articles are to go in, I know that a carefully chosen article can attract much needed advertisers. Therefore, it makes sense to write an article each month that the clients can include in their magazine to entice advertisers from a certain field. I write about things like tree surgeons, history of driving and the Highway Code (to attract driving schools) and alternative therapy articles, amongst many, many other things!

As well as the monthly article writing, I also receive all the other content required for the site: articles from other writers, puzzles and quizzes. All of which need to be proofed, edited where necessary, formatted for instant inclusion into the magazines, relevant photos sourced and finally create the various different types of files required by the users. After all this has been done I then start uploading them onto the site. The web-mastering of the version of the site at this point was very clunky and tedious. It required me to upload each file one by one - four files for each subject, write the code number on a scrap of paper, then put the code numbers on site in the relevant categories.

It keeps me VERY busy, often long into the night as many of the articles arrived just before the boss's deadline. But I enjoy it.

I try not to let it interfere with learning about my new home town though, but I'm so busy that I no longer have time to learn Japanese.

Quick Round up to Finish September 2007

Oh lord, I am NEVER going to get this blog finished am I? Ah well, I can but try my best.

 

Tim and I start making decorations for Rhiannon's party. This involves trips to the fabulous Tokyu Hands to buy huge pieces of cardboard to cut out fish and other undersea creatures. An international supermarket called National Azabu has an upper floor selling all kinds of decorations so I invest in several miles of sea-coloured streamers, many packets of balloons and a series of party bag fillers.

Out of the blue, Tim arrived home one day with a 6 foot long inflatable Orca. As you do! We will suspend this from the ceiling of the hall.

We plan a set of activities with the intention of rotating groups of kids around the room. Pin the necklace on Ariel, face-painting, decorating mini-buckets, food, dancing and so on. I create a playlist on my Zen MP3 player and make sure the thing works with the PA system. It does. Goodo!

Everything seems to be going well in this respect. Apart from some people not RSVP-ing. This does irritate me – apart from manners, we need to have their details for the security guards on the gate to the area where the party will be held. I also need to know how many goody bags to make, so I email everyone who hasn't replied thus far and get all but one to reply – most are coming, which is fabulous! I have to assume the person that didn't respond won't be coming.

I have a hair appointment for a recolour. This takes AGES! But well worthwhile. My hair is extremely strong and resists bleach so it takes several attempts to get it light enough to take the cerise colour. But I'm very happy with the result… after four hours!

Rhiannon has joined Rainbows, but it really doesn't suit her at all. In general she just doesn't "get it" and I can't see her staying long, but we were in the waiting list for ages so we'll continue for now. There are a couple of girls who steal from her which required a nice chat to all concerned. This parenting lark is bloody hard work sometimes.

Friday mornings are a slog to get Rhiannon to gymnastics at 7.45 am, but the team who run it are absolutely fantastic and I can recommend them to anyone in Tokyo – it's ICan Gymnastics – run by the extremely charismatic and capable Mr Lee. Sadly the school has no gym equipment so all the kids can do is learn to tumble, which is good in itself, but not worth getting up at silly o'clock for. We look into getting her into other clubs with more equipment.

Saturday is a run-around with Aikido in the morning and a kid's party in the afternoon. While Tim and I have coffee in Starbuck I manage to not put the top on the coffee cup properly after putting in my 16 bags of sugar… a litre of hot coffee all over me. And I'm wearing cream trousers. Lovely.

I'm writing a Tokyo Tales article about something that I decided would be good with a photo of Maneki Neko - the "Beckoning Cat" so arranged these teeny ornaments for a photo that I don't actually recall using! They are about 1.5cm high.

 

And here is a gratuitous photo of a somewhat larger Raymi!

 

Another one of those quick round ups…

First three of weeks of September 2007.

After surviving the Typhoon, it was time to get on with the minutiae of everyday life.

I registered for some classes again at the TUCWS, managed to get Rhiannon to her gymnastics classes at stupid o'clock each Friday and had lovely coffee mornings on Tuesdays with my friends. Rhiannon's still really enjoying Aikido and has signed up for more extra classes on Saturday mornings. 

Tuesday has been marked as my "day off". My helper comes on Tuesdays and I find it hard to work while someone's around. It's also a day when one of my favourite shops is closed, so I won't be tempted to end our coffee morning with a shopping spree! This shop is full of stunning Japanese arts and crafts. Some are antiques which are way out my price range, but the modern articles are gorgeous. I've already bought a number of tea cups, sake sets and other bits and pieces and am eyeing up a real Japanese screen. One day…

Tim and I have an evening out - to a school-organised "meet the parents and teachers" do. It was memorable for the dreadful food and the fact that we swore never to attend another one.

Rhiannon's class are holding an assembly which we are expected to attend, and do so willingly, of course...!

Coming so soon after starting back at school, the children  must have worked very hard to learn their parts. Parents sit on miniature chairs at one end of the hall; the teachers sit around the sides and all the other classes troop in and sit on the floor. As you can see, Rhiannon was pretty nervous, although in my opinion she did extremely well. How scary is it to stand up in front of loads of people and say your piece? Many adults couldn't handle this, but Rhiannon's voice was clear, unwavering and easily heard.

A couple of playdates, a couple of birthday parties for Rhiannon to attend and that's about it for the day to day life in September.

Some more interesting things coming up in later posts though!

Typhoon!

6^th - 7^th September 2007

[From Wikipedia - A Pacific typhoon or tropical storm is a tropical cyclone that develops in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean between 180° and 100°E.]
In other places it's called a hurricane.

Basically it's Weather with a capital W.

Well, here's a new experience. It appears Tokyo is in the path of a rather nasty typhoon. Apparently it is due to hit between 6pm and midnight and is likely to be rather bad....
Meaning that school may well be cancelled tomorrow as well as all the other activities we have planned. All sorts of horror stories are being imparted to me about houses being blown over and so on.

At least with earthquakes you have no warning (I never thought I'd ever say that with relief!). Having this warning makes it more worrying as I have time to think about it! The current prediction is for approx 110 mph winds. Eek!

So, hopefully this has all been blown out of all proportion and I will be around as normal, or... goodbye and thanks for all the fish!

Later that day I sent a message - "It's very windy and pouring with rain, but nothing out of the ordinary yet."

Abridged from a local news source on the day:

Japan issued warnings for high waves, strong winds and flooding, and more than 140 flights were cancelled as Typhoon Fitow approached Tokyo with gusts as high as 198 kilometers an hour (123 miles per hour).

The eye of Fitow was about 250 kilometers south of Tokyo at 8:50 p.m. Japan time today, according to the latest advisory on the Web site of the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The storm was moving north at 15 kilometers per hour. The eye of Fitow is forecast to make landfall on the Izu peninsula, southwest of Tokyo, at about 10 p.m. and pass over the western outskirts of the capital a few hours later.

The agency issued warnings for high waves, heavy rain and flooding for Tokyo and surrounding prefectures because of the typhoon, which is classified as 'strong'. The storm is expected to dump 50 centimeters (20 inches) of rain on Tokyo and adjacent areas.

Another message I sent: "It's now 1130pm and I'm still here! The name of the Typhoon - Fitow - means "beautiful fragrant flower", seriously! It's only got a name because it originated in Micronesia. The Japanese Met Office, being unsentimental souls have given it a number – 0709.

By the next morning it had all "blown over" with us waking intact in our own beds and not in the middle of the adjacent park as expected

The main problems appear to have been out of the centre of Tokyo.

Again, an update from a local news source: Heavy rain and strong winds lashed Tokyo on Friday as a typhoon neared the capital after killing one person, injuring at least 35 and cutting power to tens of thousands of homes. (a tree fell on the man, and other injuries were people being blown over or having car windscreens smashed) In Tokyo, train service was disrupted and pedestrians struggled to hold onto umbrellas. (sorry, but this made me laugh!)

Some kids didn't go to school but all the non-Japanese went in as normal. The British amongst us were puzzled as to why a little rain and wind would stop people doing normal things!

Back to School!

Tuesday 28^th August 2007

Oh yeah! At last, the long summer holidays are over and Rhiannon goes back to school. Now she's in Year 1 and is thrilled to have the fabulous Mr B as her teacher this year. This is the fun-loving guy mentioned in the post about Japanese Day who dressed up as a lady…

All the children adore him as well as all the parents, so we are very happy for Rhiannon. The only sad thing is that this school deliberately separates friends each new school year, so Rhiannon is upset that she won't be with her special friends. This "policy" thinks it's a good idea to split friends up regularly so the children get used to the peripatetic nature of expat life… That may be a good move, but it's painful to see your own child upset like this.

"The Girls" - my little group of special friends are still together though! We drop our children at school, have a quick nose around the class and swiftly make out way to Starbucks for a long gossip. We vow to make this a regular Tuesday meet. For me especially, this is much appreciated as a work-from-home-mum, I rarely get to talk to adults. Well, apart from Tim, that is!

Another fantastic option now that Rhiannon is in year 1 is something called "drop off". Rather than me having to find a parking place near the school and walk her to the school door or fetch her after school, I can drive by and drop her off in the morning. After school, I drive by again and collect her.

This isn't quite as straightforward as it sounds because there are hundreds of other cars doing the same thing in a narrow one-way system. Naturally, most of the expat cars are enormous people carriers driven by women with an overinflated sense of entitlement and an underwhelming knowledge of driving protocol. Meet one of them in the only two way road and there is no way they will reverse or move out the way. They probably can't reverse their monstrous cars; even with the built in reversing camera they all seem to come with. Some even feel it's their right to drive the wrong way down the one way street. Very annoying.

Later in the week we get a list of classes and clubs the kids can join. Rhiannon wants to sign up for Gymnastics and Rainbows, so that's OK: apart from the gymnastics starting at a ridiculous 7.30 am in the morning. There's also an out of school class where she can learn Japanese, so I sign her up for a trial run there. With all the work I'm doing now, I can use any extra hour in the day I can get.

She's also desperate to play the violin so we will reluctantly look into that. She's been talking about playing the violin for over a year now and even asked Santa for one for Christmas… He gave her a toy Hello Kitty one. She was disgusted. Oh dear!

I didn't have the chance to try all these things as a child, so if she wants to, I'm right behind her.

Summer in Japan

Thursday 9^th August 2007 onwards…

Returning through the beautiful and efficient Narita airport was far less stressful than the UK travesty.

Tim met us at the gate and drove us home.

It's HOT! Oh my god it's hot!! Thankfully we have air-conditioning. Raymi's ears are a state so I booked a vet's visit for him in case it's something worrying. (Turns out he has an allergy to mozzie bites, same as me, and the only cure is a) keep him inside and b) regular steroid injections. So we leave it as they don't seem to bother him too much).

And the cicadas… LOUD! And constant. Now I like the sounds of a real jungle, but this is something entirely different. For a start they aren't tuneful. There are no trilling frogs to provide the melody. And they are LOUD. Did I mention that?

Towards the end of the month they start dying and Mum asked me to collect one for her so she can paint it when she returns at Christmas. (That's paint as in "artist" not "decorate the dead bug" - just thought I'd clear that up as someone I told about this got confused…) I started off by keeping it in an opaque Tupperware tub, but forgot it was in there so made myself jump each time I opened it to see what was inside. So I moved it to a clear one. The 35mm film shows the scale.

 

 

Jetlag this way around is harder to get through - I wake absolutely ravenous at 3am and find it hard to function for some time. Rhiannon wakes very early too. But after a few days, she sleeps about 14 hours straight, lucky girl! Unfortunately, this was on the day that we had people come round to replace our ridiculous oven... with a new one that's exactly the same. So I had to wake Rhiannon up before I wanted to.

Tim has two outings arranged for us.

One is to take Rhiannon to DisneySea - a watery version of Disneyland, apparently. I haven't been.

The other is to an O-Bon Festival one evening

My Worst Nightmare!

Wednesday 27^th June 2007

OK, I do have far more horrendous nightmares than this, but don't all mothers? However, this one is just ugh, yukky and gross. And actually happened.

The air conditioning got switched on for the first time today and I settled down to do some work.

A couple of hours later I went into the kitchen to get a cup of tea… and the floor was absolutely crawling with maggots!

Now, I can cope with ALL kinds of creepy crawlies - spiders, cockroaches, the local 10" long centipedes, millipedes, snakes… whatever. But I loathe, detest, abhor and am totally freaked out by maggots. Even writing this post is giving me the heebie-jeebies. And I won't even consider looking for a picture to put in here.

I went online to see if I could find someone awake in the UK to advise. Here's part of the conversation that followed…

Me: Anyone up? Help! I've just been into my kitchen and there are loads of maggots going across the floor. 

Hubby is away all week, of course.
I've sprayed them with insect killer, poured bleach all over them and still the buggers live.

I can't go back in there now...

AN Other: Oh yuk. Boiling water?

Me: Thank you! I'll be brave and go back into the kitchen to put the kettle on.

AN Other: Hoover? With the hose attachment? Tons and tons of kitchen roll, just take deep breaths, scoop them up. I really feel for you!

Me: Poured boiling water on them, little buggers take some getting rid of. My kitchen floor is now about an inch deep in water & bleach.
Think I will get the hoover out now and see how it copes.
SO glad you are around. THANK YOU

Me: OK have hoovered them up and put the hoover outside. It's leaking - hardly surprising in that I also hoovered up a few pints of water and bleach. 
Give me spiders, cockroaches, snakes - ANYTHING, except for these disgusting creatures. Will def need a new hoover especially if it rains tonight! It's not coming inside...

Thankfully no more appeared and I figured they came in from the air-con unit. Even now, when the aircon gets switched on for the first time I am very wary for a few days.

When Tim came home he disposed of the hoover and bought a new one.

Ugh, ugh, ugh!!!

Oh yes, Rhiannon had a nice girl over for a playdate in the evening.

Round-up of a Week or Thereabouts

Saturday 16^th June to Monday 25^th June 2007

Certain people (Nickie at http://typecast2000.blogspot.com/ for one!) have impressed upon me the need to get this darn TravelBlog up to date as soon as possible… I'm doing my best! But I do have several projects on the go all the time)

 

Anyway, I thought I'd just do a quick round-up for this week to clear some general bits and pieces and get a couple of rants out the way.

Saturdays: Rhiannon does her extra Aikido lessons while Tim and I enjoy our Starbucks coffee and a proper grown up chat about life, the universe and everything. Then we do something else in the afternoon - either together or Tim may take Rhiannon off on her own to allow me to work.

On the second Saturday Rhiannon went to a birthday party with a lovely girl whom we met on the bus to school. It was held at a kindergarten some distance away and lots of craft activities were arranged for them. She had a wonderful time while Tim and I wandered around a nearby shopping mall. Tim's pretty good at shopping, unlike many men. I don't ever force him to come shopping with me, but once in a while it's nice to be accompanied. I think it helps him that I don't shop for clothes or shoes - especially not here! It's hard enough for me to find things that fit in the UK (I'm 6' tall) so there is absolutely no point in browsing here. However, Tim copes OK with interior design shops and kitchen departments, so we enjoy that together.

Father's Day: I'm sure we did something nice for this, but I have no recollection of precisely what! Give me some credit - remember, I am writing these posts 3 years on and I can barely remember what I did last week!

Monday: My Ikebana classes have finished for the summer so instead, I treat myself to a pampering session at Boudoir. It's lovely there and it's not sometime I indulge in as often as I should. For the second Monday I get myself to the hairdressers - Sinden - Time for an extremely long - 4 hours - appointment to get my colours redone. This involves copious applications of bleach over my fringe and this time around the back too. Once that's finally taken (my fine hair is remarkably resistant to bleaching) I am then slathered with cerise pink dye. The rest of my hair is dyed black. No, there is no photo, sorry! Later, as I pass some extremely cool Japanese teens, I overheard them say "Excellent hair!" and am ridiculously pleased.

Work: At this point I am doing a heap of work for the independent publishers in the UK. As well as writing the Tokyo Tales articles each month, I do a load of web mastering stuff for them - editing, proof reading, formatting and uploading the various formats onto the server. This takes AGES due to the clunky software. All the uploads arrive within a day or two of having to be on site, so I often work deep into the early hours to ensure they are online by the dreadline. (No, that's not a typo - I prefer dreadline to deadline; it speaks volumes.)

I'm also now writing a monthly travel article for them, so that's another project to add to my monthly work. I've always wanted to be a travel writer, so thought this would be a fabulous opportunity. Unfortunately, it ended up being the least exciting of the articles I wrote. For a start, it's really hard to encompass the essence of a place into 500 words. I've travelled a LOT, so use my experiences in these articles, so for once, there's not a lot of research that needs to be done. However, I am not allowed to have a by-line, which is pretty unfair in my opinion. Apart from getting no recognition for my freelance writing, it doesn't really allow me to add these to my portfolio. Also, it gives the impression the site owner writes them herself…

Playdate: I am firmly of the belief that children should have as many playdates as often as possible. It helps them build friendships and enforces certain socialisation rules that only children often lack. However, when my daughter arrived home from this particular playdate in tears, one has to rethink who they should have playdates with. This one was with a woman I've mentioned before in this blog but I shan't reference back. I've learned from others that she is unstable and should be avoided at all costs. Now I make Tim go and collect Rhiannon from her house as I have had enough of her.

Apparently she turned on Rhiannon saying she was bossy, selfish and spoiled. To say I am outraged is an understatement. I am astounded that any mother would say something as cruel as this to a five year old. Rhiannon will not be going there again. However, I resisted the urge to stoop to her level at the time (and Rhiannon isn't beyond elaborating stories), but wish to note that while her two girls were here they stole items from Rhiannon's room and deliberately broke a number of her precious ornaments… I could rant for quite a while on this person, but I refuse to waste brainspace on her any longer. Besides, she will continue to crop up from time to time in future posts, unfortunately.

And finally: On Sunday 24^th June Tim has to fly away on business. Again. This time it's to Singapore for a conference that will take him away from us for the whole of next week. Once again, we have insisted on compensatory presents and he's promised to buy me a new PDA as my old Ipaq has given up the ghost. I do love new gadgets…

So that's that week covered. More singular posts to come in due course…!

Driving in Tokyo

Tuesday 12^th June 2007

I'm nervous. Very nervous.

Tim is in Seoul. Rhiannon has to be at school on time / early as she has a swimming lesson first thing. And then I have to go to work!

I've got another day of IT training at the Embassy. Not entirely sure what it will entail as the department have been reticent about telling me any details but I do know it's on Microsoft Access which doesn't fill me with pleasure. Not my favourite course to teach. Their system is so tied down there is very little they can do with it. But I'm not nervous about this… my main worry today is how to drive from school to work.

And for me, this is a big concern. I get lost trying to find my sense of direction.

I'm OK driving to places I'm familiar with (school and back) but this is way out of my comfort zone. However, the GPS is set up and after dropping Rhiannon off at school, I grip the steering wheel very tightly and set off.

Roads here vary from six lane main roads to narrow lanes that are sometimes one way, but more often than not, two way. Which is interesting when you meet another vehicle coming in the other direction. Corners can be extremely tight and it's common to see people taking a couple of attempts to negotiate them, even taxis.

An additional peculiarity of Tokyo's roads is the way the lanes don't quite match up after you've made it across an intersection. You sort of have to drift a little to find your way back in between the white lines.

Furthermore, there are massive freeways that fly over and under the main roads. Most of the time the entrances are cunningly disguised as someone's driveway, but there are many places where the six lane road turns into seven and one of those lanes takes you onto the freeway. Incidentally, these are misnamed as they are not free - they are toll roads.

My biggest fear is accidentally getting onto one of these and then not being able to get off it until the next prefecture.

About three quarters of the way to the Embassy I reach one of the most enormous intersections you could possibly imagine. And even worse - I'm the first in the queue at the traffic lights! I don't like this one little bit; at least if there is someone in front of me I can follow them.

Ahead of me is the largest expanse of tarmac I've seen outside of an airport. Countless roads branch off it like a multi-pointed star. Sort of. My GPS is telling me something I don't understand as usual. But the map indicates that I need to take a road located at about 11 o'clock to where I am.

But there are three roads there, all at approximately the same 11 o'clock point. One of them goes up to a flyover. And another goes to a freeway... and at that point the traffic lights changed.

Yikes!

There are no lines on the road to indicate where to go. So I have little option than to just go! In fact I do believe I closed my eyes on the way across. I ended up going up the ramp to the flyover. Completely convinced I had inadvertently got onto the freeway, I panicked. But what can you do? You can't stop and go back. It's amazing how quickly your brain works sometimes. I was convinced I'd a) gone the wrong way up an exit ramp and b) got onto a freeway.

By some miracle this was the correct road! Goodness knows how. But my nerves were completely shredded.

After that, the work was a doddle and they paid me immediately which is always welcome.

By the way, the pictures in this post are not of this particular road, but give you an idea of some of the more gentle and user-friendly intersections.

An Eventful Day which Required a Certificate…

Monday 11^th June 2007

I made Rhiannon a Star Certificate today. She deserved it.

Firstly, she was stoic about Tim heading off to Seoul this morning. Usually she gets upset but she's getting used to the idea now that Daddy has to travel away sometimes for work. Mainly though, it's because he's promised to bring her (another) present from there!

Then when I picked her up from Aikido after school she proudly brandished a real certificate for "Making a Good Effort". I think it's so important for children to be rewarded in this way. It encourages them to continue trying, makes them feel very special and boosts their self-esteem. When I was a kid, the thinking was that no rewards or recognition were required (for whatever dumb reason), so even though I was a pretty good athlete, I have nothing to prove that.

The rest of the certificate said this…

She told a boy to kiss her and he did

She played football with the big boys

When she fell over and cut her knee, with blood, she didn't cry at all

She helped rescue a mole from Raymi and Ginger by being very brave and chasing the cats away.

Then she helped mummy catch the mole and find it a new home and set it free

I shall explain:

After she showed me the Aikido certificate in the car on the way home, she shyly whispered that she had something to tell me and would I be cross?

"Of course not", I said, rather nervously, thinking, "oh no! What had she done? Got into trouble, sent to the Head Mistress?"

No, - she had indeed, dared a boy in her class to kiss her during play time, and he did! I wish I could remember who this boy way, but I can't. I tried not to laugh…

Next on the list - more boys! We could be in trouble in years to come…

There are a couple of boys who live next door to us and regularly play football outside the house. Rhiannon often presses her nose up against the window to watch, but lacks the Japanese language skills to talk to them and (usually) the nerve to ask if she can join in. They are some years older than her with the eldest being about 13 or so. But today, with her confidence massively boosted by the day's events she went out and they very kindly allowed her to play footie with them.

Now she's also the world's greatest drama queen when it comes to any injury; a bruise causes a meltdown and demands for a plaster, so you can imagine the palaver she creates when she gets a proper cut or graze that produces blood. Not today though! She fell on the tarmac and got a good scrape with a lot of blood that needed a real pad, not just a teeny plaster! And as the certificate states - no tears!! Being brave in front of the boys…

They went indoors after this to do their homework and Rhiannon got her skipping rope out to continue her playing outside.

Suddenly, she came running in shouting that Raymi (our cat) and his little stray friend - who we have unimaginatively named Ginger - were "being weird down the alleyway - I think they might be fighting". I could hear no fighting sounds, but went out to see what she was talking about. Sure enough, the two cats were being "weird", but it didn't take me long to work out what they were up to - they were chasing some kind of creature and playing with it. They were running up and down behind our linked-neighbour's house.

The only way to rescue whatever it was they were after was for Rhiannon to squeeze through the hedge separating our gardens and chase the cats away. I wouldn't fit. So I went down the other side of the houses armed with a plastic bucket to head the cats off and discovered a mole! Alive and unhurt, thankfully. I retrieved a scared little girl from the narrow alleyway and she helped me guide the mole into the bucket. This was the first mole she's ever seen, so we had a little natural history lesson, said a very firm no, we couldn't keep it as a pet and asked her where did she think it would prefer to live?

Just down the road is a route to an ancient, unused and dry waterway circling Shinjuku-Gyoen garden so we took it down there where Rhiannon scrambled down the bank and set it free in the little wilderness.

I must admit to being surprised at finding a mole in the middle of Tokyo! And I was very proud of Rhiannon today, hence the certificate.

Transporting Trees

Thursday 7^th June 2007

Tokyo is a surprisingly "green" city.

By this I mean there are a lot of plants and trees around. The roads are lined with trees - normally Ginkgo or Willow - and every building has several potplants outside.

Each year, the trees are pruned. Not in the brutal, ugly, top-lopping way it's done in Britain, but carefully and artistically. Think about how bonsai trees look, then imagine that on a larger scale.

Tokyo provides unexpected sights on a daily basis. But this one was the best I've seen so far.

A fully grown tree being transported to its new home! The roots are carefully bagged up ready for replanting.

 

It will be well looked after, that's for sure.

Spending a Yen in Japan… Toilets

I thought I had written about these before, but it appears not. It was for one of my Tokyo Tales articles published in the UK - which, incidentally, was the only article I ever received a complaint about - for being vulgar! Ah well, there's always one, isn't there?

Anyway. Of the many questions I'm asked about life in Japan, a frequently recurring one is on the subject of toilets. Many people have heard of the automatic cleaning, high-tech gadgetry for which Japan is famous and recall various stories on the latest invention in the world of sanitary systems. But are you aware of exactly what they can do?

There are two basic types of lavatory here; the familiar Western style and the Japanese squat toilet, with the Japanese version being the most common in public toilets. Thankfully, there is a handle to hold on to assist my untrained leg muscles. Some are pretty grim - the worst I've experienced was in a hut half way up Mount Fuji which was literally a hole in the floor with everything dropping through to a big pit. Graphic pictures are posted on the wall to illustrate the correct method of using the squat toilet.

Interestingly there are also pictures on how to use a Western style lavatory too!

The Western toilets are very talented with a huge number of features incorporated in them, complete with a spaceship-style control panel. Unfortunately, this is almost always written in Japanese so there have been some 'interesting' and rather unnerving moments when I've inadvertently pressed the wrong button! It was many months before I finally found instructions in English, and most enlightening they were too! I've posted a picture of them further down the page.

One of the more unusual aspects of spending a penny (yen!) in public toilets is the motion sensor that starts the sound of running water. This is found only in the women's cubicles and is designed to cover the sound of bodily functions. It just needs a wave of the hand or general proximity to set it off and has the tendency to make me jump even now. Some play loud piped music instead: "Ave Maria" is a favourite.

When it comes to the modern Western toilet, the functions incorporated are amazing. The lid lifts automatically upon entering the cubicle, the toilet seat is heated – which is pleasant in the chilly winter and sometimes you find a toilet that glows in the dark. In the summer, a few have under-seat air conditioning, but this is not as pleasant or as popular as the heated version.

Built into the toilet is a bidet, with a directional hose, a choice of water temperatures, variations on water pressure, pulsating and massaging options. Instead of toilet paper you can use the warm air blow dryer. Apparently, some people spend an inordinate amount of time in these particular facilities…

When you've finished, the most modern ones flush automatically and close the lid for you. If the flush isn't automatic, there is then an exercise in exploration: is the flush one of the many unreadable buttons, a black sensor on the wall or a manual handle cunningly hidden behind the open lid? Some minutes can be spent randomly pressing buttons in the hope that one of them will actually be the flush. Make sure you are standing up for this experiment - pressing random buttons whilst sitting on the loo can cause you to leap into the air squealing… see the previous paragraph! Yes, embarrassingly I speak from experience as very few are labelled in English as below.

Some home models have a "learning mode" which memorises the times when the toilet is used and only heats the seat in time for this, therefore saving electricity. Some very recent inventions include medical sensors to measure sugar in the urine!

All these fancy functions have a potential for disaster. In 2007, the main manufacturer of these toilets, Toto, had to offer free repairs to 180,000 lavatories which developed wiring problems causing several seats to catch fire. Thankfully nobody was injured.

In restaurants you find pairs of shoes just inside the door. These are 'toilet slippers' and you put them on before entering and removed after leaving. Some toilets are shared by both sexes, with a urinal in the first room and a closed-door cubicle beyond which means you have to pass the urinal to get to the cubicle.

An interesting addition to the range of lavatory systems available is one found in ecologically aware places. After flushing, these toilets send the water that fills the cistern out through a tap over the top of the tank so you can rinse your hands while conserving water.

However, there is rarely anywhere to dry your hands by the basins in public toilets. Everyone carries little personal towels with them for this purpose which are the size of a small flannel. One day I will remember to carry one with me! 

If you really want to see these 'bidet toilets' in action, look at this American website http://www.totousa.com/Washlet/WashletC110.aspx - it's the videos on this page that the complainant considered vulgar, by the way - you have been warned! I think they are pretty tasteful considering what they are talking about!! You will see the kind of surprise that awaits the unsuspecting user…!

And finally... yes, a long post, I know - but when the "flow" happens, I've just got to go with it...!

Someone sent me this picture - I haven't seen it in any toilet but that may be because I visit the ladies, not the gents.

   

Rainy Season in Japan

Sunday 3^rd June 2007

Japan has several extra seasons than the four we are used to. As well as Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, there is also the rainy season and the typhoon season. I think you can also count Hanami (Cherry Blossom time) as a 'season' as well as many other festivals too.

The rainy season has an actual, set start and end date! 8^th June to 20^th July.

Tsuyu is the Japanese name for the rainy season. It doesn't exactly rain every single day, but compared to the rest of the year, it is noticeable. The weather forecasting here is incredibly accurate - which is amazing compared to our hit or miss system in the UK. This is the site we use to work out what to wear each day and whether an umbrella is required and what time it is likely to rain http://www.jma.go.jp/en/yoho/319.html ! Impressive!!

If, by some chance, you forget your umbrella on the day it rains, almost every shop sells cheap transparent plastic ones. Outside every shop or office there is either an umbrella rack for you to leave it before entering the store - it will not be stolen! Or a dispenser that you pop your brollie into where it will be automatically inserted into a plastic bag to save it dripping all over the floor.

It's little things like this that make Japan the special and wonderful place it is.

Of course, the start and end dates of the rainy season are predictions by the Japan Meteorological Agency and Mother Nature doesn't necessarily conform to these. But it's a good way for the shops to predict when to stock umbrellas and wellies.

I took a little trip to explore Ginza. This is an area with three large department stores and every designer store you can name. There aren't any shopping malls in Tokyo, but the few department stores there are provide everything one could possibly need. Other shops are mostly independents and this is one particular aspect of Japan that I truly adore. I loathe the cloned High Streets in the UK and the fact that every town centre is made up of identical shops; chain stores that have shoved the independents away forever.

One store's display of umbrellas was particularly breathtaking. The ground floor ("First Floor" in Japan) reaches right up through all the other five or six floors and the brollies cascaded all the way down from the ceiling. Unfortunately my camera didn't do a great job of showing this.

I spotted an umbrella made in the shape of a red paper parasol - but a proper rainproof one. I must try and get one of these before I leave Japan.

How to Wear a Kimono…

Wednesday 23^rd May 2007

Today, school is having its annual Japanese Day. The kids dress up as something typically Japanese and participate in various cultural activities such as Ikebana, Sho-do (Japanese calligraphy) and origami.

The note from school made comment upon the types of outfits the children could wear - presumably to get more variety and imagination. Suggestions include manga characters (I have no idea about these and no real interest to be frank), aikido Gi, and various uniforms worn by most workers in Japan.

However, a five year old girl is, of course, going to want to wear a kimono.

Rhiannon has a nice little souvenir-type of "kimono" which will do. Despite her protestations that she wants a Real Kimono, they cost a huge amount of money, so the answer is a firm "no"! I did buy some tabi - little white socks with a separate toe so they fit the zori. Zori are shoes with a wedge-type heel (shown on the left).

Geta (below right) are another type of sandal that has either a separate heel or blocks of wood at each end. The latter look impossible to walk in and are commonly worn by men in traditional clothing. I have actually seen men riding scooters wearing these!

I also bought a gold "obi". Again, this isn't the real thing but will certainly do for a small girl for what is, essentially, a fancy dress day. A real obi is the wide belt that wraps twice around the body and then tied at the back in an incredibly complex knot. Formal obi for women measure 4 metres long and 30cm wide and are made of silk brocade, often heavily embroidered. Young girls tie their obi in a butterfly bow, while older or married women use a simpler fold called a taiko because it is drum shaped. Like men's bow-ties, you can now buy pre-tied obi apparently.

Now, bearing in mind that we are in Japan, attending a school with many children of Japanese descent, I'm worried that I will not get the dress right. There are very specific rules to wearing this beautiful outfit and I am terrified about getting it wrong and offending someone. Getting properly dressed in the full regalia is extremely complicated and people can take classes on how to put on a kimono. There are also professional dressers for hire.

So I spent a LOT of time researching and reading about the subject. Absolutely fascinating!

We got up early in the morning to get Rhiannon ready. I was pretty sure she wouldn't want to wear the outfit all day. Plus running around at break time… so I made sure she had shorts and a t-shirt on underneath for the inevitable disrobing. I pinned up her flyaway hair with about 100 clips and consulted my book for the correct way to wrap the kimono… wrap the right side of the kimono over the body, then the left side wraps over the top. Right on top of left is only used to dress a corpse for burial.

So I checked and double checked. All good. Added the "obi" and tied it in a wonky bow (I've never been able to tie a nice straight bow), and put the belt of her kimono over the top of the obi. I was rather pleased with my efforts.

 

So off we went to school to be greeted by the striking sight of hundreds of little girls in colourful kimonos, looking like a rainbow of butterflies, but much louder. Such a beautiful change from their normal dull navy uniform. The boys were wearing a range of Happi coats and aikido gi, but the girls stole the day.

Then I saw my good friend Yoko and her daughter Natalie, my heart leapt into my mouth.

Oh my god! Natalie's kimono was wrapped the opposite way to Rhiannon's. Had I made a huge mistake? If anyone should know the correct way of wearing this, it would be Yoko, being pure Japanese and having studied her culture too. Yikes!!! So I asked her.

Laughing, she shrugged and said she'd always had someone dress her in kimono so hadn't taken much notice. She didn't know which way round and besides, she was running late and didn't notice.

 

I think I may have taken this a bit too seriously! But the research I did was interesting and absorbing and provided material for one of my Tokyo Tales articles.

At the end of the school day I collected a very dishevelled Rhiannon. It's already pretty hot here at this time of year, so although she was still wearing her kimono and obi, she was all disarrayed and extremely hot. She said "my tummy was too hot in the obi and I wouldn't want to wear this all the time! I couldn't run properly and my legs get tangled up".

The major highlight of her day was this:
"There's a MAN teacher in year one and he dressed up in a PINK kimono and had a pink wig too!!! He's really funny and I hope he's my teacher next year!"

 

(Note - Rhiannon attended a State school in the UK for a couple of months where there were no male teachers at all. She genuinely did not know that men could be teachers. I've spoken to other friends with children in the UK school system and they all say the same - there are few, if any, male teachers. What a sad reflection of the UK society that men no longer feel safe in a teaching environment. I fondly remember many of my male teachers - mostly for their eccentricity, sometimes for their teaching. How things have changed. And not in a good way.)

Sea Cucumbers, TV & a Sushi Walk...

Monday 7^th -Wednesday 9^th May 2007

A non-photo-prompted post!

Tim's flown to Seoul (South Korea) on business. Rhiannon always plays up when he's away, so I'm not looking forward to the next couple of days. Mind you she plays up while he's at home too; it's just 100 times worse when he's away.

Luckily she's got a school trip to Shinagawa Aquarium planned for the Monday as well as Aikido after school so hopefully she will be exhausted enough to go to bed early. She is hugely fascinated by any kind of aquatic creature so this trip was a massive success. She got to walk through a glass tunnel under "the sea". But the highlight of her visit was the set of touching tanks. Her favourite creature was a large starfish that she held which entwined its legs around her hand. She believes it was hugging her, bless her! She also stroked a sea cucumber which "felt soooo soft and velvety, just like Nana's coat"!

Nana's coat is now affectionately referred to as the sea cucumber coat. It's OK, she understands and laughs. One day I'll write a book about my Dad and his ever changing menagerie. It's hard to explain our outlook unless you personally know me and my upbringing.

Anyway, I was wrong about her being tired and wanting an early night. She's the sort of kid that get more hyper the more tired she is, so Monday evening was fraught, to say the least.

But once she'd finally finished tantrumming, in bed and staying there, I finally had control of the TV remote.

Recently we got some sort of special box and satellite dish with a package of TV programs. After an hour, I finally worked out roughly how to use it. Most of the channels are "greyed out" which means I can't view them. These are all the ones with decent films on. Not fair to be shown what I can't watch. Other English language options include a few American stations showing things I don't recognise and Animal Planet, National Geographic and The History Channel. The History Channel is only in Japanese, showing Japanese history. I eventually watched an old episode of Sex and the City. It makes nice change from Tim's usual choice of programmes entitled temptingly as "How to Build a Submarine" or "100 Most Deadly Plane Crashes". With the amount of flying he does, you'd think the latter type of viewing would be off the list, wouldn't you?

On Wednesday, I agreed to help escort Rhiannon's class on another trip. This time they were walking from school to a local sushi bar in Omotesando as part of their Japanese lesson. Even though there are only about 16 kids in her class, they seem to triple in number once outside the classroom. Ugh. Walking with a group of 5 year olds… Rhiannon objected jealously to me talking to any other child and threw a complete wobbly when another kid held my hand…"That's MY Mummy, not yours. Let her GO!"

Somehow, we got them to their destination safely and retired for a much needed coffee before the return shenanigans. Rhiannon loved taking food from the conveyor belt but didn't eat a thing.

Then I made the day worse by having a playdate here. The invitee was a right little madam and it was bloody hard work with two strong characters trying to get one up on each other all afternoon and evening.

I was very glad when the madam's father came to collect her, albeit over an hour later than we'd agreed.

Finally Tim returned home! With presents! (OK, he's not quite THAT thoughtful and romantic - I told him he had to bring presents) We got Korean chopstick sets which are made of metal rather than wood. Very beautiful.

A stressful couple of days. But at least I got to see some girly TV for a change. And a present :-)

Vending Machines in Tokyo

May 2007

Another photo-prompted post.

Not far from our home is a play area for kids. It's known as "The 100 Yen Park" because that's how much it costs to get in (in May 2007 that's about forty pence).

I don't know its official name but it's a magical place.

Children here are treated very differently from those in the UK. They are actively encouraged to "do their own thing". For a start, they have to make their own way to school from the age of six.

The park is set out like an adventure area in a natural setting. Woodland to explore, rope webs to negotiate, hills to climb, very long slides wind down a steep hill and there are sculptures to clamber over. Zip lines for older children and dedicated areas for the little ones.

Children are persuaded to work out problems on their own, to be independent from a very young age and to experiment - even if this may mean hurting themselves ever so slightly in the process. The odd bump and scraped knee isn't the end of the world and nobody would ever think of suing. I heartily approve of this. But Health and Safety UK style would have an absolute fit here!!!

Tables and benches surround the play area where parents can sit and chat while their offspring run off a heap of energy without Mum or Dad helicoptering around them all the time. Heaven! I take my work there to do while Rhiannon makes friends with whoever she can find. At her age, there is no language barrier. If / when she falls over, the gate-keeper comes trotting out with a plaster before I can reach her. No fuss, just a matter of fact "There you are. All sorted; now go back and play".

Refreshments come from the ubiquitous Japanese vending machines. Depending on the time of year you can have tins of hot coffee, tea, hot chocolate and every possible cold drink you can imagine - and many you can't. Cucumber flavoured Coca Cola? Not for me!

Sometime during May, the machines change to only serving cold drinks. If you fancy hot coffee… tough. It's not available. But iced coffee isn't too bad.

Just outside the park is an entire bank of vending machines as you can see. Some sell ice creams and another dispenses hot food.

 

I have no idea how the hot food one works - microwaves, I guess - but I haven't dared try it yet.

There are limits to my Health and Safety embargo…

Traditional Japanese House?

Saturday 5th May 2007

Rhiannon's been invited to a birthday party at TAC - the Tokyo American Club.

Tim and I drop her off and explore the surrounding area a little.

Up one little alleyway we spotted this stunning house. I couldn't resist standing on tiptoes to lean over the wall for a photo.

Now isn't that the shortest blog entry I've done so far?!

Culture Shock

Still May 2007 but I'm going by photos now, rather than my diary as I think it's more interesting...

My days usually go like this:

Am rudely awakened at silly o'clock by my daughter who has no concept of time. If she's awake, then everyone else must be woken up too.

I am not good in the mornings.

Get dressed and drag myself downstairs for a cup of imported tea. And am somewhat revived but still extremely unsociable. Anyone in their right mind should avoid me in the mornings.

Provide breakfast for child. Chivvy child along in order to eat breakfast in less than 2 hours.

Start shouting at child to get ready for school. Why this takes so long, I'll never know. If she gets up at 5am, why is it always last minute out the door? Super dawdler when it comes to getting her out.

School run. Stress out finding a place to park in the overcrowded carpark. Car got scraped one day in there - most parents drive huge people carriers, even if they have just one child. (Please ignore the previous post about Landrovers - I don't drive it).

If it's a Tuesday, then I get a super caffeine hit at Starbucks and a lovely, calming gossip with my friends before returning home to a lovely clean house, courtesy of my delightful helper. Tuesdays are nice days.

On every other day, I come home and work, work, work before repeating the school run / car parking fiasco again. I'm a freelance writer and also do a lot of editing, proofreading, formatting, uploading on to the website and heaps of miscellaneous business stuff. I often work very late into the night, especially around deadline time once a month.

While working I listen to British radio through the PC, sometimes on Listen Again which is odd when I hear old news stories; sometimes live so I hear shows I'd not hear in the UK due to the time difference.

So it's easy to forget where I am in the world.

Until I walk outside and see something like this on a bush.

 

It's a stunning butterfly and about the size of my hand! If anyone can tell me what it's called, I'd be very grateful.

Landrover

Sometime in May 2007

Oh dear. We have a new member of the family. Of the vehicular species.

Tim is a Landrover obsessive. For the entire year before we moved here he spent most of his time in his best friend's shed rebuilding a Landrover that is older than me. He adores tinkering with them while constantly swearing at the illogical way they are built. But it's an absorbing hobby for him. And he left it all behind when we moved, which also means his special supply of Landrover specific tools were put into storage.

Until now, he's been getting the Metro to work, which is a long, and involved journey, even though his workplace is certainly within cycling distance - if he had a bike.

But someone from work is leaving and is donating his rather rickety old Landrover to Tim, who is naturally over the moon! No longer does he have to brave the rush hour Metro horrors AND he has a new toy to play with.

The first thing he did was to find a massive car supplies warehouse called SuperAutobacs. Think MegaSuperHyperMarket, but for car stuff.

It truly is an incredible store full of everything a car enthusiast could need, and much one doesn't need. There are diamante crystals to decorate your car, both inside and out: 101 different types of ashtrays, 201 different in-car dustbins, two entire aisles of car fragrance thingies and much much more. There was even a nail salon to keep the ladies occupied while their men lost themselves in the auto-heaven.

Ah well, he's happy, so I'm happy. Plus he gets home earlier and in a much more cheerful mood now he drives.

Golden Week 2007

May 2007

Golden Week is a week of public holidays in Japan. This is a very busy time and one does not want to travel anywhere unless absolutely necessary. Unless you are a hard-working Japanese person who has no other holidays to look forward to. The public holidays making up Golden Week are; Showa Day on the 29th of April, Constitution Day on the 3rd May, Greenery Day on 4th May and Children's Day on the 5th. Or something like that - as far as I can tell, public holidays here are pretty flexible and can take in extra days to make this week easier to manage.

The British School in Tokyo don't recognise it as a holiday, so it's school run as usual - apart from the lack of traffic. And the British Embassy only closes for a couple of days, so Tim has a bit of work before some time off.

I'm getting into a nice little routine now. Each Tuesday, after the kids have been dropped off at school, Peggy, Yoko, Deborah and I meet for coffee and chat at Starbucks near Omotesando. It's a lovely custom and I really enjoy the opportunity to chat to adults and learn about the different cultures and interest of Peggy (Indonesian) and Yoko (Japanese). Deb is a Brit, like me. Our kids have regular playdates too. We've chosen Tuesdays for our regular meet because one of my favourite shops is closed on that day, therefore saving me a lot of money!

Sometimes we wander around Omotesando after coffee. This is a particularly upmarket shopping street in Tokyo with all the designer shops lined up one after the other: Chanel, Gucci, Celine, Chopard, Louis Vuitton, Missoni, et al. As well as Kiddyland - a cornucopia of mayhem. It's a children's toy store and is always heaving with teens looking for the latest kawaii trend. The other main attraction here is Oriental Bazaar - a Mecca for all tourists to Japan. Once you've been here a while, you realise it's pretty much all overpriced tat but for now, it's a fascinating place full of typical Japanese gifts. I've bought a couple of antique obi from there which hang on my walls and it's an ideal place to find English books about Japanese culture.

The shop I love best is FujiTori which is the one that's closed on Tuesdays… I've spent quite a few hours in there chatting to the charming owner who seems impressed with my choices and recently acquired knowledge (through avid reading) on all kinds of Japanese arts and crafts. He compliments me on my "black eyes", meaning I see beauty in the Japanese way and understand the culture. No wonder I spend so much in there!

Baking and Playing

Thursday 26^th April 2007

The school's annual Spring fair is on Saturday and because I'm still trying to find my feet with the PTA/Fair Organisers et al, I agree to make some cakes for the Cake Stall.

I love baking, so this didn't initially fill me with dread. Until I tried to find the basic ingredients for a cake...

Self-raising flour doesn't appear to exist. So I grabbed some plain flour and baking powder and googled for amounts to use. Butter is horrendously expensive. But I refuse to inflict disgusting margarine on anyone. Cocoa was found in the end - it was with the baking ingredients rather than beverages.

Little paper cake cases required a trip to yet another shop. Tokyo Hands is the best place for stuff like this and at the same time I bought some small cellophane bags (as instructed by The School) to package the cakes nicely. I'm all set to cook.

My enormous KitchenAid red mixer came with me from the UK but this requires a step-down transformer to use. Japanese electricity is 100 volts while the UK is 240 volts. It's a bit of a struggle to use with little workspace but once set-up it all works just fine.

I think I made about 48 little chocolate cakes. Then I realised the oven is in Fahrenheit and not Centigrade. Another search to find the conversion and pop the first batch in. As I'm not yet used to this oven yet, I checked on the cakes some minutes before they were due to be done. ALL BURNED! What a waste. So I was doubly careful with the next batch and pulled them out early to find the bases were over done while the tops were barely cooked. I was very cross.

I hate this cooker. So the cake stall had to do without my contribution. I'm sure this was noted by the co-ordinators…

 

After school, Rhiannon and I are both invited for a playdate at Yoko's. Her daughter, Natalie, is adorable, very sweet and quiet - the polar opposite of Rhiannon. And I'm looking forward to getting to know Yoko better. While the children played, Yoko offered me a glass of champagne she'd bought especially. I love this lady already! We had a wonderful chat; I admired her collection of very English porcelain and played with her funny dog which looks like a black Dougal from The Magic Roundabout.

Yoko felt peckish and raided her fridge for snacks. Now, she'd been living in the UK for a few years and had been missing Japanese food so had stocked up on her favourites, which she kindly offered to share with me. Unfortunately, these didn't appeal. Inch long baby squids, complete with eyes really didn't encourage my appetite.

Then she brought out a pot of Natto. She explained to me that this stuff is very good "for the skin and for beauty". As all the Japanese people I've seen are very young looking and beautiful, I agreed to try it.

Natto is fermented soy beans. It stinks and looks vile - all gloopy and, frankly, looks totally inedible.

I tried it.

It stinks, it's disgustingly gloopy, tastes vile and is totally inedible.

I will remain wrinkled.

Cycling in Tokyo

End of April 2007

Once 'T' left for her trip to Australia we finally had some time to ourselves.

Rhiannon has been riding her bicycle up and down the cul-de-sac with stabilisers for some time now. It's very safe in this immediate area with little or no traffic, so - unlike in the UK - I'm happy for her to play outside on her own. She wants a new bike, which she does need as this one is getting too small for her now. But the prerequisite for this new bike is that she must learn to ride without stabilisers.

Good friends, and experts in this small but vital piece of education, recommended that the only and best way to do this is to remove the pedals as well as the stabilisers. Their son has been riding without stabilisers since he was about two, so they do know about it! Well, he never actually had a bike with stabilisers anyway, just two wheels and the handlebars.

Of course, Tim thought his method was better and just removed the training wheels. Over a period of 2 or 3 days, a panicky Rhiannon wobbled a lot, fell off and cried amid Tim railing against her. I had to put a quick stop to this before her nerve left her altogether and so I insisted the pedals should come off too.

Brave child got back on, with plasters on her scraped knees, wobbled a lot but this time she was able to put her feet down on the ground to prevent further crashes. It's all to do with balance, obviously.

Within half an hour she was ready for the pedals to go back on and we proudly cheered as she confidently rode her bike for the first time, without stabilisers!

I should add at this point that I cannot ride a bike. But Rhiannon has said I can have her old stabilisers if I want to get one! I do fancy a bike, just because I am acquisitive and I've seen some lovely ones around. I'm sure it can't be that hard to learn… even at my age.

Apparently there are over 86 million bicycles in Japan. I should think most of them are in Tokyo. It's most definitely the favoured form of transport.

There are so many different kinds from standard city bikes to peculiar 'lie-down and pedal' contraptions with a roof. We laugh to see a fully grown man in his business suit pedalling furiously on a kids' sized Raleigh Chopper style bike.

By far the most common sight is the mama-charis, literally "mother's bike". These very basic shopping bikes have a basket on the front and a child's seat on the back. Sometimes there will be a child's seat on the front as well! Actually, most bikes have a large metal basket on the front, even the toughest -looking mountain bike. Sometimes the basket contains a small dog, enjoying the ride with ears blown back in the wind. Occasionally the dog is a little bigger...

Mama-charis bomb along the pavements with the mother pedalling, sometimes with a baby strapped across her chest in a sling and a toddler sitting or sleeping on the back seat. There are special holders for umbrellas too. But when it's raining it's not uncommon for the cyclist to be holding the brolly over their head and cycling one-handed. It's terrifying. And nobody wears helmets either.

Other bikes that intrigue me are the electric powered ones. For ages I wondered how these women managed to cycle up hills with two kids and bags of shopping until someone pointed out to me that the pack near the pedals gave a little extra power to their efforts. There are also plenty of adult sized tricycles, some with two wheels on the rear, others with double wheels at the front.

But almost all cyclists ride on the pavements! And they don't cycle slowly, either.

With a small child in tow, it's frankly terrifying to see the speed they reach and they barely slow down to weave between the pedestrians. Although they don't' annoy me as much as mountain bikers in the UK, tearing up the countryside and feeling they are entitled to make up rules up as they go along, it's still tempting to carry a sturdy stick to shove in the wheel spokes.

Some politely ring their bell just before they are about to hit you. Which is nice. Unless you are deaf…

Apparently there ARE cycling rules, but they are rarely enforced. Unless you are a gaijin, when (allegedly) the police often take the opportunity to stop and fine you. Bikes have to be registered and display a little yellow sticker on the frame.

Official rules are (as far as I can tell):

• Ride on the road - unless you prefer to ride on the pavement
• If you ride on the pavement, do so slowly and with care
• Pedestrians have right of way on the pavement.
• Cyclists bear full responsibility for accidents with pedestrians
• All traffic signs and traffic lights apply to cyclists as well a motor vehicles
• Keep left
• Don't ride on the wrong side of the road - riding the wrong way is prohibited
• Drunk riding is illegal
• Lights are mandatory for night riding
• Park in designated areas. If you fail to do so your bike will be taken away by the Bike Police and you will incur a fine in order to retrieve it.
• Carrying passengers over the age of six is prohibited.
• Don't ride carrying an open umbrella or talking on your mobile phone

It's also very common to see "no bicycle parking areas" full of parked bikes.

So, if you want to be a true cycling Tokyoite, ignore all the above rules.

It seems the law turns a blind eye to all these rules until someone other than yourself gets hurt.

Perhaps I will stick to my trusty car instead.

Tokyo Taxis

Monday 23^rd April 2007 

(still)

So, after finally finding her way to the correct exit, 'T' and I made our way to the taxi rank for the quick trip back home. Really didn't fancy taking the Metro as it's quite a walk from our nearest station.

I can't remember if I've already mentioned about the Tokyo taxis? They are numerous and very easy to use, albeit a little on the expensive side. There is just one thing to remember - do not open or close the doors. Doors for passengers are self-opening and the driver gets a little cross if you forget this. The boot opens too. But, somewhat surprisingly, the driver offered us absolutely no assistance in getting 'T's' heavy suitcase into the tiny space. Between us we struggled but managed.

We got as close to home as I could direct the driver. Few speak English. In fact (bearing in mind that I'm writing this 3 years on) I've only been able to have a conversation in English with one taxi driver. She was a widow in her mid to late forties who was forced to become a driver after her husband died young and she had to find some work to do in order to give her children an education.

I digress.

Once again, the driver offered no assistance to two women struggling to get the case out of the boot of the taxi. In every other country I've been in, the driver has willingly helped. Whether this was just a grumpy driver or the norm, I cannot tell.

However, the good outweighs the bad: taxis are very easy to flag down, but in typical Japanese fashion the "taxi free" sign is the reverse to what one would expect. Over here, if a taxi is available there will be a red sign lit up at the bottom of the front windscreen. Sometimes this is hard to see, especially in sunny weather. Just wave at any that pass and one of them will cross three lanes of traffic to reach you. You can pay with cash or credit card, which is peculiar because credit cards are fairly rare here - almost all transactions are done in cash.

Anyway, I'll mention more about credit cards in another post.

Also, you do not tip. This is one of The Best Things About Japan. No tipping! Anywhere!! If you do leave a tip, for example in a restaurant, the waiter or manager will chase you down the street to return your money. It's considered an insult to tip someone for doing the job they are paid to do. Quite right, in my opinion.

I've mentioned before how difficult it is to navigate around Tokyo, and taxi drivers have the same problems as everyone else. This is acknowledged by every business, who put maps on their websites and business cards. Even 'normal' people have maps to their homes to hand. So you carry a printed map and show it to the driver and off you go.

A website we have found invaluable here glories in the name of Diddlefinger. You can type in the required address in English and the map is displayed in Japanese. Perfect for the drivers who cannot read English.

Yet Another Visitor - But Some Background Info First…

Monday 23^rd April 2007

We had a restful two whole days to ourselves before our next visitor descended upon us! This time, it's a business meeting for me.

A bit of background for you. Before moving to Tokyo I published a local, community magazine in the Northampton area as an independent publisher. And I was very independent as I created the entire magazine myself. I researched all the local businesses, cold called potential advertisers, designed 99% of the adverts, chased payments, visited customers, enjoyed and wrote nice restaurant reviews, interviewed business owners, went to meetings, wrote editorials and other articles I thought would help my customers and finally pulled all this together via desk top publishing into a magazine ready to send to the printers. Once printed - every month - I would then traipse around nearly 3,000 homes delivering them in all weathers, usually rain.

I sold my business just before we moved over here. As far as I can tell, the lady who bought it didn't continue publishing "my" magazine but someone else (an ex-customer of mine) set up in "my" old area and is running something similar. Good luck to her! It's hard work.

Anyone who works from home, as I do, needs some sort of support system to prevent total insanity from creeping in. And the one I used for this business was an online forum run by a very focussed business woman. This forum was made up of a collection of similarly self-employed people and we used it to bounce ideas around, gain extra knowledge, chit-chat and generally to support each other in any way we could.

As well as a virtual 'coffee-machine chatting area', this site produced articles and other items such as puzzles and crosswords for us to download and include in our magazines in order to present a more professional and readable product. I'd written and shared a number of recipe articles which were very well received nationwide and, I believe, included in most of the magazines produced around the country.

Once my business was sold, I was at a loss as to what to do next. But the site owner, 'T', offered me "enough work to keep me very busy if I was interested". Naturally, I agreed. So I ended up doing a lot of web-mastering stuff. Editing, formatting and sourcing photos for various articles written by others, uploading the finished products onto the system and getting them all ready for the other members to download. At this point, I also started writing "Tokyo Tales" for these local magazines, some of which I've posted here. So I was kept very busy and getting paid a little too.

As an addition to this forum and article site, 'T' sells a start-up pack for other potential publishers. She is doing very well indeed. And now wants to expand into other countries. She's on her way to Australia to set up the business over there. [NB: This venture didn't pay off in the end, however, for various reasons I'm not privy to]. She's making a stop-over in Tokyo to tell me about some extra work she wants me to take on.

I sent 'T' detailed instructions on how to catch the Narita Express to Shinjuku Station, told her which of the numerous exits to take and even included a photo of where to find me (see below).

 

Shinjuku Station is, apparently, the busiest train station in the world and is certainly one of the most confusing. There's an entire town hidden in its depths, full of little restaurants and shops. I'm sure people have been lost down there for days, perhaps weeks! But my instructions are clear as are the signs.

At the appointed time I waited, and waited… 'T' took the EAST exit instead of the clearly marked WEST exit. But we found each other eventually.

Izakaya Friday

Friday 20^th April 2007

Mum left for the UK yesterday and we have only a couple of days free before our next visitor descends upon us. Something others have warned us about is becoming realised - when you live in a different country, people will use you as a freebie holiday home. People who have only been acquaintances now become "dear friends" and ask to be invited. Ah well.

Rhiannon has a busy day ahead at school. The school photographer is due and she's going on a trip to Kodomo-no-kuni - Children's Land. As far as I can tell, it's a large park with a little petting zoo. She wasn't very forthcoming about it really and we keep meaning to re-visit. I've added it to my list of things to do again!

As for Tim and I - we have a rare night out together planned!

I forgot to mention that a few weeks ago Tim agreed I could join the ranks of the true expat wife and get myself a "helper". This is the local term for a cleaner, babysitter and basically all-round helper. Some lucky mum's have a helper all day, every day. They collect the kids from school, cook and clean for them, and generally be wonderful. How I wish our finances were in the league of the expat bankers, but they aren't, so I will content myself to having her here for a couple of hours a week to do my ironing. I hate ironing.

Merle is adorable and I want to keep her with me forever. Rhiannon loves her too, so we are happy to have her babysit while we go out. We haven't ever really had a babysitter before so this is all fairly new to us all. When we were in the UK, my parents were too far away to help out and Tim's parents - although close - let us down at the last moment so many times we gave up asking.

So with great excitement (on my part - Tim gets to go out more than me… mutter, moan!) we head off to an arranged meal with the parents of children in Rhiannon's class. Although I went out earlier in the year, this is the first time Dads have been invited.

The venue is Andy's Izakaya, an establishment much loved by Westerners as it is quite pub-like and the menu is in English! Our directions were vague - "It's across the road from Bic Camera in an arch under the train tracks"…

What we didn't realise was Bic Camera is massive and the road splits into several branches. The train tracks are part of an enormous interchange and each arch contains a restaurant. And none of the signs say "Andy's Izakaya" - all are in Japanese, of course. I tried phoning some of the mum's whose numbers I had on my phone but nobody replied. After half an hour of looking, Tim was getting cross and was about to demand we go home when he spotted the telephone number on a door which corresponded with the directions we were given. Hurrah!

Inside it was heaving. I've never seen such a large number of people crammed into one restaurant.

Because we were so late, the meal had already started and we were unable to sit next to each other. Tim got lucky and was placed between several rather "merry" ladies.

The food was excellent. And we tried shochu, a rather naughty alcoholic beverage that is served with grapefruit. Can't stand grapefruit, so I had it neat. It's rather like tequila… I think.

As the less determined party-goers left, there was room to move around and finally chat to people. We stayed to the very end and I became close friends with two lovely ladies, Yoko and Amy. I seem to get on far better with the non-Brits here. Yoko is, of course, Japanese and Amy is Singaporean. Both are bubbly, frank, intelligent and great fun.

We must have got home somehow but I have no recollection of that!

Aikido and Ceramics… NOT at the same time!

Monday 16^th April 2007

Rhiannon goes back to school today (yay!) and is due to have her very first Aikido lesson after school.

There are loads of extra-curricular activities at the British School in Tokyo and Rhiannon is eager to try as many as possible. I'm very happy for her to give everything a go if she wants because I never had the chance to try anything due to where I grew up (deepest, darkest Devon in England) where there were no opportunities at all. And besides, I have a lot more work coming in and could really use the child-free extra hour or so at the end of a school day… Rhiannon is a rather demanding child and is, quite frankly, exhausting. (Understatement!)

Although there are lots of activities, sadly none are available for five year old reception year kids. Apart from Aikido. So I signed her up last term and today will be her first lesson. The Dojo is at school so I have no need to ferry her around and just have to pick her up at 4.30pm.

Once the school run is completed, Mum and I catch the metro to Kappabashi. I love Kappabashi where there are numerous kitchenware shops and, my favourite, ceramic shops. Although I've been there a few times already, this is Mum's first visit.

I should have realised. If I like something it will be the complete opposite to Mum's taste and vice versa.The pottery here is, to me, beautiful, edgy, rustic at times, decorated in a quirky manner and fairly modern. I swiftly realised Mum was not impressed at all. So I abandoned my plan of visiting all the "plate" shops and looked at some of the others in the area.

We discovered a shop selling many styles of glass bottles and jars ready for personalisation. Shops selling signs and others selling uniforms. There were also lots of personal shrine shops which were rather incredible if a little mystifying. I didn't feel too comfortable taking photos of those.

 

There was also a tiny shop selling all kinds of coffee making equipment. Not just pots and filters, but some Heath Robinson-esque contraptions too. Fascinating!

We were both intrigued by the many shops selling fake food. Outside most restaurants here are plastic replicas of the meals served inside. This is obviously where they buy their models. We wondered if the plastic foods are made to order depending on the restaurant's request or if the chef cooks to match the model.

 

Kappabashi's charms were soon over for Mum so we walked over to Asakusa so she could look around there. She loved this area when she visited at Christmas and wanted to nose around a stationery shop at the top end of the temple and to look around the many alleyways selling fabrics and kimonos.

I stayed a while until I got bored, and then left her there, confident that she was finally at home enough in Tokyo to be able to find her own way back to our house.

With just enough time for a cup of tea and a quick check of emails and so on, I relished the snatched moment of total peace before heading off to collect Rhiannon from Aikido.

As with any new activity, I was anxious as to find out whether she enjoyed it or not. She's very much a girly girl but incredibly active which needed an outlet. Hopefully, Aikido will prove to be this outlet. The Sensei assured me the mix of girls and boys was pretty even.

Nervously, I waited in the school's lobby for her to come up the stairs from the gym. Other children dressed in their white kit were coming up but Rhiannon was last as usual. Then I heard her…

Did I mention she is loud as well as over-active? There is no off-switch on her. And no volume control.

Anyway, she obviously saw me before I noticed her and she yelled up the stairs,
"Muuu-uuum!!!! I had SUCH a wonderful time! Aikido is brilliant! I got to throw a grown-up man right across the room and he hit the wall with a big SPLAT!!!!"

Aikido was obviously a huge success. I am very happy.

But then she decided to practise her newly learned moves on me... OUCH!

 

 Be afraid!

Weddings Galore!

Sunday 15^th April 2007

Today is our very first wedding anniversary. A whole year!

A wonderful day with a rather upsetting end. Read on…

We've booked to go for a nice meal at the New Otani Hotel. Rather posh and it gives us a chance to get dressed up a little. We will have teppanyaki at the Sekishin-tei restaurant set in the beautiful grounds of this lovely hotel.

Before we head over there, we take a trip to the Meiji Jingu (shrine) over in Yoyogi Park. This is a wonderful and large Shinto shrine dedicated to the former Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. To get to the main buildings we walked through the largest torii gates I've ever seen and continued through a forest before reaching the shrine area.

Just outside the entrance doors a huge tree is surrounded by a frame completely covered with small wooden plaques. Each of these plaques is a wish written by a visitor and hung around the tree in the hope the wish will be granted. Many are written in English.

Through the door is the vast shrine complex. To our surprise and great delight we saw a wedding ceremony is going on. It was enchanting. I think getting married at Meiji Jingu is on a par to tying the knot at St Pauls' Cathedral in London.

The bride was beautiful in her white hooded wedding kimono; a splash of colour was added by an attendant leading them on their promenade holding a giant red parasol. Guests followed in a line behind the couple. All were very smartly attired. Most of the women at the head of the line - and therefore I believe they were immediate family - wore formal black kimono. Some of the younger members of the entourage wore brightly coloured kimono and so did a little girl who looked gorgeous. I simply adore this traditional clothing; the embroidery work that goes into the design is incredible and the obi is a masterpiece of textile art. After the brief ceremony, the bride and groom emerged from the building looking very happy. A member of staff helped the bride with her ornate white robe - her hood was now down displaying striking hair ornaments.

It was time to drag ourselves away from this perfect slice of Japanese culturural tradition to get ready for our anniversary meal. We arrived at the hotel with plenty of time for us to browse around the stunning gardens. An enormous red jasper rock stands guard at the entrance and other spectacular stones are scattered throughout the garden. I like stones. I can't explain why; I just find them absolutely fascinating and grounding and always seem to find (at least) one to have as a souvenir from most places I've visited. A lot of stones reside in my home.

Massive koi swim lazily in the shallow lake. For some reason, Rhiannon has decided that fish like being sung to and that we are not allowed to watch or listen to this. Luckily my camera has a zoom to allow me to capture the scene even though I can't hear what she is singing to them. Both fish and child look like they are enjoying this moment.

Kimono adoration continues. This hotel seems to be the place to have photographs taken when fully dressed up. Lots of colourful robes are on display with young ladies posing prettily in the classic Japanese setting.

The gardens are large and we decide to leave the rest of the exploration until after our meal. Teppanyaki is a cooking method - you sit in front of a large hotplate and your food is cooked in front of you. As well as being delicious, it's a feast for the eyes too as you can watch the master at work; preparing, chopping and cooking in a slick and professional fashion.

We clambered onto the chairs around the counter and ordered the set menu. These are always recommended as the chef will choose only the best, freshest and in-season food for you. Japanese food generally has lots of courses comprising small amounts. Perfect! We had giant prawns, Kobe beef (incredible, mouth-watering, tender perfection!) lots of unusual vegetables, garlic rice and miso soup. Poor Mum struggled with her chopsticks as her hands are now twisted with arthritis but refused the offer of a fork and gamely battled ahead. One of the best meals I've ever had.

Replete and happy, we left the restaurant for a continued exploration of the grounds. Lots of lanterns are scattered throughout the garden and my little poseur of a girl insisted on having her photo taken with one. Eventually after a last song for the koi, we head into the hotel to see what's on offer inside.

And would you know it - another wedding is in progress! This time, the bride has chosen a Western style "do" complete with white meringue dress. I particularly love the circular shapes the view from above afforded us, with the seating arrangements and the little pergola.

And then Shops!

This hotel is one of those fancy ones that has shops in it. Goody! The shopping arcade is full of appealing shops but as Tim and Rhiannon aren't interested, so Mum and I restrain ourselves from visiting every single one of the hundred or so shops.

But I can't resist my newly discovered admiration of Japanese porcelain. I've always had a preference for blue and white china and the Japanese designs are so simple yet extremely artistic. Always perfectly balanced, intriguing and full of symbolism - another of my penchants. I am very close to becoming obsessed with Japanese ceramics. As it's my anniversary - and Tim never buys me presents - I rather rashly decided to treat myself to a set of five small plates. They are a wavy oval shape and handpainted with a mountain scene with houses and trees picked out in gold. They weren't cheap, but absolutely gorgeous, an unusual shape, plus a full set in perfect condition and around 200 years old. The sales assistant offered to package them up for me so they'd be safe "on the plane". By this time I was getting grumpy vibes from Tim, and Rhiannon was started to whinge, so I declined saying we didn't have far to carry them and weren't going on a plane any time soon. She wrapped them in layers of soft paper.

Very pleased with our day out and my new purchase we set off for home. Throughout the metro journeys I hugged my plates carefully and avoided anyone bumping them. Finally home, I placed the bag on the shelf inside the front door and took off my shoes.

The bag fell off the shelf and three out of the five plates smashed.

Over two hundred years they had survived, through earthquakes, wars and general life only to be destroyed by my idiotic self.

Devastated, I took myself upstairs to cry at my stupidity. I couldn't even blame anyone else for it - perhaps this was worse! I came down a bit later to find mum gamely gluing them back together with superglue!

Heartbroken.
They now live at the back of a cabinet as I am unable to look at them without feeling a pang.

Yikes!

Oh dear, oh my!

I am embarrassed and astounded that time has swept by so fast and I haven't updated this in so long. My apologies for breaking my promise in the last post as it was obviously highly optimistic.

We are still here, life is hectic, manic, crazy and I do have a lot of work to do on this blog. Plans are in place to write a lot more, especially this week.

Please check back in a day or two and many thanks for the comments I've received.

Mum Returns for Another Visit

Saturday 31^st March 2007

Mum arrives bright and early. She's determined to spend our inheritance by travelling as much as she possibly can, even though she really doesn't like long-haul flights. However much she detests them, they seem to do her the world of good by making her sit still for 12 hours – something she never does at home – and she arrives looking fit and well. OK, she obviously doesn't travel dressed like this! This is a photo of her at our wedding in 2006!

We pour plenty of cups of coffee down her, then to stave off the effects of jetlag, take her off to her favourite place, Shinjuku Gyoen for fresh air and flower viewing.

As it's the weekend, there are many more people here today and most are on show, wearing their best outfits. Even the dogs are dressed up - we saw one dressed as a ladybird. 

Some hanami parties have started and the gardens are quite crowded. It's a bit cloudy today and a slight chill in the air sends us into the big greenhouse for the first time.

What a wonderful place! Full of some of my favourite plants; food trees. Cacao trees are sprouting their fruit, banana plants showing their alien-like flowers, and some incredibly huge citrus fruits the size of footballs are there too. Unfortunately, not many of the plants have labels giving their Latin name, which makes it pretty hard to identify many species. Luckily, Mum the Botanist recognises most of them.

Yet more photos for this post! Yes, I bought a new camera yesterday!

This gives you an idea of Hanami. Find a cherry tree, set up your tarpaulin underneath it, bring your food and drink and spend the day picnicking with friends.

We were also delighted to spot this Great Egret posing beautifully next to a pile of turtles (you can see them on the left if you look carefully. If you click on the picture it will enlarge).

As well as photographers, artists were out in force too. Mum, being a professional and award-winning artist herself had no qualms about going up to them and, although having no Japanese at all was able to exchange positive sign language with this one. He was very pleased and, I think, incredibly embarrassed!

 

 

A cute pair of ducks. I don't know what sort they are but they sport yellow tips to their beaks making them look as if they are wearing yellow lipstick!

I am most intrigued by the way cherry blossom bursts from the tree trunk itself. Very striking and extremely beautiful.

Another thing I found absolutely enchanting was the violets hidden shyly away in nooks and crannies. This one, however, must have been placed there and it looked fantastic peeking out of a hole in a tree.

These photos are a selection of plants inside the greenhouse.

One in particular had me transfixed as I have long wanted to see this for real and even though I have travelled extensively in South America, it's only in a greenhouse in Tokyo that I finally got to see the giant Amazonica waterlily!

Mum went into raptures about this peculiar looking plant. I think she said it was a Jade Plant and the photograph certainly doesn't do the colour justice at all. She plans to return to the greenhouse at some point during this trip in order to paint it. She made me take lots of pictures in case her "old fashioned" 35mm camera film didn't come out.

Finally, I have no idea what this one is, but thought it spectacular and a good test of how close my new camera will focus!

End of Term and Start of the Sakura Season

Friday 30^th March 2007

Today school finishes at midday for the Easter Holidays. Quite a relief for both of us, I think.

Parking was atrocious, so I had to leave the car parked illegally on the road and grab Rhiannon as fast as possible to hustle her up the road before the parking wardens' ticket me.

Home, quick lunch then, as it's such a beautiful day, we decide to go to Shinjuku Gyoen garden to see how the cherry blossom is coming on.

Hanami is the traditional Japanese custom of 'flower viewing' and the flowers to be viewed are Sakura, the beautiful, delicate cherry blossom. There is a sort of forecast, called, sakurazensen, where the blooming of the sakura is followed up through Japan from south to north and is announced each year by the weather bureau. The reason for this is that parties, hanami, need careful planning due to the ephemeral nature of the cherry flowers which only last a week or so.

Hanami is basically a day long party beneath a convenient sakura tree. Someone stakes their claim to a particular tree very early in the morning of the party by laying what seems to be a standard issue blue plastic tarpaulin upon the ground. Claims are not 'jumped' and the parties are very refined compared to any similar event in the UK. The loudest I've seen was a group of youths, (who in the UK would have been paralytic with alcohol, rowdy and annoying) but here were… skipping! Slightly drunk, singing songs and skipping with ropes! Unbelievable, but true.

Anyway, this afternoon was stunning and, as it wasn't a weekend the hanami parties hadn't started so we were able to see the enormous variety of flowers without interrupting a party. There were a few people around, mostly photographers who queued up to get the best shot of a particularly beautiful tree. Many of the trees aren't fully out yet, but it won't be long.

I'll let some of my photos tell the story now.

 

I have hundreds of Sakura photos! I found them irresistable and decided I need a new camera so I can get closer to them for more interesting pictures.

I already have about 5 cameras... none of which do precisely what I want!