Japanory

Spring is Sprung

21^st March 2008 – 7^th April 2008

And it's the Easter Holidays.

I try to get Rhiannon some playdates in order to make the time go a little easier for us. The trouble is, most people jet away for the breaks (and we aren't, humph) or have visitors (and we haven't, thanks to all the hoohah trying to get people to commit to dates).

On the one day I managed to get a playdate (which incidentally has never been reciprocated to this day...) I took two little girls into Shinjuku-gyoen.

It was beautiful!

Flowers are blooming and there's a definite feeling of spring arriving. Early hanami picnickers are out and the two girls had a fun time.

 

Notice how brown the grass is? We barely get any rain throughout the autumn and winter months and after about January, the grass turns brown until the rainy season in June.

Tim's taken a few days off so I can continue my Ikebana classes on Mondays without having to take Rhiannon too. They do trips to Disney and other places suitable for children and husbands.

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.