Japanory

Kyoto Sightseeing – Kyomizu-Dera

27^th December 2008

Until 1868 Kyoto was the capital of Japan. This former imperial city is home to numerous palaces as well as thousands of temples and shrines and has a very different look and atmosphere to Tokyo. It's a lot smaller and, because it wasn't bombed to oblivion during World War 2, many of the original buildings still exist in all their glorious magnificence.

Armed with a proper guide now – with opening times - we set out early to visit the first of our "must do" places – Kyomizu-dera. Rather than walk, we took a cab which turned out to be a splendid idea as this temple is located at the top of a very steep hill.This is the dramatic entrance to the temple complex.

Kyomizu-dera is a spectacular wooden temple built on a mountain and home to a sacred waterfall. Kyomizu-dera means 'Clear Water Temple'. This amazing construction has a massive wooden platform jutting out over a sheer cliff-face. No nails were used in this building; something I was pleased to learn after visiting.

Beneath this overhanging platform, the sacred waterfall drops three streams into a pond. People come prepared with little cups to take a drink of this water for its therapeutic properties.

Rhiannon bought a nice keepsake cup from a stall, popped it into the long-handled ladle and took her drink, following the instructions here:

Part of the temple is set aside for worshiping various 'love deities' and there we found a pair of rocks placed several metres apart. These are the "Love Stones" and a charmingly translated sign tells people how to make their wish:
"This stone is called 'Love-fortune-telling' stone. If you walk safely from this stone to the other with your eyes closed. for once, your wish'll be granted soon. If you can't, it will be long before your love is realized. And it is said taking advice requires you to have someone who'll help you achieve your love."
As this particular area was so busy, it's highly likely that you will bump into someone en-route from one stone to the other. I suppose this means that your quest for love will encounter obstacles.

Another feature of Kyomizu-dera is its famous New Year kanji – each year the abbot (?) paints a large kanji to denote the feelings of the year just past. All this in one elegantly drawn character. This year it was "change". Rather apt, I thought.

Details from this site:

The kanji character 変 (hen) which means "change" was selected as the single best kanji to characterize the year 2008.

The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation announced the results of a poll in an annual event held at Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto on December 12.

"Hen" was chosen to symbolize the changes of power in Japan from 2007 to 2008, with current Prime Minister Taro Aso taking over from his predecessor, Yasuo Fukuda, who vacated the post in September after serving for only one year.  Shinzo Abe, who preceded Fukuda, also resigned after serving just one year as Prime Minister.

Likewise, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama made change a part of his presidential campaign, and the recent global financial crisis has changed the economic landscape around the world.

We all thoroughly enjoyed visiting this temple.

In the surrounding area are attractive streets lined with extremely ancient buildings which we noticed on the way to our next destination.

 

Christmas Lights in Roppongi

21^st December 2008

I'm not bothering to write as many posts now as much will be a repeat of previous entries. Time's running out for me to get up to date with this blog before we leave Japan so I'm just going to concentrate on the different things and unusual occurrences. And I'll post at least two new entries a day, so please keep checking back!

Mum's arrived for her Christmas holiday; Rhiannon's been doing her Aikido, violin, going to sleepovers, parties and so on. I've been writing and shopping. Tim's been working both here and overseas. Same old, same old!

We went to see the spectacular Christmas lights at Tokyo Midtown, an upmarket shopping complex in Roppongi. Christmas lights in Japan are invariably a brilliant blue. And this year there was in incredible installation covering an area about the size of a tennis court or maybe bigger, it was hard to tell. They were animated, showing constellations and the occasional shooting star.

Other lights are below – my apologies for the shoddy photos, my camera just isn't up to the job of shooting at night (an excuse to buy yet another, maybe?!)

And the Rainbow Bridge is clothed in its Christmas / New Year garb and actually looks like a rainbow now!

Holding a Child’s Birthday Party at Home

Sunday 12^th October 2008

Tips for holding a child's birthday party at your home? DON'T DO IT!

After Rhiannon's successful and huge party last year, we've downscaled dramatically for her 7^th birthday. We've decided to only have a handful of girls here at home, with old-fashioned party games and food.

Never again! There were tears, tantrums, arguments, bitchiness and it was all horrible, loud and stressful.

Little girls are unbelievably mean. Rhiannon has been getting a bit of aggro at school due to her cute haircut, of all things. Actually, it's not just the little girls that are mean – I've actually had a couple of mothers complain to me about Rhiannon's neat bob. Why? Because their daughters now want their hair cut in the same style and the mothers don't want to chop their darling's tresses. How ridiculous.

Mind you – check out the expression on Rhiannon's face in this photo – there's some serious attitude surfacing already, it's not funny!

Anyway, I made a mermaid birthday cake and chopped Barbie's hair into a bob just like Rhiannon's! It was a big hit, although the photo perspective makes the mermaid's bum look a bit big.

I was very glad when it was over. Goodness only knows what we will do for next year's party because I am never, ever holding one at home again – unless I can move her birthday to the summer and have a pool party or have a house with a massive garden so they can go outside and run riot. Neither of these is likely to happen though.

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.

Mount Takao & Fuji - photos

6th January 2008

Still backtracking. Found some more photos which I'd like to share with you.

We took another trip to Mount Takao. The weather was stunning. It was very busy as many people make a sort of pilgrimage to this sacred shrine. They buy new charms for the coming year which get replaced next New Year.

Some shrine details:

 

From the top of Mount Takao we could see Mount Fuji in the far distance. It was a stunning view. Everyone else thought so too as you can see from the crowds of photographers.

 

This is my favourite picture of Fuji-san

Mount Fuji

1^st January 2008

Yes! I've finally made it to another year – I really don't know if I will get Japanory up to date, but I will continue to try...

What a way to spend New Year's Day – a trip to the magnificent Fuji-san.

As Japan's highest mountain at 3776 metres, Mount Fuji dwarfs every other mountain in the country. It is the iconic symbol of Japan and a sacred and beloved landmark with its almost symmetrical cone looming so high that on a clear day it can be seen from many miles away including Tokyo.

Although Fuji has been dormant for over 300 years, the mountain is a potentially dangerous volcano which, if it erupts, would cause an enormous amount of damage to the surrounding area and Japan as a whole. For now though, it seems calm. The last eruption started on 16^th December 1707 and continued until January 1708. Until this eruption the symmetrical shape of Fuji was about as perfect as a volcano could be, but this eruption created a new crater with a second peak half way down one side.

Due to the altitude, the climate near the top of Fuji-san is very cold and the peak is covered with snow and several months of the year.

Most cultures since time immemorial have worshipped spectacular mountains as sacred places and the homes of gods and Fuji-san is no exception. For many years the only people allowed to climb the sacrosanct mountain were monks, and women were completely forbidden to set foot on a mountain at all. This changed in 1860 when the first British diplomat in Japan, Sir Rutherford Alcock, was reluctantly given permission to climb Fuji. The ban on women climbing was lifted in 1872 after the wife of a British diplomat climbed a mountain in 1867. However she was not the first female to make the ascent. In 1832 a 24 year-old Japanese woman was given unprecedented permission to climb by a sect who worshipped Fujisan as a divinity in itself. She had to disguise herself as a man to show deference to the taboo.

Nowadays anyone can climb Fuji if they so wish although it is not an ascent to be made lightly. The official climbing season is in July and August and during these two months the mountain is usually snow free and the mountain huts are open and stocked with oxygen cylinders. There is a saying that "you are wise to climb Fuji once, but a fool to climb it twice". Approximately a quarter of a million people climb the mountain each year, which when you consider they all climb it during just two months, makes it rather a busy place. Apparently the favoured time to climb is around the O'bon festival in August when some of the passes actually have long queues of people patiently waiting their chance to move on. There is a Torii gate near the summit showing you that apart from nearing your goal, you are on sacred ground.

I have absolutely no intention of climbing it. I don't do "uphill" walking if I can possibly avoid it.

Once you see the shape of Fuji you can understand why it has been depicted so many times in so many forms, and you also gain an insight into why much of the art in Japan is stylised. Fuji-san is the perfect real-life example of a stylised mountain. If you ask a child to draw a volcano or mountain the shape corresponds perfectly to Mount Fuji.

We were delighted to see some substantial snow there – it made it all very picturesque. Shame about the clouds covering the top. Mum hadn't come prepared for a snowy trip so wore all her clothes and borrowed a hat, gloves and scarf from me.

On the drive up, we found a place to stop and go for a walk through some woodlands. Snow dappled the ground, icicles in a tiny cave and intriguing ice crystals that had formed in the fallen leaves and soil. Rhiannon hasn't had much experience of snow, so had a marvellous time although we had to put a dampener on her enthusiastic snowball throwing. It hurt!

 

The views were amazing. I don't know what lake this was but five lakes surround the area - Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Motosu, Saiko, Lake Shoji, Lake Yamanaka, so I guess it was one of those… The feathery plants are my latest love – Japanese Pampas Grass, aka Susuki. It's considered a weed, but I adore its grace and delicacy.

We drove up the winding road for as far as we could before the road was closed at 2020 metres.

According to the car's thermometer the temperature was -10C. A small car park was full and people milled around. There was a terrible stench in the air which turned out to be a mixture of this sweetcorn seller's wares and the most dreadful toilet in Japan. It was literally a hole in the ground and rather overused – I nearly dropped my camera down there, ugh.

 

And here's the standard photo to prove we were there - and cold - Tim is wearing his summer trousers! Then it was back into the snug warmth of the car to head back down the mountain to find some less stinky food.

A Christmas Round-Up and My Adventurous Mother

End of December 2007 (finally!)

Mum's arrival was a little late this year as she has plans to venture further afield in January.

Always a great traveller, she's going on a botanical exploration trip to the jungles of Borneo! As we're halfway there, it makes sense that she starts her holiday from here, rather than make the appallingly long trip from the UK. She'll get more out of it as she won't be anywhere near as travel-weary and jet-lagged as she would be after travelling from London. So she will travel to Borneo from here, then return to us later in January to recover, before heading back home to England. This caused her a few headaches with regards to packing – as well as "Tokyo clothes" she had to bring her jungle-wear too. The airlines had just decreed a new rule of only one suitcase, which makes it impossible for Mum to cope with – she's 71. So she called the airline and basically told them she was bringing two and that was that.

We shook off her jet-lag with an exhilarating walk around Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Park. Rhiannon recently visited Meiji Shrine on a school trip so she was insistent on teaching us how to do all the rituals correctly. Don't stand on the big beam of wood in the doorway – very important! Wash your hands and mouth with water from the communal stone trough, light some incense, throw some coins into a big box and say a little prayer.

All the leaves from the gingko trees have fallen to create an incredible yellow carpet. And with the beautiful sunny and dry weather Tokyo enjoys during the winter, this is the perfect antidote to Britain's dark, damp and dismal December. The colour is much brighter than the photos show.

Christmas was as usual – present opening, leg of lamb roast for lunch – and a Christmas pudding this year, followed by Mum and I heading off for what will become our annual Christmas trip to Ginza.

On Boxing Day we went somewhere for a walk. I can't remember where it was and I've given my books away now, so it will remain a mystery (unless anyone recognises the photos?) We're a little disappointed at the walks here – all are "domesticated" and seem quite sterile. Anyway, there was a cute little shrine there, and this lovely stone trough. Look at the gorgeous bamboo spout, but boy, was the water cold! Once again, Rhiannon was happy to demonstrate her knowledge of the religion here to her Nana and we had to do all the rituals with her.

Some fish were in a pool and Rhiannon sent us all away so she could sing to them again in private. Strange child! Unfortunately, my picture of this amusing moment didn't come out.

We didn't bother with New Year this year. Just went to bed as normal – and that's the way it's stayed ever since. It's just another day; I've done all the partying I want to in my life and I don't want to be hungover with a child and my Mum to deal with the next day.

And on to 2008!! Phew!!!

Christmas Party Season

December 2007

We are not great party goers, but there are two we must attend for work reasons. And another I choose to attend at lunchtime because I adore the lady holding it.

So on 6^th December I had a real Christmas lunch with turkey, sprouts and all the trimmings. How wonderful! Goodness knows where the sprouts came from as I haven't seen them in the shops here. And there was Christmas pudding too! (I bought mine from Nissin a few weeks ago when they first hit the shelves so I didn't miss out for our Christmas dinner like last year. I also later found sprouts - they cost about £1 each!)

Our host is a long-term member of the "trailing spouse" community and has lived in many countries; including Japan some years ago. She regaled us with tales of trying to find lard so her cook could be taught to make pastries and Christmas pud for the visiting dignitaries of the time. Apparently the look of horrified disgust on the butcher's face was well worth the trouble of trying to explain precisely what lard was. And here it's perfectly normal to eat some very peculiar things indeed!

The next event was a kids' Christmas party which was very well attended. An enormous decorated tree was in danger of being pulled over by hoards of over-excited children so another room was opened up for them to charge around in. Dinner was served, but hardly any of the children ate anything – luckily we hungry parents didn't let the delicious titbits go to waste.

Strawberries are a traditional Christmas food here and the chefs had turned them into little Santas by slicing the pointed end off, squirting some cream on (for the head & beard), popping the end back on – the hat – and adding little eyes. Very cute… and very tasty. Strange to eat strawberries in December, but that's when they are in season here so taste incredible.

A lady magician gave an excellent show that Rhiannon couldn't stop talking about. Especially as she was asked to come on "stage" and assist with one of the trick. The magician was so good even I couldn't work out how she did that particular trick.

Then Santa paid a visit! Oh the excitement!! Dragging an enormous sack with him full of presents too! The children waited incredibly patiently for their name to be called and each one got their gift. I think the photo says it all, really!

A few days later it was time for the adults Christmas party at the same place. People got very dressed up for this, some even wearing full length gowns.I didn't. I did buy some "posh frocks" before we left the UK last year, but it turned out I lost a bit of weight in the stressful run-up to our move... and quickly put it back on again when we got here. Nothing fits me anymore. And naturally, there is no way I can buy anything here - it's hard enough to find clothes to fit me in the UK.

This time we all sat at large round tables with an incredible amount of food available. There were the most enormous turkeys I've ever seen, done to perfection with all the trimmings and more. Later we had a ceremonial dimming of lights for the flaming pudding to be shown off and after that, a quiz. Hah! Luckily we were at a table with some extremely clever people as the questions were very hard, and included some tricky questions purely for scholars or native Japanese. Our table won! The prize was a hamper of British food which then had to be shared between about 15 of us. I remember there was also a teddy, which as the only parents at that table, the others kindly donated to us.

Finally, we were told that whoever was sitting on a chair that had a ribbon tied around it got to take the table's flower arrangement home with them. I won that! So it was a very lovely evening and a great start to the Christmas season.Two full Christmas dinners, as well!

The flowers lasted long enough for Mum to see them when she arrived on 20^th December.

Christmas Concert - mark 2

Friday 7^th December 2007

I have been so looking forward to this after seeing the wonderful performance just after we arrived here!

However, this year there is a change of format. It is to be held at the school's other campus (for years 4 and up) which is about an hour's drive away. We have been told, yes, told, by the school that all children MUST attend and that there is absolutely no parking at the school. Hackles rise...

OK. We assume that the new venue is larger so the show will be even better than before.

Oh dear. How wrong could we be?

It was not a good evening.

Firstly, we caught a cab – after all, no parking, right? And no Metro. Then the cabbie got lost making us fairly late, but still arrived just before the concert started. He refunded us half the fare, so not too bad.

Once in the enormous hall, there were very few seats left. Rhiannon had to go to the front with her classmates, while Tim and I found a place right at the very back. The large centre columns of seats were reserved. Who for, I wondered? It turned out to be completely full of governors and sponsors. The parents had to make do with the smaller side seats. Humph.

Anyway, we looked forward to seeing our girl on stage singing some carols or something.

Again, this did not happen. All that was on stage was the school's large orchestra, various school choirs and that was it. When it came to Rhiannon's year to sing something, all they did was stand up by their seats, turn around to face us and regale us with one of the most dismal and depressing carols ever written – "In the Bleak Midwinter".

Various dreadful readings, some awful musical stuff and that was it. Pitiful – but extraordinarily lengthy.

It was the most boring event I've ever attended and quite obviously only a showcase for the music department. The majority of children weren't included in the service unless they happened to be in a choir or orchestra. It was evident that this was a money-making exercise to raise contributions from the sponsors.

I didn't meet one, single parent who enjoyed the show. Even the ones whose children performed on stage were seriously disappointed.

Hawaii - part 2

One of our big day trips was to the Polynesian Cultural Center. This is a sort of theme park without the roller-coasters that showcases the various cultures that make up Polynesia – New Zealand (Aotearoa), Fiji, Hawaii, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga and others.

Very much geared towards children as well as adults, there were plenty of activities for Rhiannon to enjoy. The "countries" are set out in "villages" and you follow a trail to each one. Once at the "village" there are people there dressed in their traditional clothing and showcasing their culture and skills. For example, in the New Zealand village, we learned how to whirl balls on ropes around without knocking herself out. Poi balls – these were great fun and we bought a pair home with us which we still play with. We also played a game with sticks which was originally used to help hand-eye co-ordination for warriors. 

Rhiannon also had the opportunity to "fish" at one point on the route – using a bent paperclip on a length of string baited with a ball of stale bread. Being Rhiannon, she actually caught one! The tiny tiddler managed to get trapped in the loop of the paper clip – apparently nobody had ever caught a fish here before! Let's hope Rhiannon's luck continues like this throughout her life.

I was intrigued to discover that this lavish place was created by Scientologists  Mormons – in fact one could take a special train to their church some distance away. We didn't.

A colourful display was put on in the afternoon with watercraft full of people "from" the relevant countries sailing up the river. Lots of music, dancing and all in all the day out was a fascinating and vibrant experience. (More babble after a load of pictures of the parade)

We had dinner there too (well, it was all included in the rather high price). The hall was enormous and we had to eat at a set time; it seemed like thousands of Americans were there too. We were placed at a long table with a number of other people, ate pretty bland food and watched a show from a great distance.

All the people we met were absolutely astounded to meet Brits in Hawaii. It's a heck of a trip to make from the UK, but not so bad from Japan.

The Birthday Party

Sunday 14^th October 2007

Well, the day of The Birthday Party has arrived!

We spent yesterday afternoon and this morning putting the decorations are up – and they looked very feeble to be frank. The room was a lot bigger that we recalled when making the decorations. Ah well, hopefully the kids will be occupied enough not to notice. A friend has agreed to do the catering for us, so that's a huge weight off my mind. We bought an enormous birthday cake from Costco. (Rhiannon's actual birthday was on 12^th so she had a home baked one then).

We pop out for lunch then return to greet the screaming  hoards. Before they arrive, Rhiannon insists on dressing up as a mermaid and being face-painted before anyone else arrives. It was a bit of a rush job in the cramped bathroom there but the newly 6 year old was happy with it. No competitions will ever be won with my face-painting skills though. But the kids love it!

I set up my face-painting table next to the music system and am prepared with my mandatory bottle of champagne. After all, it's my 24 hours of hard labour that gave Rhiannon her birthday so I deserve a treat too. I figure I will probably spend about an hour painting faces then go and help out and enjoy the rest of the entertainment. I could not have been more wrong.

The children begin to arrive. Most of the parents drop them and scarper as soon as possible – understandable! But a couple of dear friends stayed and helped out. Little did I know that if it wasn't for Deb and Peggy the party would have been a total disaster.

Why? Well, it seemed that ALL the children wanted very complex face-painting, and it all had to be done NOW. I think there were about 30 kids there. I didn't get to move from my station for pretty much the entire 3 or 4 hours the party went on for. The boys weren't too tricky – they all wanted Spiderman or Batman, but the girls were more discerning and wanted fancy patterns. Not only that, it turned out they popped off to the bathroom after a while, washed it off and came back for another "look". Meanwhile, my champagne was going down very nicely indeed… and this also meant my face-painting skills and care went down proportionately. Some of the later Batmen looked more like racoons. And let's not mention the state of my drunken attempts of Spiderman… carnage!

Tim was a total star, organising all the children into the different activities. His painting of Ariel for "Pin the Shell Necklace on the Mermaid" was a huge hit – apart from the fact that many of the little ones couldn't quite reach high enough on the board so it became "Pin the Shell on Ariel's Boob or Belly Button" for them instead! Deb and Peggy ensured that the kids were fed and watered, taken to the bathroom when required and generally held it all together while I remained rooted to my seat surrounded by a demanding crowd, while getting steadily legless on my bottle of champers. Then someone produced another bottle of champagne and the face painting deteriorated even more dramatically.

I don't remember much after that…

Something that I DO remember however, is the rudeness of one particular mother. You may recall that someone didn't RSVP? Well, she turned up – with not just one child, but the invited child's younger sibling too.

Tongue loosened by the excess of alcohol, I remarked I wasn't expecting her or her TWO children as she hadn't replied to the invitation.

Her response? "Oh, I never bother to RSVP in case something better comes up" !!!!!

I was dumbstruck (for a change) and mindful of young ears listening in, kept my counsel (also for a change). I just said "Oh, well. Erm... there aren't enough party bags for your two, sorry".

Again, the utter rudeness of her response astounded me "That's OK, we don't need any of that sort of crap anyway". <Insert many swear words here>

I would have loved to have had words with her, AND to ensure her children didn't receive "crap" in the form of party bags, but Rhiannon ended up giving the bags out at the end of the party so the two children received them and two children with nice parents had to go without. A slightly sour end to an apparently fabulous party.

What a shame I missed most of it. But I will never, ever offer to face paint at a party ever again. Four solid hours in a chair… oh, my aching back. And a pounding head from the champagne and noise.

Next year we will have a SMALL party. And I will only invite POLITE people.

Party Planning

Late September 2007

Rhiannon's birthday always catches me by surprise, which is ridiculous really. The date of her birth is obviously etched into my psyche - 12^th October. But planning for it has been left until the last minute this year.

The only reason I can think for this appalling memory lapse is that the new school term started only a few weeks ago and with all the new things I have to learn / do / organise / pay for, the fact that a certain little girl's birthday is looming gets squeezed out of my mind.

That is, until she starts asking how long it is until her party. What party? Heck!

The school have a policy of mixing all the children up each year, so she's no longer in a class with any her friends. There are four classes per year group. I'm not sure I approve, but can understand the reasoning from an adult point of view: the expat community is extremely fluid and the school takes the view that separating friends helps children adapt to when they eventually move away. From a child's point of view, however, this is disastrous.

So we decide to go all out this year and invite her entire class, plus her friends from reception year. That's a lot of kids!

In the UK, we had soft-play areas where all the stress of party-planning was removed. The children could run riot for a couple of hours, then the venue provided food for them. Not here though. There aren't any soft-play areas, no readily available child-friendly halls or restaurants prepared to put up with thirty 5 and 6 year olds; just nowhere (that I could find) to hold a party.

Under NO circumstances am I having the party at home. Even the mere thought of that sends me rocking into the corner.

It's too late in the year to hold a party outside - it's not that cold, but it is typhoon season so the weather is unpredictable.

What to do?

Tim came to the rescue, as ever, what a brainwave! We'd hire the big hall at his workplace. Perfect!

Invitations are quickly sent out with instructions to RSVP. It's vital to get the RSVP so that a) I know how many goodie bags to make and b) security to get to the hall needs to be sorted out. (OK, perhaps these points should have been reversed…!)

Rhiannon's very much into the "Under Sea" thing so Tim and I decide to decorate the hall with streamers of seaweed, shiny fish and other stuff on the walls to make it less "officey". I delegate much of the design work to him as I have loads of work on and he's a fantastic artist. We pop over to take photos in order to plan further. It's a BIG room.

Having so many children potentially coming we decide to have stations of activity and rotate the kids between them. Some crafty things, I will face-paint, pin the necklace on Ariel, and a couple of other activities I can't remember now.

Party Day is set for Sunday 14^th October. So just over two weeks to sort it out. YIKES!

O-bon - a Festival

Sometime in late August 2007

Shortly after returning to Japan we went with some friends to an O-bon festival.

 

It was a treat for all the senses with the sight of refined and charming dancers, haunting melodies and strident drumming entertaining our ears. Our noses and mouths were full of with the heavy scent of burning incense and delicious local food. All combined to make for an extremely memorable evening.

O-bon is a family orientated festival held in the months of July or August depending on the region. This centuries old Buddhist ceremony is a memorial festival to honour ones ancestors. O-bon is one of Japan's three major holiday seasons and families try their hardest to get together.

The belief is that each year during O-bon, the spirits of our ancestors returned to this world in order to visit relatives. Lanterns are hung in front of houses to guide the spirits home, families gather at the graveyard to reminisce about lost loved ones and food offerings are made at temples and small altars within the home. These home altars are very common and can be purchased from the most department stores or specialist shops. The altar is decorated with flowers and tiny paper lanterns which are lit on the first day of the festival and on the last day these little lanterns are lit at the graveside to guide the spirits back.

During O-bon special folk dances called bon-odori are held all over Japan. The one we went to was held in a park square with a large fountain as the centrepiece. The fountain was lit by multicoloured changing lights and at one end of the square a tall platform was erected on which taiko drummers performed. Above our heads were streamers of red lanterns and around the circumference of the Park were stalls selling all kinds of food, drink and most importantly, kakigori (shaved ice). It was extremely hot even though it was evening.

 

Many people gathered around the fountain, most of whom were wearing light cotton summer kimono called yukata. Some groups of ladies were wearing what appeared to be a uniform with matching yukata and obis. They carried fans which were tucked into the back of the obi when not being used.

 

 

Music started with the pounding rhythm of a number of large taiko drums.

Each region has a specific local dance and the way in which the dance is performed differs throughout the country. Typically the people line up in a circle and move around either the stage or in this case the fountain. The dances apparently tell stories of the area's history, geography or specialisation, so some dances may show the movements of miners, rice picking or rivers and mountains.

 

 

What was depicted by the dancers we watched is a mystery, but the hand gestures and gentle movements were incredibly elegant and beautiful. Often fans were used in the dance which served to emphasise the gracefulness of the moves. Everybody joined in including my daughter and her friends who were accepted with a smile and a helping hand. What amazed me most was how all members of society joined in, from elderly gentlemen to leather-clad youths, each knowing the precise and intricate choreography of each dance.

This spectacle was repeated over and over again, the music and steps changing occasionally, until finally a compère arrived on stage to sing special O-bon songs and announce the end of the ceremony.

It was a moving, beautiful and spectacular event.

Things We Did in England - Part 1

July 2007

Mum's birthday was brilliant! We all went to The Mayfly - a pub right on the River Test. A stunning setting and fabulous food. Penny (my farmer friend from Wales) walked in and promptly met someone she knew from the tiny town near her farm! What a small world. It gets better - Mum's cousin is a retired vicar or something and lives in the same area in Wales. Turned out they all knew each other!

After an enormous lunch we walked around the common while the kids ran, paddled in the stream and attempted to catch tiddlers. In time honoured fashion we took some bread in order to feed the ducks but actually fed the enormous trout that live in the river. We played Pooh-Sticks. For ages! Simple, childhood memories and fantastic weather made for a wonderful day. I know Mum really enjoyed having everyone together again.

 

 
  

I did a LOT of gardening for Mum. She's finding it hard to keep on top of the amount of work required in her large garden and doesn't have the strength to complete many tasks. I pruned, hacked, dug, and spent an inordinate amount of time waging war on the bindweed that is beginning to take over. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

However, I didn't enjoy the surprise of the light evenings. I'd totally forgotten about them! In Japan it gets dark at 7pm in the summer and about 6pm in the winter. Lovely! Rhiannon's logic is - if it's not dark, then it can't possibly be bedtime.

 

Penny and I spent an evening catching up on life, the universe and everything at Lainston House - which is where Tim and I got married last year. We pledge to continue this tradition as it's a wonderful place.

Penny and me at my wedding:

 
 

On another day, I reluctantly accompanied Tim and Rhiannon to Paultons Park. As you already know from my previous post about Disneyland, I do not like these overpriced places. And boy, are they expensive in the UK?! I was horrified at the costs of everything. Japan is supposed to be expensive, but we spent far more in the UK than we do here. For one thing, entry fees to most places here, such as museums, gardens and so on are minimal. And drinks etc are usually vending machine prices - 120yen max (approx .50p at that time) rather than £5 for a coffee. Outrageous. But again, the weather was fair and as you can see, I managed to crack a smile for the camera!

 
 

Tim took Rhiannon swimming while I had a business meeting with the woman I write for (mentioned in this post).

She appointed me as the monthly Gardening writer - I was thrilled! But I wasn't allowed to write under my own name, so have to come up with a pseudonym, "in case anyone complains"... WTF?! Ah well, whatever, it's a job of sorts. It's a shame I can't add it to my portfolio. Therefore Rose Henfrey was "born". Henfrey is a family name from eons ago - Arthur Henfrey was a reknowned botanist with connections to Charles Darwin (which could explain a lot about my interests) and, although I haven't found the connection to our family, many of my ancestors carried his name.

So, yes, if you read and enjoyed any of Rose Henfrey's garden articles, thank you - that was me! If you Google "Rose Henfrey" you can read some old articles I wrote.
I can reveal my pseudonym now as I was recently and abruptly dropped from this position - my favourite of all the regular columns I wrote. The pretext was something along the lines of a change is good... Are you sensing a tinge of bitterness?! You'd be right!

Anyway, moving on! I accomplished a lot of shopping ready for Tim to take back with him; Winchester is good for some of that, but most will be bought in Exeter, especially the kid's clothes. We visited hyper-markets and had a whale of a time! "oooh look, Chocolate Hob Nobs!!!" "mmm, brown bread". We feasted and over-indulged on all kinds of British staples.

And yes, we got our bacon sarnies and fish and chips. Heaven! It's funny the food items we missed but didn't realise until we saw them again.

 

 

Flowing Noodles and Taiko

Saturday 2^nd June 2007

My calendar entry for this day just says "BBQ - take food and drink". Luckily my photos reminded me more about the event.

It was held on a sunny day, held and attended by most of the families at Tim's workplace. The kids had free run of the playground, the adults had free run at the icy lager and sausages. There are a few children of Rhiannon's age so she had a fabulous time. And they are at an age where they all wear pink!

Something that I've noticed here - whenever a photo is taken of a Japanese person, the photographee holds two fingers up in a V sign - the peace version, not the other one so prevalent in the UK… It hasn't taken long for Rhiannon and the other children to pick up on this pose! Note the famous drink - Pocari Sweat! Great name, harmless taste and not too many chemicals to set Rhiannon off on one of her post additive hyper sessions.

Games had been set up for the children to play. One of which was a Japanese special called "Nagashi Somen" or "Flowing Somen". Somen are a type of noodle served cold during these hot summer months. The flowing part comes from the fun part… a thick bamboo tube is set up on a slight slant and iced water is poured down it - along with the noodles. The game is to catch the noodles with chopsticks before they fall into the drain. This isn't just a children's game, by the way, some restaurants do this and recently a new Nagashi Somen record distance was set with the tube running for 2,500 metres!

Then we were treated to an amazing Taiko performance. Drums touch a very deep part of my soul and, although I don't have the co-ordination to drum myself, I more than appreciate the beat. Drum performances of any kind always set the hairs on the back of my neck up. Sometimes they move me to tears. Weird, I know! Taiko isn't just drumming - it's an athletic performance art with stylised movements and poses. Mesmerising!

Naked Men plus Tattoos Equals…?

Sunday 20th May 2007 part 2

(Lots of photos again!)

So, we've arrived at Asakusa in the middle of the biggest crowd of people I've encountered outside of a stadium gig in the UK. Most of the people are wearing a kind of uniform of matching short jackets known as Happi coats and extremely short shorts.

Bear in mind that at that particular point in time I had absolute NO idea what was occurring, so the information about this festival was researched later. For now, allow me to indulge my view of the day while I was there…

I spot mikoshi. These are portable shrines, elaborately decorated with black lacquer and gold embellishments. They are so heavy, each weighing over a tonne they need to be carried by many people. So this must be a festival of some sort.

While I was happy to watch and enjoy the hypnotic drumming and fizz of adrenaline in the air, the others wanted to get away as quickly as possible. So I ignored them as they marched off and lingered to soak up the atmosphere.

And that atmosphere was exhilarating beyond belief. The festival was incredibly spectacular. And very loud! People were happy and joyful and the emotion was infectious. I saw a few geisha and maiko, but mostly the crowds comprised large groups of obvious collectives. These were the groups of people in matching uniforms - the Happi coats and headbands.

Suddenly I noticed groups of naked men. As you do. Well, nearly naked - they wore a white thong affair, like sumo wrestlers. Only these guys were nowhere near the size of sumo. And they were covered in the most wonderful tattoos.

A lightbulb went off in my head. Oh. My. GOD! These men must be members of the Yakuza! Yakuza are renowned for their tattoos. Among other things…the Yakuza are groups of people some compare to the Mafia. Organised crime etc. Anyway, whatever they do - it's not my place to comment, nor do I have the knowledge.

However, I am a huge fan of body art, as you will see from my next post.

Tattoos are a complicated matter here in Japan. It's hard to explain precisely why, but I understand it's something to do with the fact that the Yakuza have extensive, often full body tattoos so therefore tattoos equal Yakuza. I am tattooed. And this means I am not allowed into public swimming pools, gymnasiums, or onsen (natural hot springs). I also cannot use many of the spa's here for massage or other treatments. The fact that I am obviously NOT a Yakuza member - being Caucasian - makes no difference whatsoever. My decorated skin is forbidden. Tattoos should be covered.

Whatever this festival was about, it was a one of the few occasions to see the Yakuza tattoos on public display. So what a treat for my eyes to see these (mostly) rather attractive bodies and their amazing skin art! Of course, I had to take some photos… for reference purposes only, of course ;-) - see further down the page for close ups...

Some of the guys had jumped onto the mikoshi and were jumping, chanting and blowing whistles in time to the drumming, at the same time as the numerous people carrying the weighty shrines were bouncing them on their shoulders.

 

I adore people-watching, so had a wonderful, but short time, doing this. During the summer, fans are freely handed out by many companies - these made me laugh. West versus East!

I couldn't resist taking photos of these decorated men. I make no comment on the pink hat. Well, would you?

 

 

It was Sanja Matsuri - the festival of Asakusa Shrine and has always been known as the largest and rowdiest festival in the whole of Japan. Sanja Matsuri lasts for three days, starting on the third Friday of May with hundreds of people walking through the area for a purification ritual. The purpose of the procession is to bring good luck and prosperity.

During the procession the mikoshi are shaken violently as apparently this brings extra luck to the district. Sanja Matsuri is a joyful festival where everybody has a lot of fun and all this merriment includes music, dancing and drinking. The Happi coats bear the symbols of certain businesses, guilds or groups. I'd love to have experienced this whole day and night, but unfortunately haven't been able to for various reasons.

In recent years this festival has been threatened with cancellation as overzealous participants have taken to climbing on the mikoshi, damaging them and insulting the sacred items. However, because these particular participants are members of the Yakuza, police are reluctant to prosecute.

And to date (2010), it still hasn't been cancelled.

Sumida River Boat Trip

Sunday 20^th May 2007 part 1

Yes, I know - I've muddled up dates again.
Never mind. I'm so far behind, consider this blog as a travelogue rather than a chronological diary!

One of Tim's workmates is over from the UK for an extended visit so we decide to take him (and us) for a boat trip. Starting from somewhere and ending in Asakusa.

We take the train. Trains. It's quite a trek from home to the starting 'port' and among many line changes, includes a journey on a driverless monorail which weaves through the skyscrapers of Tokyo. Then there's a long walk to find the boats. The place is incredibly busy, which was quite surprising. But in retrospect, if we'd known what was occurring at the other end of the trip, totally understandable.

To be honest, the boat trip wasn't particularly memorable. There's none of the historical interest of seeing, for example, London from the Thames, but the many bridges are interesting… if you get excited about bridges.

After half an hour or so we arrived in Asakusa.

And it was the busiest I have EVER seen it. There were people everywhere. Thousands and thousands of them.

Now it's normally a very busy tourist spot, but this day was something else altogether. We could barely move. Rhiannon was in danger of being trampled so Tim hoisted her onto his shoulders for safety.

What was going on? See the next post… boy, was I in for a treat!

The Sound of One Hand Clapping…

Friday 25^th May 2007

Heirinji Zen Temple (lots of photos)

I have been gently coerced by important people into joining a trip to the Heirinji Zen Temple.

The trip is organised by a group called "Elizabeth Kai" which is part of the Japan-British Society. "Elizabeth Kai" is a ladies only group. To quote from the Japan-British Society website, "Lady members of the Japan-British Society may join the Elizabeth-Kai, which presents a varied programme of cultural events and outings, and provides many opportunities for Japanese and British ladies to meet informally and share mutual interests. There are more than 200 members divided into seven groups, each of which organises its own detailed programme, whilst major events of the year, especially the annual tea party given by the wife of the British Ambassador, are open to ladies from all these groups."

OK. I'll see how it goes, and besides, I want to see something other than the screen on my PC, the walls of my house and also distract myself from the ever-nightmarish school-run-parking-fiasco - I've delegated that to Tim today.

I have to make my own way by metro via umpteen line changes to the meeting place somewhere out in the sticks. By some lucky chance I actually do find it! The rest of the group are easy to find as are all gaijin in Japan. Quickly I realise that I am at least half the other members' age and far below their intellectual status. But this matters not, and I am welcomed with open arms and swift acceptance by a large group of absolutely charming and lively ladies.

As we reach the gate of the magnificent temple, the heavens opened. Torrential rain pelted us, preventing our trip around the beautiful, lush gardens. Such a shame; I was really looking forward to seeing a real Zen garden. As this was an organised visit, we were greeted by a black robed monk for our special tour of the temple and handed a small package. Upon later inspection, this contained a pamphlet (in Japanese) about the Temple with a single page of English information inserted into it. And a delightful orange charm displaying a discreet symbol of this temple. Rather puzzlingly, the packet also contains a few sheets of tiny stickers of Kanji phrases. I still haven't worked out what these are for.

Heirinji Zen Temple is one of the only temples that doesn't have shops or stalls selling these charms, so this is an extremely special gift.

The reason the Temple isn't commercialised is because it is primarily a teaching monastery. It is a Rinzai Zen monastery. In this tradition, the Zen master trains his monks by assigning them each a Kōan as a focus of meditation. A Kōan is one of those "unanswerable" Zen questions. We were told that the famous Kōan, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" originated at this very temple.

The temple was first built in 1375 but was burned down during a feudal war between 1573 and 1592. It was rebuilt in 1663 and has remained a centre of peacefulness ever since. And it is peaceful. It's hard to put into words the sense of tranquillity this beautiful place invokes.

From what I saw of the gardens, there would be plenty of opportunity for meditative communing with nature in Japanese terms. The trees are a mix of rich greens and deep red Acers, all clipped into attractive, yet natural shapes. Enormous stone lanterns peep from behind bushes and large ponds containing vivid Koi are dotted around. But all the time the rain is doing a great impression of a monsoon.

 

After our tour of the workings of the temple, we are led into a large hall for a lesson on meditation. The room is light and airy with floor to ceiling windows down the two long sides, looking out over the gardens. What a view! At the front of the hall sits a jovial looking monk who speaks good English. Chairs for "non-kneelers" are set up down the centre of the hall. I take one of these - my legs are too long to be sitting on the floor and my back "went" shortly after Rhiannon was born and hasn't ever recovered. As the youngest there, I felt a little guilty to see ladies in their eighties nimbly kneel on the floor.

Our Zen master explained how to meditate and told us that normally he would sound a bell or chant to help us but today the sound of the rain would be our focus as it was supplied by nature and therefore far more powerful.

I can't meditate. But it was a good experience.

Once this had finished the Zen master happily took well considered questions from the ladies and then our visit was over.

But there was still one more treat in store. Lunch!

The monks supply the food for an authentic Zen restaurant nearby and we were to be treated there.

The entrance to the deceptively tiny restaurant was stunning as you can see from the photo.

A couple of tables were set up downstairs for those not able to sit at the traditional Japanese tables upstairs - meaning you kneel on the floor. I stayed downstairs… until I realised that everyone - except one lady aged 95 with no English - had gone upstairs. Ah well, sod my back, I'll join the experience and see how I do.

Surprisingly large upstairs, long, low - very low - tables were set up and everyone was kneeling at them. I needed help so moved to a space with a wall behind to my back at least would be supported. But the wall was made of straw and I was terrified of breaking it. Oh, but I was fidgety! However the food was exquisite. Each red lacquer tray was laid out with care: beautiful bowls contained tasty vegan delicacies, most of which I didn't recognise but thoroughly enjoyed.

Zen and the art of good food.

Conversation was lively, entertaining and intellectual.

Somehow I managed to get up afterwards, again embarrassed by the nimble octogenarians, but they were all too refined to notice my difficulties.

A truly wonderful day trip.

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.)

Sogetsu Ikebana

Monday 14^th May 2007

Today is a ME day. Well, I deserve it after last week…

Unfortunately it is also half term. For some ridiculous reason, this half term is only two days long, when the children are exhausted and could really do with a week off.

Tim's taken the day off work so Rhiannon will be spoiled rotten and will have a lovely day with Dad - at Disneyland again... while I spoil me.

It's my first Ikebana lesson today and I'm very nervous. It's held at the Tokyo Union Church Women's Society in Omotesando and starts at 10am. Tim needs the car so I catch the bus and hop off at Harajuku to walk down the road to Omotesando.

The church room the class is held in is obviously a children's classroom too, and the walls are decorated with painted stained glass windows and quotes from the bible. I felt very out of place. Until a wonderfully outgoing, warm and friendly Texan lady called Maria walked in and made me feel very welcome. Over the next couple of years, she became a very good friend and always brightened up the lessons with her repartee. The other members of the class were very genteel Japanese ladies so Maria and I often reduced ourselves to giggles with muffled swearing when branches fell out of the vase and so on.

Our Sensei appeared. Yoka Hosono is a Master Instructor of the Sogetsu Headquarters and a very famous lady in the Ikebana world. She travels the globe giving talks and demonstrations, even though she isn't very young. She will not reveal her age; she looks about fifty but is actually rather older than that - apparently.

I am told to buy a text book and a pair of snippers. For today, she lends me hers, but has come prepared with a new text book.

Although she teaches me and Maria in heavily accented English, there are times when she lapses into Japanese, especially when there is no readily available English alternative. It's terribly confusing.

She hands me a newspaper wrap of branches and three flowers and points to page one of the book. Page one is at the back of the book - because this is japan and everything is back to front.

There's another American woman student who demands Sensei's attention for every cut of a plant. Which means Sensei leaves me to make my first attempt with minimal assistance! EEEK!! I have NO idea what I'm doing at all. Maria points me in the direction of the vase cupboard, kenzan (needlepoint holders) and water and gives me a few hints and tips.

After an hour or so, I have a pretty passable copy of the picture in the book although I feel there are far too many flowers stuffed in there for Ikebana. I'd always pictured this discipline as minimalist.

(Apologies for the photo - I haven't got to grips with fading out the background. But this was my first Ikebana arrangement so it needed a prosperity picture)

 
Sensei is delighted with it! Apparently I have "a gift and an eye". I am absolutely amazed and rather pleased with myself. She also said it "looks like an English country garden". Oh. Not quite my intention, but she meant it as a compliment. So if she's happy, then so am I.

She's also rather taken with my looks as I'm not a "normal Sogestu student". At this point, my hair was pink, by the way, so I can see her point! Another source of fun for her is to compare her diminutive stature to my six foot frame…

Class over, it's time to reluctantly dismantle my arrangement and plod back up the road to catch the bus. But on the way, I visit a nearby Ikebana shop for a suiban - flat basin for flower arrangements, snippers and a kenzan, so I can attempt to redo the flowers at home. It's a gorgeous shop so I also bought a few more vases and a special bag to carry my flowers in.

On the return bus journey an elderly gentleman struck up a conversation with me and explained that Sogetsu means Sun, Moon and Earth. He congratulated me on starting this course and urged me to continue. I certainly intend to!

My "Me" afternoon continued with a rather fabulous facial treatment at Boudoir where I was treated by the beautiful Australian boss.

A lovely day :-D

The School's Spring Fair

Saturday 28th April 2007

This will be a short post as my memory of the day is buried under 3 years worth of other, more interesting, memories.

The School's annual Spring Fair was held in the compound of the British Embassy. Stalls included the cake stall, which I failed completely to contribute to, various junk stalls - read "stuff that people want to get rid of" like toys etc. There were also simple competitions for the kids such as tombolas and hook a duck.

The latter press-ganged me into helping out whereupon all the other mothers disappeared for an hour, leaving me alone with what seemed like hundreds of small children. I didn't like this. In the end, I just gave out gifts to any kid that had a go. The look on their faces if they didn't win a piece of plastic crap wasn't worth the hassle.

I spotted another mum from the same class, grabbed her to run the stall and scarpered to try and find Tim and Rhiannon. But I was distracted by a rather fascinating "outsider" stall selling table runners made from antique obi material. Beautiful items, so I treated myself to a couple.

Then I spotted a very large sheep. No, I wasn't hallucinating - I poked it to make sure. It was definately a sheep. A very large one (but I forget the breed now). Attached to it was a man who ran an organic farm somewhere near Fuji. I'm afraid I rather monopolised him for a while as I do like sheep (my best friend runs a sheep farm in Wales) and the ludicrousness of seeing a sheep in the middle of Tokyo, albeit the British Embassy, really tickled my sense of humour.

We were treated to a haunting musical interlude by some kimono-clad ladies playing traditional Japanese instruments.

Finally I found the rest of my family just in time for the raffle. The prizes were excellent, flights, hotels, really high-level stuff. We didn't win anything, of course. Just as the last ticket was drawn, a huge crash of thunder boomed out and the heavens opened.

I've never seen so many people leave so quickly.

Too late I discovered there was beer and Pimms stalls. Ah well...

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.

Nikko

9^th to 11^th April 2007

On the recommendation of some work colleagues, Tim booked us a couple of days in a log cabin allegedly buried deep in a forest near Nikko.

Nikko is an ancient town about 140km north of Tokyo. It is home to many shrines and temples, a lot of history and has been a centre of worship for centuries. The Nikko National Park is home to wild monkeys, hot springs, beautiful mountains and lakes. So says the guide book.

We are very excited.

Driving through the Japanese countryside was fascinating and I was entranced by glimpses of snowy mountains and views of traditional-style houses and small fields.

Enormous carp flags were on display outside many homes ready for Children's Day on 5th May. Some were several metres long and all were impressive. The flags are called koinibori and are flown to honour sons as a wish that the boys will grow up strong and healthy. 

Somehow, with my dreadful navigating, the Japanese-speaking GPS system and the complete lack of signposts as we neared our destination, we eventually found the log-cabin grounds and were thrilled to see the most amazingly picturesque cottage that was to be our home for a couple of nights. It wasn't very deep in a forest at all.

My excitement diminished rapidly when I realised we would be sleeping on futons. And it was quite cold. I don't like cold. Mum went very quiet upon seeing the thin mattresses. I knew how she felt.

Rhiannon was thrilled at this little adventure and quickly chose her room. It had a tiny door, only about 4 feet high so eminently suitable for a child. There was a skylight too, which she adored and promptly lay on her swiftly pulled out futon and was quiet. This is a rare event.

Tim got organised by grabbing futons and laying piles of them out for us. I ended up with about 6, one on top of the other. A bit Princess and the Pea. They were rock hard and exceedingly uncomfortable. I also used about 8 duvets and was still cold. Nevermind, it was just for two nights.

Ignoring the bedtime plight, we set off to explore the immediate area by taking a walk in the forest. It was a coniferous forest with an unnatural feel about it. Coniferous places are never great for experiencing wildlife and after a while, I worked out why this one was particularly strange. There was absolutely no birdsong at all. Eerily quiet and bereft of all life as I mentioned about Mount Takao. Where are all the birds? Surely they haven't all been hunted? Or have they?

Rhiannon trotted off ahead and when we caught up with her she was happily playing in a puddle of mud. As a child who constantly needed someone with her at all times, this was a pleasant break from the norm. I had forgotten to check the bathing facilities at the house, but she was having great fun so we let her continue getting good and muddy.

There wasn't much walking to be had. In Japan it seems you can only walk on marked trails and the "wilderness" is out of bounds, either by being fenced off or inaccessible due to poor terrain. The forest was bordered on one side by a large river and empty road and the other was fenced off.

Back at the cabin, I found a lovely Japanese bathroom with a very small yet deep bath which Rhiannon was quickly placed and the muddy clothes peeled off. The toilet was interesting. The cistern had a little basin built into the top with a tap which ran when the toilet was flushed. What a clever invention to recycle water.

Then we took to the car again in search of an evening meal.

We drove into Nikko town and discovered it closed. Nothing was open at all and it was only about 5.30pm. No restaurants could be found anywhere. After an hour or so of looking, getting increasingly annoyed, we finally found an open restaurant that looked very nice indeed. Tim dropped us there while he went to find a car park and eventually we had a very good meal.

Finding our way back to the cabin would have been impossible if it wasn't for Tim's very excellent sense of direction.

Back inside, we lit a fire. Or rather, Tim tried to light a fire. Many times. Mum was very good and didn't butt in and I dared not catch her eye for fear of giggling at his unsuccessful attempts. Don't want to question the hunter-gatherer's skills, do we? But the flames caught in the end and the house grew cosy and warm very quickly.

A pile of National Geographic magazines and guide books were our evening entertainment.

Then we braved the futons and slept. Sort of.

Mount Takao

Thursday 5^th April 2007

Another day trip planned. Today we go to Mount Takao, a sacred mountain with stunning scenery, rare woodland walks and a temple complex.

The peak is nearly 600m but most of this walk can be avoided by lazy people (like me) by taking either a funicular railway or a chairlift. We took the chairlift, which quite frankly, terrified me. Similar to those found at ski resorts, you line up and wait for the chair to hit the back of your knees before sitting down and hoping for the best as there is no bar to hold onto and the seat is very narrow. Making everyone else go ahead of me seemed the best way to prevent them seeing my fear. I clung on for dear life and forced a smile each time Rhiannon turned around to wave. "Why don't you wave back, Mummy?" Eek! I did manage a quick photo which may be a little shaky.

Rather than hovering high above the ground, a fairly secure-looking net covered the area just below the seats. Just as I was relaxing into the ride I noticed that in some places the net was alarmingly close to my feet. Just in time, I lifted up my legs so as not to be catapulted out of the chair. This game made the ride diverted my terror and was quite entertaining but meant I missed a lot of the view.

The chairs are painted cheerful primary colours and the trip was extremely peaceful apart from the tinny music drifting out incongruously from various places. Near the top of the ride a man perched on the edge of a cliff takes your photograph and, by the wonders of digital technology, the picture is waiting for you when you reach the top. At the end of the ride, polite gentlemen help you off the seat and away from the danger of the chair behind you, which was very welcome as my legs had completely failed to work due to sheer fright and the narrow seat had cut off my circulation.

Hiking to the top of the mountain is actually very easy, even for children - and me - as the entire route is a paved road. For more interest, numerous 'off road' hiking trails exist which meander through a wooded nature reserve. Mount Takao is said to be rich in wildlife with over 1,200 species of plants, insects, birds and animals. Although many signs indicate the types of wildlife to be seen in the woods, such as flying squirrels, on my many trips there since this first one, I've never seen even a beetle. It seems to be a very sterile area lacking even birdsong. I suppose the wildlife is there, but maybe it stays deep in the woods away from the huge numbers of visitors that come to the mountain.

To our surprise, one of the first attractions we discovered en route was a monkey zoo. Japan has its own indigenous monkeys, Japanese macaques, and a community of them are housed in a small zoo here. We didn't visit as I don't like zoos.

We passed by and continued up the hill, admiring ancient sacred trees wrapped in thick twine and festooned with folded white paper strips. The base of one enormous tree was worn smooth by countless hands patting it on passing.

Mount Takao has been a sacred place for over a thousand years and the beautiful Yakuoin Temple is found near the peak. Believed to have been built in 744, this temple is dedicated to a medicine Buddha, so many people with ailments or sick relatives visit to pray. A colourful set of buildings, the architecture is embellished with multicoloured wood carvings representing dragons, foxes and humans. Numerous statues surround the buildings and huge cauldrons filled with ash stand by the entrances to the many separate temples. You pay a few yen for a bundle of incense sticks, light them and place them in the cauldron to produce the 'holy smoke'. I wish I knew more about the workings of these fantastic temples. There are so many questions I have about everything, but nobody to ask.

As we neared the temple, the road was lined with red lanterns and a stunning, yet completely puzzling array of wooden posts, each decorated with kanji. Although most of the writing was identical on each one, there were slight differences near the base. Regardless of their meaning, the effect was stunning.

Lots of stalls surround the temple, as is common at every place of worship here, selling charms and prayers specific to this particular place. I've started collecting some of these, just in case! I'm quite a collector… OK I'm mainly a shopaholic who can't resist retail therapy, especially after a scary chairlift ride.

We stopped for lunch at a small restaurant where the views across the landscape were incredible, with Tokyo visible in the far distance. Luckily for us there were a few tables with chairs so we didn't have to eat 'Japanese-style' – kneeling on the ground. We chose some sort of noodle bowl which Rhiannon and I thought was delicious. Mum had some difficulty using the chopsticks and Tim didn't like the taste.

After lunch, we continued up to the peak of the mountain to see the amazing views of the mountain range that includes Fuji-san. Then it was time to head back down the mountain with another "exciting" trip on the chairlift in order.

I contemplated walking down but decided to face my fears and to my surprise, thoroughly enjoyed this second ride.

Holy Smoke

Temple Details

Hakone - A Birthday Trip

Tuesday 3^rd April 2007

It's my birthday today. I don't get a cake, but I do get to eat black eggs!

Tim's taken a couple of weeks off work so we can get out and about with Mum and explore some other parts of Japan. Lots of trips out of Tokyo are planned.

Today we went to Hakone, a popular day-trip destination less than 100 kilometres from Tokyo. Hakone is famous for its onsen, or hot springs, as well as being a site of natural beauty and real countryside.

Now, about onsen. I would love to visit one of these public hot springs but I am not allowed. Why? Well, I have tattoos which are well and truly banned. Incidentally, I am also not allowed to go to swimming pools and gyms, neither of which I am bothered about. Why are tattooed people forbidden from onsen? It stems from the banning of members of the yakuza - mafia-type gangs - who are covered in beautifully worked ink. Even though, by dint of being female and gaijin I cannot possibly be a member, my ink disallows me from baring myself to the Japanese world. Ah well.

We went by car and the journey took around two hours along toll roads that are easy to navigate with numerous well-equipped service stations. These service areas are great. Banks of vending machines dispensing every kind of drink and even hot food. Clean and vast toilets with a choice of cubicle - Japanese, Western, and even double cubicles with a normal sized convenience and a kid-sized one! Plenty of dogs to watch - there are even facilities for them with dog runs and water bowls. A huge shop contained something very rare and most welcome - a bakery. How I've missed decent baked goods! We stock up on plenty of rolls, doughnuts, Danish pastries and other items to eat en route.

Once at our destination we didn't really have plan but soon realised that the main attractions are lakes and mountains. Unfortunately the weather turned nasty and we were engulfed in a thick dank fog. So none of my photos are good, sorry.

Lake Ashi was our first stop where we took a boat trip around the vast lake. To our amazement we spotted three colourful 'pirate' ships; replicas of British ships complete with masts and figureheads looming out of the mists. We also saw what appeared to be a paddle steamer. What a shame we were on the only 'ordinary' boat on the lake. They were all tourist boats ferrying people back and forth to various destinations. Apparently you can see Mount Fuji from here, but the fog meant we could barely see the other side of the lake. On one side of the lake is the entrance to one of the most photographed shrines in Japan with its picturesque bright red torii gates placed in the water.

Returning to shore and our car we were lured by signs leading to something called "The Great Boiling Valley". With a name like that, we just had to visit! Following these signs led us up a mountain called Owakudani which is a volcanic hotspot full of bubbling sulphurous springs and fumaroles. A number of cable cars or ropeways were taking people some of the way but we drove and parked in the convenient car park near the top before walking the rest of the way.

 

This fascinating sign greeted us at the exit from the car park before walking up the mountain.

 

We decided to brave the dangers and headed up the path through the pungent air where we came to an area of boiling pools of milky blue-green water. Around one of the pools large metal boxes were immersed in the hot water. Leading up to this was a pulley system bringing boxes of eggs up from the town at the base of the mountain. These eggs were then plunged into the boiling water and sold in bags at a nearby kiosk. Although they are normal chicken eggs their shells are turned black by the chemicals in the water. These black eggs are extremely famous here and according to Japanese legend they increase your lifespan; for each black egg you eat another seven years is added to your life.

Another typically translated sign: I think it apologises in advance if there are no eggs available.

 

Solid wooden tables surround the kiosk, each one encircled by dozens of people bashing the eggs and peeling off the shells.

A sign nearby showed that we had climbed to 1050m above sea-level.

We ate lots of eggs and very delicious they were too. Good to know we'll live longer for eating them - with the number we've eaten we're probably going to be immortal.

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!

 

To See the Emperor...

Chronological crisis again... let's go back to...

2nd January 2007

Stuck for something to do, we decided to join the crowds and visit the Emperor in his Palace!

The Imperial family here don’t meet the masses as our British Royal family do, but the masses are graciously permitted to go and see them in their Palace on two occasions each year: on the current Emperor’s birthday, 23rd December and also 2nd January, which is when we decided to venture there.

We caught the train and basically followed the multitudes along a long road bordering a rather strange field full of enormous bonsai trees. The trees were rigorously pruned into gloriously stylised shapes, just as traditional bonsai trees are, with one exception; these trees were a couple of metres high and laid out like an orchard.

Along the red-cone-lined route were gentlemen handing out Japanese flags and we were given one each. We thought we may be treated with suspicion being gaijin, but the atmosphere was incredibly friendly and happy.

Across the moat which is lined with huge, grey stones and through a magnificent set of doors.

We weren’t allowed to stop and take photos, as I discovered when I tried to snap a particularly beautiful view. I was gently, yet firmly moved along by the palace police. I still got the photo though! But it seemed to be OK to take photos as long as we kept moving.

There were set times for the Imperial family to appear at the window and we arrived with about 20 minutes to wait; which was lucky! The crowds seemed to be well controlled as the area in front of the palace didn’t get overfull and there was no disagreeable pushing and shoving.

I was rather disappointed with the lack of grandness the palace displayed. It appeared to be just two storeys high and surrounded by windows. But I later discovered that it had been rebuilt after being destroyed in World War 2 and was built to be earthquake-proof.

Over the loudspeakers came various speeches which, of course, were undecipherable to us. However, one particular speech seemed different to/from the rest. Spoken by a women with a soothing mellifluous voice the speech had the sound of a prayer. This feeling was emphasised by most of the crowd lowering their heads. It was the most relaxing and comforting sound I‘ve ever heard, and would love to know the words.

A sense of expectation was palpable.

From time to time the smartly attired palace guards would change position, which caused a ripple of anticipation throughout the crowd. 

Then, they appeared!

Japan’s Imperial Family can be seen at their window amidst happy cheers and much flag waving.

They waved and smiled for a while; the Emperor said a few words and then they all went back inside.

And that was it!

New Year's Eve 2006

Since becoming parents, we hadn't really bothered with the whole New Year thing in the UK and usually just watched a bit of TV then went to bed. Both of us had done plenty of partying in the past, so didn't miss it at all. Personally, I find New Year's Eve a rather emotional event for some reason, and nowadays just treat it as a normal evening.

But, for our first New Year's Eve in Japan we thought we really ought to do something special.

However, we weren't entirely sure precisely what to do, bearing in mind we had a 5 year old child to include, as well as my Mum...

At the time, we had no idea on the significance and tradition of this special day in Japan so were only basing our expectations on the UK celebrations.

Our options seemed to be one of two things: either visit a shrine along with several thousand Tokyoites or spend the evening at the work bar, where a special evening had been planned for the first time as a number of new people had just arrived.

Tim and I spent a couple of days researching our options: I talked to the young blue-haired lad in the conbeni - corner shop - who proved to be an asset as he spoke a little English and was eager to chat whenever I popped in for milk. Tim spoke to his colleagues at work.

While some couples were off to see what happened at a shrine, my conbeni friend said an emphatic "no" to this when I mentioned it to him. I think because he'd seen Rhiannon and was worried she'd be crushed by the crowds. Further questioning discovered that all the shrine-goers throw coins a long distance, so, in the position of caring parents, we decided to take his advice and not go. This left the work 'do', so that is where we ended up.

What a strange evening that was!

A few people, none of whom knew each other, sat in a soulless bar clutching drinks tried to make small-talk above the sound of some random music, while an overtired, but excited 5 year old ran around trying unsuccessfully to find something to do.

Accutely aware of being in a bar with my Mother for the first time, I was unable to relax as I felt I should keep an eye on her. Apart from the weirdness the actual fact engendered, New Year's Eve has always been a very poignant time as something had happened the New Year's Eve shortly before Dad died - it seems he'd had a premonition that it was to be his last New Year on earth and photos of the event show a scared man looking at the camera. Very painful.

So, we edgily sipped champagne, watched the clock until it said midnight, kissed each other and headed off home, expecting to see and hear fireworks and crowds of people.

But nothing! No fireworks, no people, no singing or shouting, no drunken louts lying in gutters or staggering along the street, no pools of vomit everywhere, nothing!

The whole journey home was a quiet as the grave, not a soul to be seen. This was my first sense of culture shock, it was just so incredibly different, yet pleasantly so.

IT'S CHRIIIISTMAASSSSSS!!!

Our first Christmas in Tokyo started early, as can be expected with an over-excited 5 year old.

But not with the happy sounds one would normally hear. Rhiannon marched into our room at 5.30am, crying her eyes out!

Between her sobbing she cried "Santa hasn't been to see me and I have been good, mostly". 

Bless her, she was so bleary that she'd stepped right over her stocking without noticing it. So I took her back to her room to "see if Santa had hidden it" (rather amazed I was on the ball at that time in the morning...)

Cue one very happy child!

After breakfast, the doorbell rang. We'd forgotten that it was a normal working day here, and the postman was delivering. Along with a number of Christmas cards, he brought a large and heavy parcel from Tim.

How wonderful! He'd got me a breadmaker!! Now, this isn't normally something I would get happy about receiving for Christmas, and ordinarily would contribute to considering divorce proceedings. But bread here tastes horrible and costs around £3 for half a dozen slices, so it was a welcome gift.

This was a well-travelled breadmaker apparently. It was ordered from the States as the electricity here is only 100V rather than the 240V in the UK (which is why I hadn't shipped mine from there). American electrical goods work here, whereas UK machines need a huge, clumsy transformer. But I digress: the breadmaker had travelled to Jamaica (a computer operator error, I guess, as Jamaica is just above Japan on the standard list of countries), then back to Kentucky and then up the coast to Alaska where it got stuck in a snowstorm. But fortuitously arrived on Christmas Day.

Lunch was a success. Apart from the lack of Christmas pudding and the fact that the mysterious "cakes" I'd brought were completely disgusting! I think they were made from rice and contained red-bean paste. An acquired taste, that none of us will acquire any time soon.

Standard after-lunch constitutional around the gardens again, then for more exploring up the little alleyways surrounding our house. We discovered a tiny shrine not far away, which is very picturesque.

What a lovely day, wonderful gifts, lovely family and no miserable British weather. In the evening, once Rhiannon had finally been packed off to bed, we were able to relax with a good film and no boring BBC TV repeats.

Heaven!

18th December 2006 or thereabouts...

Grumpiness...

Oh, I can’t wait for school to start! Rhiannon is becoming stir crazy and driving me up the wall. She doesn’t like walking anywhere (can't say I blame her there, to be honest!); she doesn’t want to do this or that, just stay in playing PC games, watching TV or worse, playing Barbies’! Of course, with Mum here, I am obliged to show her the sights, and, with Tim at work, this means my whinging daughter has to come too. Counting the days to the start of the school term in January...

In emails to friends, my words were “She is being a right royal pain in the ass”, so, even though I cannot remember exactly what she was doing, she was obviously being rather annoying.

I can’t even escape to the PC in the evenings as Tim’s on there all night while I entertain Mum until she finally goes to bed at midnight. Whatever happened to her jetlag?

Still, Mum’s been wonderful – her stamina is as incredible as usual and I end up totally exhausted after traipsing around showing her the few places we've  discovered so far. We went to Tokyo Hands a couple of times, where Mum was in her element with all the craft stuff. I also bought a few more Christmas decorations to show willing: I'm a bit "Bah, Humbug!" about Christmas.

And she kindly bought me a whole load of houseplants so I'm finally beginning to feel that this house is home now. Getting them back was interesting on the Metro and we had to have one large tree delivered. I’m still not entirely sure how I managed to do that with no Japanese language skills at all. But sure enough, it arrived later that day - how wonderful!

At this point I still had no idea what we are going to have for Christmas dinner! None of us fancied the epic trek to Nissin, and the local supermarket doesn’t stock any meat larger than a chicken leg.

Then, a revelation! On one of our exploratory trips around Shibuya, we discovered that the department stores have food halls in their basements! Usually running over 2 floors, with one floor housing a supermarket while the other has all kinds of unusual and tasty looking ready meals.

The supermarket we found was like Harrods Food Hall on steroids. It had the most amazing items on sale and we managed to find, of all things, Marmite!

Meat is still extremely expensive but we did find a nice big chicken, so that’s what we will be having for Christmas Day. It was the only recognisable and affordable thing. Half a kilo of stewing steak was £20... so I'd better make sure I make THE most fabulous stew! Luckily we don't like turkey, anyway.

 

We spent more time gazing at the unusual foods on display than actual shopping. Some of the fish was incredible and the veggies totally mindblowing in their unusualness. And as for the mushrooms... well, they look like the things Mum always said not to eat in her garden because they're poisonous.

 

 

A giant fish-head gazing up at us through its dead eyes made us jump. I guess it was a tuna but the size just blew me away – easily the size of two human adult heads. There was also a slice of fish that cost approximately £500 for something the size of a lamb chop. Again, I have no idea what it was, but the price was seriously impressive.

Also incredible were the number and size of “gift fruit” – melons the size of footballs selling for £100. Apples twice the size of the ones we’re used to in Britain for £10 each and luscious peaches of similar proportions and prices. Each were lovingly wrapped and presented.

We bought the “ordinary” ones.

Sadly we were unable to find a Christmas Pudding, so we will forgo that tradition this year, and instead buy a typically Japanese Christmas Cake instead. A beautiful (yet very un-Christmassy) confection of cream, sponge and strawberries.

 

We've also got blue crisps (!) and something completely unknown as an experiment. I don't know whether it's sweet or savoury so that should be fun. They are little pink cakey looking items, tastefully decorated.

I feel slightly more relaxed now that I know what we are going to eat for our first Christmas dinner in Japan.

 

Christmas Concert

Once again, we braved the trip to school. This involves a 15 minute walk to our nearest Metro station, two stops in the wrong direction, then change lines to head in the right direction.

The change of lines involves walking nearly a kilometre.

Neither Rhiannon, nor I, enjoy this one little bit. We are both inherently lazy.

Once at Shibuya, I consult Tim's wonderful map and we make  our way to the correct exit. Another 15 minutes walk and we are finally at the school. All this with a complaining 5 year old.

And then all the way back again in the afternoon. There must be an easier way?!

Anyway, we are directed to the concert hall where we are regaled with the most fabulous school concert I have ever seen! It's a real theatre, with a stage and proper seating. Although it was so packed that we ended up moving seats several times before ending up sitting on the steps in the aisle. Not good for my poor back.

First up are the young Taiko drummers, a crescendo of sound that sends the hairs on the back of my neck into overdrive. Next are the Reception classes, all dressed up in shiny, colourful costumes and fully confident of their part in the little skit they are performing.

As I’m sat there, with tears in my eyes (and they aren’t even MY children!) proudly imagining my daughter up on stage next year, Rhiannon looks completely horrified and loudly states “I am NEVER going up there!”

The rest of the concert was equally impressive and I was left with a feeling of relief that my daughter would be attending such a progressive and interesting school.

Apart from the nightmare school-run, that is.

Tokyu Hands

1^st December 2006

We discovered the most amazing shop today called Tokyu Hands. 

It sells everything you could ever want and a lot of things you couldn’t imagine owning, ever. From acupuncture needles to aquariums, piano wire to paper, kitchenware to kitten toys, chopsticks to chemistry equipment, it’s all here. I foresee many happy hours spent in this shop.

It also sold some Christmas trees and decorations, hurray!

So, we now have a Christmas tree (fake), but upon returning home I remembered that one of the few things I hadn’t shipped over from the UK was… Christmas decorations. Oops! The reason I hadn’t sent them was that I was bored with them and thought, incorrectly as it turned out, that I would be able to get much nicer ones here. So we will be having a minimalist Christmas this year, which pleases me after the chaos of the unpacking yesterday after the lovely empty space of the previous weeks.

We also bought a load of picture hangers so Tim was able to put up our many pictures and make the house seem more like a home. It’s amazing the difference that one job made.

The walls appear to be made of cardboard and large pictures have to be hung from wires suspended from a rail around the top of the walls. I suspect this has something to do with earthquakes, a subject I am trying hard to ignore for now. Smaller pictures go up with just a pushpin holding them.

Being British, I feel I have to mention the weather. The only grey day was the one on which we arrived, and since then the weather has been glorious. Brilliant blue sky, sunny, crisp and cold, each and every day. The trees are turning, showing brilliant reds, oranges and yellow. Ginko trees are dropping their bright yellow leaves like snow and there are many pretty little birds bouncing and chirping in the hedges outside. I need to get a bird book, but I believe they are White Eyes and a Japanese version of a Great Tit, although this one is pinker than the British yellow version.