Japanory

Fluffy Ball and Pizza Lamp

Monday 4^th August – Friday 8^th August 2008

We took the kids to the local park to run off some energy. Yes, it was still raining – it is Devon, after all!

Jane still gets tired pretty quickly so we headed home after a while and ordered a Chinese to be delivered. The kids played happily upstairs while we caught up on life, the universe and everything.

Eve took a huge fancy to a toy of Rhiannon's - what she dubbed as "Fluffy Ball" – it's this from Hawkins Bazaar. So we promise a shopping trip and I said I'd buy her one of her own.

The rain stopped and we sent the kids outside to run around the quiet cul-de-sac. It wasn't quiet for long… Dusk was falling and the photo-sensitive ligts came on. For some unknown reason Eve dubbed these "Pizza Lamps" – not because of their shape but because she thought they smelled like pizza. They don't. But it became a theme of the week and kept two nutty girls in hysterical laughter for days. We still talk about it now. Funny what things children invent when the TV "doesn't work"… (tee hee!!)

At bedtime, things got 'interesting'. The house has just two small bedrooms, a single and a twin. Of course, the girls want to sleep together so they get the twin, Jane needs proper sleep so she gets Rhiannon's single room and I have a tiny mattress on the floor in the living room. It didn't actually work out like this at all. I've mentioned before that Rhiannon is a dreadful sleeper and, being super-overexcited, sleep was NOT going to happen. We played musical beds each and every night of the week and usually ended up with Jane and Eve in the twin and Rhiannon in her room – I stayed downstairs. Sometimes, if Jane was already in bed, Rhiannon would sleep on the floor with me.

Tired.

Sports Day - again

Thursday 8^th May 2008

Year One's Sports Day is rather different to the Reception "Race Day" last year.

For a start it's held at a real sports track. The school has no area for this sort of thing at all – at break time, the children have to play on the roof of a 7 storey building.

Deb and I have coffee before making our way to Yoyogi track which turned out to be a heck of a lot further than we expected which wasn't helped by us getting a bit lost. Yoyogi track is enormous and the school had only a part of it. We finally found our children just after the event started. Oops!

There are four houses in this school: I can't remember the names (actually, I can't be bothered to look it up) but the associated colours are red, blue, yellow and green. Rhiannon is in blue and parents are expected to wear the house colour too.

Goodness knows how the teachers organised the kids, it looked to be absolute mayhem, but with a theme. Each group went through a series of events and were awarded points. So far, so good.

However, it was unbelievably hot. Absolutely sweltering and everyone was wilting fast. Some delightful child emptied Rhiannon's water bottle over the ground – how spiteful. So I had to find a tap to get her rehydrated quickly.

I was pleased to see Rhiannon finally showing a bit of competitiveness, and a lot of skill in many disciplines. She still prefers to run at a snail's pace while waving to friends in the crowd though.

It got hotter and hotter. The games were taking longer than anticipated to finish and to my disappointment the parents' races were cancelled as time ran out. I was eager to race against a particular mum who seems to have taken an instant dislike to me due, I believe, to us both wearing the same Long Tall Sally outfit when we first met! As we didn't get a chance to speak on that first occasion, I can only assume this was the reason. Since that first meeting she has pointedly ignored me at every opportunity. Expats can be very strange people, sometimes. I bet I would have beaten her in a race though…

After a while, the point awarding system started breaking down as the teachers lost track of what was going on. So, to our mirth, they just randomly handed out points willy-nilly.

This was good news because it meant that the blue team won. Even though they only had half the number of children than the other teams and lost most of their races!

A Magic Floor

Sunday 2^nd March 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scooping for Goldfish

December 2007 / January 2008

Oh I dunno! Sometime then.

While Mum was here we went to a strange shopping mall over in Odaiba where one floor was set out like an old Chinese market. Yes, I know we're in Japan, but hey! Anything goes here!!

While Mum and I wandered around the stalls, Rhiannon stayed with Tim. She always does this because she knows that if she wants anything, he will buy it for her. I say no – and mean it. He says no for a while, and then gives in. They found a quaint game where you can scoop for goldfish… by the time Mum and I had found them, Rhiannon had already got going. <Insert expletives here as required> Just what we need - fish - and nowhere to put them.

This is the game: hundreds of small goldfish swim around in a shallow bath. The game is to scoop as many as possible out using a flat scoop made from rice paper. Rice paper, as I'm sure you are aware, dissolves very quickly.

However, Rhiannon was soon the extremely proud owner of 5 tiny goldfish in a plastic bag.

That rather cut short our day-out as we now had to rush home and find them somewhere to live.

In the car on the way home the bag started to leak. Of course.

Back home the only thing I could do was bung the poor things into a basin of ordinary tap water and hope for the best. Then we shot off to a place called D2 which is like a garden centre. And on our last visit we noticed they had fish tanks. 

We got a small fish tank, some food and all the gubbins to go with it and returned home to find one of the fish had already gone belly up.

Oh joy.

 

(and no, they didn't look as good as this!)

 

Children’s Hall and Children’s Castle

November 2007

Each ward in Tokyo has a place called the Children's Hall. Entrance is free and is an activity based centre where children of all ages can join in various activities. For example, there is a music room where children can experiment with all kinds of instruments; a few arts and crafts areas where a different project is available on a daily basis. These are wonderful places. And, as I say FREE!

As an aside, entrance fees to all attractions, museums and so on here are extremely cheap if not free. When we go back to the UK during the summer we are astounded at the outrageous prices charged to gain entry to theme parks etc.

Although the areas are supervised, the children are encouraged and expected to just get on with it rather than be hovered over by their parents. Parent who hover and fuss over their kids are viewed as a bit odd, to be honest!

I highly approve of this. The first time Rhiannon went there she made something from wood (I can't recall what) but she was expected to use a hammer and saw – at the age of five. And this wasn't considered a problem for the health and safety brigade. This is the way kids should learn. I really think, in general, we pamper "our" (ie British) children too much these days.

Children's Castle is pretty much the same set up. It's called Kodomo-no-Shiro. As well as the activities on separate floors there is a large climbing gym, a computer playroom and a teen corner with table tennis. There's also a swimming pool. Children's Hall is more geared to younger children.

When we go now (2010), I sit in the rather sparse canteen and drink tins of coffee and do some research, study or read while Rhiannon runs all over the 6 floors partaking in whatever activity takes her fancy and making friends on the way.

The school had a little trip to the Children's Hall this month and learned a bit about another culture. I admit, my memory is not working this far on, and I can't recall which culture was being taught then. Anyway, she had a great time.

We still like going there.

Although I do get a bit bored after more than three hours sitting on uncomfortable chairs.

But it's free! Did I already say that?

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.

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!

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!

Vending Machines in Tokyo

May 2007

Another photo-prompted post.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

There are limits to my Health and Safety embargo…

Sports Day for Reception Children

Friday 4th May 2007

Ok, so it's not called Sports day - it's known as "Race Day". No idea why.

But today I discover to my distress, that my daughter is not sporty. In her races she is more intent on gazing around her and waving at "her audience".

Tim told me off for being too competitive. Perhaps I was a little over-critical at times… I surprised myself to be honest. I'd never considered myself as competitive, but sports were the only thing I excelled at when I was at school.

In fact, I recently discovered that the high jump record I set at Okehampton Comprehensive School in 1978 still hasn't been beaten. I feel disgustingly smug about this!

Yes, that was 1978… sadly not a typo.

The kid's races just involved running up and down a tennis court and attempting to throw bean bags into a basket a few feet away. In the picture above, Rhiannon was supposed to run in and out of the poles. She forgot. Ah well, we'll work on that.

But then the parents were invited to race! Wheeeee!

Forgetting I haven't run anywhere for about 20 years or even partaken in any kind of sport for nigh on 25 years, I leapt at the chance to show off. And perhaps give Rhiannon a little persuasion to buck her ideas up when it comes to athletics… OK, I admit to being a little ashamed. Not much though!

The Parents' Race was a relay. Our team won the ladies race and I also got into the men's race somehow. No idea how.

But the wonderfully misogynistic males of the expat community made me run the last leg as I was a woman *rolls eyes*. Then the chap before me dropped the baton before handing it to me and therefore we lost. Hah! Macho guy loses.

Thankfully Tim's photos of me didn't come out - I was too fast for the camera…

Yeah, right!

Disneyland Tokyo

Thursday 12^th April 2007

Ever the glutton for punishment, the day after arriving back from Nikko I agree to go to Disneyland.

Tim had promised Rhiannon a trip and I thought I really ought to go, just to see my girl's first trip to this gaudy wonderland. I cannot begin to explain how much of a sacrifice this is for me. I loathe the whole idea of the place. But as a mum, feel it's my duty to go through with this family day out. I certainly wouldn't entertain the idea of travelling overseas at great expense to spend several days in one of the many Disney theme parks around the world, but the Tokyo one is very close - just a short train ride away.

Enviously leaving Mum to do her own thing, I plod after a loudly excited child and quietly excited husband to Tokyo station to catch the Disney Express. Tokyo Station is huge! An absolutely massive sprawl but fairly well sign-posted. We got on the wrong train and took the slower trip to Disney, arriving at 9am. Yes, we left very early in the morning. Ugh.

Surprisingly, the entrance fee was nowhere near as expensive as I was expecting (around ¥5000) and all the rides were free of charge. Is this true of other Disneyland's? Our first stop was a tacky little café for a caffeine hit before venturing into the land of make believe.

There were more adults than children there! The Japanese adore Disney. People of all adult ages were wearing Mickey Mouse hats, scarves, ear-muffs, hair-clips: you name it, Mickey adorned it. I even found a jewellery store selling rings set with diamonds in a Mickey Mouse shape. "Propose to your beloved with a Mickey Mouse Diamond Engagement Ring. Of course you're old enough to get married…" I shudder.

So onto the various rides and whatever. Our deal is this: I'll go on things that go around and Tim will go on rides that travel up and down. Tim gets sick on roundabouts, and I get sick on everything else, but especially roller-coasters. I'm terrified of them.

Apart from the truly wild rides, I believe we went on everything Rhiannon wished for. Luckily, she's easily scared so many were off-limits. On the log-flume (I forget which character this one was based on) she insisted that I sit in the front with her, so when it was time to board I dutifully trudged to the front of the thing… and Rhiannon shot behind me with Tim. I was a good protector for her when we hit the water. I was drenched; she stayed dry. But I did notice the official photographer and forced a smile while Tim and Rhiannon pulled fabulously awful faces.

Wandering around the park, we'd occasionally see characters and princesses (with their princes, of course) walking around. I think this was Rhiannon's favourite part. At five years old, she still believes very much in this whole scenario and was completely in awe of them. A little too old to bother with the Mickey's, Donald's and so on though.

When she spotted Belle walking along, she just took off after her! This is the little girl who never leaves my hand unheld for a moment, chasing off after an actress in a big yellow dress! I was dumbstruck, and, I admit, a little jealous. Belle was lovely and, I think, a little surprised to meet a young English girl in Tokyo, so she spent some time talking to her. Meanwhile, I'm chasing along after them as they both swept down the promenade at speed, hand in hand, before Belle sat down under a tree. Spreading her dress around her she engaged a glowingly proud Rhiannon in conversation for a while, which allowed me to take a photograph and reclaim my daughter.

Tim then decided he really just had to go on a particular space-ship ride. Rhiannon was too little for it and so while Tim indulged in his own childhood moment, I had to take Rhiannon on the kiddies' roller-coaster. What a mistake. Even though it was designed for kids up to the age of five, I was petrified. Of course, I had to disguise my fear for Rhiannon but how I wish they served alcohol at Disneyland.

The only highlight for me was a 3D movie. It was fantastic! I'd love to write about it here, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who may visit. Suffice to say, if you get the chance, go and see it.

As the sun started to sink, it was time for the parade. I used up my entire memory card on photos of garishly coloured monsters, sorry - characters, for Rhiannon to put in her photograph album.

Then a few more rides and souvenirs before wearily traipsing home.

I can clearly remember: I was bored witless by 10.30am and we didn't leave the park until 9.30pm. But the other two had a wonderful day.

I haven't been back since, although Tim and Rhiannon regularly visit. Let's get it out of her system now, while we can, because there is no way I'll travel to another one.

What a strange job!