Japanory

Summer Holidays 2007

School finished at midday on Friday 29^th June and Rhiannon isn't due back until Tuesday 28^th August. Good grief! That's far too long!

A couple of playdates have been arranged for the first couple of weeks. I have a class booked (although I have no recollection of what subject this was) and then we are flying back to the UK for a month, leaving on 11^th July 2007. Well, Rhiannon and I will stay a month or so, Tim has to return before us for work.

We'll stay with my Mum in Hampshire for some of the time, with the rest of our holiday spent in Devon. We'll arrive in time for her birthday and have a small family get together planned.

I have a very long shopping list. I need to buy clothes and shoes, neither of which I can possibly find over here - I have enough difficulty finding things to fit in the UK. I stocked up on "fancy" clothes before we left but have put on weight so they don't fit. Also, I haven't been to that many glam do's so I need more everyday clothes. Rhiannon also needs new clothes - she does keep doing this growing thing! Children's clothes here are outrageously expensive. And there seems to be nothing apart from designer togs.

We also plan to stock up on good old British tea, which is impossible to find here (for a reasonable quantity and price). We need loads as we drink loads.

Other things we are dreaming about are: real bread, cereals, a bacon sarnie, fish and chips and decent apples. Well, the latter is just me - the apples here are revolting - tasteless fluff. I want a Cox's Orange Pippin and a Bramley Apple Pie. (Forgetting that neither is in season during the summer, but Mum has several apple trees, one of which is an ancient Bramley and she's promised me she has frozen some for me).

 

Oh, and I am planning on bringing back a suitcase full of Green & Black's chocolate!

It's a 12 hour flight: arrive 2 hours before, 1 hour to get to the airport, gawd knows how long to get through the imbecilic Heathrow terminal 3 immigration system ( 2 desks for UK Nationals, 18 for "Foreigners") and an hour to get to Mum's.

It turned out to be 19 hours door to door, so that's 3 hours just to get OUT of Heathrow airport. Ridiculous.

Jetlag wasn't too bad. We arrived at Mum's in time for tea (!) and managed to stay awake until 9pm. But I did wake at 5am. This went on for a couple of days then I was fine.

“Illuminous” Fish

Thursday 28^th June 2007

The End of Year Show (I'd love to include photos here, but I only took a video, so can't, sorry)

Today is the last full day of the school term. School finishes tomorrow at midday and continues for two whole months!

Tim's still in Singapore so will miss the Reception year's end-of-term performance. Therefore, I promised I will record the entire thing so he can see Rhiannon in action. I have very high expectations after seeing the Christmas concert shortly after we arrived.

The children have obviously been sworn to secrecy about everything to do with the show. We mothers have been trying, subtly to find out what our 'babies' are doing, but to her credit, Rhiannon has told me very little - and she is not known for keeping her mouth shut!

However, a couple of titbits have popped out over the past week or so. She had been a bit sulky about having to wear "boring black" when "everyone else is wearing really pretty costumes". But as far as sulks go, this was pretty minor, so I guessed she was fairly happy with whatever part she'd been given. She also let slip that she "wanted to be a mermaid", but since this was a common refrain at the time I didn't connect it to the show at all. Another peculiar clue was her singing "We Will Rock You" from time to time, which to my knowledge she hadn't heard before.

At the allotted time all the parents traipsed to a hall near the school and took our seats. In the distance, I spotted my lanky daughter crossing the road with her class and sure enough, she was dressed in some sort of tight black jumpsuit. She didn't see me. I made sure I got a front row, but as it happened it was on the wrong side of the stage - I was on audience left and Rhiannon ended up stage left.

Eagerly I scanned the programme to see what part she was playing… an "Illuminous Fish". WHAT???? That is NOT my spelling mistake - that was written on the programme. Doubts start to creep in about the school… anyway, time for that later.

The lights dimmed. Yay!

I hoisted our ancient, enormous camcorder up and pressed go. I didn't expect the show to be so long though, and about halfway through my arm was aching like crazy. I should have bought one of those funky weeny video cameras everyone else was sporting.

The show was entitled "Under the Sea" and I immediately understood why Rhiannon was upset about the coloured costumes. A row of sparkly, shiny mermaids sat along the front of the stage. Rhiannon is obsessed by mermaids (and still is now - 2010!), so I did feel for her. Apparently a single teacher made ALL the costumes for the show; an extremely talented and dedicated lady indeed.

Several small groups of five year olds played skits that all tied together into a loose story. They must have practised hard for ages! And not to tell the parents what they were doing was quite incredible. The music was surprisingly modern (I can't work out why I found this surprising, by the way) - Queen (We Will Rock You - ah!), Massive Attack, Scissor Sisters and many more. There were sharks, oysters (more shiny costumes), lobsters, an octopus narrator and various other sets. Some had speaking parts, but most didn't.

But I still hadn't seen Rhiannon.

Then the narrating octopus announced they were "going deeper"… aha! Perhaps now was the time to see an "Illuminous" fish.

And I was right! The lights went out completely and the first few bars of the Scissor Sisters version of "Comfortably Numb" thrummed out through the speaker system. A spotlight gleamed onto a row of children clad in black, including tight black (sadly unflattering) hoods. The outfits had luminous paint on them and the kids held glowsticks. The audience gasped. How proud was I?!

The first few bars continued to sound… again and again… oh no! The CD had stuck.

True professionals, those kids, they just stayed in their pose until the CD had been sorted out and their display re-started. At one point they all lined up in a single row and one by one fell to alternate sides. Again, the audience gasped in appreciated and a ripple of applause echoed round the hall acknowledging the little ones' skills. And they also got the biggest round of applause of the whole show. And I'm not just saying that - I have it on tape to prove it!

At lunch afterwards, it was roundly acknowledged that the "Illuminous Fish" were the best performance of the bunch.

And the mermaids, although very colourful and pretty, just sat and swung their tails.

Sadly, this was to be the last ever end-of-term show at the school. For some reason future ones were cancelled in favour of music based performances, showcasing the school's extensive spending on the music department. Minor performances moved to very short displays during termly assemblies. Such a shame.

 

 

 

 

My Worst Nightmare!

Wednesday 27^th June 2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AN Other: Oh yuk. Boiling water?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ugh, ugh, ugh!!!

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

Round-up of a Week or Thereabouts

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Child’s First Sleepover

Thursday 14^th June 2007 - Friday 15^th June 2007

She's only five years old and has never had a sleepover anywhere. She's not a great sleeper in her own bed: in any other bed - hotels, Nana's etc - she's impossible. Am I worried about this? NO! A night with no child… perfect! Someone else's problem for a change…

Basically, the school have arranged for the Reception kids to have their own group sleepover in the school library. They explained (in a letter) that this would be a good experience for them as from Year 1 they will go on a field trip away. I presume they've had homesickness problems with Year 1 children before, so this is their way of preparing the little ones for sleeping away from home.

What a great idea! They will be with all their friends in a fairly familiar environment. What an adventure for them! Teachers and teaching assistants will be sleeping there too the doors will be locked. They'll watch a movie, have a "midnight feast" (the teachers will change the time on the clock, heh heh!) and then the children will snuggle into their sleeping bags. I don't expect any sleeping to happen, but who cares?

We're given a list of things to take in - one of which is a camera "with the express rule that NO photographs of teachers in their pyjamas will be developed and displayed!"

But you'd think from the reactions from most of the mums that the school planned on kidnapping them all to sell into slavery! The general consensus was "no way is my kid going on that sleepover!" At the beginning of the week, most children were not going.

Upon further questioning of the reluctant mums, the real reason for their reticence became clear… the Friday after the sleepover was a free day. The children wouldn't be going to school as we are to collect them at 9am. This would mean certain mothers wouldn't get their free day of "ladies who lunch", manicures, gym sessions or whatever self-indulgent things they do during their week.

Fortunately kiddy peer-pressure prevailed and all the children, bar a handful, attended the sleepover.

Tim and I treated ourselves to a night out at the local Indian restaurant and very nice it was too.

The next morning I collected an extremely tired but very happy little girl from school. All the teachers looked dead on their feet! I suppose it's one thing teaching kids all day (I couldn't do that) but it's entirely another thing to take care of around 50 or 60 all night too!

Rhiannon was full of stories about her adventure. She seems to have it in her head that someone moved them all around while they were asleep because she was next to X when she went to bed, but woke up next to Y. Goodness knows what that was all about! (I may add to this post another day when I can ask Rhiannon about her memories of it)

We spent a gentle day watching TV together as she was exhausted. And an early night for her!

The unlucky children who didn't join in the sleepover had to go to school as normal that day… was it really worth depriving a child of this adventure just to save the day for the mother's manicure?

 

Driving in Tokyo

Tuesday 12^th June 2007

I'm nervous. Very nervous.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yikes!

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

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

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

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

An Eventful Day which Required a Certificate…

Monday 11^th June 2007

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

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

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

The rest of the certificate said this…

She told a boy to kiss her and he did

She played football with the big boys

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

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

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

I shall explain:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Extra Aikido

Saturday 9^th June 2007

Pacific Aikido - the group who run the childrens' classes at school - have set up some Saturday sessions for those kids who wish to progress quicker through the grades.

Rhiannon is enjoying aikido so much, she insists that we sign her up for them, even though we usually prefer to keep our weekends free from school / sport related activities. But it's only for a few weeks and means Rhiannon will get her yellow belt sooner rather than later.

Who are we to curb such enthusiasm?

We drop Rhiannon off for her hour and a half session and then Tim and I wander down the delightfully named Cat Street to the nearest Starbucks. It's very pleasant for us to spend this rare grown-up time together, talking with each other without a kid interrupting or eavesdropping.

It's very easy to lose yourself in the parenthood trap and ignore each other's feelings and needs, so this short "us" time is valuable and very enjoyable.

Transporting Trees

Thursday 7^th June 2007

Tokyo is a surprisingly "green" city.

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

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

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

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

 

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

Red Hot Chili Peppers in Tokyo!

Don't get too excited - look at the date... remember I'm writing an incredibly backdated blog!

Wednesday 6^th June 2007

Tonight's the night! The night I've been anticipating for about twenty years!

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have rescheduled their cancelled gig. Woohoo!!!!!

Shortly after we first arrived I forced Tim to get tickets to see one of my favourite bands in concert. But as seems to be the case whenever I try to see this band, circumstances got in the way. The concert was supposed to be in March but cancelled because the gorgeous Anthony Keidis developed pneumonia. I offered to travel to the States to rub his chest, but Tim didn't think it was a good idea…! *Sigh*

But now it's on again! I am so excited I could burst!! We made our way to the Tokyo Dome for the gig.

Where sadly my bubble burst.

Perhaps it was too soon for Keidis to return after his illness, maybe there were disagreements in the band, but whatever their reason the performance lacked energy and va-va-voom. The Tokyo Dome is just too big and the acoustics are dreadful.

Flea and John Frusciante were geniuses as ever, though. John made us laugh with his very sweet falsetto version of Abba's "SOS" and Flea played a trumpet solo to a Boney M track, of all things!

But overall, I was rather disappointed. And they didn't play "Under the Bridge". Humph.

The set list is here, with links to some of the videos and solos.

Spending a Yen in Japan… Toilets

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

   

Rainy Season in Japan

Sunday 3^rd June 2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

“So Many Animals”

1^st June 2007

No, this is not a post about Japanese wildlife (I'll do one of those another day!). This is the title of a song the Reception children presented at their first performance assembly. It turns out that each class (or entire year for the little ones in Reception) hold their own assembly once or twice a year.

We had to decorate a white t-shirt with some animal pictures which provided a weekend of wonderfully messy entertainment for Rhiannon (and a near nervous breakdown for Tim who is a little obsessive about cleanliness, tidiness and getting things "right".)

Not having attending one of these events before, I was intrigued to see how it was run. And I was incredibly impressed at how well the children behaved - both those in the audience and those "on stage". Mums and Dads were seated at the back of the hall, armed with various video cameras and normal cameras. Teachers lined the sides and their students were led in quietly and sat down without fuss.

After a short introduction by the head teacher, the children sung this song. I won't inflict the actual video on you, and I can't find a decent copy of the original on YouTube, but it was originally sung by Hi-5 if you are inclined to look for yourself. I can't get the darn thing out of my head now I've refreshed my memory of it, so beware!

Some kids are natural and outgoing performers. Rhiannon is not. She did pretty well though. She didn't take her eyes off the teachers prompting the movements to do, and I could see she was not entirely happy about being in front of so many people.

After the performance, the rest of the kids were led back to their class and the attending parents were allowed to grab a quick hug and a series of photos. Unfortunately, my camera wasn't really up to speed so the photos didn't come out well enough to display.

I found it strangely proud and moving to see my little girl performing, even though she obviously found it difficult. But it wasn't a tear-jerker. More an ear-jerker...

 

Painted Lady - more tattoos

Woo Hoo! I've finally finished May 2007!

I thought I'd just pop this in here after talking about tattoos in the previous post.

A friend of mine recently asked me to write a guest post on her
blog called Typecast which I've copied here - the original link can be found at the end of this post.

 

I like tattoos. No, scrap that. I LOVE tattoos.

My fascination with skin art started many years before they became so commonplace that every man, woman and dog has one. Nowadays it seems non-tattooed people are rarer than the decorated.

 

I resisted the urge to get tattooed until I turned thirty. Choosing the perfect indelible design for me took a long time. Finally a particularly nasty boyfriend, whom I had trouble getting rid of, said he’d leave me if I got a tattoo. So I promptly booked my appointment with a local studio in south London and waved the vicious boyfriend off.  

My first tattoo was a peacock on my left shoulder blade. I was inordinately proud of it and showed it off as often as I could.

There’s a saying that once you’ve got your first tattoo, you will get more.

Some years later I went to Hong Kong on a business trip. Fuelled by alcohol and a defiant need to shock my strait-laced colleagues, I got my second tattoo. We visited a famous but rather seedy parlour late one night. While my friends looked at the pictures on the walls, I plonked myself down and had my Chinese star sign inked onto my ankle. That one hurt like hell due to it being on a bone. But it was worth it just to see my friends’ faces. Frankly, a pretty poor reason to get a tattoo!

 

 

Number three was created in Thailand. This was a completely different experience. For a start, no rebelliousness was involved. It produced my favourite piece of all. I followed customer recommendations rather than picking a random studio. The artist interviewed me first before allowing me to make an appointment. At the appointment, he just drew a design directly onto my arm, I made some changes and off he drilled for about three hours.

 

The bug (and ink) was well and truly in my system now.

 

But life intervened. I had a baby, and my beloved Dad died.

My head was all over the place and some madness prompted me get a tattoo on my other arm. I designed it myself and it included a lot of personal symbolism. Unfortunately, the tattooist was no artist. The outline was just about OK but I should never have asked him to colour it in. It was a disaster and for the first time I regretted my tat. Do not get a tattoo when you are grieving.

 

Then my husband got a job transfer to Japan. The home of beautiful tattooing! But also a country with the greatest taboos about skin art. 

Before we left the UK, I found another tattooist for ink number five - a colourful compass on my right foot meaning “a step in the right direction”. But I wouldn’t recommend enclosing foot tattoos in shoes and socks while packing up your entire house. It got badly infected and I ended up taking strong antibiotics for a while.

Once in Japan I quickly discovered my decorated skin was not appreciated. One man verbally attacked me about the Chinese writing on my ankle. He seemed satisfied that I knew its meaning. I’m also not allowed into public swimming pools or gyms. I can live with that. What does sadden me is that I am not allowed to go into onsen, the natural hot spring pools that Japan is famous for. Tattoos here are a sign of the Yakuza, organised gangs. It makes no difference that I am a Caucasian female; tattoos are “bad”.

 

However, there are plenty of tattooists around. I’ve found a fantastic, gifted artist who entertains me with intellectual discussions and wonderful artistry. Yes, I’ve had more work done… 

 

He spent a total of about ten hours blacking in my disastrous tattoo and adding decorations to it so I’m no longer ashamed of it. I also broke the golden rule of skin art - “do not have a name tattooed on you”. But as it’s my daughter’s name I will never regret it.

 

 

The last piece I had done was another of strong symbolic significance to me, a spiral at the base of my neck, pictured at the beginning of this post.

 
Am I finished at seven tattoos? Of course not! I’ve just booked another appointment with him to have more work done.

 

The only difficulty now is deciding where to place it.

 

My thanks to Nickie at Typecast for allowing me to be her guest.
Here's the link to the original post on her blog.

http://typecast2000.blogspot.com/2010/07/painted-lady.html 

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.

To those who have emailed me

SORRY!

I'm really sorry I haven't had time to reply to you all. I'm definitely NOT ignoring you, but life and work have eaten up a lot of my time this year.

Also, I changed a load of web details which affected my email system and I've only just worked out where to find your lovely emails.

Many apologies, especially as you kindly took the trouble to contact me in the first place. I really appreciate it.

I promise I will reply to each and every one of you very soon.

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

Sea Cucumbers, TV & a Sushi Walk...

Monday 7^th -Wednesday 9^th May 2007

A non-photo-prompted post!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Letters from Fairyland

While I'm composing the next post please take a moment to visit my website http://www.dearfairies.com where you can order unique and personalised letters from the Fairies. An ideal gift for any believer of Fairies, young or old.

These letters are highly personalised to suit the recipient and come with free postage and a free gift.

I've just started a new blog  http://blog.dearfairies.com/  where you can read about the business "behind the scenes".

Please spread the word! Thank you!!

Vending Machines in Tokyo

May 2007

Another photo-prompted post.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

There are limits to my Health and Safety embargo…

Traditional Japanese House?

Saturday 5th May 2007

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

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

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

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

Culture Shock

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

My days usually go like this:

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

I am not good in the mornings.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

Landrover

Sometime in May 2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

Madeleine McCann

http://www.findmadeleine.com/home.html

We are rocked by the dreadful news of the abduction of the very young and beautiful Madeleine McCann. Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.

This hits me particularly hard as a mother. I'm devastated on behalf of her parents. Madeleine bears a very strong resemblance to my own daughter when she was the same age. And also upsetting because we holidayed in Praia de Luz shortly before we moved here when Rhiannon was the same age as Madeleine when she was taken. Scary.

I hope this terrible case is resolved very soon. I never stop thinking about the poor girl.

Golden Week 2007

May 2007

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

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

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

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

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

Fairy Letters - personalised gifts for all

While I'm composing the next post please take a moment to visit my website http://www.dearfairies.com where you can order unique and personalised letters from the Fairies. An ideal gift for any believer of Fairies, young or old.

These letters are highly personalised to suit the recipient and come with free postage and a free gift.

Please spread the word! Thank you!!

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...

Baking and Playing

Thursday 26^th April 2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

I tried it.

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

I will remain wrinkled.

Cycling in Tokyo

End of April 2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Perhaps I will stick to my trusty car instead.

Fairy Letters

While I'm composing the next post (and digging around in my diary for notes!) please take a moment to visit my website http://www.dearfairies.com where you can order unique and personalised letters from the Fairies. An ideal gift for any believer of Fairies! These letters are highly personalised to suit the recipient and come with free postage and a free gift.

Please spread the word! Thank you!!

In Which We Find a Fabulous Japanese Restaurant

Monday 23^rd April 2007 (yet again!)

Back at home I did the standard new visitor things. Feed them tea, show them their room, explain the earthquake drill and make more tea. Then we did the work bit; installed a new database uploaded the data and gave it a trial run. All OK.

I went to collect Rhiannon from school while 'T' took a shower and sorted out her stuff.

Once Tim arrived home, 'T' and I headed off to find somewhere to eat and gossip. Now, as I don't go out that often, I don't really know all the good restaurants. Apart from the place I went with the school mums, where we were fed batter-covered chicken gristle (not recommended) and a sushi bar, I didn't know any Japanese restaurants.

We set off for Akasaka as there are loads of eateries there and were confident we'd find something. 'T' is a bit of a foodie so I was under a little pressure to find somewhere good.

Up one street we went and only found Western restaurants or very Japanese places where we had no hope of understanding the menu. This is frankly a little scary as some Japanese food is known to be, erm…, unusual to our unrefined Western palates. It was also very busy with "salarymen" out on their regular jollies. Pachinko parlours deafened passersby when the doors opened and are garlanded with neon-coloured fake flowers and other decorations. There are also numerous hostess bars…

Down another street. This one housed only sushi bars and we wanted something a bit more substantial… and cooked.

Then into the unknown. The next street was a bit darker than the others but a mysterious man was carrying a framed stall that was making a gentle, yet intriguing tinkling sound. So we followed him to see what was on his cart. It was festooned with delicate glass windchimes and the sound and sight was enchanting.

Continuing up this street, we spotted a beautiful old wooden house with the much welcome sign, "English Menu"! Perfect. It was a Japanese restaurant in a fabulous setting with an English menu.

Except… we could not find out how to get in!

There was no door to be seen. We went back and forth around the building. Looked for stairs in case the entrance was up a level. Nothing. Through the windows we could see people inside eating, but how did they get there? How frustrating - so near, yet so nowhere close to finding a way in. After several circuits, we noticed a closed tiny sliding door. Could that be it? Surely not - it was only about a metre high. 'T' dared me to try it, so I did. Eureka! It was the entrance! How very authentic.

Inside we were greeted warmly and invited to remove our shoes which we left by the door. There were separate rooms off a short, dark wood corridor. It all looked extremely old and authentic. We were ushered into a room where for a dreaded moment I thought we would be expected to sit on the floor as the tables were very low. But no, under the table was a hollowed out floor enabling us to sit more comfortably. Thank goodness.

Decorated with many ancient (looking) artefacts, the ambience was perfect.

 We ordered from the set menu and had the most delicious meal ever; lots and lots of courses including sashimi, sukiyaki and miso. We drunk lager from heavy, rough pottery mugs and dessert was a disturbingly grey ice-cream. Tasty, but still grey.

The toilet was surprisingly modern, but the old custom of putting on "toilet slippers" was used - these are communal wooden open-toed clogs.

As we left, just about able to walk after the copious amounts of food we'd consumed, the host lifted a floorboard by the miniature door and gave us a gift of some tins of drink. I think they were soba-pop. The drink was grey, like the ice-cream, but nowhere near as tasty. We didn't keep them.

Would you like to know what this fantastic restaurant is called? Yes?

It's called Jidaiya and now has an English website.

I can highly recommend Jidaiya if you're ever in Tokyo. Just mind your head when you go in!

 

Tokyo Taxis

Monday 23^rd April 2007 

(still)

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

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

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

I digress.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fairy Letters

While I'm composing the next post (and digging around in my diary for notes!) please take a moment to visit my website http://www.dearfairies.com where you can order unique and personalised letters from the Fairies. An ideal gift for any believer of Fairies! These letters are highly personalised to suit the recipient and come with free postage and a free gift.

Please spread the word! Thank you!!

Yet Another Visitor - But Some Background Info First…

Monday 23^rd April 2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

Izakaya Friday

Friday 20^th April 2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Business Plug...

While I'm composing the next post (and digging around in my diary for notes!) please take a moment to visit my website http://www.dearfairies.com where you can order unique and personalised letters from the Fairies. An ideal gift for any believer of Fairies! These letters are highly personalised to suit the recipient and come with free postage and a free gift.

Please spread the word! Thank you!!

A Cloisonné Lesson

Wednesday 18^th April 2007

I'm leaving Mum to do her own thing on her last day in Tokyo. She will go shopping or to Shinjuku Gyoen garden. Or both!

Following the recommendation of many other expats, I've enrolled in a class at the Tokyo Union Church. Today I will be learning how to do cloisonné - the ancient art of making pretty things out of metal and enamel. It's only for one morning so I'm not sure how much I'll get done.

As it turned out, the lesson was very simple and I made a pendant and decorated a small pill box. If I knew where they were I'd photograph them for you, but I wasn't entirely impressed with my efforts so gave them to Rhiannon who was impressed.

There were about four students and a bouncy teacher who brought her own kiln with her. We soldered thin metal wire onto the pre-cut shapes, filled them with enamel powder mixed with water to make a paste then cooked them. As I'd already done this during metalwork lessons in school (sometime in the last century) none of this was particularly new. However, the enamel was different and the colours hard to gauge before firing.

The teacher wants me to apply to go to her next lesson and will bring me in a tile to enamel and display at an exhibition. How exciting!

Aikido and Ceramics… NOT at the same time!

Monday 16^th April 2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 Be afraid!

Lindsey Hawker

The murder of this beautiful young lady struck the expat community with great force at the end of March 2007.

It is impossible to imagine the pain and suffering her family are experiencing to this day.

Many people believe Japan to be an extremely safe place to be, and for 99% of the time it is. But very occasionally, and tragically, that 1% hits the gaijin community hard.

Posters of the accused were placed all over Tokyo and his face stared from English language magazines everywhere, but unbelievably, he seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. How was this possible? Rumours abounded - he'd killed himself, he was being helped by friends, he'd left the country and so on.

Much to everyone's relief he was finally apprehended in November 2009. When we heard, we wondered if it was true as the numerous false leads and sightings had been going on for some time. We were very glad he'd been caught and arrested and will go to trial. This is something we await with great interest as the legal system here is very different from the British system.

Much has been said and written and I can add no more.

To my surprise, an entire Wikipedia page has been written about Lindsey. It makes for disturbing reading, so only click if you are prepared for all the details.

May Lindsey rest in peace and I wish her family much strength and support. They are always in my thoughts.

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.

Odaiba and Pet Shops

Friday 13^th April 2007

Yes, we are packing all the trips in this week! Tim has to go back to work next week and as he's the one who does the "big" driving, we're making the most of it while we can. I'm happy to drive through the centre of Tokyo but not at all interested at venturing further afield. There are far too many ways to get lost and end up in a pickle. I'll do an entire post about driving in Japan one day.

We need to get some cat food so a trip to the Pet City megastore at Odaiba is on the cards. Odaiba is an area on the edge of Tokyo Bay and is inhabited by lots of shopping malls.

To get there we cross a huge suspension bridge called Rainbow Bridge. It doesn't look like a rainbow at all. But the railings lining the road are colourfully painted so I expect that's how it acquired its name. I sincerely hope its name doesn't come from the bridge that deceased pets are said to cross… Mind you, the final couple of paragraphs of this post might indicate just that.

Upon arrival we went for a walk along the sea front because it looked like it would rain soon and we wanted to walk before it arrived. The sky was ominously dark and the sun beaming under the clouds dramatically highlighted the Rainbow Bridge. Later on, Mum painted the memorable scene and gave the result to Tim for his birthday. Engineering lovers, the both of them! We made it into the mall just as the first giant raindrops splashed down.

I warned Mum to brace herself before entering the pet shop.

I don't believe I've mentioned Japanese pet shops before. For a Brit, they are quite frankly shocking and deeply depressing. Why? Because in Britain pet shops no longer sell pets. At least, they may have a few rodents, birds in cages and fish, but no kittens and puppies. And certainly no monkeys or marmosets. For that's what are sold here.

The poor baby creatures are housed in tiny tanks. Even birds are kept small glass tanks, rather than in cages where they can spread their wings. Puppies and kittens occupy tanks which line the sides of the store. All of them are far too young to have been taken from their mothers. It's truly heartbreaking. Their desperate eyes watching you and willing you to pay them some attention moved me to tears the first time I saw them. I had to leave the shop. Even now, although I have become hardened to the sight, I still find the whole experience deeply disturbing.

What is more upsetting is knowing that ONLY tiny puppies and kittens are sold. Prices are extremely high when the animals are very young, and the price drops as they get older. Once they reach a certain age, and are - in Japanese terms - less cute and desirable, they are moved to open "sale" pens where they can be petted a little more. This is your "last chance to buy". If they still remain unsold they will be sent to be gassed. Yes, this is what happens to so many animals here. Over 300,000 animals are gassed in painful and distressing conditions every year in Japan.

I will write more on this subject at a later date.

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!

Nikko Day 2

We awoke early and creakily made our way downstairs for breakfast of porridge.

As usual, we have no set plan - we must work on this when being tour-guides for Mum! It works OK for us, but she seems confused by our lack of organisation. We eventually decide to head to Lake Chuzenji, Kegon Falls and Nikko for the famous shrines.

The roads around this area are a refreshing change from the city streets, being mountainous, surrounded by forest and full of hairpin bends. Lake Chuzenji is a huge, deep lake created by a volcanic eruption about 20,000 years ago. I'm sure it's beautiful in the autumn with the changing colours of the foliage as a backdrop, but today our first sight of it was cold, flat and grey. Rather incongruously, in one area there floated a fleet of swan-shaped pedal boats. It didn't take Rhiannon long to persuade Tim to take her out in one. They were they only signs of life on the entire lake. Well, apart from some chilly looking ducks dibbling around the edges. Meanwhile, Mum and I went beachcombing across the black sand. And then the sun came out, transforming the scenery.

Suddenly I had an idea. I needed some rocks to border my little garden which I was planning on remodelling. There were plenty of lava rocks around so I created a small pile to put in the car later.

When Rhiannon and Tim disembarked from their swan, we went into a lakeside café to warm up with some delicious hot chocolate and toasted sandwiches and pondered why nobody else was around. It was like a ghost town. Tim reclaimed the car from the deserted public car park; we loaded my rocks into the boot, much to Tim's embarrassment, and headed off to our next tourist spot.

On the way we spotted a fantastic view so poor Tim had to find a place to stop for a photo. The road builders in Japan are way ahead of the game and there are lots of laybys ready for just such a need and the result was this picture of Lake Chuzenji and the Kegon Falls.

Kegon Falls is a scenic little area with a couple of souvenir shops, and unsurprisingly a waterfall. You can't quite see the falls from the car park, even if you hang over the fence so we trekked into the "entrance". To our great surprise we found that there was a lift (elevator) to take us to the base of the falls! The Japanese really do tame their wilderness to an extraordinary extent. The lift cost a few hundred yen but there was no other way down so in we traipsed. Inside the metal box was a television showing a video of the falls in various beautifully shot scenes at different times of year.

At the bottom we exited into a chilly, damp but clean and bright corridor to make our way to the   "Viewing Platform". Yes, the falls were spectacular with a 97 metres drop, but nothing compared to waterfalls in other parts of the world, and somehow lessened by the fact that we were herded to certain areas and not allowed to explore by ourselves. Dramatic cliffs soared above us showing their volcanic origins in the construction of the stone pillars. Back into the lift again for the return journey to the car park.

Naturally we investigated the souvenir shops. Mum needed to get some bits and bobs to take back to the family in the UK and I can't resist a shop. Especially a pottery shop of which there was one. Once that little excusrsion was completed we headed for Nikko town again.

Oddly enough, it seemed closed again - very devoid of human life. So last night's impression was not due to the time of day, rather the time of year. It obviously wasn't tourist season although the Kegon Falls had a number of visitors. The shops that were open were not interesting at all. A most peculiar place.

But there were temples so we visited them instead. More specifically, we visited one temple - the Toshugu Shrine. This is the most famous shrine complex in Nikko and perhaps in the whole of Japan.

Once again in a car park, Tim declared he wasn't going to visit another shrine. "I've seen enough shrines". Rhiannon took one look at the many steps leading up to the shrine and said she'd stay with Daddy. So Mum and I went.

We've all heard of the Three Wise Monkeys, haven't we? Hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil. But were you aware that they came from Japan? I certainly wasn't and was fascinated to discover this little titbit of information from our guide book. Toshugo Shrine is where the carving is to be found, although it wasn't anywhere near as large as I expected of this legend, just another intricately carved detail over a door of quite an insignificant building in this massive shrine complex.

We wandered around the large complex, admiring but not truly understanding the significance of all the buildings and accoutrements as usual. But we enjoyed the scenery, especially the moss-covered lanterns and ancient trees. On the way out I spotted a place to buy fortunes. These are common at all shrines and there's a fabulous "get-out-clause" if you inadvertently buy a less than favourable fortune. You tie the paper with the ill-fortune to a tree or rack and let the wind blow the misfortune away. Sorted!

This is one of the only places in Japan where you can buy these fortunes in English so I bought three: Mum declined. Mine was A+ perfect, as was Rhiannon's. Tim's wasn't quite so good, possibly a B, but as he hadn't come to the shrine to read it, he couldn't let the wind blow it away.

Another night on the futons - they didn't feel any more comfortable - and then away back to Tokyo.

Building where the Three Wise Monkeys carving is found.

 Barrels of Sacred Sake

One of the Guardians at the Toshugo Shrine, Nikko

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.

Trick Art Museum

5^th April 2007

Across the road from Mount Takao is a rather special museum full of illusions. Called the Trick Art Museum, it's full of optical illusion art. Flat paintings created with the express intention of showing as 3-dimensional when photographed.

Labyrinth-like inside the museum, rooms lead into other rooms; doors disappear into the art and plenty of ooohs and aaaahhhs at each turn.

Much fun was had by all, but especially Rhiannon, of course.

I'll let the photographs speak.

Rhiannon is standing on a flat surface. Really!

 

The artist? No, another incredible painting.