It’s always nice to go to Odaiba during the weekday…when it’s not overcrowded with tourists and visitors. Weekends can be a bit stressful, if you don’t like crowds. All year round it can be quite enjoyable, even if just for a couple of hours. The drive is also picturesque, especially during the evening. The kids usually enjoy running around the large open outdoor spaces and looking through the shops. It’s easy to walk from Aqua City all the way to Venus Fort by using the convenient walkways. During the summer, it’s fun to play on the man-made mini beach. There is the space-station-like Fuji TV station, where you can ride these really long escalators and at the top, enter a small observatory deck to get a nice view of Tokyo. There’s even a miniature Statue of Liberty to remind me of home.
Odaiba Evenings
The Omikoshi for Kids
Each year, during the town festival, apart from all the food and games stalls, residents can participate in carrying an omikoshi or portable shrine. It is said that the portable shrine temporarily houses the gods of that town’s main shrine. On the first day of the festival weekend, people from each town gather at the main shrine to ask the gods to enter the omikoshi. Afterwards, it is carried through the town to spread good luck and blessing around. This continues from morning until night for three days. People who carry the omikoshi are also supposed to be rewarded with blessings for the year. Some people really carry it for the full three days or the entire day, through rain or shine. On the last day, all the omikoshi return to the main shrine and the gods go back.
There is a smaller omikoshi which elementary school kids can carry. For younger children, they can pull the drums that are played in front of the omikoshi. So from a very young age, residents can take part in this traditional Shinto practice.
The kids took part in this year’s festival with their friend from school. They walked in the blazing sun for a total of about 2 hours (with about 3 breaks in between). They’re too young to carry the shrine, so they carried and together with other kids about the same ages, pulled the long rope that was attached to the trolly carrying the drums. I was impressed that they managed to make it through the entire morning.
I couldn’t help but notice the striking similarity between the omikoshi and the Christian stories about the Ark of the Covenant. …but this will be another topic.
Happy Halloween!
There are more Halloween options lately. We went to the Omotesando Halloween event. There is some sort of stamp rally where you go to shops, collect stamps on a sheet of paper then hand it in for some treats. We were a bit late, so instead we headed straight to Omotendao Hills where there were some short performances like a clown and magician. And you could have your photos taken. Kawasaki has their yearly parade in La Citadella, but we didn’t get a chance to go there this year. Instead, my in-laws took the kids to a small Halloween event for kids in Harumi Triton Plaza.
Gundam
The release of the life-size Gundam in Odaiba was pretty big news over the summer. I never watched the series much, but my brother was a fan and so I knew of it. Although the idea was to show Keiji, I have to admit that I thought it was really cool too! The details on it were amazing. Seeing it in person was much more impressive than I expected. And yeah, Keiji thought it was pretty cool too!
Hakone
Hakone is a pretty nice place to visit. From Odawara Stationa you transfer a small train (Hakone Tozan Railway) which is rather unique because the conductor must keep switching from the front and back of the train to continue up the mountain in a sort of zigzag way. We took the train to Gora Station. There are small restaurants and shops around there. Inside Gora Park is a place called Crafts House where you can take part in some classes or watch them do glass blowing or pottery. From Gora Station, you can take the Tozan Cable car that travels up a steep slope towards Lake Ashinoko. On the way to Gora, there is a place that looks rather fun for the kids, but we didn’t have time to check out. The Hakone Open Air Museum is a family-friendly museum. From the train you can see many sculptures dotted throughout a sprawling green lawn. All the transportation transfers get pricey. It may be worth it to drive there, or even buy this Hakone Free Pass. I found out about it a bit too late. Perhaps next time. 
The Fujiya Hotel
Hakone has been a popular weekend getaway spot for Tokyoites and for that reason, Yuki and I have never been there before. I happened to see a special deal for the Fujiya Hotel in Miyanoshita, so I insisted we check out this popular place at least once in our life. The place was one of the first hotels in that area to cater to foreign dignitaries and celebrities visiting Japan, from the early 1920’s. The hallway was adorned with lots of black and white photos of their guests, including John Lennon, Charlie Chaplin, various royalty, etc. The facade of the hotel is lovely and the rooms and surrounding gardens are quite spacious. Being in the Western-sized room I sort of felt transported back in time and imagined how it was for people back them to travel to Hakone from Tokyo or perhaps from Yokohama where the ships docked. I’m sure the Western environment was a relief for the tired, homesick guests. Parts of the hotel could really use some renovation, though. The layers of paint on the walls reminded me of old Manhattan and Brooklyn apartments, revealing the many years the building has been standing. Each room has onsen water running in the bath. I’m not sure about other rooms – the tub in our room was clean, again sort of reminded me of an old Brooklyn apartment, so it didn’t exactly make me feel like it was onsen water. The public bath is rather small as well, so not a place to go if you are looking for an onsen experience. I was disappointed that we couldn’t wear the yuaktas outside of our rooms…which is a pretty typical feature in other onsen hotels. Perhaps I’m being overly critical. The kids had a blast though. There is an indoor heated pool next to the public onsen area i
n the hotel. The French restaurant in the hotel seems quite popular for their curry, but unfortunately we didn’t get to sample the food there. It’s definitely an interesting place to visit and take some photos, but for an onsen experience in Hakone, there are probably better overnight options.
Rain Rain Go Away
I’m not used to this much rain. Some days it rains the entire day. The hardest part about rainy season in Tokyo is that the apartment is more easily prone to mold. I see now why there are so many products that absorb moisture, like these beads inside a plastic container. They look like air fresheners, but are meant to absorb moisture. Aaand, since we hang the laundry out to dry, the clothes don’t dry well on rainy days. This is a common complaint among housewives and mothers. There are new air conditioners that claim to help dry clothes indoors without getting that stinky smell (They probably work). I could go to the laundromat to dry the clothes, but that is too tedious.
On the upside, I am getting used to traveling with the kids in rainy weather. I was so terrible with it the first year I had to take them to school during rainy season. I don’t even know why it was so cumbersome then, but somehow it really was. Perhaps also because at the time the kids were younger and not the independent travelers they are now.
I should gather a list of more rainy day activities. We usually put up the little tent, which Mindy and Jeff gave us. The kids love to bring their books and toys in there. They just discovered the Nick JR. website which has interactive games. Arisa is too young to navigate the sites, but Keiji is pretty good at it. Too bad the videos can’t be watched outside of the U.S. though.
Ahh…I’m looking forward to the end of rainy season…sometime around early August.
A Bathing Ape for Kids
BAPE recently started a kids clothing line and opened up a new shop called BAPE Kids in the Jingumae area. Miniature versions of all the adults clothing, shoes and accessories with Baby Milo prints. I was excited about getting something for K & A’s baby cousin, but to my disappointment, the smallest size their stuff comes in is 90 – which is equivalent to about 2- 3 year old size. Parents apparently line up before the shop opens on release day of new items. (side note: Have I mentioned before that everyone here is so patient about lining up for things?) Since everything in made in limited quantity, I guess in keeping with BAPE tradition, once an item is gone, it is gone. It’s a fun shop. The kids love the banana pit.
Almost time for the health check-up
Arisa will be 3 years old soon so it’s almost time for her physical examination 検診（けんしん）. The ward office 区役所 (くやくしょ) sends out letters and appropriate forms (all in Japanese of course- I will make a note if they start sending forms in other languages) to parents of all the children this age to prepare them for the child’s free health exam. Everyone can go to one of the Public Health Centers in their ward on a certain date and time. It’s a bit tedious because it is on a first come first serve basis and if you aren’t early enough, you could end up waiting a long time. In any case, it is usually an all morning affair, since you are there with all the other children the same age from your ward (for example all the same age kids in Park Slope, Brooklyn). But, it can be interesting to see all the other children the same age as your son or daughter. If you also mentally prepare yourself to wait and spend at least 2-3 hours there, then it won’t be so bad.
I experienced a couple of these check-ups already when we first arrived. The doctors and nurses were confused by the kids health records since we didn’t have the standard mother and child health handbook 母子手帳 (ぼしてちょう） which all mothers receive when they are pregnant. This book tracks the health of the mother during pregnancy and throughout the babies first 4 years. It’s a rather good system, I think, since it allows a mother to see her own pregnancy progress as well as her baby’s after the birth. In NY, on my visits after the OB, there were no written notes for me to keep track of each month’s developments. After Keiji was born, his health book was merely a yellow car to keep track of his vaccines. And this is for private health care facilities that we must pay for, even with insurance. Our health records were not as organized, all written in English and had notes on more vaccinations than what is required in Japan.
So going back to the health check up…..when you arrive at the health center, you sign in and hand in the forms that were sent to you in the mail. You take your child’s temperature and wait for your name to be called. You go to one room where they check your child’s height and weight and take measurements. Then you go back to the waiting lounge until your name is called once more. The doctors then meet with you to check your forms (from the mail) and the child’s health book and makes not of everything- height, weight, what milestones your child has reached for their age, vaccination updates and any health issues you want to bring up. After this you go back to the waiting lounge and wait for your name to be called again – to see the dentist. This is the last part of the visit and you can be on your way.
Health check-ups and doctors visits for the kids is very different from what I remember in NY. Since children here (I think up to the age of 12 years) can receive health check-ups and medicine free of charge under health insurance coverage, most parents take their children to clinics at any time and for any reason. If a child has a fever or a cough, they can go to a clinic nearby to get a check-up and prescription for medicine and pick up the medicine at a pharmacy usually a few steps away from the clinic, all free of charge.
I don’t really know which system is better. Of course there are good and bad points to each. I just am glad they can have access to health care.
A Happy Mother’s Day
Happy Mother’s Day! Mother’s Day is celebrated here too. But the kids’ school didn’t have the kids make any card or drawing for their mothers. They usually always do some special craft for every holiday, both Japanese and the major western ones.
Yuki had work so I didn’t plan on doing much that day. It turned out to be a nice afternoon with the kids’ Ojii-san, their auntie and cousins. Sushi lunch and then playing in the park with relatives was a nice last minute outing. The kids may be still a bit too young to understand the meaning of the holiday, but its enough to see their beaming faces as they spot me watching them play from across the playground and wave at me with their delighted “Mommy!”