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 [...]
Posts under ‘Keiji's Favorites’
Kids’ NY Outings – FAO Schwarz
FAO Schwarz, NYC
I’m very grateful that Auntie Jackie and Grandma insisted we take the kids to the 5th Avenue FAO Schwarz. The last time I went there was when the store was going through some financial difficulties so the store was scaled down and seemed sparse, from how I remember it. I was [...]
Kids’ NY Outings
Fifth Avenue is always appealing to shoppers visiting NYC since all the designer shops can be found on this long avenue that runs Uptown to Downtown. Fortunately for shoppers with children, there are lots of appealing places for the younger ones too. In the 57th street area you can find the Central Park Zoo, FAO [...]
Cherry Blossom Viewing
We didn’t make it to Chidorigafuchi or Naka Meguro this year to see cherry blossoms there. From reports I heard, it was very beautiful but also crowded, as expected. We’ll try to make it there one year. We did make it to Yasukuni, but it was too early and the cherry blossoms weren’t in [...]
The Sky Court
The Sky Court play area on the 5th floor of the Kawasaki Be department store is closed. They are renovating the building and have already opened the first 3 floors. I’m not sure if they will keep the sky court, but hopefully they will. It was a good place to let the kids run and [...]
By the River
When I used to watch Japanese TV dramas that Yuki would rent back in NY, the dramas often had scenes of uniform-clad school kids walking home from school along a path that looked like it was on top of a long, grassy hill. Now I see where they were walking. In every town in Tokyo [...]
Ponyo, the Fish Child
If you live in Japan, you must’ve heard the Ponyo theme song at least once. Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is the latest Studio Ghibli animated film (creators of Totoro, Princess Mononoke and others). Keiji and Arisa were singing it one day and I had no idea what it was, but next thing [...]
Matsuri Treats
Some やたい (yatai) food stalls you can always find at Japanese festivals:
Jagabata じゃがバター Steamed potato with butter
Yaki ikaやきいか Grilled squid
Okonomiyaki おこのみやきJapanese style pan-fried “pizza” with ingredients such as cabbage, pork, shrimp, octopus, squid (okonomi means “what you like” and yaki means “grilled”)
Takoyaki たこやきPan-fried balls with octopus pieces and veggies inside, usually topped with sauce, shaved [...]
Summer!
It’s time for mizu asobi- playing in the water. The parks all over Tokyo have so many kinds of water fountains for kids to splash around in. This park is about 5 minutes away from Heiwajima station.