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.
Posted in: Daily Life.
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.
Posted in: K&A's Favorites, Shops.
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.
Posted in: Daily Life.
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!”
Posted in: Japanese traditions, Western traditions.
This is one of the cute Japanese songs the kids like singing, which is very simple enough for me to sing, too.
It goes to the tune of “Are You Sleeping?” and the words are something like this…
guu choki pare, guu choki pare ぐうちょき ぱあれ ぐうちょき ぱあれ (rock, scissor, paper. rock, scissor, paper) – while singing this part the kids do the appropriate hand signs for rock, scissors and paper
nani tsukuttaroo? nani tsukuttaroo? なに つくったろう？ なに つくったろう？ (What shall we make? What shall we make?) – while singing this they usually sway their head and open palms left to right
hidari te wa GU migi te wa PARE ひだりて は ぐう みぎ (left hand is “rock.” right hand is “paper.”) – while singing this part, make the rock hand symbol with the left hand, and the paper with the right
herikoptaa herikoptaa ヘリコプター ヘリコプター (helicopter) – while singing this, place right hand (paper) over left hand (rock) and turn hands to gesture a moving a helicopter
Then you can repeat the song, but changing the ending with either Gu, Choki or Pare with right and left hands. The other possible combination endings can go:
hidari te wa GU migi te wa GU…..yukidaruma yukidaruma (snowman)
hidari te wa CHOKI migi te was GU….katatsumuri katatsumuri (snail)
hidari te wa GU migi te wa CHOKI….usagi usagi (rabbit)
So I guess this is officially the first Japanese kids song I can sing in its entirety without messing up the words. Or so I think…..
Posted in: Arisa's Favorites, Daily Life.
According to WebMD: The medical term for sleep talking is somniloquy. Half of all kids between the ages of 3 and 10 years old carry on conversations while asleep, and a small number of adults — about 5% — keep chit-chatting after they go to bed. The utterances can take place occasionally or every night. A 2004 poll showed that more than 1 in 10 young children converse in their sleep more than a few nights a week. Overall, it’s says it’s a harmless sleep disorder. But it could be linked to nightmares or night terrors.
The kids have been talking in their sleep lately, not at the same time of course. When it happens, they both usually sound like they are remembering an earlier squabble. I thought maybe it’s stress from being in nursery school, or watching certain tv shows. They seem fine when they wake up but I wonder still if there is something to prevent it or if they will naturally stop as they get older.
Posted in: Daily Life.
We didn’t get to go to the Museum of Modern Art this time around, but it’s one of the places I hope to take the kids on the next visit. I’m all for encouraging kids’ boundless imagination and creativity. We’d go when Keiji when he was just about 1 1 /2 years old and it was always very enjoyable for everyone.
Posted in: NY, Places.
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 pleasantly surprised to find that the store is still quite magical and things are so delightfully displayed.
Ever watch the movie Big? If you did, then I’m sure you can recall the scene where Tom Hanks and his friend play the giant piano on the floor inside FAO Schwarz. The piano is still there. And there are many newer things: apart from the blocks, trains, specialty stuffed animals like life-size dragons and dinosaurs, there are other novelties like a place where you can build your own Jim Hensons muppet of your own, a studio where you can choose from a selection of clay items to paint and have it glazed and baked in a kiln, a doll section of all makes and sizes and dream houses, a lovely princess section where bright and sparkly tulle and tiaras line the walls and areas dedicated to the long-loved brands like Barbie, Lego, Hot Wheels. The kids were literally all over the place for hours.
To get there by subway, take the N or R to the 5th Avenue station. If you have a stroller, you’ll need to be prepared to walk up quite a few steps.
Posted in: Arisa's Favorites, Keiji's Favorites, NY, Places.
Until April 19th, there is a cute little carousel and replica SL train for kids (and adults) to ride at Akasaka Sacas. Apart from this event, the Akasaka Sacas complex itself doesn’t have as much space for kids to run around and explore as say Tokyo Midtown or Roppongi Hills. If you are in the area though, it’s worth stopping by to eat or grab a snack or to check out some event, like free performances. It is also right in front of the TBS station building. There isn’t much to do in that building, but if you have a little Ultraman fan, he might want to pose next to the giant figure.
Chiyoda line to Akasaka station will leave you right in front of Akasaka Sacas.
Posted in: Events, Places.
April 12 was Easter Sunday. To try and keep some of the holiday spirit alive in the household, the kids dyed some Easter eggs on Saturday.
We brought back some egg dye kits from NY since this year they are both old enough to try it together without making too much of a crazy mess.
Here are the colorful eggs and the making of…
Unlike Christmas, Halloween and Valentine’s Day, Easter is not one of the holidays fully celebrated (marketed) here. I’ve only really seen Easter egg chocolates and bunnies at the Sony Plaza stores, which always has cute accessories and treats for any holiday. Many people ask me what exactly is Easter about and why the eggs and bunnies. So I usually explain that it is the day Christ came back to life and that the eggs and the bunnies are symbols of fertility and Spring. Next year I think more kids are looking forward to dying Easter eggs…maybe we’ll even do our own little egg hunt.
Posted in: Western traditions.