Stranger in a not-so-strange land
This weekend we ended up going to Shinjuku where the Christmas lights are out in full force. We did a bit of shopping and had a nice tempura dinner at Tsunahachi before checking out the lights which didn’t disappoint.
Sunday we picked up some international driver’s licenses before having a nice sushi dinner with Tamie’s folks and sister in Ebina.
Pictures from Shinjuku can be found in the gallery below.
First off, Happy anniversary parents. Hope you had a good one!
Secondly, thanks for the great weekend Japan family. Despite the rain, it was a good one.
I came home Friday night and we had a nice sit-down dinner with the girls before Tamie unveiled a cake she and Layla put together.
Saturday we headed to Yokohama with hopes of checking out the amusement park but the weather didn’t co-operate. Instead, we found that Christmas has invaded Yokohama and wandered the malls checking things out. The singing Christmas tree is back in fine form again this year.
Sunday, the sun came out and it felt like a Summer day – it worked out well because there was an agriculture festival taking place that we checked out. The highlight of the festival for Layla (and Julia too, I think) was the tractors that were set up that the kids could climb and play on. Many pictures were taken.
We eventually went to Isehara where we went to dinner with Tamie’s family. One good yakiniku dinner later and we were back at their house eating cake and having fun.
As I said, overall it was a great weekend. Looking forward to doing it again next year! =)
On Saturday, Tamie got the last of her wisdom teeth out. While she was getting it out, Layla and I did a bit of laundry… There was so many kids’ clothes from just 5 days of daycare that we needed to go out and buy extra hangers just to hang all of it. I’m sure glad they feel the need to change the kids’ clothes multiple times a day.
When Tamie finally came back she wanted to go enjoy the nice weather and head to a beach or mountain but I’d already promised Layla to take her out on a scooter ride. 30 minutes later, after a brief scooter ride and some playing at a park, we were back at home thinking of going to a beach or mountain. In the end, we decided instead to check out the Grandberry Mall, a giant outdoor outlet mall we hadn’t been to in a long time. Not only did they have Christmas lights out already, but the music was all Christmas-y too. Yikes. Despite that, we somehow enjoyed ourselves.
Sunday we woke up with the plan to head out to Oyama, a mountain not far from here. Tamie strapped Julia onto her back and lead the way. She carried the big baby on her back all the way up to the cable car, which is more impressive than it sounds as there are a lot of stairs to climb before getting to the cable car. We took the cable car up to the Afuri Shrine where we had lunch and took a few pictures.
After exploring for a bit, it started getting a bit late and Tamie started to get cold so we began the trek back down the mountain. I strapped Julia on the front, backpack on the back and we were on our way. Five minutes later, we were stopped, waiting in line at a washroom. Layla had to go. The line in the girls’ washroom was so long she came and asked me to take her into the mens’. So I unstrapped Julia, took off the backpack and we ventured into the stinky toilets. One door was locked, one wasn’t. The one that wasn’t was a filthy squatter that Layla was scared of. The second eventually opened and an embarrassed old man apologized as he ran away. Looking inside, Layla was relieved to see a flusher. Lifting the lid was all sorts of badness though. Not only did it not flush – it was full to the brim. How that guy managed to sit on it and… Blech! So gross.
So we bailed and hoped that Tamie was still in line in the girl’s washroom, which she wasn’t. The next washrooms were 10 minutes away and Layla was determined that she could make it. So I strapped Julia back onto my front, slung the backpack over my shoulders and we were off again. Two minutes later, Layla was going to explode. So I did what any loving father would do – I told Layla to go in the bushes. And wouldn’t you believe, she was going to! Before she could, we pulled her a bit off the beaten path and did our best to help her out before finally heading down the path comfortably.
The path down was a lot steeper with a lot more stairs than I remembered. Of course the last time I went I didn’t have a baby strapped to my chest and wasn’t all that concerned about falling. =) Luckily Julia fell asleep not long after we started. Layla was a trooper the whole way down as she held her Mom’s hand and they counted how many steps they’d gone down. They got to 100 in both Japanese and English and that was only a fraction of the steps we descended. Near the bottom, we picked up some ice cream as a reward for making it – as soon as Julia heard the word ‘ice cream’ she woke right up.
On the bus ride home, Layla was so exhausted though, she fell fast asleep. Julia, however, was wide awake and making friends with the kids sitting beside us.
It was definitely a good way to spend the day and I look forward to the next time we get the chance.
Been a couple weeks/months since I last posted. Excuses, I have plenty.
Mom and Dad came to Japan at the end of September.
…
And then Julia got sick and Tamie went to India at the end of October.
See? Busy times indeed.
This weekend, Tamie finally came back from India after Julia finally got discharged from the hospital. Individually, either situation is tough to handle – together was nearly impossible. A big thanks to the in-laws for helping pull it all together.
With Tamie feeling under the weather, the weekend wasn’t so busy but it felt great to have a weekend altogether again. I did upload some pics from the last month – check them out.
Tamie’s Dad is checking into the hospital tomorrow to have surgery this week so I decided it’d be nice for the kids to spend some time with him before then. Tamie is still working Saturday and Sunday because of the power saving schedule so the three of us headed there early in the afternoon on Saturday… and Sunday. It turns out that we spent most of the weekend there, to the delight of the grandparents.
One of the things Layla likes to do in Isehara is visit one of the department stores because of the trampoline. What used to be a quick, 200 yen for 5 minutes of bouncy goodness once in a while is turning into 600 yen for 15 minutes every time we are in Isehara! After 15 minutes, she’s exhausted – I’m tempted to get a trampoline for home =)
On Saturday, after the trampolining, we went to the grandparents’ house and had a snack before Layla’s battery got recharged and she wanted to visit the local park. Jiji, always game to take Layla anywhere, agreed. Not even 35 degree heat could deter those two. Somehow I got roped into going too, so I grabbed my camera and we headed out.
The park was a blast right up until Layla was on a swing and fell out. She scraped her elbow, cried a bit and then we headed home. She stopped crying at the mention of buying cake on the way back home, so I guess it couldn’t have been that bad.
We went out for a good Yakitori (chicken on sticks) dinner that night before meeting Tamie at the station and coming home.
Sunday was similar to Saturday in that we headed to Isehara and had to stop at the trampoline store. Baba and Jiji met us there this time to see the kid in action. They weren’t disappointed – Layla gets more adventurous/confident every time she’s on the trampoline. We spent a long time in the store, checking out different games and things.
After the store, we headed back to the house where the two girls fell asleep in short order. Julia woke up after 30 minutes so I picked her up and held her and she quickly dozed off again. This time, I did too.
When everyone woke up, we headed out for dinner – Mama Grazia, the local Japanese Italian family restaurant chain. They have a special on for all-you-can-eat pizza and we did. After a decent meal, we headed back to the house to pick up a few things before meeting Tamie again and coming home.
All in all, it was a good weekend. Lots of trampoline pictures this time.
