Tag Archive for 'Yokohama'

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Yokohama Weekend

Published on April 11, 2010 in Family, Japan and weekend. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Saturday we spent the day in Yokohama, starting off with some high tea at a fancy hotel restaurant, the SomerHouse at the Pan Pacific Hotel (obviously Tamie’s choice =)). We’d been there once before and it was a good time, this time was just as good. Layla was quite happy to steal the best food from Tamie’s plate and Tamie was quite happy to let her.

The best, though, was when the waitress brought us a glass of water that we wanted to use to give Layla medicine. In this case, Tamie used a spoon, picked up some water and mixed in the medicinal powder. The waitress, upon seeing Tamie scoop up the water from the glass with the spoon, rushed over apologizing profusely thinking there must have been something in it. Even after we said it was okay and shoo’d her away, she kept her eye on us and the water.

After tea, we took a walk around Yokohama, wandering through the amusement park and around the area checking out the sakura. The weather was perfect, not too hot and definitely not too cold. Tamie and Layla raced – Layla even counts “Ready, Set, Go”, but in Japanese. It’s so cute. Tamie counting down with her? Priceless.

At the amusement park, Layla would run up to a ride and say she wanted to get on… I’d tell her to watch it first and then decide. In almost every case, she’d watch and I’d ask in the middle ‘So you want to ride?’ and her answer would be the same ‘No thank you, I’m too small’. The one kid roller coaster she did want to ride she worked up the nerve to get in line. The lady asked her how old she was and when she said she was only 2 it was a no-go. She was tall enough, but unfortunately the age limit was 3… so we’ll be back in 2 months.

At the end of the day, we did some shopping before ending up at Sizzler for dinner. Neither of us had ever been to a Sizzler before and were surprised at the long line to get in. American chains here are overly popular for some reason. (apparently, at the Krispy Kreme opening in Nagoya, thousands of people showed up, some waiting over NINE hours in line. For donuts! It’d be faster to fly to Hawaii to get some!)

The Sizzler was actually decent, only because it had the biggest salad bar I’d seen in this country, with a drink and dessert bar to boot. Tamie made some complaints about the stains in the coffee cups, but it being self-serve she wisely looked at all of them and took a clean one. Layla really enjoyed the dessert bar – going back a couple times for sprinkles on her ice cream and then finishing off with the chocolate-fountain-dipped bananas and strawberries!

Sunday was a bit of a lazy day, not really doing anything but lounging around the house after calling my folks. Layla was a bit under the weather so we took it easy, eventually doing a bit of shopping. Tonight at supper she was complaining about having some pain in her tummy which we attributed to her trying out her ‘training pants’ for the first time. She switched back to a diaper, right before throwing up all over the floor. Guess it wasn’t the pants… She’s in bed now and hopefully feels better tomorrow.

For now, though, here’s the pictures from the weekend:
Yokohama Gallery
Yokohama Day!

Birthday Weekend

Published on March 1, 2010 in weekend. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Happy Birthday, Tamie!

Saturday was Tamie’s birthday and we celebrated in class… at least that was the plan…

The girls stayed in Isehara on Friday, as Tamie had to work late and the grandparents were picking up Layla. Tamie also booked a haircut on Saturday morning so it was more convenient to just stay there. It gave me the opportunity to clean up the apartment for her birthday. How’s that for a good present, eh? The place was spotless… at least until Layla was back for more than five minutes. :)

For her birthday dinner, I booked a cruise on the Royal Wing in Yokohama. We headed out early to visit Motomachi for the tail end of their “Charming Sale” to let Tamie do what she does best… spend money!

After visiting a number of jewerly and clothing stores, we stopped at a cafe for fries before heading out to the docks to catch our ship. That’s when the rain started – not a huge downpour, but enough to get cold and wet.

At the dock, we noticed there were two weddings going on that night – at least, there were two girls in big, poofy white dresses at big parties… in this country, you never know if it’s a wedding dress or a fashion statement.

I picked up the tickets I reserved from the counter and the lady gave me the tickets and charged me for the meal. I was a bit surprised, as it was a lot cheaper than I was expecting, until I found out that we were booked for the buffet instead of the course dinner. No one asked when I called to make the reservation, and it was too late when I picked up the tickets – I don’t know if they just assumed I wanted the buffet because I had a kid or what, but it wasn’t exactly what I (or Tamie) had in mind. It did make things easier with Layla, though.

On board, we were shown to our table along with everyone else waiting in line. The usually polite, orderly people of Japan who line up for everything from trains to bread shops raced for the buffet. We went to grab some food, fighting young and old people alike. The chaos that ensued was ridiculous – there wasn’t even an attempt at order as people circled the buffet table in both directions, cutting into lines and reaching over each other to get egg rolls and meat buns.

During dinner, a lady entertainer came to the table and made a balloon animal for Layla. Layla watched in abject wonder and amazement mixed with a bit of fear and nervousness. She finally regained the ability to move once the show was over and the animal was Layla’s. She’s too funny sometimes.

After the meal was over (or the food was done), we headed to the “Sun Deck” to take a look around. The wind was blowing, the deck was wet and slippery, but luckily the rain didn’t pour too heavily… so it was fun, if cold. I played around with my camera while Tamie and Layla eventually went inside. I would say I took pictures, but none of them really turned out… so I “played with my camera” instead. :)

When all was said and done, we went and grabbed a late train home. The girls fell asleep on the train while I stood stoically after giving up my seat for an old lady. The ungrateful old bat didn’t even say thank you, as if she was expecting someone to just jump up and give her a seat… you’d think she’d have been around this country long enough to know better. No, I’m not bitter – not even after a once pregnant Tamie would complain daily about how people here would ignore her while she stood in front of the “priority” seats.

Today, we woke up late after everyone slept in… I love Sundays. We stuck around home for most of the afternoon, watching Sesame Street and playing with Layla. We headed out to the grandparents’ house for birthday celebrations with the whole family.

On the way to the house, we stopped by the local cake shop to pick up some cakes for everyone. As everyone picked out which cake they wanted, Layla pointed to the biggest one in the display. Her grandma, always anxious to spoil the kid, bought it without hesitation. Who’s birthday was it, anyways? Cake in hand, we headed back to the house where Tamie helped her mom prepare an always delicious sukiyaki meal. Beef and cake! It should be Tamie’s birthday every weekend! :D

So here’s hoping Tamie had as good a weekend as I did. The buffet was a tad less classy than expected and the weather could have co-operated better than it did, but overall I’d say it was a successful birthday weekend.

Photos here:


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Saturday
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Sunday

More Chocolate. This Time, With Beef.

Published on February 11, 2010 in weekend. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Today was a national holiday – I’m not sure which one and the internet is telling me it is National Foundation Day… so your guess is as good as mine. =) What this means is we got the day off work! Hello, 3 day week… followed by a 1 day week. At least, that’s how I’m looking at it.

We ended up going back to Yokohama to hit up Takashimaya, the department store that we were too late to visit on the weekend. Of course it being a few days from Valentine’s Day, the chocolate fairs were in full force and the battling ladies were vicious. I had to carry Layla just so she wouldn’t be trampled! After checking out a few of the stands, sampling a few wares and seeing a lot of the same things we saw a few days ago, Layla said in no uncertain terms she was hungry.

Luckily, in Japan food is never far away. The department store has a floor dedicated to restaurants and, fortuitously, we were on it. We headed over to see what there was and find something to eat. There was plenty of choice, from Italian to Chinese to Japanese. We passed by a sukiyaki shop as we looked around and for whatever reason, Layla got it in her head that that’s what she wanted. Who am I to argue with her? We looked at everything else, even the steak place offering up Kobe beef, but in the end Layla won out… to the victor goes the spoils, and sukiyaki was the prize.

Once we were at our seats we were given menus and some time to make up our minds… tough choice – did we want meat, cheap meat, or expensive meat? We went with meat. And a beer.

The waitress quickly brought us our food and drinks and surprisingly, prepared our meal for us. She beat our egg, cooked our meat and vegetables, served us and even cleaned up our mess afterwards. One thing this country does right is service — she even offered to blow on it when it was too hot for Layla! Okay, she didn’t do that, but the rest of it she happily did. Can you believe we don’t even tip after that great service?

After eating, we did a bit of shopping before heading back home. A quick stop at the grocery store to buy dinner for the 1 day work-week and then we were home and putting the kid to bed.

All in all, a great way to spend a rainy day.

Gallery found here:

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Yokohama Chocolate Paradise

Published on February 7, 2010 in weekend. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Every year on Valentine’s Day in this country, women all over buy (or make) boxes of chocolate for the men in their lives… not just their husbands or sweethearts, ALL the men, including friends and co-workers. One direct side effect of this is the chocolate fairs that pop up in every department store where women go to battle with each other in searching for the best chocolates. It’s so crazy that chocolate companies are complaining this year because Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday, they are worried about a significant drop in sales since women don’t have co-workers to buy for. In any case, there are still a ton of girls out there duking it out for the champion chocolate and we went out to taste the carnage.

We headed to Yokohama to have dinner at a hotel offering a buffet that included a chocolate waterfall for Layla to experience. Before heading up to the restaurant though, we stopped off at the chocolate paradise to check out what chocolates were out this year. Luckily we’re a bit early in the season that the elbows weren’t so pointy and the shoppers not so vicious. Even still, at first, Layla was a bit nervous with all the people dashing about… but after getting a sample or two and realizing there was free chocolate on toothpicks to be had, Layla quickly ignored the crowd, instead focusing her attention on the ladies behind the counters. I can safely say her eyesight is 20/20 or better — she can spot a sample tray from 100 meters!

There were all kinds of chocolate to be had in all different shapes and colours. Chocolate carved as animals and flowers was quite popular, as was chocolate in various spacy colours. The most interesting things we saw and tried was chocolate-covered caviar. Luckily, it tasted like chocolate to me. Layla was getting right into it though – she tried some with rum, some with champagne, and even one piece with ginger in it. Regardless of what it was, she seemed to enjoy it, always wanting more.

After getting our fill of chocolate samplers, we headed up to the restaurant for dinner. Who says dessert always comes after the meal? The buffet was pretty standard fair, but it was the first time Layla really understood what a buffet meant. It wasn’t until we were eating dessert and she stole my ice cream that she figured it out… I kept taking little bits of ice cream until she finally got mad at me, so I said fine and went and got another one. The wheels were just turning when I came back to the table with a fresh cup of ice cream… it didn’t take long before she got up to get her own fresh one. Smart kid, that one.

When dinner was finished, Layla got it in her head that she wanted new shoes. We’d promised her some in the hospital and for whatever reason she remembered… so we went down to where there were kid’s shoes for sale — unfortunately, it was right beside the Disney store. Shoes were quickly forgotten as the kid found something more interesting to shop for. Right beside the Disney store was the toy department, so needless to say, shoes were not bought… at least, not Layla’s shoes.

Tamie, inspired and anxious to buy shoes, figured that if Layla wasn’t getting a pair someone ought to… and that someone was her. We went to the ladies’ shoes floor (yes, it’s an entire floor devoted to shoes) and spent a lot of time looking at rows upon rows of shoes. I kept Layla entertained (or more precisely, my camera did) while Tamie kept herself entertained. Check out the pics she took in the gallery.

Two pairs of shoes bought, and we were done. The stores closing was a good sign that we should head home, so we headed to the train and came back home.

Next week is Valentine’s Day and we’ll be out again at another chocolate fair, I’m sure. I need to make sure Tamie gets some good chocolate for the favourite men in her life. ;)


Yokohama Chocolate Fair
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It’s a Zoo Out There

Published on November 4, 2009 in Family, Japan and weekend. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Culture Day is here at last! I’d been waiting for this day to come, ever since I found out about the surprise holiday two days ago. We planned on using the tickets Tamie’s Mom got us and going to the zoo. So long as the weather held out, Tamie’s illness held off, and Layla’s lack of a fever held strong, we’d be good to go.

The weather, luckily, co-operated after blowing and raining the night before. The wind was still fiercely cold but the sun was out and shining strong. Perfect weather for a jacket and sandals.

Tamie seemed much better than Monday night, when she called me at work to tell me she wasn’t feeling well. It’s never good when there’s a phone call to complain. Layla, too, was under the weather. She’s always something on the go, though, so she takes it all in stride. Fortunately, come Culture Day, both were raring to go.

We go to the zoo just after noon, right around the time Layla wanted to lay down and take a nap. I carried her for the first hour, worried she’d fall asleep at every step. It wasn’t until I started taking too long looking at monkeys she wasn’t interested in that she started getting more assertive. By the time we got some food in her for lunch, she was leading Tamie around by the arm, freeing me to take pictures and look at animals. Tamie had a blast running around with Layla too, quite happy to chase and be chased by the little ball of energy. It’s amazing how much of a second wind Layla can get when she gets excited about something. I wish my first wind was that strong.

Over the course of the day, we explored the zoo. A lot of the animals were active – the tiger was pacing hungrily in the window, much to the kids’ delight. One of the lions came over and smiled at Layla before roaring and then leaving to get some sun. Despite all that, the only thing that scared her was the grouse that ran beside her in the bird sanctuary. It’s amazing how fast she can move when motivated by fear. I guess I need to scare her more in the mornings to get her out of bed.

Nearing the end of the day, we headed for the okapi cage, which was closing at 4:30pm. On the way, we found a playground with a big okapi slide. Unsurprisingly, Layla made a mad dash for the playground, claiming that this was the okapi we’d come to see. Other than falling off the zip-line and wanting to go up a ladder she couldn’t climb, she had a great time going up and down the slides. She wanted to try the zip-line by herself, pushing me away when I tried to lift her up to get a good grip, but she couldn’t hold onto the rope so fell to the ground. Her cries were heard throughout the park – I think some of the monkeys even cried back.

We did, eventually, find the okapi — apparently they have 6 okapi there. One of them was named Layla, much to Tamie’s surprise. She was excited to see Layla’s name up on a poster — Layla, not so much. By this point, the poor kid’s second wind was gone, and her third one was fading fast. She was back on my chest, sucking her thumb and trying to sleep. Not even sitting on statues or other playgrounds would wake her up. She got a spurt of energy as we were leaving when she saw a couple more statues, touching the giraffe and riding on the baby elephant. That didn’t last long, though – one trip over a tree stump and she was crying and back in my arms in no time.

Layla seems to love animals, knowing what each one was and what sound they made (from the good coaching by her chinni, no doubt). So long as they are behind glass or cage, she’s quite happy to watch them and even pretends to want to pet them. Statues, too, she’s quite comfortable around – she got mad when I wouldn’t put her on top of the giant elephant statue – the fact it was twice as tall as me didn’t seem like a good enough reason for her.

As we waited for the bus, Layla turned off. She clutched the okapi toy she’d gotten from the gift shop closely, before drifting off. One bus and one train later and we were in Yokohama for dinner. After a quick, if not good, Indian curry dinner, a balloon from a Panasonic booth babe and some ice cream at a gelato shop, we headed home.

御祖母さんありがとうございます！
Thanks, Baba (Layla’s name for her Japanese Grandma), for a great day!

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