A Day in Tokyo with My Toddler

E had no school yesterday, though her sister still had daycare. So it was just the two of us. Since this rarely happens, I wanted to plan something fun. Most amusement parks, museums, and similar places are closed due to the state of emergency. I thought about going to Asakusa, known for its street food stalls and the Senso-ji temple. But the journey would have been close to an hour, 40 minutes of it on a train. I vetoed that idea, thinking that it wouldn't be fun to spend nearly two hours commuting. 

Another option I had considered was going to the Trunk Hotel for breakfast. They open early and have a nice, spacious patio. They have a full western style breakfast menu. Great if you are craving something decadent. I decided to stay close to our neighborhood. We began the morning with a pretty typical breakfast: yogurt with fruit and muesli and some pastries and bread. Coffee for me, water and milk for the kids. 

After breakfast, I gave E two activity pages to do while I cleaned up and got ready. She is really into coloring and drawing these days. Any activity that involves that can keep her occupied for a good half hour, which may not sound long, but it is in toddler time!

After we got ready, we headed to the neighborhood park. This park was built only a year or two ago when the area was re-designed as an urban green space. It is full of plants and flowers and has a brook running alongside a pathway that leads to a playground. Playgrounds in Tokyo are smaller and fewer than in Chicago. On the weekends, all the playgrounds in the city are filled to capacity. This is one thing I miss about Chicago. It was a luxury to have so many big, complex, and spacious playgrounds per capita. Nevertheless, we are lucky to have one this new and large close to us here in Tokyo. 

Most of the parents here speak only Japanese. E talks to everyone, but since my communication skills are limited, I mostly smile (or try to, behind my mask). In Japan, strangers don't really approach you to strike up conversation. I have to admit that I enjoy the freedom of not having to engage in small talk all the time. 

I had promised E a picnic in Yoyogi Park for lunch. Yoyogi Park is one of the largest city parks in Tokyo and is located next to the famous Meiji Shrine. On the weekends, there are families, picnics, yoga classes, other exercise classes, and always a lot of runners. There is a bicycle path for recreational riding and another dedicated for little kids learning how to ride. In the spring, it is a nice place to see the cherry blossoms, and during more normal times, to picnic under the blossoms. In the summer, the rose garden blooms. You can see the rose bushes beginning to bloom right now. 

Since E played at the first park longer than expected, we stopped by McDonald's to pick up a quick lunch to take to Yoyogi park. This was our first McDonald's meal in Japan. We rarely ate McDonald's in America. Even so, I have been curious about the McDonald's menu here. I was not disappointed. The Happy Meals have all the standard main options. The sides, however, include the option of edamame and corn. Other side options are yogurt, fries, and small salad. Happy meal drink options are fruit juices, vegetable juice, milk, and mugicha, an iced barley tea popular here during the summer. I ordered a very boring chicken burger, which was how you would expect any McChicken to taste. I hear the teriyaki chicken burger is good, but that will be for another time. 

I ordered for E a cheeseburger, edamame and corn, and mugicha. I also brought from home carrot sticks and hummus. E was most excited about the edamame and dug into that as soon as we settled on a picnic spot. Her verdict was that it was fresh, not too salty, and best eaten one at a time with her fingers. Next, she started eating the hummus and carrots. Halfway through, she remembered her cheeseburger and started eating that. After a few bites in, however, she decided that I could have the rest of it and proceeded to finish everything else. I was relieved that she didn't like McDonald's too much. 

The Happy Meal toy was very cute. It was a paper doll set to pop out and assemble. 

When we returned from Yoyogi Park, we went for a swim in our building's pool. E is just learning to propel herself by kicking. For the longest time, my husband, a swimmer, held off getting her floaties, reasoning that she would rely on them too much. We thought by not using floaties, she would develop a better feel for the water. But eventually we gave in, and she is having more fun in the water with the new independence the floaties provide. 

My toddler's day starts winding down in the early afternoon. On this particular afternoon, she took an afternoon nap. She can do without a nap, but after a few days without naps, she becomes a different, easily irritable, person. That's why we still try to have her nap when she can. By the time she wakes up, it is almost time to pick up her sister and start dinner prep. Dinner service and bedtime routine is a crazy time in our household. We cook, eat, clean, and prepare bentos for tomorrow's lunch. Then it is time for the bedtime routine: take a bath, brush our teeth, change into pajamas, read, and prepare things for the next day. 

A toddler doesn't need much to have a fulfilling day, especially when everything around her is still novel. Brainstorming about things to do inspired me to plan more trips outside our neighborhood. Despite the emergency measures, there is still a lot to do. 

What I've Been Eating

I have been cooking, cooking, cooking, but when I am alone, there are only ever raw ingredients in the refrigerator. This is because my daughter and husband both bring bento lunches to school and work. Any dinner leftovers go to their bentos. Sometimes there are not enough leftovers and I make something else. Very rarely are there enough leftovers for my lunch the next day. 

I don't mind, because this gives me the opportunity to eat whatever I want for lunch, including the junk food that I am not keen on feeding to my kids and food that my husband would probably not want to eat anyways. An example of such food is karaage, or fried chicken, which is everywhere. It is sold at grocery stores, combinis, and food stalls. You can get them in a range of flavors, fried or baked, and in almost any amount you like. Combinis sell just two or three bite-sized chunks for a dollar or two. 

I have tried the "Mexican fried chicken" which is chicken breaded and fried with tortilla chip pieces. It was delicious. Last week, in an attempt to use leftover ingredients and make my meal a little healthier, I made fried chicken maki. My conclusion is that fried chicken makes everything tastes good. And my only regret is using the spicy fried chicken, which overwhelmed the shiso flavor. 

                           

Rolls don't stop with rice here. A popular food, especially for bentos, is sliced meat with vegetables rolled inside, covered with a mirin-soy sauce glaze. It is very versatile, because you can use almost any vegetable you have. You can also use any kind of meat, so long as it is sliced thinly enough to roll. My kids eat some, but not all vegetables. E loves broccoli and green beans but not asparagus. However, if I cook asparagus rolled up in pork, she loves it. I cooked this for her lunch tomorrow and put asparagus and shiitake inside.

    We have also been eating a lot of beans recently. When we visited Karuizawa a couple weeks ago, we

brought back these large, dark speckled beans. I'm not sure what they are called - it could be Large Speckled Calico, though the ones I see online look smaller than the beans I have. I ate this in a Genovese pasta dish at a restaurant in Karuizawa and decided to try it. It was tricky cooking these. After 45 minutes of boiling, I tasted them and found the insides a good consistency. However, the skin was too thick, so I cooked them 10-15 minutes longer. After that, the skin was more tender and palatable but then the insides were a bit too starchy, almost potato-like. They were not perfect, but I used them in a pesto pasta, and they were not bad. Please tell me if you know what these beans are called. 

Another discovery I made is that most supermarkets sell trays of assorted bibimbap vegetables. My local store sells it for less than $2. It is perfect for a single serving of bibimbap. I put it over rice and add an egg into the mix - and it's bibimbap in two minutes! This is an easy, healthy, and inexpensive meal. My lunch this afternoon:

Although most of the foods I have mentioned are pretty healthy, I have personally found that Japanese food is not as healthy as Americans might think. It is definitely healthier than ordinary American food, and Japanese people have a well-developed sense of balance in their diets, but there is more to it. Traditional Japanese food is healthy, but it is also not what most Japanese people, especially younger Japanese people, always eat. What comes to mind when I think of traditional Japanese food is salted or fresh fish, various forms of tofu, lots of rice, miso, soybean products like natto, and egg. The foods that are most ubiquitous and accessible in major cities include karaage, ramen, tempura, katsu, and rice bowls of various forms. A lot of it is fried and salty. Because meat is more expensive here, many meals are heavy on carbs. 

From my perspective as both an American and Chinese person, I think everyday Japanese food falls somewhere between American and Chinese food on the nutritional scale. Chinese food includes a lot of vegetables. I think traditionally, there had to be at least four dishes on the table, two of them vegetable dishes. At least, this is what my mother told me growing up. Chinese people tend to distinguish clearly between Chinese food and western food. Japan, on the other hand, has adopted a lot of western foods and made it distinctly Japanese. An example of this is karaage or hambagu (hamburger steak with gravy). It is Japanese food, but modern Japanese food. This is not the say that Chinese people are overall healthier. I just think that what is considered everyday food to the Chinese person is healthier than its Japanese counterpart. Japanese people are, in fact, very healthy. I think the crucial factors are that they 1) are very active in their daily lives, whether it is walking or biking and 2) whatever they eat, they eat in moderation. 

This is most evident in desserts, which are usually beautifully designed and subtlety sweet. I leave you with a photo of dessert. This was a white chocolate soufflé with mousse. My husband bought this last Friday at his train station as an end-of-the-week reward for the kids. Unbelievable that you can buy gourmet foods at train stations here. Makes you want to eat dessert after ever meal. 

Life Under State of Emergency #3 and the Status of Vaccinations

We are under a third state of emergency here in Tokyo. It began at the end of April and was just extended to the end of this month. Restaurants cannot serve alcohol and must close by 8 pm, and retail stores larger than 1000 square meters must remain closed. Department stores are therefore closed, except for the food sections. During the pandemic's non-state of emergency phases, restaurants must close at 9 pm, large retail stores are open, but government-run facilities like parks, zoos, and museums are still closed. For us, the state of emergency does not change things all that much. We eat out infrequently, never past 8 pm, and rarely go shopping anywhere but the grocery store. 

I hear people say that residents are tired of these states of emergency and that it is not effective anymore. I can't compare with the first one, since we didn't live here yet, but I do notice thinner crowds. Also, new daily infections are dropping after steadily rising through April. So I do think that it has an impact. 

The big question, of course, is what will happen to the Olympics? It is unlikely Japan will allow foreign spectators, but will they allow domestic ones? No one knows yet. Right now, Japanese ticket holders still have valid tickets. I think most people here would support a completely closed Olympics with no spectators. 

Vaccinations are still going slowly. My father-in-law, who is 69 years old and a health care worker, just received his second dose two weeks ago. Tokyo residents 65 and older should be eligible to receive their first dose this month. Japan lags behind many other developed countries, having vaccinated less than 1% of its population so far. This is surprising because mass vaccinations would help move the Olympics forward, something officials clearly want very much. It is also surprising because Japan keeps meticulous records of its citizens, so you would expect it to be relatively easy for the government to harness this to organize a quick rollout. 

Part of the reason for Japan's slow vaccine rollout is stringent regulations / complicated and rigid bureaucracy. And perhaps because daily new covid cases are still relatively low compared to other countries, the urgency is just not there. However, I think frustrations are mounting, and the government is feeling pressure to speed things along. 

For  now, we have been going to our neighborhood park. It has a sand pit, a play structure with slides for older kids, a smaller one for younger kids, swings, and a seesaw. Not bad for a four year old and one and a half year old. 

On Sunday, we ventured farther out to visit a larger park. It took about 10 minutes to get there by bicycle. The great thing about having a mamachari is not having to take public transportation with kids. It was unsurprisingly crowded - with zoos, museums, and other kid-friendly things closed, parks remain one of the few and relatively safer options for kids.

Tired from a full morning's play:

We eat out more frequently than in the U.S. because there are more options for eating out. But overall we eat out infrequently because eating with a one year old is not ideal. Last weekend, we tried a non-dairy ice cream place nearby. They advertise that their ice cream base is only honey and coconut cream. Can you tell which child likes it and which doesn't? I can only say that I prefer Ben & Jerry's non-dairy ice cream, made with almond milk. 

The weekend is over, and we are one week closer to making it to the end of the school year. So far, no closures due to Covid cases. As impatient as I am about getting vaccinated, I am also grateful and relieved that there have been no disruptions to school and daycare these past months. It feels like the final stretch, and I hope we get there soon. 

A Weekend in Karuizawa

It is the end of Golden Week, so called because there are four national holidays clustered within a week. April 29 is Showa Day, May 3 Constitution Day, May 4 Green Day, and May 5, Children's Day. We spent the long weekend in the mountains, in Karuizawa, a two and a half hour drive from Tokyo. Karuizawa is located in the Nagano Prefecture and is a popular domestic resort town. In the summer it's a cool getaway from Tokyo, and in the winter it is a ski-resort destination. 

In the late 1800s, a Canadian missionary established himself in Karuizawa and then began attracting other westerners to the town. This history is reflected in the local architecture, some of which is strikingly western. Apparently, John Lennon and Yoko Ono also liked visiting Karuizawa. 

Although Karuizawa's distance from Tokyo is perfect for a weekend trip, the mountain roads are winding, and E gets very carsick. The first time she got carsick, almost two years ago now, she had eaten only blueberries for breakfast. She had never thrown up from motion sickness before, so it was unexpected. Did you know that regurgitated blueberries look like a raspberry smoothie? Raspberry smoothie projected all the way to the dashboard. Then, two months ago, it happened again. This time, thinking that E had probably grown out of it, we ate a normal breakfast. For us, this means natto. Big mistake. We were even joking about how disgusting it would be if the same thing happened, so confident were we that it would not. I won't go into detail, but the entire ordeal put me off natto for weeks. With this second incident, we finally learned our lesson. 

This time, we tried leaving at a time the kids would sleep. We ate lightly, drove slowly, and braked as gently as possible. We headed out after a light dinner, reasoning that the kids would probably sleep most of the way. It mostly worked. We stopped at a rest area for a snack midway through. It was 8:30 pm and very crowded. Food options were cured sushi, rice balls, ramen, port cutlets, curry bowls, etc. We returned to the road after sharing a box of sushi and hot tea (provided for free at the rest stop). Both kids did sleep the rest of the way and were tired enough to go to bed upon arrival. 

Although I have been to Karuizawa many times now, there are a lot of places I've never been. This weekend, we went to Shiraito Falls, known for it's beautiful volcanic spring water. Shiraito means "white string," and describes the water's thin, silky quality. 

We do lots of walking in Karuizawa. There is a street in the old section of town that leads up to the mountain. It contains shops selling Karuizawa specialties (pickles, jams, honey), old craft shops, tourist shops, and specialty shops like one dedicated to selling Studio Ghibli merchandise. We came across a newly opened Miffy store too. 

The next day, we left the kids in the care of their grandparents and visited the local onsen, or hot spring. Some onsens exist as part of a ryokan and so aren't really open to the public. The one we went to in Karuizawa is a public onsen, so any paying guest is welcome. It is also unique because it has both indoor and outdoor baths. The experience of bathing outside under trees and in the mountains is really a singular one. Plus, it was around 50 F, just chilly enough to thoroughly enjoy the heated water. I couldn't take any photos inside (since everyone is naked), but here are a few photos of the outside areas:

The onsen is located in a newer commercial area with a lot of cafes, restaurants, and craft shops. Karuizawa, unlike Tokyo, is not in a state of emergency, and restaurants were crowded. We went with an Italian one that had a relatively short line. Like most restaurants in this area, it had terraced seats and indoor seats with cubicle-like seating. 

Arrabbiata mushroom pasta and Genovese pasta with the local giant beans. Both delicious. After lunch we walked around and tried Maruyama's drip coffee. Maybe it's the type of coffee we ordered, but the taste didn't reach my expectations. Maybe it was just a matter of taste. The coffee shop, however, is very cute and doubles as store and book cafe. It would be a great place to buy souvenirs for someone who loves coffee. We also browsed a wood crafts shop. There seem to be a few of those in Karuizawa. The designs are beautiful, but sadly, I don't buy anything that is not dishwasher safe these days. No time. 

We then came across a Japanese confectionary advertising Japanese cheesecake. Japanese cheesecake is different from New York style in that it is lighter and fluffier. I have only had it once before, so I can't reliably describe what it typically tastes like, but this one was incredibly delicious. We also bought a hand cake thing with walnuts and dates and powdered sugar. It was also very good, though I would have chosen another piece of cheesecake. 

Karuizawa, despite being small, has so many amazing restaurants. All the restaurants I have tried, even ones picked at random at the last minute, have been surprisingly good. We ate our last dinner at Sawamura, a bakery that doubles as a restaurant at night. One of the things I like best about Sawamura is their assorted bread basket, all baked fresh and in-house. 

The rest of the weekend we spent taking walks in the woods and around town. All the cherry blossoms have long disappeared in Tokyo, but there are lingering blossoms in the mountains. Taking in the views before our drive back to the city: