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.