Digital Books, Eating at Muji, and a Chilled Saturday

    I received a Kindle for my birthday last year, but it took me some time to warm up to digital reading. In Chicago, we lived down the street from the public library, and it was easy to check out and return books. I liked physically browsing books and taking them home. Choosing a book via Kindle felt like online shopping - it should be easier but was somehow harder and took more effort. The enormous digital selection was overwhelming. Then one day, my spouse, an enthusiastic proponent of digital reading, bought Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. I started reading it, and that got me into reading on the Kindle. I'm glad I did. In a Japanese-speaking world, it's a convenient way to access English-language books. 

   Because of that, I have been reading a lot this summer. I just read Ruth Ozeki's The Book of Form and Emptiness, which is a story about an adolescent boy who is navigating life with his mother after his father dies. He begins to hear voices from objects and is subsequently hospitalized in a pediatric psychiatric ward. I wasn't particularly drawn to plot, but I love Ozeki's other works, so I gave it a try. It's a fictional story, and not at all a treatise or critique on current issues. Like her earlier book My Year of Meats, it represents in a thoughtful way all the maladies afflicting our post-industrial society. It's also about the power and morality of objects and our relationships with them. It is fiction but relevant, absurd yet relatable, despairing yet hopeful. It's my favorite book this summer. 

    E has been in summer school. It is farther than her usual school with no efficient public transportation routes, so we have been commuting via mamachari. It is a 40 minute ride roundtrip with two roundtrips each day. And so, I have been treating myself to kakigori. Kakigori is shaved ice with condensed milk or syrup or both with various toppings. Its ice is usually finely shaved compared to other types of shaved ice (like the New Orleans snoball). It is a fixture of Japanese summers, especially this summer which has been brutally hot. 

    On Saturday, we went to an indoor play space for the kids. We braced ourselves for a long queue but it wasn't that bad. In fact, there were fewer people than there had been on a weekend during winter. This play space is located in an indoor shopping mall with grocery stores and lots of restaurants, making for an easy transition to lunch. It also has a very cute bathroom dedicated for kids. 

Everything is a smaller size - the stalls, toilets, wash basins, etc. Japanese kids are afforded so much independence, and the infrastructure makes it easy. 

    The biggest problem with dining out in Tokyo is not dining with kids but rather dining without a reservation. People make reservations by default. If a good restaurant has a reservation system, it will likely be full unless you book a few days ahead. If the restaurant does not take reservations (more casual lunch spots, food courts, etc.), be prepared to go early or wait in line or both. You must constantly think ahead. With this in mind, at 11:15 am, we headed to the Muji cafe, which does not take reservations. 

© Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.

© Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.

    Muji is a Japanese brand that is based on a philosophy of minimalism, recycling, reducing production, and having a no logo/no brand policy. Not a bad philosophy, but it is also a massive retailer, so who knows. In Japan, they also have a cafe that sells healthy cafeteria-style food. It makes an effort - unique among big Japanese brands - to offer alternatives to animal protein. It is also a great place for families. I really enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of cafeteria-style eateries. There are no kids sets per se, but you can pick and choose among daily dishes, salad sets, curry sets, and soup sets among others. Better than the typical kids set that comes with fries, juice, and jello. It cost less than $30 USD for our family of four with large appetites. 

    If you have small kids, you may well know that they start declining in energy after lunch. It becomes a countdown to getting home and taking a nap. So we squeezed in a trip to the grocery store, picked up donuts from Mister Donut, and headed home. It was a relaxing Saturday. 

Chasing Dinosaurs

Have you heard of the word Natsubate? It's a compound of the word for summer "natsu," and "bateru," meaning malaise. Natsubate is used to describe the condition of many people during the summer months: poor appetite, lack of sleep, and low energy. It is summer malaise. Our most obvious strategy has been to find fun things to do indoors during the hottest hours. Incidentally, E has been interested in dinosaurs. We actually have been reading the same book about dinosaurs every night for the past week. This gave me the idea of looking into a place where we could visit some "real" dinosaurs. That place turned out to be the National Museum of Nature and Science. 

One of the things I miss most about Chicago is Museum Campus, and the Field Museum was among my favorites. We had gone a couple of times with E, but she was still a bit young for most of the exhibits and in any case, she has no memory of it. I don't know what took me so long to visit the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno, Tokyo. Perhaps I was too busy mulling over what was lost that I failed to consider the new experiences that were available. 

Situated in the Ueno neighborhood and overshadowed by the Ueno Zoo, this museum doesn't get nearly as crowded as the zoo. Reservations are required, which is nice overall, as it guarantees your entry at a specific time while also limiting the number of visitors inside. The museum has two wings: the Japanese wing with the more Japan-specific exhibits and the more general and newer Global wing. The exhibits have loads of interactive features. I found them to be great for all ages, even M, who was particularly fixated by the Animals of the Earth exhibit. 

Before Covid-19, this Compass section used to be an interactive play space for young kids. Still nice for kids, but unfortunately not as interactive.  

There is an impressive collection of dinosaurs, which are scattered throughout the museum rather than concentrated in a single exhibit. 

There is both a restaurant and a cafe at the museum, but they are small so the lines can get quite long. Because I had read this beforehand, we decided to prepare some food and bring it with us. Of course, we then didn't have time to "prepare food" amidst the morning hustle and bustle. Conveniently, Ueno station, where the museum is located, has a lot of bento, snack, and takeaway options, so we were able to buy lunch there before arriving at the museum. 

The museum cafe. The menu looked pretty good, and the prices were reasonable. Just beware of the lines at peak lunch hour. 

Some of the food we bought at the station - tonkatsu sandwich, yakitori skewers - and, not pictured - onigiri, sandwiches, and yogurt.

The Evolution of Life exhibits were beautifully designed. While my kids appreciated the design and specific interactive components, like short videos, they will get more of it when they are a bit older. 

The Japan Wing is located an old classist building designed as Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government. It was built as the main building of the museum in 1931 until 2015, when the Global Wing opened. 

We saw a few exhibits on the geological history of the Japanese islands. There was also an exhibit on the evolution of the Japanese people, including a display of the taxidermied Hachiko, the Akita dog famous for waiting at Shibuya station for its owner, even after his owner's death. 

I had been worried that the exhibits would be too advanced for E and M, but we all had a great time. Although the kids didn't grasp the content in the same way as adults do, they were able to enjoy it in their own way, as kids do. We arrived around 9 am and left at 1:30 pm, because that was as long as their attention spans could handle. But there was still a lot left to see. It is a place they can grow into, and we are excited about returning. 

Global Warming Blues, Joypolis, and Other Ways of Surviving a Heat Wave

    Every day in Tokyo for the last five days, and everyday for the next five days, temperatures will reach 35 to 36 degrees Celsius. That's 96-98 degrees in Fahrenheit. There has been no rain, despite this being the rainy season. The heat is oppressive, dangerous even. And it is days like these that make me think about what the world will be like when my children are my age. It makes me wonder about each choice I make: should I turn the air conditioning on for short-term comfort but at the expense of long-term harm to the environment? Why do I need chilled wine on demand when people are dying from natural disasters stemming from climate change? How can we avoid fish caught by trawling? Do my individual choices matter in the shadow of behemoth corporate, government, and military action? Even if my actions don't make a big difference, surely they matter to some extent. And of course, our collective choices do make a difference. 

    I think about how, in Japan and in many other places in the world, the majority of housework is shouldered by women. How collapsing cardboard boxes, rinsing and flattening milk cartons, dropping off the recycling at collection centers, using and cleaning rags instead of paper towels, using gentler solutions that require more effort, feeding your family more sustainable foods while ensuring their health and satiety, sorting through an infinite number of kids art projects to recycle and reuse - how so much of this is the work of women. Even so, as a woman completing many (but luckily not all) of these tasks, when I get cynical, I remind myself that there is always an opportunity cost to my actions (or lack of action). Convenience is rarely free. It also makes me aware that gender equality is another step to a more sustainable world. 

    Enough brooding. This post is really about the ways we have been trying to stay cool. The first is staying indoors as much as possible whilst keeping our kids entertained. On the weekends, they can only stay at home for so long without going crazy, so we looked into possible indoor outings. We decided on Joypolis, an indoor amusement park. My nephews and niece are also here for the summer, so we all went together. I was under the impression that Joypolis was somehwere between Chuck-E-Cheese and Dave and Buster's, but that is totally not the case. It was great for my almost 14-year-old and 11-year-old nephews, but it was a bit intense even for my 8-year-old niece, let alone my kids. It is probably the most fun for teenagers and young adults.    

Entering the Joypolis universe. 

    Joypolis was more like an arcade on steroids: bright artificial light everywhere, screens and sounds everywhere. It gave me sensory overload. My husband went here when he was a kid and said that it was more low-key fifteen, twenty years ago. I'm sure it was. 

    Kids under 7 are free (makes sense now). The entrance fee for kids 7-17 is about $4 USD and $6.50 USD for adults. Once you enter, each ride will cost about $5 and games are usually between $1-6. If you expect to go on a lot of rides, you can purchase the passport ticket for $30 for kids and $40 for adults. The passport tickets allow access to all the rides, but not the games. 

This looked like a good game for little kids, but it was hard, even for adults!

     We purchased the passport tickets for the older kids. They would have had to go on five rides to get their tickets' worth. However, there was an hour-long line for each ride, which would mean spending all day waiting in line. In the end, they went on three rides and played a bunch of games. They also played with a lot of claw crane games, if you can call those games, and actually won two massive stuffies without spending all their money. I was impressed. Preteens and their unexpected talents. 

    Joypolis is in Odaiba and located in a large shopping complex next to several other shopping complexes. The entire area is a neighborhood of malls. While this doesn't make for the nicest neighborhood, it makes it easier to find lunch. Joypolis has a few eateries, but they fill up quickly. Plus, so long as you keep your ticket, re-entry is permitted. 

Odaiba: Tokyo Bay on one side, entertainment hub on the other. 

    After lunch, I went with M and my mother in law to a nearby mall to take a break from Joypolis. E, though too young for most games and rides, was nevertheless having a good time since she was in the company of her cousins. So my husband stayed with the four older kids while I got a napping toddler. I would say that I got the better end of the deal. I spent the rest of the afternoon looking at art supplies for E's approaching summer holiday. So that was one hot day down, eight more to go. 

    We have also been consuming a lot of frozen desserts - a time-tested, much simpler way of coping with the heat. There are the usual frozen pops, but also more interesting ones we are trying for the first time. One of my favorites is the Crunch Choco Monaka, which is a wafer filled with half vanilla ice cream and half chocolate crunch. Although it is marketed as Hershey's product, I have only seen this in Japan. Another favorite is matcha ice cream topped with brown sugar, mochi, and matcha powder. Here is to making the best of the heat with sweets. 

Ueno Zoo (Post-Corona Restrictions)

    It is 65 degrees Fahrenheit today, but last Sunday, it was in the upper 80s. It was the rare hot spring day in Tokyo, though it is getting frighteningly less rare. Despite the heat, we went to Ueno Zoo. 

    It had been impossible to obtain reservations due to Covid restrictions. Every Saturday morning at 9am, a limited number of online reservations would become available on a first-come first-serve basis for the following week. Every time I tried, waiting on my computer until 9am sharp, I failed. No matter how quickly I clicked, all feasible time slots were full. So when this reservation system finally gave way to a less restrictive one last weekend, I jumped at the opportunity. 

   It is hard to exaggerate the number of people lined up outside the zoo when we arrived. I had purchased online tickets and arrived right at opening time, and so had everyone else. In fact, there was no wait to purchase tickets in-person, which kind of defeats the purpose of pre-purchasing tickets online. It took 45 minutes just to get inside the zoo! I thought this was typically Tokyo - everyone is an early bird, and everyone plans ahead. So we all end up in the same long line. 

    Of course, the animals were lethargic too. The heat wasn't too bad in the morning, but the sun was intense. I would have preferred a drizzle. When you first arrive in Japan and see people with arm bands, humongous visors, and parasols, you may think that they are simply warding off tans. I certainly thought so. After a year of living here, I realized that without these things, I would probably develop skin cancer and cataracts. Sun cream, sunglasses, and hats are musts for outdoor outings in Tokyo! 

The elephant, wondering why it is so hot in May. 

The tiger, wondering why it is so hot in May.

Hedwig, wondering why it is so hot in May. 

    Going to the zoo always makes me think about this New Yorker article I read a few years ago. It is about the social role of zoos, the moral and ethical considerations of their existence, and their impact on animal welfare and endangerment. I loved going to zoos before I was old enough to consider any of these issues. Being an adult has not made the zoo less fun, but rather more interesting. 

    The Ueno Zoo is centrally located but not large. Actually, Tama Zoo, which is farther from central Tokyo, is much bigger. This makes Ueno suitable for younger kids with less endurance. But it also means longer lunch lines on the weekends. 

    The main sit-down restaurant in Ueno is near the monkeys in the East Garden. It was nearly full when we headed there around 11am. In Japan, it is normal to reserve a seat with personal items. There are people who reserve with bags and jackets (normal), and there are those who reserve with a plastic water bottle (questionable, but still works since no one will steal your water bottle and even fewer who want a confrontation over a water bottle). This is how an entire restaurant fills up before anyone has even gotten their food. We luckily found one of the last remaining booths indoors. 

The ever-popular panda nikuman (steamed bun with pork inside)

Reserve your seats first!

    These jelly pouches are nice for hot days like Saturday. I froze them beforehand so they would still be cold during our outing. It took nearly an hour to get our food, but since the kids had had their mid-morning snack, the wait wasn't so bad. 

    By the time lunch ended around 12:45, the temperature had climbed to a sweltering 88 F. The East Garden and the West Garden are connected by short walkway. While the east side has a restaurant, the west side has more food trucks and snack food. It also houses the large African mammals, such as the giraffes, okapi, rhinos, etc. 

    We entered the zoo shortly after 10am and finished seeing everything before 2pm. Between then, we took a long lunch break and plenty of snack and toilet breaks. 

Food options outside the zoo: an old-timey concession stand.

    This was our first Ueno Zoo outing as a family since we moved here. It was fun, but if I am honest, I I would prefer overcast conditions next time - even a drizzle!  On the other hand, kids don't mind it nearly as much as adults do. After all, a hot and crowded day at the zoo is a classic day at the zoo. 

Showa Kinen Park in the Spring

    One of the nicest things about Tokyo is the many parks around the city. Not that it helps reduce crowding; there is never enough of a good thing to go around at once in this metropolis. So while we love exploring new parks, the question holding us back is: will it be too crowded? Alas, we can't afford to think too much about it, or we would be sitting at home most of the time. 

    Last weekend we visited Showa Kinen Park for the second time. The first time was last summer, at the peak of summer. It was sunny and scorching hot then. We drank water constantly and ate shaved ice just to stay cool. Despite the heat, it was still fun. Since the spring weather has been nice lately, a return to Showa Kinen had been on my mind. So when I saw a cool and cloudy projection for Saturday, we decided to visit again. 

    Last time, we went by metro, which took an hour with one transfer. This time, we drove, which took about the same time. The kids prefer the metro, which is more fun and engaging. We also avoid sitting in traffic this way, so it will probably be our transportation of choice in the future. 

    The Tulip Garden was the main attraction last month. Sadly, all the tulips had faded and the main flower attraction were these little blue things (I've no idea what they are called).  

The kids, as soon as they saw the pedal boats, wanted to ride on them. Last year, M was too little. This year, she got to go along the ride as well. The rental is for half an hour, and though the kids are on the boat, their legs are not long enough to actually pedal. Nor would they have had enough strength even if their legs were long enough. The pedaling was hard work. Definitely two adults' worth of work. Half an hour of fun for the kids, half an hour of moderate exercise for the parents. 

    There are at least two large play areas for kids. Each area has multiple play structures for a wide range of ages. This was nice - it allowed us to keep an eye on both kids even as they could play with different things. We stayed in the first area for over an hour. We actually had to use lunch to bribe the kids away. We knew they would like the second play area even more, and it was already past 1 pm. 

    There are plenty of eating options inside the park. There are sit down restaurants, food trucks, and numerous stands all around. Last time, we ate at a sit down restaurant by the lake. This time, I brought plenty of food with us, and we supplemented with snacks from stands. The stands sell things like hotdogs, yakisoba, karaage, french fries, and of course soft serve. The restaurant we tried has your standard Japanese/modern Japanese fare (soba, curry, ramen, etc.). We got a doner kebab from the food trucks, which offer more variety. As with most public Japanese facilities, prices are reasonable. 

    After lunch, we finally make it to the area called the Children's Forest. This includes a massive playground with multiple tornado slides, a network of nets on which kids can climb and jump, and a series of bouncing domes. At this point, M was deteriorating without her usual nap, though E was still going strong. What a difference a year makes. E shied away from the intense slides last year and loved them this year, lining up to go again and again. On the nets, she managed to climb up different levels whereas last year, she only bounced around here and there. 

    Even after two hours, E had not gotten to the bouncing domes that she had loved last year. M, by then, was in no condition to try anything else. So we bought shaved ice for an afternoon treat and called it a day. 

    In the summer, the park opens up a section for water play. This was not open last year due to Covid but will likely be open this summer. Even though we did not get to everything on this trip, we will surely be back soon for the water park. We focused on kid friendly activities, but there is also a lot for adults, including a woodworking shop, a Japanese garden, and special events. This week, for example, there is a special Bonsai exhibition. It's truly a day trip destination. 

    As we had hoped, the kids fell asleep in the car just as they had last year on the train. Whatever effort it takes to get to here, you are nearly guaranteed a good nap afterwards! Goodbye and see you in a few months, Showa Kinen Park. 

Tokyo Disneyland

    When I was six years old, a VHS cassette arrived in our mail. It was a fifteen minute promotional video sent by Disney. The video showed a family of four frolicking through the various Walt Disney World resorts with enormous smiles and Mickey ears. I remember watching it over and over again, mesmerized, until we actually went to Disney World months later. My parents were not the type to indulge my whims or cave into marketing pressure, so it was a testament to the potent Disney dream, pushed by the Disney corporation, that even they relented. 

    Of course, those trips to Disney World (we went twice as a family) were some of my happiest childhood memories. However, even as the essence of my Disney memories remain the same, my perception of the  Disney entity has changed. As a child, it was difficult to see past Disney World as the "Happiest Place on Earth." As an adult, it was difficult to see past Disney as a powerful capitalist machine, keen on manipulating young minds and capitalizing on parental love for its bottom line. As a parent who very recently visited Disneyland with my five year old, this perspective has shifted yet again. It's not that one experience replaces past ones; it's that each experience, each stage of life, brings a new layer to my perception. And the newest layer is the reality of enjoying Disneyland with my child. More precisely, it is the happiness of experiencing my child's enjoyment of Disneyland. So here it is, our trip to Tokyo Disneyland. 

    For starters, Tokyo Disneyland is amazing for its staff's attentiveness, the cleanliness, and orderliness. Despite its size and complicated ride-queuing system (as well as my own linguistic obstacles), I found assistance right away when I needed it. Even at the end of the day, the toilets were spotless. I can't imagine the amount of hard work and dedication required to maintain such a level of attentiveness. 

Preparations

    We chose to go on a Friday during E's school holiday. Since Japanese schools were in session, we thought it would be relatively empty. And while it was definitely not empty, lines were on average 15-20 minutes long, which is not bad from what I gather. To make the most of your visit, avoid holidays and weekends. The day we visited, the weather was warm and sunny - I would have actually preferred a cloudy day, as there is not much shade. Even with sunscreen and a hat, I got a bit sunburnt in one spot on my neck I had missed. 

    With respect to food and drink, I packed our water bottles and lots of snacks. Both food and drink are plentiful in the park, but it was nice to have our own. I do wish that there had been more water fountains to refill our bottles. Walking around Disneyland takes a lot of energy, and we went through a lot of snacks. I brought yogurt, nuts, crackers, fruits, and cheese. The food was not great, but also not too bad. It was more reasonably priced than I had expected, and less than in Disney World. For lunch, we had chicken burgers and chicken nuggets at Tomorrowland Terrace. Dinner was turkey drumsticks, teriyaki chicken, and packed onigiri. We chose casual restaurants for meals to spend more time on rides.  

Arrival in Toontown

    Toontown is ideal for toddlers, with the exception of Gadget's Go Coaster, which is a small but legitimate roller coaster ride. E had no idea about rollercoasters and immediately wanted to get on. She realized that she didn't enjoy it a few seconds into the ride. Luckily the ride is only a couple of minutes long. The other Toontown attractions are vibrant but simple. There are play structures for kids to climb and take photos. 

Goofy's Paint 'n' Play House: aim and shoot at the projection.

Donald's Boat, Miss Daisy

    Character meet and greets were not originally part of my plan (especially because you can't stand close to them due to Covid-19 and reservations through the Disneyland app are required), but E kept asking when she would see Mickey Mouse. I guess for kids, it's like meeting a celebrity. Since all the Mickey meet and greets were fully booked, I booked a tour of Minnie's Studio in Toontown instead. To be honest, the tour was slow and dull. It was like a tour of the White House but with less history. There were a lot of (adult) diehard Minnie fans, and they took lots of photos of each room, which made the line move slowly. The best part of Minnie's Studio tour was the end when E got to meet Minnie, albeit from two meters away. 

Fantasyland and the Standby Pass

    The Beauty and the Beast ride was unequivocally the star of Fantasyland. What we didn't know was that this ride requires a Standby Pass, which can only be obtained through the Disneyland app. We tried to get a pass as soon as we arrived, but already the earliest available one was 6:30 pm. Seeing this, my husband said, "let's just stand in line." We found out soon enough that that is not an option. Luckily, after checking very, very frequently, a slot popped up for 1:30 pm. 

    The line for Beauty and the Beast begins on the "castle grounds," so there were things to see while waiting. Then we were ushered into the grand hall where the Beast and Beauty appear on the staircase. This is where the story begins. The tour continues through the castle, which is really magnificently designed, until you get into these big teacups. The teacups take you through the rest of the castle on a musical journey of the story. This ride is only a few years old and beautifully integrates technology into the storytelling. 

    We also did a Small World, the Castle Carousel, Dumbo, and Peter Pan's Flight. E loved all these rides except Dumbo, which she also liked but perhaps not as much as the others. Dumbo's line is consistently long because there are only a few seats. I saw a mom wait for half an hour and then abort because her two year old got scared right before getting on the ride. At least that didn't happen, but it is not a ride for which we would wait in line twice. 

It's a Small World 

Tomorrowland

    Despite not having watched any of the relevant movies, E loved Tomorrowland's rides. They were the most interactive, and we loved them too. In the Buzz Lightyear ride, you spin around and shoot lasers to earn points. Similarly, Monsters, Inc. has you shining a flashlight to get the "monsters" to pop up and greet you. 

    The Happy Ride with Baymax has a DJ dancing while the cars spin to the music. Although only a minute and a half long, it was super popular and required a Standby Pass. Towards the end of the day, I happened to catch an available slot. This happened a lot during our day in Disneyland: the lines would fluctuate seemingly randomly throughout the day. 

Adventureland

    The Jungle Cruise was one of our family favorites. It is a real boat tour, complete with waterfalls and caves, except of course, the animals are not real. The tour guide seemed great too, though it was in Japanese, so I didn't understand everything. For me, the language barrier didn't take away from the experience. It had one of the longest lines at 35 minutes, but the tour lasted about 15 minutes and was worth the wait. 

    Alas, we didn't have time to explore the rest of Adventureland. Western River Railroad is on my list for next time. 

World Bazaar and Evening Parade

    Another "ride" we didn't get to was the Omnibus tour of the World Bazaar, an area consisting mostly of shops and restaurants. This is a good area for souvenirs. It gets crowded at the end of the day as people stop by for souvenirs on their way out. There is also a New Orleans Square here. When I stumbled across it at nighttime, there was faint jazz playing, and it really felt like the French Quarter - but cleaner and less smelly.

    There are several parades throughout the day. People line up with picnic blankets along the parade route as early as an hour ahead of parades to secure a nice view. A friend who had recently visited Disneyland had told me that the night parade was the best, so we held out for that one. I set up our own picnic blanket forty-five minutes before the parade. Even then, most of the benches were already occupied. E was tired anyways by then, so we had a picnic-style dinner and rested while waiting for the "Electrical Parade" to begin. 

These coveted spots have good views but were also close to the speakers. In retrospect, we would have enjoyed the parade just as much from a spot farther back. The parade itself was worth the hype. For E, it was indeed magical. Seeing E so happy, I tried not to ruin the moment by thinking too much about the costs of creating this magic and of the parallel realities other children were living. Those are things we would talk about another day. Such is the complexity and ambiguity of parenthood. 

Beyond Two Kilometers: Setagaya Park

In terms of both population and geographical area, Tokyo is a massive city. It would take more than two hours to drive from some parts of the Greater Tokyo Area to other parts. However, our living radius, the area in which we live, work, and play, is much smaller. Our neighborhood, like all neighborhoods in Tokyo, operates like a self-sufficient town. There are least five grocery stores within 1 km from our home. E's school is less than 2 km away, and so most of her school friends are nearby as well. The grandparents are less than 1 km away. There are also countless services such as dry cleaners, dentists, medical clinics, flower shops, etc., within a short walk away. Compared to Chicago and probably most American cities, there are more independent businesses in Tokyo. Therefore, there is more competition and variety of businesses in each neighborhood. We don't all have to drive to the one Whole Foods or mega Target servicing a larger area. Cycling is also a favorite mode of transportation, so distances are measured in terms of cycling or walking rather than driving. 

We have no practical reason to leave our two kilometer bubble. While this is convenient a lot of the times (especially with little kids), it can lull you into a complacent routine that lacks novelty and exploration. This weekend, with winter temperatures being relatively warm, we decided to leave our bubble and visit Setagaya, a neighboring ward of Shibuya. We buckled our kids onto our electric bicycle and headed off to Setagaya Park. 

I have been wanting to visit Setagaya Park, but I didn't know much about it. We arrived around 10 am, and unlike most parks in our neighborhood, it was surprisingly uncrowded. We were greeted at the entrance by a large abstract fountain and some ducks. 

There were tons of activities for kids. The kids first tried the pedal go-carts. It was free and there was no line, a rarity in this city. It had real lanes, pedestrian walkways, traffic signs, and working traffic lights. It tickled me that the kids solemnly abided by all these rules. The kids drove on the left, yielded to "vehicles" as the signs designated, and stopped at red lights for a full minute before speeding off when it turned green. As there was no age minimum, M gave it a go. Although she loved it, she was too short to reach the pedals and not coordinated enough to steer. I pushed her and steered, which was slightly stressful because I'm not great at driving on real roads, and this resembled the real thing too much. The size of the carts was much more suitable for E, who also enjoyed it very much. We guided her a bit with the traffic signals. Based on their experiences, the ideal age for enjoying these go-carts is 4-6 years old. 

Next to the go-carts was a model steam train. You can't go inside the compartments, but you can climb onto and between the cars to examine it up close, which E found endlessly amusing. 

The model train and go-carts are located near the main fountain. Also near the fountain is a play gym with swings, slides, a sand pit, and a few bouncy cars. On the other side of the park is a second, larger play structure. Near this is a mini train that kids can ride. It goes around in small loop with real train sounds and a crossing guard who, to the kids' delight, puts down the crossing rails as the train passes. It is free for kids under 6 years old and 100 yen (less than one USD) for everyone else. 

By the time the kids finished the ride, it was nearly noon. The park had a couple food trucks as well as a decent concession stand. Since it was a nice day, there were lots of park goers picnicking outdoors. We went to a restaurant called Fungo just across the street from the park. Fungo is a small diner-like restaurant with hot and cold sandwiches, burgers, soups, and salads. Just the basics, but all decently made. The proximity to the park makes it the most convenient option for winter dining. Across the street is a pie shop called Granny Smith Apple. They sell whole pies and slices. We tried the English Custard and Rum Raisin flavors. The slices were small but delicious. 

E had wanted to explore the larger play complex, so we headed there after lunch. It so happened that a story teller was there reading to a group of captivated children. The storytelling was enhanced with music and sound effects. Whether it was impromptu or scheduled, it was very charming and the sort of thing I love encountering. 

By this time, my kids were tired out from playing. Two and a half hours was not enough time to explore the entire park, but we have more than enough reason to return. E spent the first half of the bike ride home negotiating her way out of a nap and promptly fell asleep for the rest of the way home.