Daydreaming of Travel

Early autumn in Tokyo

As of October 1, the third (or maybe fourth?) round of state of emergency is over in Japan. Things are looking good this time around. Japan's vaccination rates are increasing steadily, with over 60% vaccinated. Daily number of new cases in Tokyo fell below 200. People continue to wear masks. If things stay on course, who knows? Maybe we can think about travel again in a few months. 

Things are moving forward cautiously here. The most predictable thing about this pandemic is how unpredictable it is, and because of this, everyone is treading lightly despite improving statistics. I left a lot of things in my parents' basement in February, thinking that we would see each other again in a few short months. It doesn't look like that will happen until early next year. I would not say I'm an optimistic person, yet this pandemic has repeatedly exceeded my bleak expectations. When school and businesses closed in March 2020, I thought it would last a few months. When vaccinations rolled out in the United States in early 2021, I thought, just a couple more months. When we left America, M was just over a year old, and potty training was still a remote idea. I also tend to think of time as passing more (wishfully) slowly when it comes to kids, so I thought we would be back to collect those things when the time came. Now M is almost 2, ready to potty train, and the training potty is still sitting in my parents' basement. 

Despite this, I find myself thinking about traveling more and more! My possible destinations are divided among three categories: visiting family and friends (and not necessarily the places they live), places I want to visit again, places I've never been and want to go. Since we have never been on an international holiday with both kids, even repeat destinations promise new experiences. At the top of my list are Norway (never been, for a Polar Night run held every winter), Chile (been without kids, loved it, and would like to see the Patagonia next time), Paris (been multiple times, but who can stay away? Would also love to visit other areas of France), and Hungary (never been, would go for the music alone). 

While the time has not come for us to travel internationally yet, we do have domestic travel plans. We have a flight booked for Okinawa later this month. Neither my husband nor I have been, and we are very excited. There are several Okinawa islands. We are headed for the main island.

Meanwhile, life in Tokyo has been good. The days start and end cool and culminate in warm, but not hot, temperatures. The sweet olive trees have blossomed a second time. The first was early September. I didn't know trees could blossom twice in a month. I won't complain because it is the most beautiful scent. There were sweet olive trees planted in front of my childhood school in New Orleans, so it is also a very nostalgic scent.

The sweet olive trees are yellow here, but I remember them being white in New Orleans.

Persimmon trees are also ripening with its fruits. I have never lived in a place where persimmons grow on a city street like this. 

Limited international travel has allowed us to better enjoy our immediate surroundings. In Tokyo alone, there are neighborhoods that would take an entire day to explore. And being new to Japan, there is still so much to see. The wonderful thing about having limited options is that it gives you the freedom to cherish what you have. It's the freedom to enjoy the moment and not make choices. 

New Habits and Old Habits

We have been living in Japan for more than six months now. Being here this long has changed some of my habits. Here are a few ways Japan has changed me:

1. Putting Ice in Beverages

I used to make fun of how cold Americans like their beverages. I would always request no ice when ordering drinks, but it never worked. Not only was there ice, there was usually more ice than beverage. And all the accessories designed to keep ice from melting! And all the iced coffee, and all the people drinking it both in the summer and winter. 

Now I have become someone who cannot live without ice in the summer. I blame it on the humidity, relentless heat, and restrained air conditioning. During July and August, I could only drink iced coffee. I consumed a shocking amount of frozen treats. Worst of all, after making fun of my husband's heavy duty Yeti mug, I used it exclusively all summer. After an outing on a hot day, all I could do was lie on my bed drinking iced water from the Yeti. 

2. Dressing (More) Conservatively 

I found it frustrating to move from a society with a relatively progressive attitude towards women's clothing to a society with a relatively conservative one. What is perfectly normal in Chicago might be considered risqué in Tokyo. This attitude is even more pronounced towards women past their 20s. I guess it feels like there is too much moral gatekeeping of women's appearances. And that women bear the burden of shielding their bodies from objectification. 

I'm a pretty ordinary dresser by most western standards. I live mostly in jeans and blouses. In the summer, I like tank tops, shorts, and dresses. But I really struggled with my summer wardrobe here. On the one hand, I wanted to wear as little as possible to stay cool. On the other hand, I did not want unwanted attention. You won't see many people wearing tank tops or anything above the knee. 

One of my running buddies commented that nobody would notice amongst the extreme outfits you can spot on the streets of Tokyo: skirts so short that they look like fringes, anime getups, and full-blown punk rock outfits. The thing is, Japanese fashion is kind of bifurcated into what is normal and what is not. Unless you have clearly left the realm of what is broadly considered socially acceptable, as a 30s something woman, I have found that there is not much freedom to dress as you like. 

3. Minding traffic lights (more than before)

Unsurprisingly, Japanese people follow traffic rules precisely. Even on a small one-lane street with few cars, pedestrians will only cross when the light turns green. I am impatient by nature, and this felt completely unnatural to me at first. Gradually, I started accepting these pedestrian norms. Still, if I ever move back to New York, I will probably revert to jaywalking in mere hours. 

4. Using Body Language to Communicate 

In Japan, nonverbal communication is indispensable. A slight nod can be a greeting. It can mean excuse me. It can represent consent or an apology. A bow can also mean all these things but in a more formal context. For example, when you get on the elevator and there is already somebody inside, you would give a slight nod to acknowledge their presence and as a way of saying excuse me (for interrupting their ride, for sharing the space). Same thing when you get off. It is not weird for all this to transpire without words. 

Body language is such a cornerstone of communication that Japanese people will bow and nod during telephone conversations, even though the other person obviously cannot see them. 

5. Shopping In-Store

Returns are trickier in Japan compared to the U.S.. If something is returnable at all, the return period is usually one week. I once tried returning a Muji shirt I had bought four days ago. The store representative told me that I could not return it because I had bought it at another store that was in another neighborhood in Tokyo. Even chain retailers have strict return policies. 

Perhaps because of this, in person shopping is very much well and alive here. I want to feel certain of a purchase, and the easiest way to do that is to see it in person before buying it. Even if it means having to use my awkward Japanese. I just have no appetite for returns anymore.

I think more person shopping also results in more purchases from local and small businesses. It helps that prices don't seem to vary as much here. It is incredible how many small businesses thrive in Tokyo. 

6. Using my Bike to Commute Everywhere

I wrote an entire blog post on my commuter bike, or mamachari, as it is called here. Mine has both front and rear child seats, plus a basket. Biking is the perfect method of transportation for Tokyo's narrow and winding streets. It is faster than driving. In fact, cars are a liability in Tokyo. You have to stop every few feet to avoid pedestrians, bikes, and other cars. Streets are barely wide enough for a normal sedan. Parking is difficult and gas is very expensive. 

With a rain cover for the child's seat and an unstylish but effective poncho for myself, I can ride it in the rain too. The independence and flexibility biking offers is my favorite part of living in Tokyo. 

7. Feeling Safe

Tokyo is an incredibly safe city. Most of my life, I have lived in cities with high rates of violent crime. After having kids, I barely went out past bedtime, partly because I didn't have the energy and partly because the risk was not worth it. I took taxis when what I really wanted to do was walk. I avoided parks and abandoned streets at night. I clutched my bags close to me on the train. It took me some time to break these habits. Now we sometimes have "night walks" after dinner. It is a great feeling to be able to enjoy the nighttime as much as the daytime. 

8. Vacuuming Everyday

Maybe it is because the floors are light, and so dirt and dust become more visible. Maybe everyone in the family now has thick hair or long hair or both. Maybe there is more food debris without our canine Roomba. Or maybe the light, cordless vacuums are easier to use. It might be a bit of all these things, but the vacuum gets daily use. 

The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

Happy Autumn Solstice! Summer has finally, officially, come to an end. Tokyo still has hot days here and there, but the days now begin and end with cool temperatures, which makes a big difference.  

I went for a morning jog in Yoyogi Park. It was a little too sunny, but not too bad. Yoyogi Park is a pretty crazy park. On weekends when the weather is nice, there are what seems like fifty different exercise groups congregating all over the park. There are families, people doing fashion photoshoots, kids learning to ride bikes, lone joggers, and picnickers. There is a small dog park within the larger park. Unlike many other Japanese parks, there is also a homeless encampment. Since a lot of non-Japanese residents live in neighborhoods close to Yoyogi Park, you will find people of all different backgrounds. It is a very international park. 

Most of Japan is still in a state of emergency, due to expire at the end of September. Yesterday, the Tokyo Metropolitan Area logged 537 new Covid-19 cases. It is one of the lowest days in months. Everyone is eager to travel and waiting to see whether the state of emergency gets extended. It is unlikely that it will, but you never know with covid. 

Today is a national holiday to mark the autumn solstice. My husband, who is Japanese, claimed for years that the Japanese do not celebrate this. I found it interesting, since it is a major holiday in other East Asian cultures (Chinese and Korean). It turns out that people do celebrate the autumn solstice here in Japan, and in much of the same ways as in China. Namely, eating mooncakes and other round, moon-like things. My family was not the most traditional. We did eat mooncakes and Asian pears. I think the main thing for every Chinese holiday is to have a gathering and eat a lot. 

This year, we did not have a big gathering. but we did eat some round things, like mochi, meatballs, and this dessert made of glutinous rice and bean paste. The yellow one had chestnut paste. I think this is the Japanese equivalent of the Chinese mooncake. 

Even though it's been warm this week, temperatures are suppose to drop this weekend. I'm looking forward to getting in a couple of long runs. I am considering doing a half marathon. The longest race I have run is a 15K, and if it were just me, I would be fine sticking to this distance. It's my sweet spot - not too short and not too long. But my husband, who has also never run more than a 15K, is trying to persuade me to run a half with him. My running speed is at a low point at the moment because I haven't been running much during the summer. My longest run this past month has been a 10K. If I improve my endurance in the next few weeks, maybe it will motivate me enough to go for it. Marathon or not, I'm excited to spend more time outside!

Sunday Hike on Mount Takao

Before falling asleep last Saturday night, my husband mentioned something about hiking on Sunday. Something about an easy hike with a paved path. It sounded fun and easy, but I woke up Sunday morning having forgotten about the conversation. As I was pondering what we should do that day, my husband reminded me about the hike. So we made the usual preparations for the outdoors: mosquito repellent, water bottles, diapers, hats (no sunscreen, as it has been mercifully cloudy lately).

Mount Takao, or Takao san, is a sacred mountain located in Hachioji, Tokyo. From Shinjuku Station at the city center, you can take the Keio semi-express line, which will take you directly to the mountain in under an hour. We took a taxi to Shinjuku Station to "conserve the kids' energy," as my husband put it. 

Because it takes us a long time to get ready and leave home, it was 10:45 am by the time we arrived. I was hungry already and bought an onigiri, a small bag of trail mix, and yaki dango at the train station. 

There are several trails to the mountain's peak but only one paved trail. On this trail, it takes about 90 minutes to reach the summit. If you don't want to climb the entire thing, there is a cable car that goes halfway up the mountain. It is about $9 USD per person, round trip or $4.50 USD per person, one-way. We took the paved path the entire way because we had our stroller. The first half of the path, though paved, is quite steep. It is not too bad if you are just walking. With the stroller, it was a workout.  

Beginning our hike.

We replenished our energy with plenty of snacks along the way, including soft serve, more dango, and taiyaki (grilled wafer-like cake with sweet filling). The main areas for eating and restaurants are the base, the cable car station midway, and the summit. There is also a small shrine and a temple, where we explored and rested. 

A random but seasonal display of origami.

The closer we got to the top, the more difficult it became to climb with the stroller. We had to choose between the main paved path with steep stairs or the very rocky but stair-less path. We chose the rocky path. My husband used the Ergobaby carrier while I carried the stroller. M, who is not even two years old, is the height of a three year old, so carrying her in Ergobaby was no easy feat. Luckily, the path ended quickly as we reached the summit. 

The hike was doable with a stroller but would have been ideal with a hiking carrier. For an older toddler like E, walking, though slow, was the easiest. It took us over two hours to reach the summit. In retrospect, it would have been easiest to use the cable car. But then again, reaching the peak is all the more sweeter when you've done it on your own. I was impressed by the number of small children hiking by themselves. E managed to climb over two miles up and one mile back down, motivated by snacks and the promise of soft serve. There was a little grumbling, but she loved it in the end. 

The view at the top

The higher you go, the fewer restaurant options there are. Plan to eat at one of the numerous restaurants at the base if you want a nice dining experience. The cable car station midway up has a handful of options, including a soba restaurant. There is one soba restaurant at the summit. It is rustic and small with a limited menu that is nevertheless quite good. By the time we sat down for lunch, it was nearly 2 pm, so the restaurant was not crowded. But as the sole eatery, I expect it gets very busy at peak lunch hour. A lot of people were eating their own bentos - a great option if you have time to plan. I don't know what it is with soba and mountains. Or maybe it is soba and shrines. Or maybe all three. Every Japanese mountain I have climbed has a shrine and soba. 

On the descent, we took the paved path with stairs, carrying the baby and stroller. This felt slightly shorter than the stair-less route. And this time, we took the cable car the last half down. 

Back at the base, we explored food stalls selling "local" items. We bought some dried soba. They had fresh ones to be cooked within a week and semi-fresh ones to be cooked within a month. We also bought - my favorite - roasted chestnuts. I have had roasted chestnuts in a lot of countries, and nowhere are they as perfect as they are in Japan. You usually get a few duds in the pack, either rotten or ones where the skin does not peel off nicely. Every single one of the chestnuts we bought here were deliciously perfect. 

E, who still occasionally naps, was excited about the prospect of not having to nap, since the trip took all day. And of course, she promptly fell into a deep sleep on the train ride back home. In fact, half the train was sleeping (it was another semi-express, so most passengers were also riding from Mount Takao). 

I want to return later in autumn when the leaves start turning colors but have heard that it becomes unbearably crowded on the weekends. We might try squeeze a hike into a weekday, or maybe explore another mountain. 

An Early Autumn

On September 1, the weather in Tokyo changed abruptly. All of a sudden, the sweltering heat and oppressive sunshine were gone. It felt like I had traveled to another season in another city: gray clouds, a light breeze, and a slight chill. Everyone says that Tokyo remains hot until mid-September at best, so I thought this cooler weather was just an aberration at first. But looking at the forecast for the next ten days, it seems like it is here to stay. Autumn has arrived early in Tokyo. 

Last autumn was the first one in which I walked the kids to and from daycare every day due to our new pandemic schedule. Although it was a pain at times, the walks made me appreciate the beauty of neighborhood. 

Early September in Bucktown

Glorious autumn.

The autumn air has made me feel nostalgic. It reminds me of listening to podcasts while taking long walks with my dog. It also reminds me of stepping on dog poop, covered and camouflaged by leaves. I don't miss that. 

Last year was the first year that E became fully aware of each season and all its celebrations. "Happy Halloweeeeen!" she began chirping, as soon as the neighborhood decorations went up. She would continue saying this until she finished the last of her Halloween candy weeks later. I disliked Halloween before kids and now with kids, I love it. My husband said that it wasn't really celebrated in Tokyo when he was a kid. It seems like things have changed, because as of September 1, you can find Halloween candy displayed prominently in grocery stores. 

A more conventional autumn food here, as in many other places, is chestnuts. Chestnut and mont blanc themed desserts are cropping up everywhere, like these mont blanc flavored KitKat bars. The actual dessert is better, but it was interesting to try. 

Just as my husband's grandmother made takenoko gohan (bamboo rice) to celebrate spring, she made kuri gohan (chestnut rice) to celebrate autumn - alongside an impressive plate of gyoza. 

All this, and the leaves haven't even begun changing their colors! Japan really loves seasonal foods and celebrating each season. 

There is a word in Japanese to describe summer malaise. It is natsubate. "Natsu" means summer in Japanese and "bate" is fatigue or tiredness. Japanese summers are not the hottest I've experienced - temperatures reached 100 Fahrenheit only once or twice - but the heat and humidity are unrelenting. Even at night, the temperature would stay in the 80s. Every day was the same: baking sun, humidity, high 80s to low 90s. I avoided going outside, and exercising was difficult. It felt like a quarantine. 

With the temperature dropping and clouds providing sun relief, I feel like I am shedding natsubate. With weather like this, we have renewed energy to go forth and explore. 

5 More Unique Features of a Japanese Home

Of all the features below, air conditioning has been the biggest difference we have experienced the past few months. Because the a/c is not constantly on, we have experienced summer more acutely than ever before. Here is a full list of home features you will find in Japan:

1. Gas/Hot Water

In our home, and in most Japanese homes, you have to manually turn the gas on to turn the hot water on. It is simply a matter of pressing a button, but it is nonetheless an extra step, so we use hot water far less often than we did in Chicago. Before showering or bathing, I turn on the gas, and can use hot water right away. After I am done, I turn it off. Gas, electricity, and water all costs significantly more here than it did in America. It's possible that this is a way of limiting use. 

On a related note, Malcolm Gladwell's podcast Revisionist History aired an episode on the most eco-friendly way to do laundry, which is to do laundry with cold water. So the most eco-friendly detergents, therefore, are those that work most effectively with cold water. I recently listened to this episode and wondered if using less hot water in general is also more environmentally friendly. I suppose it uses less gas (i.e., energy). 

Another interesting feature is that the control panel for the gas and bath is in both the bathroom and the kitchen. Although the hot water becomes available immediately, the bath tub takes some time to fill. This way, you can start filling the tub with hot water after dinner, right from the kitchen. 

2. Balcony

Laundry is usually line-dried in Japan, so balconies are a necessity. You can always see people's clothes drying on their balconies. 

Our balcony is unique in that clothes-drying is prohibited. I'm not sure why this is, but it is a pain because balcony-drying is surprisingly effective. We have a powerful dryer fan that converts the shower room into a clothes-dryer. It is very loud, and I imagine it uses quite a bit of energy. It sounds like an airplane engine. While it is nice to have this option on rainy and very humid days, balcony drying is, surprisingly, just as effective on most days. Never underestimate the power of crosswinds. 

It is a rainy day, so there is no laundry drying, but you can see plenty of balconies. 

3. Room Air Conditioning

Central air conditioning is rare in Japan. Our apartment building, though a new building, has no central a/c. Instead, we have room air conditioning. It took getting used to, but I prefer having this kind of unit a/c. This way, we can customize the temperature of each room at night. And when you have to turn the air conditioning on in every room, you naturally become more aware of using air conditioning and use it only when you need it. 

We have an open concept living and dining room. Since it is a large room, there are two air conditioning units in that room. 

4. Dedicated Toilet Room

Besides the multi-functioning Japanese toilet, the toilet room itself is a unique feature of a Japanese home. Toilets are separate from the shower room and main vanity sink. For example, we have one bathroom (with shower and vanity) and two toilet rooms (with a small sink but no shower). This makes sense for Japanese people, who love soaking in the bath at the end of the day. This is a family affair in the sense that everyone takes their turn soaking. With a separate toilet, all that soaking can continue uninterrupted. Also, multi-bathroom homes are far less common here. 

5. Floor Heating

Just like the air conditioning, floor heating is not centralized. Each room has its own floor heating system. Large rooms like the living room are divided into two sections with their separate controls. It works well. And since we don't wear shoes indoors, it keeps your feet extra cozy. I imagine my dog would have loved this feature. Here is the control panel for floor heating:

A Japanese Childhood

It is hard to believe that we have been living in Japan for six months now and at the same time hard to fathom that we had a completely different life in Chicago a mere six months ago. My eldest daughter, E, is adaptable. My younger daughter M is too young to remember six months ago. This post is about the differences I have experienced between raising young kids in Chicago and raising them here in Tokyo. Of course, my observations are from my perspective, and there are many factors, aside from culture and geography, that influence my perspective. 

Outside the home, E and M experience very different environments. E goes to an English-language international school while M attends Japanese daycare. Since E was enrolled in an American daycare from 4 months of age, she has never been truly immersed in a Japanese community the way M now is. The contrast between them now, and the differences between them at the same ages, is apparent. 

1. Snacking 

While Japanese kids snack, it is not obvious that they do. You won't see kids walking down the street munching on snacks. In Japan, eating while walking is a big faux pas. Convenience stores typically have a small outdoor area where you can stand and eat your snack before moving on. I'm not sure about drinks. I think to some extent it must also be frowned upon, because I don't see people walking around in the morning with coffee (or water or tea) super-glued to their hands. 

Since most people get around on foot, there are not many opportunities to witness kids snacking. My observations of kids snacking comes from spending time with family and friends. And from the enormous variety of ridiculously cute snack foods found at supermarkets and convenience stores. Japanese kids may snack less than their American counterparts. The walking rule limits their opportunities, after all. However, in America, I think there is a bigger push and wider selection of "healthy snacks" targeted towards kids.

We are not a big snacking family. At home, the kids' routine is morning breakfast, lunch at noon, an afternoon snack, and dinner at 6pm. While this has not changed, I am finding it harder to keep out the less healthy snack foods. E has one classmate whose mom brings a bunch of snacks to share after school. The snacks are super popular with the kids, but are not the healthiest. Now that E knows these other snacks exist, I give it to her from time to time so it doesn't become forbidden fruit. 

Unnecessarily alluring snacks:

Make your own sushi candy.

Anpanman lollies.

Chocolate mushroom mountain and acorns.

2. Eating Manners

Eating in Japan is an activity laden with cultural idiosyncrasies. Babies and toddlers are not expected to eat as adults would, but still, a lot is expected of them. 

A meal begins when people clap their hands together and bow their heads, exclaiming, "itadakimasu!" It means to receive or accept the meal in gratitude. At the end of a meal, you would bow your head a bit, put your hands together, and say, "gochisousama deshita," which means something like, "it was a great meal," and also expresses gratitude for the meal, particularly towards the cook or the person who treated you. These two expressions is the foundation of social eating in Japan, and children are taught to say this from an early age. M has been saying this (or something that sounds like this. She claps her hands together and nods her head, so we know.) since she was one and a half years old. Her daycare has taught her to do this. 

M's daycare also taught her to properly drink from a cup, without a straw and without a top. They asked us to work with her on this at home too, for consistency's sake. It was a huge pain. Spills everywhere. Wasted milk. But she was able to do it within a week or so. 

The same thing happened with using utensils. For babies one year and older, using hands to eat is discouraged. At age two, chopstick training begins. Chopstick training commonly involves moving beans from one bowl to another to master chopstick skills. Needless to say, chopstick etiquette is an important and nuanced part of social etiquette. 

3. Strollers

We started encouraging my then two and a half year old to walk without her stroller when her sister was born. It seemed premature, and she struggled a little. Then the pandemic arrived. My physician husband became busier (he drives the car), daycare hours changed, and I became the one primarily responsible for drop-offs and pick-ups. My work from home hours helped make this easier too. With daycare about one mile away from our home, it was easier to pile both kids into a double stroller and walk. And this is how a double stroller came into our lives. 

In Japan, I see only infant babies in strollers. Rarely have I seen double strollers, since the older child would be expected to walk. It would not be unusual to see a two year old out without a stroller. M's daycare takes her class on walks twice daily, as weather permits. On a nice day, they walk as much as a mile. I would have thought this to be too demanding for a one and a half year old, but kids are amazing and can exceed expectations unexpectedly. Of course, this requires enormous patience and a big time commitment from the caretaker. It made me think that we, as parents, often minimize our expectations of our kids for our own convenience and because of our own limitations. 

4. Toilet Training

Toilet training in Japan begins early, sometimes around age one and well before age two. M's daycare has already begun potty-training. Chinese babies also potty train early, around age one. At least, this was the case when I was a baby. Even though I have lived almost my entire life in the U.S., I was shocked to learn, after becoming a parent, that many American toddlers do not potty train until age 3 and beyond. 

We trained E at age 2 because we did not want two kids in diapers. For her, it went as smoothly as I could have hoped. Even so, it took a lot of work at the beginning. In the end, it saved a lot of diapers, time, and energy. I believe it also made her more confident by granting her greater independence. 

At the time, two seemed early compared to E's peers. Now that I am living in Japan, my perspective has shifted, and I wonder if we could have, or maybe should have, trained E even earlier. Maybe two was the perfect time. Maybe we granted ourselves more time than necessary because the status quo was familiar and convenient, and the alternative meant a lot of work and change. 

5. Social Expectations

I have written about when to remove shoes in Japan. This includes gyms, the library (children's reading area), indoor play spaces, changing rooms, bathrooms, locker rooms, etc.. Any obvious barrier - wooden floor to tatami mat/carpet or a raised surface - is a likely signal to take off the shoes. This is still not always apparent to me, but my kids are great knowing when to take off their shoes. 

M, who is not even two years old, automatically takes off her shoes at our entryway and puts them away in the shoe closet. I cannot take credit for this. This is something she does everyday at daycare. Her daycare teaches all this in nurturing and patient, though unyielding, way. In this way, even very young children participate in social rituals that signal their active participation and integration into the community.

A Trip to the Tokyo Toy Museum

It has been a very rainy week.  While some parts of Japan had bad flooding, it has not been a problem where we live. On the contrary, we experienced five blissful days of overcast skies and cool temperatures. On Sunday, it was almost chilly with a high of 70 F. These are ideal summer running conditions for me, and squeezed in as many runs as I could. 

E's summer camp ended last week, so she has been home with me. Because of the summer holidays, the rain, and limited entries due to Covid, it has been nearly impossible to reserve tickets for age-appropriate museums, zoos, and aquariums. I was looking up possible places to go and came across the Tokyo Toy Museum. It was perfect: age-appropriate, interactive, not too far, and available reservations for this week. 

Although the Toy Museum is close to our home, it is not really walking distance, especially not with unpredictable rain. This was not a problem, as E has been asking to ride the city bus. The buses are not quite as prompt as the trains. By which I mean they are sometimes two minutes late whereas the trains usually arrive right on schedule. Riding the bus with E in Tokyo reminded me of riding CTA buses, which we did often. It took me back to riding the 72 North Ave. bus, which would sometimes be delayed for 22 minutes only for four buses to arrive at the same time. This is one thing I will not miss. 

We arrived after just a few stops. The neighborhood, though not far, was completely different. This is the wonderful, unique thing about Tokyo - you can get lost, literally and figuratively, just a few steps away from home. The museum is in an old building formerly used as a public school and built before World War II. Each of the classrooms housed a different exhibit.

We first registered for toy-making workshop. While waiting for the workshop to begin, we explored the wooden Toy Forest room, made of Japanese cypress and filled with wooden toys and play structures. There was a wooden ball pit with hidden acorns and wooden squirrels. 

Then it was time to make a toy. We were given the choice between making a necklace or a wheel that you could roll with a fan. E chose the wheel. The kids decorate two paper plates, cut along specified lines, and fuse the plates together to create a wheel. I forgot to take a photo, but E had a lot of fun (mostly with decorating). 

After the workshop, we went to the traditional Japanese toys exhibit. Although there is an English guide, I think she would have gotten more out of this exhibit with her father, as I had no idea what anything was. E most enjoyed the playacting room, which had a toy shop, toy kitchen, miniature-sized traditional Japanese house (this was amazing, as it was incredibly detailed, down to the cast-iron kettle for tea), musical instruments, and more. 

Our last exhibit was one displaying toys from around the world. This was the most interesting one to me, likely because it is also targeted towards older kids. In addition to exhibits, the room had shelves with toys and board games and little tables with chairs, set up cafe-style, where kids can try out the games themselves. There was also a beautifully retro foosball table. 

We did not see all the rooms because E was getting tired and we had a bus to catch. While the museum has a nursing room and a room dedicated for babies, it had no cafe or eating area, so we had to leave for lunch. Anyways, less is sometimes more with little kids and museums. E said she had a lot of fun and wanted to return. I thought it was a beautiful and well-designed museum. The adaptive reuse of the building and all the wooden toys lent the museum a deeply nostalgic quality. We hope to visit again soon!

Two Typhoons and a Ballet Recital

Two typhoons were headed for Japan this past week. One of them came to Tokyo, and the other blew past (I think - news is all in Japanese, so I guess what they are saying sometimes). Everyone seemed pretty calm about this, so I too went about my day as usual. Breakfast as usual:

Kid's breakfast: yogurt & muesli, toast three ways (marmite, jam, and avocado), and pastry. 

My breakfast: yogurt, muesli, and coffee. The yogurt containers are small, so I eat two.

Then, even though it had started raining, we braved the weather to go out for lunch. Everyone in the family has their own favorite ramen place. This one is mine. It is a 10-15 minute walk from our home. I love it because the menu is extensive. Most ramen restaurants specialize in their type of broth. This own has both creamy broth and lighter ones, plus fried chicken sides. 

Additions for your ramen. In each pot is yuzu pepper, garlic paste, and plum paste. In the box is a type of seaweed. 

It was also a long weekend, and E had her first ballet recital on Monday. I danced ballet throughout my childhood and up to college, so I thought it would all be familiar. I was wrong - it was completely different and more intense than any childhood recital of mine. 

E practiced about four hours a week during the weeks leading up to the recital. The choreography presented a healthy dose of challenge for E. On the day of the recital, we dropped her off in the morning at the concert hall, where she would run through a morning dress rehearsal, have lunch with her peers, and complete last minute touchups for costume and makeup. She was there from the morning until late afternoon. The list of things for her to bring on that day included costume (a mini professional one!), name tag (with bands sewn on by me grandma so she can wear it), a bento with food that would not get stuck between her teeth, individual picnic mat for eating lunch, warm up pants and hoodie, warm up socks, water bottle, name labels on all belongings including makeup items, hand towel, hair accessories, extra mask, bag for garbage, and bag for shoes. 

Although I grumbled a lot about the preparation, it was a beautiful recital. The venue was a large concert hall. I was incredibly impressed by the dancers, particularly the younger ones who flawlessly executed long stretches of complex choreography. Even though E was pushed more than she was used to, she experienced the happiness of working hard and accomplishing something difficult. We were proud of her. 

Unfortunately photos and recordings of the recital itself were not permitted, so this is all I have. I plan to buy the official recording once it is available. Side note: the cost of ballet in Japan is surprisingly high. Growing up, my ballet tuition was about $60/month. Even taking inflation into consideration, E's tuition is much, much higher than this. Moreover, the recital itself cost a lot. This is not surprising after seeing the costume, venue, etc. My husband has a Japanese intern who was a former ballerina who danced until her late teens. According to her, these costs are unremarkable for ballet recitals here. 

I guess I always considered ballet as having a low entry barrier: all you need is a leotard, tights, and slippers. My ballet school growing up had students from all walks of life. My impression is that, here, the barrier to enter ballet is designed to be high. We loved E's recital, but four-year-olds do not need professional tutus and venues. I like that E's ballet school challenges her, but I do wish that it were more widely accessible.

Congratulatory peach tart. It is impressive how many extraordinary patisseries there are in Tokyo. 

Bouquet of flowers from the grandparents. 

Inside my Summer Refrigerator

Since we arrived a few months ago, we have been trying different foods, brands, and grocery stores. Our diet has changed a lot. In Chicago, a third of our meals were either Japanese or Chinese. The rest was a mix of Mediterranean (many recipes from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem), Italian from Marcella Hazan's collection, or something improvised - variations on pasta, fried rice, etc. 

The inside of my refrigerator right now looks nothing like before. Western ingredients like cheese and meat are relatively expensive in Japan and less ubiquitous, so our western-eastern ratio has flip flopped. Japanese ingredients are easier to find, so that is what we eat more of now. Seafood is fresher and relatively less expensive than meat, so we eat more of that.

I do miss a lot of foods. It is the peak of summer, and I miss bringing home a bounty of berries and stone fruits. Fruits are conceptualized complete differently here in Japan. They are perfectly cultivated, unfailingly sweet, and more dessert-like than fruit-like. I love them, but I miss the my farmer's market fruits. I also miss the large variety of legumes and grains sold at my local supermarket. I miss Kerrygold butter. Not to mention the cheese. I miss the cheese so much. 

That said, I enjoy trying new recipes and discovering new ingredients. So here is a look inside my new refrigerator. Note: I realize it is not very organized. 

Husband's bento, daughter's bento. On the bottom left are remnants of a pack of tofu donuts. A guest brought them for us to try. They taste like regular donuts. My husband threw the bananas in the refrigerator because they were getting soft - those are now in the freezer awaiting their smoothie fates. Out refrigerator does not get much fuller than this. Our shopping/eat cycle is about 2-3 days at most. In Chicago, it was weekly.

On the top: soba dipping sauce, doubanjian for mapo tofu, tabasco, white sesame paste for salad dressing and sauces, tonkatsu sauce. On the bottom: more tonkatsu sauce, parmesan, ketchup, anchovies, wasabi, and random condiment packages from takeaway.

The pitcher is filled with mugicha, a summertime necessity. Coconut milk was a failed experiment. Sriracha, mustard, and mayo are staple condiments in our household. The milk is for the kids while the soy milk is for the adults. 

I love the top-down shape of the produce drawer. So much easier to fit bulky produce in the refrigerator!

Chicken breast in the defroster drawer. In Japan, breast meat is cheaper than dark meat, which is considered juicier and thus tastier. 

Random things drawer. I mostly store cheese and deli meat here. Right now I have some parmigiano-reggiano, brie, gouda, and laughing cow cubes.

The freezer - where I store my frozen treats. 

Zero bars are lactose free and sugar free. I accidentally bought them not knowing this, but they are pretty good. Ice pops are for E. I bought the red bean paste ice cream wafer sandwich to try. Most frozen desserts are sold individually, so it is easy to try them without committing to "value packs". They are the best part of a Japanese summer. 

Top freezer shelf. Premade frozen gyoza on the right, Frozen spinach ravioli on the bottom, and the rest are raw meats and fish. 

The ice drawer.

Stores give you these little ice packs whenever you buy something that needs to remain cold. I have tried to bring the ones we have (when I remember) so we don't acquire new ones. We store them in this side drawer. The drawer is a freezer but not as cold as the bottom freezer. This makes it also ideal for storing ice cream. 

The bottom half of the produce drawer. The peaches are stored outside until right before we eat them. Can you tell how deep this drawer is? Great for storing vegetables like cauliflower. Items like daikon and shiitake are inexpensive while cauliflower is more expensive. Applies are not too bad, but peaches are a luxury. The ones pictured here were fruit gifts. 

I wonder how the contents of our refrigerator compares to yours?