Ooedo-Onsen-Monogatari

This past weekend we went to the zoo and to Ooedo-Onsen-Monogatari which is a hot springs park.

Saturday was HOT! We packed up and went to the zoo which is in Ueno Park. It is a great zoo, unfortunately I don't have any pictures because I forgot to bring the memory card. I figured that out when I tried to take a picture of Kayin petting an owl. It was only 600 yen (about $6) each for Matt and I and the kids were free. Great price for such a large zoo! We walked in and decided to have lunch right away, so we sat down and unpacked our lunch and a few minutes later we were surrounded by about 15 women/girls. Apparently a tour group was meeting up right where we were eating and they kept talking to the kids and they gave Kaylin a piece of paper with a couple stamps of animals on it. It was so nice, but I felt so uncomfortable eating lunch while all of these people were watching us!

The zoo is really like any other and has pretty much the same animals. Kaylin made a request to see the monkeys, elephants and giraffes so we spent some time by each.

This was Shane's first time actually noticing the animals and it was so fun watching him. He would point and say "this" which comes out sounding more like "dis". It is SO cute. Oh I should mention that he is saying mama, da da, this (dis), that (dat), and I swear he has said rock and tree. He also signs "all done" and " more" although his sign for more is not correct, but we know what he means. So we are working on it!

On Sunday we went to Ooedo Onsen Monogatari, http://www.ooedoonsen.jp/higaeri/english/

I really had no idea what to expect and was a little nervous when we first arrived. We walked in and had to take our shoes off immediately. We put all of our things in a locker and went to pay the entrance fee. After that we walked to a counter where we were able to pick out a Yukata which is basically a robe. Kaylin also was able to pick one out but with shorts and they didn't have one small enough for Shane. We then went into a locker room to change. I took Shane and Matt took Kaylin. So, I walked in and found a locker and read the instructions on how to properly put the Yukata on. The instructions said that outside clothes were not permitted in the spa so I just kept Shane in a diaper. After about an hour we were told that we needed to put clothes on Shane. I guess the restriction was for adults only!

We stuck with the outside foot spa because the other spas required you to be naked and we just were not ready for that! In the center of the building there were places to eat, games for kids to play and a small stage. It was so much fun and such a great experience!

Kaylin playing a game

Family pic-Kaylin is checking out the ball she won

Friday we are going back to Amsterdam and I am SO excited and more than ready to go back. What makes it even better is Bill and Lauren will be there and Bud and Jane will be arriving on the 9th!

We will be in Amsterdam a total of 2 weeks and Scotland for 1 week. The kids and I will be flying back to the States on July 25 for 4 weeks and then we will be going back to Tokyo until October. Matt will be flying from Amsterdam to Tokyo and then will be flying to the States on Aug 8. I will be flying with the kids by myself so cross your fingers that all goes smoothly! Luckily our flight leaves an hour after Bud and Jane's so at least we'll be at the airport together. We tried to get on the same flight as them, but to make a long story short it would be more expensive. So, looking forward to seeing all of you in July and August!

Sushi Delivery!

Dinner...sushi delivered! :)

Rainbow bridge and the beach

On June 20 we went to see/walk across the Rainbow bridge which crosses the northern part of Tokyo Bay. Apparently it is lit up with different colors at night which I bet is beautiful. Our plan was to cross the bridge and then walk around the beach and town. We were told that the water would be to cold to swim in, so I just brought the kids suits because we knew they would want to go in no matter how cold it was, but the water was great and I wish we would have planned to spend the day. I also forgot towels, but it was so warm they dried off pretty quickly and we had a couple hand towels that everyone uses here.


Views from the bridge

There are some man made islands that were used in the past to protect the city.

Jelly Fish






















I love this picture of Kaylin. She was having so much fun!












The night before Sara came over to watch the kids so Matt and I could go out for dinner. It was so nice! We went and had some AWESOME sushi. We sat at a sushi bar so we could see exactly how it was prepared. So fun! We had two different white fish, tuna, octopus, salmon eggs, and a couple others that I don't remember. The only one I didn't really like was the salmon one. It looked the coolest, but I didn't like feeling the eggs popping in my mouth!

Father's Day Take 2

We had take 2 of Father's Day on Sunday. Here is Matt with the breakfast Kaylin made.

It down poured the entire day, so we just relaxed here. It was probably a blessing in disguise because we realized this was the first day Matt didn't have something going on since we came here! A relaxing day was much needed!

Kaylin took a break from painting to try and eat with chop sticks. She actually did better than we thought she would. Shane also practiced a bit!

I hope all you dads had a great Father's Day!!

I have more to post about the weekend and should have it posted with in the next day or so.

Complete!

My very first knit sweater is complete! Well, I just have to add the buttons and then it will be complete. It is a size 18 months and I wish I would have made a size 2. Oh well. Maybe it will stretch a bit! :)

Ask and you shall receive....

Well it certainly isn't a coincidence that I ran into a very helpful lady twice in one morning when I have been having a rough time. Jessica is a women who lives in our building. She took me to a store just down the road where I can find diapers when previously I had been walking 25 minutes to the only store where I could find them. She then took me to a community room a few blocks away where I could take the kids to play for free! It was an old school so there is a gym and playroom. The also have a program for the kids on Monday and Wednesday mornings. She also told me about an English speaking Montessori school that Kaylin can go to. We don't have to be residents and can pay weekly or maybe even daily. I will check it out next week. Awesome. I feel 100% better!!

Rough Patch

The last few days have been rough. I feel SO guilty even saying that because I know what an opportunity it is to be here and how lucky we are that Matt has a job given all the job losses around the world. I know we are very very lucky. I get it. I do.

I am at a point right now where "vacation" is over and I am ready to go back to Amsterdam. I think the kids are too. Kaylin has been telling us that she wants to go home to play with her toys. The weekends are great because we are tourists and can check out all the sites, but during the week I am struggling to find things to do. The park isn't doing it for me anymore! The kids love it, but I am bored to death! My patience is wearing thin which isn't good when you are trying to entertain two small kids all day. I could take the time to figure out the subway, but I don't know where to go and actually understand what I am seeing. I know I am realizing that Matt's work deadline will not be met and we will be coming back here in August for a couple of months and I am not mentally prepared to have to set up a life here. I know I have to "jump" out there and try to get more involved in things. Not 100% sure what those "things" are, but I know they are out there.
I realize that I am going through the stages of culture shock and things will be fine, but I was much much much more prepared moving to Amsterdam. I have a few people here to find support, but I miss the support system I have come to rely on in AMS.

I have two options. The first is to go back to Amsterdam after our trip to the states. If I do that we will only see Matt for 1 week out each month. Not cool.

Or come back here and be with Matt, but not have all of the comforts of home...mostly toys and kids to play with and places I feel comfortable going.

I think we'll be back here. I think I need to pull it together and quick.

We are planning on going to the zoo today, if the weather cooperates. It looks like it will probably be tomorrow and I know I will feel much better after that.

mmmmm....lunch

So good! The triangle thing is Nori, rice stuffed with kelp (seaweed with a lot of vitamins and minerals.) I am not sure what is mixed with it, but it is kind of sweat and the long tan looking thing is rice with a sweet wrap.

Yoyogi Park and the Imperial Palace

This past weekend we were invited to a small picnic at Yoyogi Park with some people Matt works with. It is one of the largest parks in Tokyo and adjacent to the Meiji Shrine which is a Shrine that was built to honor the spirits of the late Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken.

We started out by visiting the Shrine and surrounding gardens. It is in a 175 acre forest and is so peaceful.

Below is the Torii, which is a traditional Japanese gate.

A wall of Sake barrels that were donated to the Shrine

A traditional Japanese wedding was taking place while we were there which was awesome to see.

A Tea house

Iris are in bloom now so they had some beautiful gardens.

We headed over to the picnic around 1 and we were looking forward to seeing what a picnic was like Japanese style! The biggest difference is that everyone takes their shoes off when they sit down. I also noticed that when a group of school kids were having a picnic at the park earlier in the week; all their shoes were lined up on the side of the blanket. One lady had a pet bunny and for most of the day she also had a 2 year old girl named Kaylin by her side!

Park day pictures certainly would not be complete without having one of Shane and a stick!

This is typical of an outing...notice the guy taking pictures of the kids...we do stick out like a sore thumb!

This is the group we were with. Communication was difficult at times. We used many hand signals! Everyone is SO friendly though!!!

Trying my hardest to get a picture with the kids...they are 1 second from running away!

Here are some random people who started blowing bubbles for the kids. Kaylin was sad to see them go!

On Sunday we celebrated Father's Day because I obviously was off by a week! We found that out when we called Bud and Jane. We were saying Happy Father's Day and Jane politely said "You know it is next week, right?" OOPS! Now Matt claims we get to celebrate it next week too because it "wasn't his fault we celebrated it a week early!" Mmmm...we'll see!

Anyway, the kids both colored Matt pictures and Kaylin made Matt toast and eggs. She was so darn proud of those eggs!

We then caught the bus to the Imperial Palace. It was a lot smaller than I thought it would be and I was a little disappointed because I thought we would be able to walk around the gardens or something, but not so. Oh well. We then walked to a park. Yes, another park and then back for dinner.

We had such a great weekend and are thankful for such nice weather. It is the beginning of rainy season so nice days will be harder to find. We had such a nice time at the picnic and it is nice to be able to put names with faces. Matt had a nice pre-Father's Day ( I hope! :) ) and I am so thankful to have such an awesome husband and the best father I could have hoped for our kids to have!

I will add a BUNCH of pictures to the Tokyo slide show on the top right later today, probably once the kids go to bed. Just click on it to check it out!

Shane's first Hair cut

Here is the little guy getting his first hair cut. Just a little trim around his ears. Even if I wanted to cut more I don't think I could have. He was moving around so much I am surprised I was able to finish!

Playdates

This week we spent many hours at the park and went to 2 playgroups. On Tuesday I braved the subway with the kids. I didn't take the stroller because we were going to Sara's house which is only one stop away and not a long walk from there. Kaylin did really well walking and was so excited to play with Andrew. On Friday, a lady Matt works with was having an end of the school year party and all PWC families were invited. I took the kids and met Sara and her friend Jenny and went to the party. It was so much fun and we are going to get together with Sara and Jenny next week.

The kids really enjoyed themselves at the party. Isabelle had so many toys to play with and a closet full of Disney princess costumes and all of the accessories. Kaylin was in Heaven! I would take the kids down to the playroom with all of the other kids and I would turn around and Kaylin was making her way back to Isabelle's room so she could deck herself out in the "princess dresses." I wish I would have brought the camera because she looked SO cute in the little "glass" slippers and blue Cinderella dress and she found probably 8 necklaces and bracelets to complement her dress! By the end, a couple of other girls had dresses on too and I'd see them all breeze by on their hunt for other accessories or chocolate covered raisins and pretzels! I know what to get Kaylin for her birthday!

I have to admit that being in Tokyo is much easier than I thought it would be. As it is in Amsterdam, there are so many expats ready to help and having them here really makes the experience easier and more enjoyable!

Asakusa

On Sunday we went to Asakusa which is in the north eastern part of Tokyo. Asakusa is home to a Buddhist Temple, Sensoji, built in the 7th century. It was completed in 645, but I think the outer buildings were reconstructed after the war, but don't quote me on that!

This is the Kaminarimon, the Thunder Gate, which is the outer gate of the Sensoji. After walking through you are taken up a long shopping street to the Sensoji.

This is a straw sandal (part of a pair)which took 800 citizens one month to make for Sensoji. It is a charm against evil.

5 story pagoda

Asakusa Shrine.

There was a ceremony in front of the shrine which lasted at least 30 min. We really didn't know what was going on, but it was really fun watching the dancing.

Rickshaw

Kaylin's favorite part of the day was watching a show by this little fellow