Cherry Blossom Adventures

Probably going to be ranty in places and a lot to do with Japan…

• People I don`t know think it is okay to touch my child- when it isn`t.
• People feel like they can push around me just because I have a pram- sure if you are lined up before me I don`t expect you to give up your place in line BUT if I am lined up in front of you that means I should go first. In particular when lining up to get on the train- if I lined up first that means when the train doors open you should WAIT for me to get on, even if I have a pram.
• In the last week I have had at least 10 people tell me that Noah is so “white” and also that his eyes are so “wide/bright”…
• Noah likes being sung to- even if it is just about me washing the plates or hanging out the washing so that he will sit and watch me without wanting to be held. I just sing what I am doing to a kiddy tune…
• Little Einstein movies are odd- plus I am not quite sure why people thought they made babies into genius`s because in one of them a puppet puts glitter into a bowl and then drinks it…Oh and there is also a kid in one of them with the worst haircut I have ever seen. A cross between a bowl cut (with a triangle cut out of his fringe) and a crewcut…
• No matter how much coffee I drink it seems to make no difference to Noah`s sleep. Although I have not had more than 3 in one day since he was born…but still.
• Noah seems much happier at home and a lot more smiley when he is in his own comfort zone.
• Unless I tell Shun to actually change Noah`s nappy he won`t think to do it himself.
• Noah likes to pull off while feeding and smile at me as if to say “Mama, arn`t boobies great?”
• Noah is not laughing yet but he squeals with delight sometime…
• People actually stop in the street as I walk towards them when they see me coming with the pram (and Noah is facing me) and turn around as I pass to get a look at him. Sometimes they say “Ahh, netteiru” (“Ahh, he`s sleeping”) as if that is the most disappointing thing to happen to them all day. It is starting to freak me out a little…
• Noah can not decide what thumb/hand he likes to suck on yet but he seems to suck his left thumb more. Sometimes he can`t get it in his mouth though and ends up sucking the sides of his hands.

What have been some of your mama observations?

Oh and because he is cute- I will leave you with a photo.

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On Monday (11th) we took Noah to do his Omiyamairi, or first visit to a Shinto shrine. He isn`t quite a month old yet but I wanted to do it while my mum was still here and before it got even colder in late January or February (although Monday was freezing anyway!). Traditionally baby boys were taken on their 31st day of life and baby girls were taken on the 32nd day of life- it is done so that they are introduced to the shrine and to the Shinto gods.

My MIL bought Noah (although traditionally it is the maternal grandparents that would buy the outfit) a white outfit to wear for the occasion. It was very girly but the shop assistant had assured her that the same outfits were worn buy boys and girls. It reminded me a lot of christening outfits. Some babies are dressed in kimono instead but I told her not to bother shalling out that much money for an outfit he would only wear once (although I guess the white outfit would of been expensive too)

Since it was a public holiday the shrine was pretty busy- there were others there getting blessings too but we didn`t see any other babies getting blessed. We had an appointment at 12pm and went in with about 40 other people. They read out Noah`s name, our names, his date of birth and our address- Shun also went up to bow to the Shinto priest on our behalf. Noah slept through the entire thing except when they banged the drums when he woke up with a start (both times!)- we also got some gifts for Noah from the shrine including chopsticks to use when we give his first solid food (not quite sure how you can use chopsticks to eat rice cereal but oh well), some sweets, a couple of good luck charms and an ema (wish card?) to write our hopes for Noah.

Afterwards we took some photos outside the shrine (the shrine where we did it is near Shun`s parents place and the shrine they visit each new year and for other events- we do not know of any local shrines near our apartment so we choose to go there as Shun also did his omiyamairi there and so did his brother) and then went to a local Chinese restaurant for lunch (in which the waitresses gushed over Noah and his cute gaijinness and also on how “small” he is- I did not tell them he was less than a month old!)

Photos from the day (more in the album here at flickr)

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Today I took a stroll along the stream near our apartment. I had to go out to post something to Marianne and the post office is in the Ichiba (market?) which is the opposite way to the train station and therefore not a direction I head in unless I need to post something.

I took my camera with me thinking I could go for a stroll through the Ichiba and see if I could take some photos of the market and the people working but it is so big and I really had no idea where to go so instead I headed out the Ichiba and for a walk along a little river or stream. In Australia we would call it a creek but I am not sure what the correct terminology is here in Japan…

I was hoping to get some photos of the changing leaves but all the trees were already naked and there were no maples or gingko trees in sight as it seems all the trees lining the stream were sakura treets which lost all their leaves over the last month (and they don`t always change colour anyway). It was a lovely walk though and it was nice to take some photos for a change.

I am still supposed to be taking it easy and I am especially since I have had that cold but I walked for about 50 minutes I suppose up and back along the stream, stopping to take photos and sit on the benches provided. It was nice to be outside!

Some photos from the walk…

Towards the Ichiba

I thought it would be way to early for Sakura- They were very small- maybe they are a type of plum blossom

Most of the trees looked like this

There was a guy fishing

Not sure what he would of done if had caught a carp/koi

There were quite a few statues like this along the way without explanations

All the trees along the left with no leaves are sakura/cherry blossom trees which will come alive in spring- nice to know we have so many close by!

I spotted some locally grown produce

and wild tomatoes

There are some more photos here from my walk! Looking forward to when spring hits and I can take Goma-chan for a walk along the path/stream to look at the sakura blooming!

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On Monday I got on the bus from Tokyo heading towards Shizuoka to spend a couple of nights with Nay!

I had a fantastic time down there and it was great to finally see where in Japan Nay lives and to meet Milo her puppy.

I didn`t take many photos of my time down there- except of the beach and Milo! The original photos are all at my flickr page.

On Monday when I arrived (on time by the way, no traffic!) we headed back to Nay`s place while I marveled at all the tea bushes lining all of the hills- honestly they looked like little hedges and I had no idea how they got them to grow on the side of the hills like that or in the strange shaped little gardens. We took Milo for a walk (she was very excited to meet me and so the walk was to try and calm her down a little!) and caught up on all the goss. It was so nice to be in the country and be surrounded by green areas. We walked along a little creek near Nay`s house and I noticed that Shizuoka, along with tea, seems to have a lot of persimon. It is funny though, all the perssimon trees had already lost their leaves so they were naked except for the orange fruit.

Nay`s husband, Naoki, has no overtime on Monday`s (although it was a public holiday though, he did have work) so he was home super early (by my standards!) and we all sat down to enjoy some homemade pizza, Mama Mia the movie and then a game of scrabble. Nay won in the end with a very high scoring word right near the end of the game.

Tuesday we got up reasonably early to head to the Lalaport which was about 90 minutes from Nay`s place. We had no troubles finding it because Naoki had set up the navi for us the night before and we made it in record time- it was nice to be able to wonder around the shops before we went to see My Sister`s Keeper. Nay & I both enjoy Jodi Piccolt`s books and both agreed the movie was really good, even if it was a little different to the book (movies always are though, arn`t they!)- it had been AGES since I went to the cinema and I really really enjoyed it. I want to try and see another movie or two before Goma-chan makes his appearance. Once during the movie the baby was going nuts so I grabbed Nay`s hand so she could have a feel (she likes to know when Goma-chan is moving! Naoki also had a go while I was in Shizuoka) but of course he stopped soon after she touched. Nay`s hands are like fire though- the cinema was quite hot and I had to move her hand in the end because it felt like a heater. Honestly, those hands would be awesome in winter. My hands and feet always seem to be cold no matter the season so I was impressed.

It took us a little while to get home on Tuesday afternoon because we had a bit of a trouble finding route 1 and ended up doing a circle up a mountain through the bush. Well I guess it was more rainforest than bush- but still, it was lovely to see. I think Nay got a bit stressed out though as I certainly would of too if I had been the one driving. We made it home eventually though and Milo was very happy to see us so we took her for a quick walk so that she could calm down a little before we started to prepare dinner. Which was potato and chicken bake at my request since Nay had posted pictures and the recipe on her blog a couple of months back- it tastes as good as it looked and while it took awhile to make in the oven it was soooooooooooo yummy! I am definitely going to try and recreate something similar. YUM!

On Wednesday we slept in then headed to the beach down the road. Literally a five minute drive. So jealous of Nay`s proximity to the beach. We had a bit of a wander along with Milo and I took some photos- last time Milo hated it apparently but this time she seemed to like it more. Of course she didn`t really go close to any actual water though! We watched another DVD at home before Nay drove me to the bus stop- we knew there would be delays since they were doing road works all along the Tomei highway and I was using a Tomei highway bus. The bus was just over an hour late picking me up but the roadworks seemed to get worse after that and in the end the trip took me more than 6 hours instead of less than 3 & a half. It was not too bad though and thank god the bus had a toilet as I am well and truly into the third trimester now meaning I need to pee what seems to be every 30 seconds.

I am so glad I went down to Shizuoka for a short trip- my last before Goma-chan arrives. Thanks to Nay, Naoki & Milo for been such wonderful hosts!

Milo was so cute- she would get a bit psycho, as puppies tend to do, when she would see me for the first time or when I woke up etc but overall I couldn`t believe how well behaved she was for a puppy. Honestly, Abbey in Australia was still a psycho puppy when I left and she was already a year old (my father said she has mellowed somewhat now though). It was so nice to be around a puppy again though and I loved all the kisses and cuddles I got from Milo. Watching her play fetch was funny too!

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Tomorrow I am off to Shizuoka to spend a couple of days with Nay (and Naoki & Milo of course!)- of course because I am pedantic I am already packed and ready to go! I have not been to Shizuoka to visit with Nay before- I have been to her house in Australia many times (well her mum`s house!) and Nay has been to my place in Funabashi twice (and once when I was still at the in-laws) so it is certainly well due that I visit her in Shizuoka. I am excited about it for two reasons- one of course is that I will get to see Nay & Naoki and meet Milo and two, this will be my last trip before Goma-chan arrives and my last trip by myself for the foreseeable future so it is kind of one of those milestones that needs to be crossed off.

My bus leaves at 9am tomorrow morning and I will be back in Tokyo/Chiba on Wednesday night. Thank god the bus has a toilet since I am starting to feel like I need to live in one with the amount of times I need to pee. I have my most comfty maternity pants ready to put on tomorrow morning and my ipod charged and journal and books ready to go in my handbag.

Last night Shun painted my toenails for me- I can get the nailpolish off but can not stay in the crouched over position long enough to paint them without Goma-chan kicking and hurting me- not that I blame him. I am a little claustrophobic myself and I am sure he is feeling a little like he has no room- more so when I bend over and try to paint my toenails. Shun was not impressed with having to do it but I traded him a smoke on the veranda in exchange (he is supposed to quit smoking by the time the baby arrives- he is doing really badly. For the month of October we made a deal that he would not smoke at home except for the last one before bed until the 15th of the month and then none at home after that. Not that he ever smokes inside, it is always on the veranda but he is still supposed to quit by the start of December.) – so yeah he got to have a cigarette in exchange for painting my toenails. If he hadn`t done it, Nay would of in Shizuoka I am sure. I told him he will need to do it at least once more before the baby comes and he said he can probably handle that….Oh and he did a pretty good job- no better than I would of done.

Yesterday we went out for lunch to try the local yakiniku place which is always PACKED. It is also absurdly expensive for dinner so we knew we were never going to get to go there for dinner anytime soon but they do have nice little lunch sets which are not too badly priced- 1580yen for a plate of “karubi” beef (probably about 300g or 400g), rice, salad, soup (I had spicy Korean soup, i forget the name but it had egg and pork in it too with vegies and kimichi, Shun had the wakame soup), side dishes (kimichi and moyashi bean sprouts with seasame oil and soy sauce), dessert (little tiny piece of chocolate cake with chestnut flavoured icing) and hot green tea. It was REALLY yummy! I can tell why it is always constantly packed with people (we went at almost 2pm and still needed to wait 15 minutes for a table) and there is often even cars lined up outside waiting for a park. Shun was happy he could try it and we both agreed that for a special occasion we would go back for dinner…

I have some stuff going on back home in Australia that is getting me down a little bit. I am hoping that by the end of this week I will know more about what is going on there and what, if anything, I can do from here. I am getting too close to the end of my pregnancy to make a trip back to Australia (just checked and Jetstar allows me to travel internationally up until the end of my 36th week with a letter from the doctor stating the pregnancy is normal. Qantas seems to have similar rules. Good to know) and even if I needed to fly back I am not sure where we would find the extra cash. It is sometimes really hard to be far away from family…

I am 31 weeks pregnant today and it is hard to believe that sometime in the next 8-10 weeks or so we will be welcoming Goma-chan into the world. We have a couple of favourite front-runner names picked out but until I see his face I can not make a decision. At least the kanji for them is also decided though. Hopefully one of the names we have picked out will suit him…

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Bit of a photo update of sorts.

Package of things we received from my Dad the other day- Aussie animals and some material books and a book for the bath later on.

Engrish about a dog named Lulu- found at in-laws house. It is a photo album.

Photo of my haircut- some of you requested a picture so took this on the mac photobooth thing. Shocking picture but anyway…

And finally- this is a crop growing about 50m down the street from our apartment. I think it is Daikon but Shun thinks Brocolli or Cabbage. I am sure we are both completely wrong but could any of you J-girls know what this is? Maybe you have it planted in your own little veggie farms… I took it on my keitai.

And a close-up

Much to Shun`s dismay if I don`t find out soon I am going to go knock on the door of the house next to this plantation and ask them what the hell it is because it is bugging me.

Other random tibits
- I forgot how much I love Van Morrison. He is awesome. That is all.
- Had lunch today with Zoe & her boy Hunter. We meet up once a month on a Monday as Sunday`s and Monday`s are her days off from her full-time job. I met Zoe originally when she gave me one of her private students when I came back to Japan since she was starting full-time work and wouldn`t be able to continue and we hit it off straight away. We went to Lalaport to eat Hawaiian hamburgers and they were so good. Last time I saw Hunter my belly was not as big but his mum told him their was a baby in there and he kind of looked between her, and me and then said “Uso” literally meaning “lie” but probably closer to “Yeah, right!” and when we told him it was true he lifted up his own shirt and patted his belly and said “Hunter too?”. Today we asked him if he remembered where the baby was and he pointed to my stomach and patted it and said “baby” – I was sure he would of forgotten as he is not quite 2 and a half and we have only met a handful of times and we had the conversation over a month ago (sometimes he is at Hoikuen when Zoe and I meet up)-. It was so cute. I told him that once December came he could give the baby a cuddle as it will be outside my tummy then and he seem satisfied with that.
- I sent an article off to a online travel site for women- hopefully I get some good feedback from that. Also working on a couple of other pieces that I might submit to the magazine that is running one of my articles in November- I figure I have to be a bit persistent.

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I had never been to see sumo- I had watched a couple of times on TV but never for more than 30 minutes or so each time but I felt that I needed to go and watch it live to really appreciate it and I was right.

Yesterday, we headed off in the morning to meet Cat so that we could have enough time to see the sumo museum, eat lunch and have a look around before the main sumo wrestlers started arriving about 2pm and the matches kicked off later in the afternoon. We met up with James, his brother Dean (who is visiting Tokyo for university over the next 10 days or so), some of Deans university friends and Junni for lunch- we went to a place that had “chanko” (what the sumo eat) on the menu but in the end none of us ordered it.

Before meeting James and the gang, Catherine, Shun & I, went into the Ryogoku Kokugikan (sumo stadium in Ryogoku) to have a look around and go to the museum. I am not sure you could actually call it a museum though as it was only slightly bigger than our apartment. It was interesting though as all of the photos, and before cameras I guess, pictures, of the Yokozuna (highest ranking sumo) all lined up on the walls. I thought it was so funny that the original yokozuna had no photos and instead had scary pictures of them drawn- I wonder how accurate they were?!

We could get pretty close to the ring at this stage too since it wasn`t filling up yet and there was no one telling us to get out of the aisles.

Here are some of the younger, lesser known sumo fighting in the morning before lunch.

Here is Catherine & I doing our fighting sumo poses in front of the artwork

The day before I went to the sumo I read up a lot about it on the internet and found out all about the history and what the dos and don`ts of sumo are. I am glad I did because I honestly knew nothing about it before then- like why they stamp their feet or throw salt or even why they do the ring ceremony or wear what they do. Most of it is steeped in Shino tradition as Sumo was originally performed at festivals as a show for the shinto gods and didn`t really become a spectator sport until 400 years ago. Now there are six professional tournaments a year- three in Tokyo, one in Osaka, one in Nagoya and one in Fukuoka. Before the 1950`s there were only two a year (I think!).

After lunch we went back towards the stadium to watch some of the more senior and better sumo enter through the side gate.

This one was very smiley- I think he was going home for the day though because he was heading away from the stadium.

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We sat up on the second floor (Cat, Shun & I) while the others had seats down on the ground floor. When I booked our spot I did it upstairs because all of the ground floor seats are sit on the floor type and I was not sure how I would handle that at seven months pregnant. Both areas had a great view though!!!

This is the Makauuchi performing the ring ceremony

And this is Asashoryu, one of the Yokozuna currently still competing, doing his own individual ring ceremony wearing the special “Mawashi”. He is stamping his feet to get rid of any demons

The traditions performed before each bout took much longer than the actual fight itself- each fight, including the traditions went anywhere between 5-10 minutes (depending on how much and how many times they threw the salt!) but the fight itself was over in 30 seconds or less.

Getting ready to fight (the one on the left is Baruto, who is Estonian- he is only 25)

Hakuho, the other Yokozuna, had so many sponsors- Including macdonalds!

At the end of the day one of the lower ranking sumo (but still someone high up) peforms the Yumi-tori or bow twirling to signal the end of the day.

We had a lot of fun- and I now know a lot more about sumo than I did before!!! It is nice to get out and do something that is so enriched in culture.

For more photos I uploaded 45 different shots to Flickr here (I took over 200 shots from the day altogether though!)

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I went to Ikea today to meet some AFWJ (Association of foreign wives Japan) girls for early lunch and chat. I had met two of them before and the other two, today was the first time…Had a lot of fun chatting and getting to know each other though- I can see many more lunch and coffee dates ahead. Then I picked up some Ikea essentials (as you do!) before heading home…

I had to come home once before heading out again to the supermarket but that wasn`t a problem as for some reason today, despite spending the morning out, I am very “genki”.

Went first to get some money from our Japanese account and then also to the international atm to get some money from the Aussie debit card. It wasn`t until I was in the supermarket and checking something in my wallet that I realized I must have left the debit/credit card at the ATM (literally in the atm it seems) since it was not in my wallet (or bag or anywhere) so quickly returned to the scene of the crime (hehe!) but it was gone.

I debated whether just going home and canceling it once I got there by ringing my bank in Australia and ordering a new one but I had already been in contact with my Aussie bank once this week since they had cut off the card for “suspicious and fraudulent activity” despite the fact I have explained several times and asked them to make note of the fact that purchases in Japan are NOT TO BE CONSIDERED SUSPICIOUS since that is obviously where I live. So I had already switched it back on once this week and waiting for a new card from Australia would take a couple weeks as they would need to send it to mum first.

Due to the fact I had already been in contact with bank once this week I figured I should at least report it to the koban (police box) in case some nice little old Japanese lady had handed it in or something (You would be surprised- people hand in wallets in Japan WITH THE MONEY STILL IN THEM not to mention lost mobile phones). I arrived at the koban on the other side of the station all flustered and pregnant looking (due to carrying groceries!) and started speaking to a guy that seriously looked like he was 12 but anyway- explained that I had left my card at the atm on the otherside of Tobu and went back but it wasn`t there so wanted to file a report in case someone handed it in and would wait 12 hour before reporting it stolen in Australia.

Then another policeman stood in and said “whats your name” and I explained my name but said that the card in question was in my maiden name. He said “what`s your old name” I explained- he said “what colour” I said orange suncorp visa and he said “someone has already handed it in” so he took over asking for ID (that was a hassle since the only ID I have in maiden name is Aussie license he was concerned it was in English) and my gaijin card and he made copies of both while the other cop asked me to fill in an incidence report (ie, lost credit card, where, and what time) and then I needed to fill in another form to say “yay, getting credit card back, I am prepared to sign here and say it is mine and receive it” -this whole process took almost half an hour.

Then I proceeded to leave without the card- I was halfway back through the station when the 12 year old cop come running after me “marushima sama, marushima sama” to give me back the card- seriously I think I have a severe case of pregnancy brain!!!!!

I didn`s ask who handed it in- but thank you to whoever it was. I am happy you didn`t go out and spend all our money with my card! And even though it took awhile at the Koban this was one of my first “happy” experiences at a Japanese police box (ie, they are not yelling at me to show my gaijin card or bike papers)

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Well I finally took pictures and they do not do the apartment justice (Nay & Cassie in Fuchu have been here- I am sure they will stand up for it) but since I promised here are a couple…I was extremely lazy and didn`t want to change lenses on my camera and during the day the kitchen is the only place that needs a light on so I didn`t really turn on any others…

Everything is done and unpacked now and there are pictures on the walls and photos up and around but you can`t really see any of this in the pictures. Just a reminder that the apartment is a 3LDK and 76m2.

The bedroom (it has those light reflecting curtains so it looks dark- I also didn`t want to show too much!)

Our room opens into a tatami room which will be baby`s room- there is currently nothing in there except for extra storage space.

The Kitchen

Dining area (Excuse the mess on the table- it is light bulbs- I have to try and buy a new one today) – The table is against the wall but is really light and can be moved around if we want to sit more people at it

Living room – the living room coffee table is currently in the back spare room where Shun has his computer and playstation until he gets a desk. The living room is where I spend most of my time! We still need to get curtains for it.

Lastly, the spare room, which practically has nothing in it except for a closet and Shun`s computer and playstation. It is the room where we can lay down futons if we have guests.

I kind of wish the photos did it more justice because we really like it and we are loving the open space. I think it is big enough as well for our expanding family and I am happy the baby can have his own room- especially glad it joins on to ours and opens up into one big room if neccessary.

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I have several other posts I know I need to do- like my update for July 101 things in 1001 days which I am pretty sure I have nothing to cross off. Also need to take photos of the apartment and upload them. I took a couple and then stopped because it would involve cleaning up…maybe tomorrow?

We did go to see Tokyo Bay fireworks on Saturday and I already uploaded the photos to computer and flickr so they will have to suffice for now. Since getting the net back I do not seem to have much blogging mojo- I am sure it will return though. At the moment I blame the heat and the amount of downloaded TV I have…Brothers and Sisters and The Cleaner are the shows of choice at the moment.

I only had my little pocket digicam on Saturday since I went straight from work (I have work on Saturday afternoons for August) and already had an extra bag with English teaching stuff (which Shun kindly carried once we met up!). I did not take any photos of “us” though- ie friends that had gathered on the gravel ground to watch the fireworks. We all congregated because Cat`s little brother Andrew was in town from Scotland and this was the only fireworks on the past weekend that were kind of central- his other two weekends in Japan were out of town so it had to be this weekend) It is a shame I got no pictures though because all the girls (except me) were in Yukata and funnily enough in most cases it was their brothers that had done their obi`s while watching youtube video explanations!

Okay I am blabbing on and on- here are a couple of photos.

We can see Disneyland fireworks from our veranda every Saturday and Sunday nights at the moment and other assorted fireworks have been sighted from our balcony and the open space on the other side of the apartment (communal courtyard?)- even Sumidagawa fireworks a couple of weeks back could be sighted from there.

Ps: Goma chan likes The Beatles and Lenka it seems- he goes nuts in my belly when he hears either. Especially Lenka. I guess he has ecclectic taste in music just like me- thank god he doesn`t seem to be taking after his father and developing a “punk” obsession.

Pps: Thanks to everyone for their comments on the last post announcing goma-chan`s sex. We think we have a name sorted (with a couple of back ups in case he doesn`t look like the name we have picked out). I am dissapointed though that it seems Aussie`s living in Japan can not put middle names on passports as we had a family middle name picked out for the middle name since before we even got pregnant…..

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