Tentomushi in Tokyo

I’m back! I had all these great intentions of blogging while I was back in Vancouver but as you can see it didn’t really happen, sorry. KK, Toru and I had a great time in Canada but I have to admit toward the end of our trip I was beginning to miss Japan…I guess it really is our home now. I have lots to report from our trip and it will be blogged about very soon but for the time being I’m going to fill you in on our adventures at the Asagaya Tanabata Festival this past weekend.

I know Tanabata is actually in July but Sendai (where Toru is from) and Asagaya hold their festivals around the second weekend of August each year. Don’t ask me why, that’s just he way it is! Last year while I was pregnant Toru and I went up to Sendai for the big festival there so this year we decided to take an out of the womb KK to the Asagaya version. When I first moved to Tokyo in 2003 Asagaya was the first place I lived, so it will always have a special place in my heart. It’s a great little town with loads of small restaurants,bars and loads of character, if given the chance I would move back to Asagaya in a heartbeat.

We arrived at Asagaya around 4pm on Sunday and of course it was just about that time that the heavens opened up and poured down on us. This of course caused everyone to rush under the covered arcade where the festival was being held, making for a very cramped….I’m talking Chuo-sen last train kind of experience. KK was in his new stroller which added to the stress, lots of people, rain, stroller, small arcade equal a not nice experience. Everyone was pushing us and the stroller and I could see Toru getting ready to snap. I have to admit I snapped quite a few times at people who kept stepping on my shoes. I hate people who step on the backs of your shoes! Eventually the rain subsided and we got to enjoy the festival. We ate loads of festival food and drank beer, it was heavenly, there is just something about Japan, summer and beer. KK had his little festival outfit on and had loads of people fawning over him so he was a happy camper.

I will leave you with some photos of the day and a promise to blog about Canada very soon.

I bet you all wondered if I’d given up on blogging, well I haven’t I’ve just been really busy getting everything in order for our trip back to Vancouver. Our flight leaves in less than 12hrs and I can safely say that I think we’re about ready. I’m shouldn’t speak for KK as I don’t think he’ll ever be ready for a 9hr plane ride but  I’m as ready as I’ll ever be to entertain a plane full of passengers with a screaming baby. Who knows it might all go perfectly…time will tell.

Anyway I just wanted to let you know why I haven’t posted recently and also let you know where I’ll be for the next month. I’ll update my blog once I arrive in Vancouver and let you know how the flight goes.

Till then here are some pics of KK to keep you entertained.

I don't like this hat Mommy

Look! I can almost sit by myself!

I know the title of this post is “Father’s Day Weekend” but I’d like to get something off my chest first….

My names is Michelle and I’m a Coolish Lemon Lime Sorbet addict. Oh my god! How good is this stuff? I’m totally addicted and have had at least one a day since the weekend. It’s the only thing that seems to cool me down in this sticky weather and it’s perfect when your lugging around a wee one as it’s in it’s own little package and can’t drip on them. Anyway I just thought I share this addiction with everyone and also warn you that it you try it I guarantee you’ll be hooked like me. Be careful, very, very careful.

Ok so back to the matter at hand….Father’s Day Weekend!  Saturday we decided to put KK in his stroller and head over to Inokashira Park in Kichijoji. Now this may sound like a simple task but the truth is KK hates his stroller, he’s a tummy baby, he sleeps on his tummy and is happiest playing on his tummy so when we place him in the stroller he generally screams bloody murder. I have total stroller envy…everyone else’s babies seem so content…why can’t KK be that way! Anyway he wasn’t so bad on Saturday, I think he was in his stroller 50% and being held by us the other 50% of the time.

I’m really hoping he gets over this stroller hatred very soon as carrying a baby around in the sticky summer heat sounds like a nightmare to me. Once we arrived at the park we headed to Pepa Cafe Forest, an amazing little open air Thai place that is actually in the park. I think it’s one of my favorite places in Tokyo and even more so now as it’s baby friendly! Toru and I have really noticed that KK is really interested in food these days….can you tell….

Amazingly KK fell asleep in his stroller at the restaurant, he never sleeps in his stroller so I’m guessing this was his Father’s Day pressie to his Papa. Toru and I got to relax for almost a full 30mins! Heaven! After the restaurant we took a stroll around the park and headed to the zoo. KK’s really too young too fully appreciate the zoo but it was nice to have a family adventure together.

We have year passes to the zoo so I’m thinking we’ll be making a lot more trips over as the year progresses. After the zoo we were all really tired so we headed home and crashed out. I think a great day was had by all.

Sunday was actual Father’s Day but it rained like mad so we didn’t leave the house. My friend Rie called in the morning and said that she was going to Costco and wanted to know if we needed anything. We put an order in for a pizza, mango salad and some choco crossiants, she brought them at about 3pm and that was our lunch and dinner rolled into one. Gotta love friends who deliver Costco to your door.

That was pretty much our weekend, simple but perfect. 

My friend Rie came over with her 15mth old twin girls last week for a playdate. I came back to Japan when they were about 4mths old so I’m constantly amazed by how fast they’ve grown! She really has her hands full with those two, they’re sweet girls but command a lot of attention and always have her on her toes. Rie is actually half the size she was before she had the twins, I guess running around after them has done wonders for her figure. I really don’t know how she does it, I have a hard enough time with just one! Every time they come over I have to make sure that everything that they can get they’re hands on is out of the way because they are known to grab everything. I thought I had done well this time but no of course not, they found a few things to throw on the ground and destroy, I guess it’s a sign of things to come with KK. Anyway Rie brought a Jolly Jumper over for me to borrow and all I can say is KK loves it. He’s going through a stage of where he constantly wants to held up in a standing position which is great for him put my poor arms can’t take holding him all the time so this little contraption is genius. Just have a look for yourselves….

I’m now the proud owner of a 3 year spouse visa! I honestly didn’t think Japanese Immigration would ever give me a 3 year visa, I was beginning to think they were just a myth but lo and behold when I went to Immigration on Friday they stamped my passport with a 3 year visa. I’m thinking that KK was the contributing factor in me finally obtaining a 3 year visa….Mother of half Japanese child equals good gaijin perhaps? Who knows and who really cares all I know if that I won’t have to make any more trips to the dreaded immigration office for the next 3 years.

I also picked up KK’s Japanese passport on Friday! He is now the owner of a 5 year Japanese passport! The picture is just the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, he looks like a proper little man….

KK's First Passport Pic

I’m glad that we got my visa and KK’s passport sorted as we’re traveling back to Vancouver in less than 3 weeks! I can’t believe I’m going to be back in the land of peanut butter cups, clothes and shoes that fit and billion and billions of cute baby things, I can’t wait. The only thing I’m not looking forward to is the flight, traveling with a baby for the first time is definitely going to be an experience. We’ve booked a night flight back to Vancouver so I’m just hoping and praying that KK will sleep most of the way. Has anyone flown with a small baby before? Do you have any tips?

Oh….KK was just woken up from his nap, let the day begin!