Day 2 18 Nov 2007 Tokyo Meiji Jingu, Shinjuku

The hotel provided a simple buffet spread for breakfast. Less than the full spread one would get at the big hotels, but decent enough and better value than many Australian motels would. The Family Fifty's at Maihama hotel is similar in structure and set-up to chain motels in the US eg Motel 6, in France like the Formula 1 chain. But I think this offers better value. For Tokyo, the rooms are a decent size, holding a double bed and a sofa bed which converts into a single bed, ensuite bathrooms and breakfast.

We had cold hardboiled eggs (orange yolks!) , bread, pastry, juice, milk, cereal, fruit and salad (I discovered the lovely tanginess of a Japanese sesame dressing!) . Then it was off to a day of sightseeing in Tokyo itself.

We took a bus to the train station (not cheap - it cost 200yen per adult, 100yen for a child, so all in the bus trip alone cost 700yen for all of us) which was two stops away. From there, at the station, we studied the big train map carefully and surveyed the automatic ticket vending machine with some trepidation before giving up and asking the man at the counter. KH and I used the Suica stored value card but had to buy tickets for the kids.

Up on the platform, it was sunny, briskly cool and windy - perfect day. Kasai Rinkai Koen spread out before us. We could see the large ferris wheel, the Tokyo Sea Life Park, the lovely resthouse fronting the manmade shoreline. I was thrilled to see that the leaves on the trees were already well coloured! I was a bit apprehensive that they would not be since before departure, I was religiously checking the Japanese sites for koyo updates and the picture did not look good - the sites were saying that lots of places were still relatively green or were just beginning to turn.

On the platform, noticed it was so cute that each train station had their own little piece of music that played when the train was departing. (Later on I would discover that Maihama station's music was a Disney theme - fitting since it was the station for Disneyland!)

We had no problems arriving at Tokyo but noted that the walk from the Keiyo line to the Tokyo station was a long one. From there, we plunged into bustling Tokyo station and changed trains to the green Yamanote line which took us all the way to Harajuku station.

Harajuku station on a Sunday was packed with people. I was hoping to spot the infamous Cosplay kids but only saw a couple on the bridge to the park. We headed for the Meiji Jingu shrine in the heart of the park. Lovely day to walk. Lots of Tokyo-ites and tourists leisurely moving into the shrine. It was about a shady 500m walk in, flanked by greenery and tall shady trees on both sides. We had to pass under two huge wooden torii gates en route. The wood was 1500year-old cypress from Taiwan. We saw lots of very very cute little boys and girls dressed in gorgeous kimonos!

It was the weekend for Shichi-Go-San. Literally 7-5-3. A festival for children aged 7, 5 or 3 yos where they would dress up in their best, go to the shrines with their families seek blessings for good health, success etc. Those little girls in their vibrant red, purple, mauve kimonos, some with a fur collar etc, in their tiny getas, hair piled up and pinned with flowers, looked so demure and so cute! We took lots of pictures of these little ones and were not alone in doing so - lots of other gaijins were also busy snapping away, grinning from ear to ear.

At the shrine, we did our first purification ritual for the trip - the first of many! Ladle some water from the trough, pour over one hand, then the other. Some people poured water into their cupped palms, gargled and spat into the drain below, but we just kept to the hand-washing bit. When we entered the shrine, we saw we were in luck! There was a Shinto wedding going on. The bride, powdered white and dressed in a white brocade kimono, stood under a tree with her groom, dressed in sober black and grey traditional robes. Later we saw the full procession, led by the Shinto priest.

The main deity enshrined in the Meiji Jingu shrine was the Meiji emperor and his empress. The kids and KH wanted to make wishes in front of the shrine, so we observed what everyone was doing and followed suit - drop a few yen into the collection box, clap twice, bow, hands clasped and make a wish.

I saw the ema votive tablets and decided to buy one for 500yen and write a wish on it. The ema would be hung up with the others and prayers offered for it the next morning by the Shinto priests. I wished for a speedy recovery for dad, Gillian passing her PSLE and good wishes for all of us. So far, two out of three ain't bad!

We also bought an omamori for Gillian. This is a charm for success in an entrance exam. Very pretty thing in white brocade with the purpose of the charm and the shrine's name embroidered on it. I also took the opportunity to get my 'fortune' slip - a stanza of a poem written by the Meiji emperor. It was a beautiful verse and I found it meaningful.

Mizu

Utsuwa niha

shitagai nagara

iwagane mo

tosu ha mizu no

chikara narikere

It means: Water does not oppose any vessels and takes the form of its vessel. Water seems to be obedient, flexible, and not self-assertive. However, water can break rocks with its consecutive concentrated drops. So people should also have flexibility for any situation such as thought and human relationship, and have consecutive concentration to do something important. I found this very meaningful.

After the shrine, we walked across to Harajuku and the very busy Takeshita-dori. More Cosplay kids were coming out now. The trend seemed to be doll-like 19th century dressing with stiff corsets, flowery prints, stiff petticoat skirts, high frilled lace collars and bonnets - paired incongruously with kohl-lined gothic make-up! We also saw a grown man dressed as a baby - complete with baby bonnet and giant pacifier! The kids couldn't take their eyes off the guy asked me why the man was dressed like that. I said that some people just enjoy dressing up like that for fun. Lame, I know.

Owain was whining for McDonalds or sushi but there wasn't a sushi joint in sight. So we pushed on, followed our noses which led us up a flight of stairs to a teensy ramen joint, bar counter seating, vending machine for tickets and a queue that stretched halfway down the stairs with the locals so we figured must be good.

When we finally got a seat, we filled up 2/3 of the restaurant! The ramen was very good and came with an extra bowl of rice. We had to order extra bowls of noodles cos the kids loved the ramen so much. I think it was about 600-700yen a bowl (with the rice). But I think I was conscious that we could not take our time to eat leisurely as the queue was forming already outside the place. When we left, I practised my teensy bit of pidgin Japanese and to the choruses of "arigato-gozaimashite" from the cook and the helper, I said "Gochiso-sama deshita!" and it was good to see their looks of surprised pleasure!

We walked down Omotesando Blvd - the Orchard Rd of Tokyo but much much higher end. Saw Prada, Issey Miyake and all the big names. At one point, I remember KH lifting Owain onto his shoulders for a view. Because the street was a slope, we all turned back to look down the slope and my gosh - it was a just a huge sea, a constant wide rushing river of people that just kept coming and coming. Where do all these people come from? I had to keep reminding myself that Tokyo was a city of 16million.

On Omotesando you really see all kinds of people. Dogs dressed up in turtle neck sweaters. Goths. Lolitas. And a very weird old man on a bike dressed in a skirt, with a flowery hat and two fishbowls of live goldfish dangling from his ears or his hat or something like that.

We took the subway to Shinjuku and walked to the TMG - it was 4pm, almost sunset by then. The picture on the right is the Citizens Plaza. Up on the north tower, we could see the lights of Tokyo coming on, the neon of Shinjuku just starting to glow and the sun setting, Mt Fuji in silhouette. Far below was the vast expanse of green that was Yoyogi Park and a glimpse of the turquoise roofs of Meiji Jingu shrine. It struck me how much a concrete sprawl Tokyo was, how huge.

When we got down, we walked for a while in East Shinjuku checking out dinner options before settling on a kaiten sushi place. 105yen per plate for 'normal' sushi and 210 for the more expensive cuts. We were too big a group to sit together so we split up. The older kids sat together and KH and the younger kids and I took another space. With no one to 'control' how much they could take, the bigger kids went wild - plates of ikura, maguro etc piled up quickly. I tried some natto - ugh. For the first time in my life I actually left some sushi uneaten. I thought it was uni (sea urchin) but it wasn't. The smell was just too overpowering. I'd tried uni in Singapore and never had a problem so I think this was probably not uni but natto.

We went to the Alta building, famed for the big screen and where everyone seemed to be waiting for everyone else. Crowds of young people stood there on the chilly pavement, oblivious to the crowd and the cold, busy flipping open their mobile phones and texting away or playing games. After a while it was a case of too much neon, too tired kids and too cold! So we took a train back to Tokyo station. On a hunch after I checked the map, we took an escalator up and voila - the Tokyo International Forum - one of the most interesting architectural landmarks in Tokyo. The building, meant for conventions and meetings, was built like a glass ship - lots of steel and glass soaring upwards connected by sky bridges. It was beautiful, especially when lit at night.

So ends our first day in Tokyo.

Other little things that struck me today - how the Japanese religiously separated their trash. You'd never find a bin that one can just throw rubbish in. We found ourselves carrying bits of used tissue paper and accumulating them because we just could not find a bin to throw them in. Waste receptacles were clearly labelled: bottles, PET bottles, cans, newspapers/papers. Now why couldn't we do a similar thing in Singapore? Just using less plastic bags in Singapore already created so much resistance. And here in Japan, people were readily, automatically already separating their trash in public - don't even talk about how they do this at home!

Another thing that struck me - the keep left unspoken rule. On an escalator, everyone keeps left, leaving the right a clear path to move up. Back in Singapore I've seen this happen too, but not as religiously as in Japan. You could get a scolding from someone in a hurry if you did not keep left!

Also while walking in Takeshita Dori, I saw someone carrying a baby in an MIM sling! He saw me and we sort of nodded/smiled a bit - must be from the same neck of the woods!

And when we were at the very busy Shinjuku station, Trinity decided to lie facedown on the station floor to do the breaststroke. All attempts to lift her up were met with screams. So we decided it was best to just let her be. sigh. The Tokyoites just stepped around her and went on their way but not before casting curious looks - I don't think their kids behave like this in public. Come to think of it, I don't think their kids behave badly at all! I've never seen a Japanese kid scream or throw a fit in public. Nor have I seen Japanese parents stand and furiously tell their kids off, fingers wagging - as I have done.

More tomorrow!

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/chongbrood/Day2Tokyo

Day 1 17 Nov 2007 Tokyo - Arrival at Narita!

If you're following from my other blog, you'd know how anguished I was to make the decision to go and leave my dad, still unconscious in the Cardiac CCU.

My flight to Japan left at 9.45am. So at 6.30am, my mum, sister and brother picked me, Gillian and Trinity up to go to the hospital to see my dad. After we'd seen him, said our silent 'see-ya later!', we went to the airport, breakfasted there while I changed another $1000 into Japanese yen. The exchange rate was poor and I got far less than what I'd gotten before.

Finally, it was time to leave. Said our goodbyes and hugs and then we're through the glass walls heading to Immigration. I turned to look. Mum was still waving. I felt another glob of doubt - was it a mistake to go? But no time to think, passports asked for, given, returned and it was time to pass through immigration and move on.

The flight was okay. Trin nursed non-stop practically while Gillian was making the fullest use of the inflight entertainment system! The food on board was not fantastic but I was hungry.

We landed at Narita at 1750pm. It was dark outside already. I had my first experience of the wonder-loo at the airport - the multi-function toilet bowl that could mask sounds of agonised groaning of the constipated (kidding!), shoot a warm spray of water to clean the privates and warm air to blow dry!

I switched on my phone and saw a flurry of messages. My aunt from Shanghai asking about dad. My cousins. Concerned friends. A heartening one from mum who says dad has been taken off the ventilator which is a good sign. And one from KH who said he would be waiting for us in the arrival lobby! Yippee! The original plan was for him to take the limo bus into the Maihama area and get into the hotel first. But he decided to take a tour of the Narita temple area instead while waiting for my plane to get in, then return to the airport to meet us.

Immigration was a breeze. Carrying Trin meant a quick pass to a counter with no queue, so we passed through very very quickly. We only checked in one large haversack, so we picked that up and went on leaving the crowds behind.

Exiting the arrival area, we had a joyful reunion with KH and the rest of the kids who already had a headstart into the Japanese experience with a ticketing machine for ramen! We headed down to the train station and bought our N'EX+Suica combination. The N'EX works as a train ticket directly to Tokyo city while the Suica was like our Easi-link stored-value MRT card. The kids did not have Suica since it would involve filling in lots of forms etc, so forget it. NEX was half price for the bigger kids and free for Owain and Trin.

The NEX was a smooth and easy ride into Tokyo station. It was comfortable and clean with reserved seating with the tickets. My first glimpses of Japan were of neon streaking past, porch lights left on, bridges spanning huge rivers and then, as the train drew nearer Tokyo station, densely packed housing running just next to the tracks and overhead expressways.

At Tokyo station, we stopped to figure out where and how to go. We had to take the Keiyo line to Kasai Rinkai Koen station. What I read was all coming to life - the throngs of people in the station, each purposefully striding in different directions, the fashionably dressed women (even the tiny toddlers were stylish - girls wearing elegant boots and tailored woollen coats with fur cuffs - no sneakers and jeans in sight!), the brightly lit and coloured stores selling food, newsstands selling snacks, drinks, tidbits, cigarettes, sweets and stacks of eye-popping magazines, manga and soft porn. The array was bewildering. The energy was vibrant. Welcome to Tokyo!

We used the loo and while waiting for us outside, an old man carrying a plastic bag full of mandarin oranges distributed one each to my children. Huh??? A little Japanese girl around Trin's age was fascinated by Trin and didn't want to leave even when her mother gently urged her on. I think they said hello in some baby language.

Finally we got our bearings and hiked off to the Keiyo line which took about 15 to 20 min alone. There were escalators and travellators but it still took us about that long to make the connection. It was not hard to find the way though - everything was clearly sign-posted in English and romanji. And the lines were colour-coded, so we just followed the signs for the red circle.

Taking the Keiyo line is also not a problem. The NE'X tickets got us that far into Kasai Rinkai Koen. On the train, a Japanese couple struck up a conversation with Gillian, smiling and saying in halting English: Your bag looks heavy!

When we arrived at Kasai Rinkai Koen, it was another 1.2km trek into the residential area where the hotel was. It was chilly but not very cold. I was exhilarated by the cold air - it just reinforced the newness of the whole journey.

I knew my way to the hotel since I'd studied the map well before we left. But once we were out of the station, we bumped into the kind couple on the train again. They asked where we were going and nodded when we told them. They gestured and told us to follow them. So we tramped companionably with them all the way. The gentleman could speak some English and when we said we were from Singapore, he smiled and said: Beautiful country!

Gratified to hear it but I don't think Singapore is exactly what I would call 'beautiful'!

They walked us all the way to the doorstep of the hotel, out of their usual route home. We thanked them profusely in English and in Japanese which delighted the lady even more. I'd read that Tokyo-ites can be immensely helpful and will go out of their way to help and show you the right way to go, so this is again, another big experience come to life.

Once at the hotel, it was more like a small motel, we split into two rooms (each room is a triple room that cost about 9400yen a night, with its own bathroom). The rooms were small but not overly so. We had space for a double bed, a sofa which converts to a single bed and a coffee table. No wardrobe though, but this is more than what I would expect from Tokyo hotels already size-wise. We also had a TV and the only English channel played Planet of the Apes - the Charlton Heston version!!

We were all tired from the commute from the airport and I was especially so since had less than a couple of hours of sleep the night before. So we all just crashed and slept like logs!

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/chongbrood/Day1ArrivalAtNarita

Planning for Japan

Planning for Japan started very early in 2007. We realised that KH's Krisflyer points were about to expire if we didn't do something about it and it was a huge chunk - about 22,000miles. Extending the mileage would cost too much so we had to figure out a way to use them.

First option was actually Vietnam. I liked the idea of Hanoi and then sub-trips to Halong Bay and into the Sapa Valley. I had romantic visions of sitting on a raft, piloted by women in conical hats, drifting through a sea of green rice paddies with mountains looming overhead. KH brought me back down to earth when he said he didn't think the baby would sit still on a raft for 2 hours just admiring the scenery!

The cost of it also didn't make sense to me. It would cost about $5000. For a little bit more, we could go further, I thought. I considered Hong Kong - they had a cool climate, theme parks which the kids would enjoy etc but upon further research, I was not impressed with HK Disneyland - it didn't seem to be a full Disney park and lacked some key rides (chiefly Haunted Mansion!). So again, I looked further and then it hit me. If we're talking Disneyland, and LA is too far and too expensive, then why not Tokyo?

So I did my research and counted my pennies. With the Krisflyer points, we could book two tickets. KH was due to fly to and from Europe twice more during the year and this would easily chalk up enough points for a third ticket. We also realised then that NorthWest Airlines had a special promo deal with the UOB Signature card - 2 tickets for the price of 1! That would help save quite a lot.

Everyone said that Japan would be expensive. Whenever I mentioned Japan, jaws would drop and people tsk at how expensive it would be. But when I did my research - the Lonely Planet Japan, The Rough Guide to Japan, websites like JapanGuide.com etc all showed that the cost of travel in Japan was not as prohibitive as we thought. In fact, compared to the US or Europe, with the higher exchange rates, higher airfares, Japan would be a more economical choice. Even when compared with Australia, with the high Aussie dollar to the Sing dollar, and considering food costs/accomodation costs in Australia for our family size, even an Aussie trip would be quite costly. Japan was looking more attractive by the minute.

The more I read about Japan, the more excited I got and the more fascinated I was with the land, the people, the culture. I also had to consider the ages of the children and what would interest them. No point spending so much just to drag bored and unwilling children along from cathedral to museum. So HK was out (lacklustre Disneyland + both KH and I have been there), China was out (don't think the kids would thrill to too much of 3000 years of culture) and anywhere nearby was out (climate too similar!). Korea and Taiwan were out (KH was already baulking at Japan and went on and on about how Japan, Korea and Taiwan are the last three places on planet earth that he ever wanted to go to and while I did not agree about Japan, I did agree with his sentiments on Korea and Taiwan - bleah).

Japan, I reasoned - had the weather, the scenery (cherry blossoms? autumn foliage?), the culture (shinto shrines and buddhist temples), the fun (Disney Resort and Universal Studios), good food (the kids' eyes shine whenever sushi is mentioned) and glitzy city life.

With that, we agreed to go to Japan. Cherry blossom time in April was out - it was Gillian's PSLE year and we agreed that there would be no major trips before the big exam and what kind of Singaporean mother would I be if I didn't dangle the big trip as a carrot/incentive to work harder? So that left autumn or winter. Winter was too cold and autumn seemed ideal - to catch the lovely foliage and to enjoy good clear weather. Autumn in Japan had little rain, lots of clear skies but yet with crisply chilly temperatures.

I made the Krisflyer bookings for 9 days in November, bought the Northwest 2-for-1 deal and then went online to explore accomodation and land travel options and to piece together an itinerary. This was in Feb 2007. It took me almost the whole year to tweak the itinerary. I kept changing my mind - sometimes too much information is not a good thing.

Japan being so big, had lots of things to see and places to go. But the essential seemed to be Tokyo and Kyoto. One a shiny polished new capital and the other the dignified ancient capital. A must for the kids is at least a day or two in the Disney Resort. Disney Sea is new and unique to the Disney park family, and from what I read, lovingly detailed and elaborate in theming, but the rides also seemed more geared to older kids and adults. So for now, with the constraint in time, I killed Disney Sea and stuck to a day in Disneyland.

I also wanted a day at the famed Ghibli museum - where the works of Hayao Miyazaki were showcased. Fans of Japanese animation such as Totoro, Spirited Away, LaPuta, Kiki's Delivery Service, The Cat Returns, Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Mononoke etc would know what I mean. I've always loved the colours, the characters and the whimsy that is so characteristic of a Ghibli production. So six months before the trip, I started immersing the children with Ghibli works. I found a box set of DVDs and the kids got hooked. Watching the animation together with them gave me a chance to casually point out certain interesting elements of life in Japan eg the use of the onsen (Spirited Away), the family bath (Totoro), the architecture of a typical Japanese house with shoji screens and tatami mats, the Shinto belief in Totoro, the 2nd World War (Grave of the Fireflies) etc. It helped create a sense of excitement and awareness in the children. Unfortunately, two weeks before the trip we realised that the Ghibli museum would be closed for the week that we would be in town! Drat that.

From the library, we borrowed picture books on Japan for the children to read, flip through the pictures etc. Food-wise they were already salivating at the thought of daily sushi! But I also introduced them to other foods eg ramen, soba, udon, oyakko-don etc.

We went into Google Earth where I showed them the places we would be going to, the Disney resort website, pictures of autumn in Kyoto etc. All this helped to whet their appetite for the trip.

To keep everyone as healthy as possible before the trip (I was worried about travelling in a plane with badly congested noses/ears in the event someone had the flu/cold - the pressure on the ears can be very painful and severe), I dosed everyone (KH and I included) with Sambucol, Echinecea and Vit C starting from about 8 to 6 weeks before departure.

My own personal research took the shape of web searches, guide books and chats with colleagues who have been to and/or lived in Japan. In the Design School, there are many who have done so and they willingly shared their impressions, gave great advice, tips etc.

When I booked my accomodation, I made sure the first few nights' stay would be at a hotel near Disney - I knew that we would very likely stay late at the park and I didn't want to have to make long commutes from TDR back to Tokyo city with 5 cranky tired kids. So I picked Family Fifty's at Mahaima. This was a simple motel set-up which was one train station away from TDR and 15min away from Tokyo station. For about 9400yen a night for a triple room including a buffet continental breakfast, this was a very good deal. We booked two rooms for four nights.

I also found a very good shinkansen+hotel deal to Kyoto from Sunrise Tours, an offshoot of JTB (Japan Travel Bureau). It cost about $2700 and included shinkansen round trip travel from Tokyo to Kyoto and back, hotel stays at an upmarket hotel for 3 nights for all of us.

For our last night in Tokyo, I found a cosy, quaint little ryokan tucked away in a quiet corner of Tokyo called Ryokan Kangetsu. I could have booked the Tokyo International Youth Hostel (it was much nearer to Tokyo station than Kangetsu) but I also wanted the children to have a ryokan experience (ie sleeping on futons, using the rotemburo etc). That cost about $200 a night for all of us in one large room.

With everything almost done, I confirmed my itinerary, borrowed books from the library, did a lastminute scramble for long johns, borrowed backpacks and winter jackets, practised some basic Japanese phrases and we were ready to go.

Introduction

I've always loved travelling.

From my very first excursion out of Singapore waters on the Russian cruise ship Turkmenia at the age of 14, with my parents, my brother and sister, I've loved to travel. The ship was a bit hoky and back then, the women on board looked and sounded like men on 'roids! The trip itself was just to Penang and back, but the damage was done - I was bitten badly by the travel bug.

Since then, either alone or with my family, then with my boyfriend, now husband and today, with my large family, I've been to many places. But I'm always hungry for more. In a year, you'd find me out of Singapore at least once - if not on a plane somewhere, then at least across the border to our nearest neighbour Malaysia, a country I've come to love from travelling its many highways and kampong lanes. When I am not travelling or too broke to travel, you'd find me wistfully trawling the internet for travelogues and my library card used up with travel guides, travel stories etc.

Having children has not stopped me from being on the move. We just pack 'em up and go. The youngest that I've ever taken on a trip with me was baby Trinity Rose, who at the age of 3 weeks, took a plane with me to Australia and patiently sat in with me during various birth education workshops. So a child's age has never stopped me from travelling, neither have the numbers. As the family got larger, we just adapted to the new requirements and got on with it. Neither has pregnancy nor birth stopped me from travelling - I've travelled 5months pregnant, 8 months pregnant and 3 weeks post-partum and usually with at least one to four kids in tow.

I've met parents who either stopped travelling once they had kids, or choose to travel but leave their babies behind (I did that once - never again!) or travel with their children but bring along a rearguard of maids, extended family members and a whole store of baby/child paraphernalia including - I've heard - baby playpen, baby strollers, sterilisers, crock-pots, rice-cookers, etc. I get exhausted just thinking of the list.

We, however, like to travel light and move around easily. If I had to bring so much stuff with me when I travel, I figure I might as well stay home.

KH has been bugging me for the longest time to document our travels. So here it is. I'm starting off the blog with our recent trip to Japan.