The Weekly Weinstein: Tales of Tokyo LIfe

Beyond Writing - Education

2010-04-16T16:47:00.002+09:00

Fahrat took my hand coolly when we met and gave me her mysterious smile. She adjusted her yellow head scarf after we shook hands as she was saying it was a pleasure to meet me. She wore a tunic of blue over plain pants that might pass as blue-jeans. Whatever was hiding under the tunic and headscarf, however, was no match for the brilliance of her smile, which belied her age, making her look as young and guileless as a child. In general, she had quiet demeanor, except when talking about her schooling and journey through and beyond secondary education, when she became positively chatty. Her parents wanted better for her, she explained. She is interested in art and history, but is passionate about her required community service project where she teaches young children in the slums of Chitagong. She currently attends Asian University for Women (AUW) located in her home country of Bangladesh, but which caters to underprivileged women from across South and East Asia, women who otherwise would not get post-secondary education.

Fahrat’s fellow AUW student, and fellow Bangladeshi, Pearly, had a wide mouth and dark, glossy hair, which she kept uncovered. Her eyes were frank and curious. Young, only nineteen, and interested in fashion and art, she captivated the young girls she met, who saw her as exotic. She had a harder time convincing her parents to allow her to go to an International University, but she did it, and she is in the Access Academy, the pre-freshman placement at AUW that readies the girls for university level curricula.

These two young women were in Tokyo this week for a fundraiser for their school. The Japan Support Committee for AUW had 300 people at the Yamano Beauty School for a screening of the PBS documentary “Time for School.” Producer Tamara Rosenberg attended and spoke at the event as well. The documentary itself was truly beautiful. The point of it is that it follows seven children in various countries over the twelve years of their schooling – they should be graduating in 2015, the year at which the United Nations and its member countries have pledged to have free basic schooling available to every child. They covered girls from Romania, India and Afghanistan and boys from Benin, Brazil, Japan and Kenya – showing the different school system and the obstacles the children have to overcome. The differences in issues and challenges were startling. One girl walks two hours each way to and from school. One boy deals with drug wars all around him. One girl easily gets to school, but her life is a pressure cooker. The grace and acceptance of these children startles even the most unflappable listener. These kids are determined to get an education, no matter the cost.

And that’s the connection to Fahrat and Pearly. They noted in their speeches last evening, that when you educate a man, you educate a man, but when you educate a woman, you educate a family and a village. These women, even if they don’t go directly back to their home villages, will go out in the world and find a way to give back to their communities. They will have the skills to do things like build a medical clinic, or have an AIDS prevention program. They will be able to direct funds to invest in their country. Both girls note that while some girls want to go directly back to their homes to either teach children or make a direct connection to the communities in which they grew up, all of the girls to a man want to somehow stay connected to their homes and improve the experiences of those younger than they.

This morning, the morning after the big night, my seven-year-old daughter Sydney came into my bathroom as I was getting ready for the day. She watched me carefully apply some mascara and I spritzed her with my perfume when I spritzed myself. Then I knelt down in front of her. I told her about meeting Fahrat and Pearly. I told her that she is lucky and that she has the power to make a difference in the world. Girls’ education is of critical importance in the developing world, but it is also incumbent upon women in my position to make our daughters feel empowered, like they can make a difference in the lives of others. Beyond the financial, my children are born of privilege because they have access to some of the best educational systems in the world. It is not something, I told my young daughter, that she should take for granted. Some girls don’t have what she has. Sydney looked at me seriously and promised that she would value her opportunities. I don’t know if she really understood me, but I am positive that this is not the last time we will be having this conversation.

Thank you, Fahrat and Pearly. You have been inspirational to me and my family.

To Thailand and Beyond!

2010-04-16T16:41:00.003+09:00

Recently, Marc and I decided to take the kids to Thailand. We spent a day in Bangkok sightseeing around the city and then four days in Phuket relaxing around the pool and the beach. We went on elephant rides, ate great food and met up with wonderful friends. (Some on purpose and some by accident!) You can see my blog posting on the contradictions of Bangkok as a city on my professional blog: Aimee Weinstein, Tokyo Writer. But here are a few photos from the trip that I thought you might enjoy.

Food and Art (food as art?)

2010-03-01T13:40:00.003+09:00

The cover of Metropolis Magazine (http://metropolis.co.jp/) this week has a picture of chef Daniel Martin on it - the chef at L'Espadon, a trendy little brasserie in the Kamiyacho section of Tokyo. The magazine article talks about Ta new trend in Tokyo eating establishments: the pairing of food and art. The artists partner with the restaurant owners or chefs and the arrangement is mutually beneficial: the artist's work is showcased and the restaurateur has instant decor. Both people presumably have a following of fans, so they cross-pollinate the markets with their partnership.

The phenomenon fascinates me, but what really intrigues me is that Marc and I ate at L'Espadon a few weeks ago with good friends. And we loved it! We are hoping that now that the chef and restaurant have been showcased by such a widely circulated magazine that the quality and price of the meal stays the same because we have always planned to eat there again soon.

L'Espadon is tucked away off the main road in a basement location. (In Tokyo, for the best restaurants, one must often look either high up or low down - street level can be so mediocre!) The atmosphere on the chilly winter night was warm and inviting, and the decor was in dark woods and red velvets, creating a feeling of coziness.

The food, though,was what really made us stand up and take notice. We ordered a course menu, which consisted of nine small and somewhat light courses:

A plate of mini appetizers including: one prune wrapped in ham and grilled, a rectangle of grilled foie gras, a tartlet of clam chowder and a slice of salami.
Two fried oysters
Fish carpaccio
Foie Gras creme brulee in a small ramekin with a side of salad
Grilled Suzuki Fish
A small cut of venison
A bowl of strawberries in a balsamic vinegar and sugar sauce
Coffee-Armagnac ice cream with a fig biscuit/wafer
Mint tea

This did not include the bottle of wonderful Bordeaux wine that we shared. It was a wonderful experience and we cannot wait to go back. Just now we hope we can get a reservation if the chef is suddenly so popular. But that is what happens: trends start. At least we're in at the cutting edge of this one. Eating in Tokyo is always such a pleasurable adventure.

Two Weeks in New Zealand

2010-01-11T15:20:00.008+09:00

Having just returned to Tokyo from two spectacular weeks in New Zealand, I realized that I have learned a lot of interesting facts and figures. Not to be boring, but in comparison, the two countries are about the same size with Japan being slightly larger. Bother are island countries, with Japan being more of an archipelago. However, their populations could be more different. Japan's population is 127 million, while New Zealand's is around 4.3 million. This is crucial fact from which to start a description of our visit because for most of our vacation, we felt like we had stepped out of the city, down a rabbit hole, and emerged into one of nature's most glorious natural paradises still known to man. Made up of two major islands, Auckland is on the north island and is the largest city in NZ, (though Wellington, at the southern part of the North island, is the capital) while Christchurch is the major city of the south island.

We chose New Zealand because it is the home of the Quin family, close friends who we met in Japan. Since being in Tokyo, they have since moved back to New Zealand and they opened their hearts and their homes to us. Their kids are at or near our kids' ages and it was the perfect way to spend the holiday.

We arrived in Auckland on Christmas Day and went directly to the Quin's beach house - commonly called a "Bach" in New Zealand - in Mangawhai - ninety minutes north of Auckland. It is summer there now, and we took full advantage of the sun and surf. Let's be clear though: it's not like we Americans think of summer. The air temps ranged from 65 to 80 and the water temps did not rise above 60-ish. Note the wet suits in the photos - it's impossible to swim otherwise.

After four relaxing days, we drove to Auckland to poke around a little. We went to the sky tower, the Auckland museum and to the harbor for dinner. It's a small city, but quite a beautiful one. It's surrounded by water, and not surprisingly called the "city of sails" for the myriad of sailboats docked there.

From Auckland, we flew to Christchurch where the Quins actually live. We spent one night there, before going north to a natural spring, Hamner for the day and then further north to Kaikoura for one night. We got on a whale watch boat the morning of the 31st of December. The day before had been stormy and the entire month had been chilly - following one of the coldest winters on record. You can see that there is still snow on the tops of the mountains. The issue was that they never should have let us out on the ocean - and in fact, the next few trips were cancelled. Ours was at 7:30am! Out of the 40 or so people on that boat, 3/4 or so threw up. Marc was one of the ones who did not throw up but all the rest of our combined family did. To add insult to injury, we didn't see any whales either. But all was not lost: we viewed it as an experience. For the rest of the trip, we referred to it as the YAK boat - and laughed. We were not laughing that day, but afterward we sure did!

We spent New Year's eve pretty quietly at the Quin's house. After a relaxing day on the 1st, we drove to Hokatika, another beach town on the West side of the South Island and had dinner. We drove another bit south and then spent the night by the Fox Glacier.

Climbing the Glacier the next day was an incredible life experience. All nine of us (Weinsteins and Quins) climbed over two hours up to the glacier, donned the necessary Crampons, and spent 45 minutes traversing the glacier before reversing the process. Five hours of hiking and not a peep of complaint from any child.

We had to climb through a lush rain forest to get there and on the way, we were able to drink from a natural spring. The weather, after some serious rain the night before and that morning, was clear and beautiful. We didn't even wear our big coats on the ice. The ice was slippery, but with the crampons on we stuck in pretty well. We felt like we were on top of the world.

We drove five hours south to Queenstown from Fox Glacier. One of the most beautiful places I've seen so far, Queenstown is where much of the principal photography for several movies such as "The Lord of the Rings" and the "Chronicles of Narnia" were shot. We took a whole tour based on the "Lord of the Rings" scenery. We were able to see several of the spots where the Hobbits lived or hid or something of that nature. We went off-roading into a little area literally called Paradise. The colors stunned us - the greens of the forests were like blankets of emeralds. The lakes and rivers were ice blue set against the indigo of the sky, which fascinated us.

We had a great fish dinner that night - the kids love seafood! Queenstown itself is a picturesque little place with a beautiful town square. We were able to browse around a few shops and walk up and down the streets. New Zealanders love the outdoors and outdoor sports. There were options for canoeing, bungee jumping, rafting, golfing, hiking, biking and any other outdoor sport one could think of. One could go camping or trekking in a myriad of areas. We didn't get to Milford Sound, purportedly one of the most beautiful places of the island nation where there is a popular trek on a path to take, but one has to be at least 10 years old. We'll go back again when Sydney is old enough.

In the morning we went jet-boating. Fifteen people in a boat traveling 80 km per hour. We were on a river in a canyon and the driver of the boat did 360 degree turns at that high speed. Because of the rain and snow-melt, the river was very high with rapids and everything. The kids squealed in delight!!

We had one last day in Christchurch where we went punting on the river Avon through the Botanical Gardens. Relaxing and beautiful.

We spent the night in Auckland again before flying out early to Hong Kong, spending a night with friends and my cousin there and then on again to Tokyo. It was a trip of a lifetime. Enjoy the photos and I hope you get there sometime.

Happy and Healthy 2010 to everyone. May the adventures continue!!

PS: Thank you to August for help with demographics...

A Trip to the Dentist, Japanese Style

2009-12-19T15:39:00.002+09:00

Since we're not going Stateside this December, we won't make our twice-a-year dental cleanings at Dr. Kahan's office. We're pretty diligent about our oral health, so we decided to find a dentist here in Tokyo.

We found Dr. Suzuki, whose office is right up the street from where we live. A friend recommended him, noting that not only is he a great dentist, but he speaks perfect English, as does most of his staff.

There are a few things that are particular to dentists in Japan it seems. First of all, we took off our shoes at the door and wore the slippers that were provided. And second, we waited only seconds before the hygienist was ready for us. (Though that is common in the U.S. - I wait at doctors' offices, but almost never at the dentist's - hurrah for Dr. K!)

The best part about the experience was that they gave the children brushing lessons. First the hygienist took a cotton ball dipped in red dye and painted the kids' teeth. The dye is designed to stick only to tartar and showed them where they were missing spots with their toothbrushes - which of course was all over their teeth, especially at the gumline. Then they gave each child a toothbrush and literally taught them to brush so that they had to brush away all of the red dye. Only when it was all gone and the toothbrush cleaned did the hygienist proceed with cleaning their teeth.

As for Marc and me, the cleaning was pretty normal with a few noted exceptions. They measured our gumlines pretty precisely to make sure we didn't have bone loss or gum disease - each tooth was given a score not to exceed 4 or they'd have to treat the gums. They also put a towel around our heads as they worked on our mouths lest the light shine in our eyes to brightly.

It was an excellent experience overall and we'd go back again. In fact we have to go back on Thursday in order to consult with the orthodontist for Bailey. Yes, the office has an orthodontist that comes into the office weekly to see the dentist's orthodontia patients.

Enjoy the attached pictures. Be sure to note the bare feet or slippers as you look - and yes, Bailey's and Sydney's teeth were THAT red! Better oversight of brushing will now ensue.

Food Entry - Matsutake Mushrooms

2009-10-08T15:15:00.004+09:00

Please see my photo of a Matsutake (Ma-Tsu-TAH-kay) mushroom here. It's a delicacy of a mushroom, and is harvested only in September and October in Japan. Every year Marc and I go to our favorite tempura restaurant, Mikawa, in Roppongi Hills to experience the Matsutake. It 's a large mushroom, not chewy and somewhat sweet. Tempura is one of those foods that is relative here - it's not fried nearly like it is in the U.S. It's light, sometimes with very little batter, and fried ever-so-gently with low heat. Most often we get the course menu at Mikawa - the dishes just keep coming until they're done serving us. It's called Omakase (oh-mah-kah-say) - chef's suggestions. They always start us off with shrimp, then give us the shrimp heads. (It's surprisingly delicious - popcorn-y) We get squid, fish, the special (sometimes the Matsutake, sometimes some other delicacy) and then yasai - veggies. We finish with Kakiage (kah-ki-AH-gay), which is several items - fish and veggies tempura-ed together in a ball then served either in soup (as Marc likes it) or over rice (as I like it) with soup on the side. They always serve pickles and beans in sweet jelly for dessert. It is the perfect meal graciously served by the chef as we sit at the counter. This is the branch restaurant of their main one but it is staffed by some of the loveliest and tradititional women we have met in Tokyo. They are always telling us of some event or another that is in Tokyo when we're there. We are greeted like family when we arrive - and they keep the sake flowing. One time we complimented the sake server and cups that they gave us, and they always remember it and give us the same cups when we arrive. (The restaurant, like most traditional ones, serve with an eclectic mix of table-ware - nothing truly matching.) A visit to Mikawa and the Matsutake celebreates the autumn for us.

Autumn in Tokyo

2009-09-25T13:55:00.003+09:00

This has got to be my favorite season. In Tokyo, unlike in other places, it's not about leaves changing and the nip in the air or anything like that. It's about the heat and humidity releasing itself and the sunshine spilling all over the city. Buildings sparkle, streets shine and people BREATHE. Every breath taken in is a pleasure. The skies are cloudless and the temps are perfect. Often there's a breeze. Here are two sunny photos of neighborhoods near my house.

A Random Matsuri

2009-09-15T15:48:00.002+09:00

One of the reasons we love living in Japan is that we never know what we're going to see. This weekend, right in our neighborhood, we ran into a festival, a matsuri. The followers take the portable shrines (mikoshi) and carry them through the streets, shouting and laughing and of course, drinking. The bearers of each shrine each wear a different costume. All are jackets with white shorts underneath. Some men do not wear anything underneath except a sort of jock strap, which is interesting to observe as they bounce down the street wtih the shrine. It was a beautiful, sunny day, just perfect for a festival. The people were jubilant with their celebration and their voices rang from the rooftops, along with chantings and banging on everything from drums to simple pots and pans. It was quite a sight and we appreciate it.

American Culture Shock

2009-09-10T16:20:00.006+09:00

One thing that struck me during my travels this summer was these two posters inside a restaurant called "Cheeburger Cheeburger" - it's a southern chain.

Basically if an adult eats a one-pound hamburger (approximately 450 grams) then the management will take your picture and post it on the wall. The kids section (under 12 years old) is for a half-pound of meat.

Yes, they are rewarding big meat-eaters - the very essence of American ethos.

Then again, the burger costs under $10 - and includes fries, something you cannot find in Japan. I suppose every culture has its advantages and disadvantages.

Make of it what you will.

But for now at least, I'm happy to be home in Japan.

Summer in the U.S.

2009-07-17T20:06:00.004+09:00

The kids and I are spending the summer in the U.S. visiting various friends and family, having camp experiences, violin experiences, and more rental car and airport experiences than we'd care to admit. Here's a quick few pix from our American slice of life.

A Novel Recycling Idea

2009-05-31T18:05:00.002+09:00

Japan has always been on the forefront of the "green" movement. According to my friend Sora, when she was a kid, a truck would come around and shout out "Chirigami Kokan!" Chirigami is a combination of two words: "Chiri," meaning trash, and "gami" - a variant for the word paper, "cami." Kokan means "swap."

When the truck came around, Sora and her mom and siblings would run around collecting all of the newspapers and magazines of the week - and in those days there was a lot of paper reading going on - perhaps two or more newspapers per household. They would bring all of it out to the truck and the driver would weigh it with a special scale attached in the bed of the truck. Then, based on the weight of the papers, the driver would exchange the paper for toilet paper.

Yep, recycle papers in exchange for toilet paper.

This discussion came around because Sora, Jason, Marc and I were sitting in our living room and a truck was driving down the street with its driver screaming "saudake!" which Sora explained means "bamboo pole." Japanese use the pole to hang between two hooks on their balconies to dry laundry. There are trucks selling fresh tofu and grilled sweet potatoes. It's such an old fashioned yet personal way to do one's personal business.

This system is pretty much defunct now and there are more formal recycling venues, but the greening of a nation began years ago...

An Interesting Afternoon

2009-05-27T17:03:00.002+09:00

Today my friends Pravya and Nancy and I went to The Grand Hyatt in Roppongi Hills to experience a little decadence. We smoked cigars and drank red wine - at lunchtime. Nancy taught us to snip the end of the cigar, light it and draw on it to keep it lit. We puffed without inhaling. We enjoyed the looks from the Japanese men who were there for business lunches. And we laughed! What a life.

Random Silliness

2009-05-25T19:39:00.003+09:00

What do you get when you cross a hamburger with a donut? See the results as advertised by Mr. Donut in Iidabashi, Tokyo!

My Favorite Place in Japan

2009-05-22T17:01:00.002+09:00

This is my entry into the Japan Blog Matsuri, hosted by the Nihon Sun. (See this link: http://www.nihonsun.com/2009/05/07/japan-blog-matsuri-may-2009/)

My favorite place in Japan to visit is the Daibutsu Buddha in Kamakura; I could visit monthly and spend hours there and still never tire of it. Somehow its impressive and imposing position and serene countenance symbolize the peace that I look for inside of me. With most places, but especially here, I learn more and see something different every time I visit.

The Buddha is one of those common scenes - if you saw a picture of it, it would be something you would recognize as a symbol of Japan in general. It was built in 1252 and was originally enclosed in a temple, until a typhoon destroyed the temple. So since 1495 it has just been sitting in the open air with some surrounding areas for worship. The statue is 37 feet high. Just its eyebrow is over 4 feet long and the ear is over 6 feet. The area around it is tree-filled, and like Kamakura in general, the mountains are visible from at least three sides. Considering it resides in a small city, it is a true oasis. A few years ago when my friend, professor and mentor, Dulce, was visiting, she and I went and sat on a rock by the side of the statue and just stared up at it for what seemed like hours. By the time we stood to leave, it was after 5pm; the sun was beginning to set and the area was nearly silent so we didn’t need to talk. The serenity was palpable.

However, on that particular trip, as we got up, I happened to take one last look at the front of the statue – there were about ten or twelve people there, all of them staring upward, with one arm up, holding up their mobile phones to take a photo. It was absurd. Here was a figure from the 11th century, and people in the twenty-first century are flashing their mobile phones at it. Dulce and I sat down to recapture the mood and stayed until the guard kicked us out because the temple closed at 6pm. Tourists or not, no one was going to disturb our inner – and outer – sanctum.

Adventures of the Golfing Variety

2009-05-21T14:59:00.002+09:00

The golf driving range at Jingumae, in the heart of Tokyo is a combination of Western and Eastern that golf enthusiasts from across the globe can appreciate. Its location next to the National Stadium, where the Yakult Swallows play their home games make for easy access via the subway. Upon entering, there is a pro shop that sells every golf notion from packs of tees to the most expensive and professional of clubs. Right outside of the shop, at a small vending machine, guests purchase a rechargeable card in increments of 3000, 5000 or 10,000 JPY and then turn around to get a “box” from the desk. There are three floor options – for one price, you can be on the first, second or third floors of the building. Of course the first floor is the most expensive since it approximates course conditions the most realistically. You walk from the desk down a long hallway which is open on one side to face tee boxes and the open range, netted in carefully from about 300 meters away. Each tee box is separated with a half-wall that goes only half the length of the box as well. In each box is a chair and a hanger from which you can hang your coat. To get started, you put your card into the machine near the entry of the tee box. Instantly, right on the green in the front of the box, a tee with a ball on it pops up. There are more than forty tee boxes lined up along the wall of what used to be a second baseball stadium. You can tell what its prior use was from the stands of seats that still exist to the side of the boxes.

The idea is to set yourself up and take as many shots as you’d like. You pay by the ball and the machine automatically deducts from your declining balance card. Every time you hit one ball, another pops right up. It’s easy to forget how many balls you’ve already hit! Thankfully, the machine keeps track of each one.

There are, of course, the omnipresent vending machines of every drink under the sun, from milk to water to cups of various sodas and sports drinks. Near the entrance however is an interesting vending machine that sells golf gloves. There is a ring of them on the machine to try on so that you make the proper choice out of the machine. Of course, this interesting vending machine is situated strategically adjacent to the cigarette vending machine.

No trip to anywhere in Japan would be complete without oshibori, the hot washcloth. Right before you leave there is a cabinet full of them and you can use one free of charge to clean up before leaving. After the exertion of the swing, the towel is most welcome.

Adventures in Parenting

2009-05-05T13:38:00.002+09:00

The other day Bailey had his violin lesson. The teacher often asks him to play with a cd for accompaniment, and this day was no exception. She asked him to first play the song by itself and he did a great job. She smiled and nodded and hit the play button on the cd player. Well, he screwed up the song completely. At the end of it, the teacher nicely said, "oh well, too bad, let's go on to the next one."

Bailey calmly looked at her and working very hard to control himself, practically whispered, "no, we'll do this one again."

There was something in his voice that said there was no arguing with him. I didn't intervene and the teacher, with raised eyebrows simply hit the play button on the cd player once again for the same song.

This time he played it perfectly.

I'm proud of him for his perseverence. I think that type of attitude: work hard until you get it right - will take him far in life. I just don't want him to be a little perfectionist or be too hard on himself. Would it have been better for him to have simply gone on to the next song? The teacher obviously knows that he can play that particular song very well. At what point do you have to say "oops" and simply move on? And how on earth do I explain that difference to my nine-year-old son?

When he was a baby and he would get hurt, I could kiss it and make it better and life was good. We have been learning of late that as Bailey grows, there are some hurts that even a mommy can't make better. This is hard work indeed. But I wouldn't trade it.

Japanese packaging

2009-05-04T17:14:00.003+09:00

Marc and I bought a coffee maker today (our old one died a terrible death - I'm in mourning - don't ask). This is a small and cheap one as a stop-gap measure until we find one as perfect as the one we lost. At the store, a large electronics shop, we paid for the purchases and they insisted on "wrapping" the item. It turns out that wrapping meant packing it perfectly with rope and istalling a handle for easy carrying on the train home. This is typical of Japanese service. Love it!!

Sunday morning flowers

2009-04-26T08:16:00.001+09:00

It is a stunning Sunday morning in Tokyo. It rained for the whole of Saturday into Saturday night and the city has emerged from the wet with a shining face and breezy clime.

Sydney and I went out for a walk (okay - true confessions: destination Starbucks...but a walk nonetheless...) and found these stunning flowers. The flowers surround the traffic safety mirror and signal light of an apartment garage. It is the perfect combination of the mundane with the sublime - traffic safety and purple blooms.

Enjoy.

An Ode to my Toilet

2009-04-20T13:59:00.003+09:00

How I love thee, Toto Toilet. Thou art the comfort of my life. Your heat is so cozy in the dead of winter. Your control panel with its shining lights is a beacon of magnificence. The water that you spout keeps me clean and fresh at all times. The temperature guages let me set the seat and water temps to my current desires and the force gauge ensures that your trickle is soothing and never painful. Oh I know that there are more oppulent versions with the up and down seat feature or the big flush versus little flush options or air-dry button. I'm sure there are toilets in the clean-obsessed country of Japan that pat dry or auto-wash or even make coffee while you sit and wait. And alas, I cannot read the Japanese symbols, yet a kind friend mapped out the choices for me in English and said map is safely stowed. I am sure that English versions could avail themselves. But nevermind; you dear, simple Toto toilet with your promise of comfort and care is the kindest of all luxuries after all the brutality of life as an expat in Tokyo. Now if you'll excuse me, I have business to which I must attend.

Bali!

2009-04-03T12:03:00.007+09:00

The trip to Bali was, for lack of a better word, amazing. It was the perfect combination of sightseeing and relaxing. We walked through ancient caves; we washed our hands in holy water; we walked through part of the Indian Ocean to get to the temple of Tanah Lot; we fought monkeys to see a cliffside temple; we crawled through bustling, teeming markets; we marveled at rice paddies terraced into the side of a mountain; we admired handmade crafts; and we even shopped a little.

There are just no words with which to describe the sunsets. The red and gold sunk into the sky just touching and traipsing over the deep azure of the rolling waves. Teh rays of the sun outlined the wispy clouds like gentle kisses of jewels.

One great part of the trip was spending it with our good friends Charlene and Jamey Lamanna and their kids, Joey, Laura and Alex. After a week together, I'm pleased to report that we're still good friends!

A highlight of the trip was the Dolphin Lodge. We were able to swim with, play with and pet the gentle animals in their own environment. It was an unparalleled experience.

In lieu of a bunch of photos, I've attached a short (I promise) slide show here. Enjoy!!

Third Culture Kids (From Thursday March 19th)

2009-03-30T20:41:00.003+09:00

Today I am tired. I’ve been under a lot of stress vis a vis the Third Culture Kid Seminar, planning the Bali trip, Passover fast-approaching, (I’m doing it for the kids’ school too – 150 kids for a mock-seder) the JCC rabbi search and the charity essay contest on which I’m working. But the seminar today made so many relevant points that I want to mention a few of them so that perhaps the people around me will understand where I’m coming from.

The talk was by psychologist Elizabeth Gillies. She’s is a British woman who has been an expat in various countries for her whole adult life. She works with the local English-language counseling center and with international schools across Tokyo. Here are a few things that she pointed out:

First: the definition of a Third Culture Kid is any person under the age of 18 who has grown up in a culture other than that of either of his or her parents. Some researchers might add that the Third Culture Kid takes the best of the culture of his or her parents and the best of the “host” culture and then creates his or her own “third” culture.

There are many positive aspects of being a Third Culture Kid, according to the research. Among them are:
1. Being smart, alert, and globally aware
2. Mature, sensitive and excellent listeners
3. Tolerance and cross-cultural understanding
4. Flexible and open to change
5. High achieving
Third Culture Kids are more likely to have an intact family where both parents have advanced degrees. Statistically the family moves for the job (government, military, missionary, business) of the father. Often the mother is a “trailing spouse” with perhaps her own issues surrounding that term.
The father for whom the family moved quite often has a high-level job and works long hours. Sometimes there are issues integrating him into the family after business trips or even on the weekend when he hasn’t been around all week. Patience is mandatory!
There are many drawbacks to being a Third Culture Kid. Among them are:
1. They feel “different”
2. They gravitate to those like themselves
3. Delayed adolescence
4. Migratory instinct
5. Rootlessness, restlessness
6. Unresolved grief
Adolescence is a time when kids typically rebel against parents as a way of asserting independence. In the case of the TCK, often they don’t feel the need to do it until much later – perhaps after they move out of their parents’ house even. It’s about identity separate from the family unit. The opportunities to rebel in a “normal” fashion are not present in the culture that is not the “home” culture. In addition, many TCKs have a lot of independence due to location and/or maturity, so that there’s not as much to rebel against.
Grief can be a large part of the TCK experience, unfortunately. The experience of leaving home and leaving friends can be traumatic. The transitory nature of the communities in which we live can cause grief with the constant loss of friends to new assignments. Teaching the kids about grief and that it’s normal to be sad is part of our job in parenting TCKs.
Resilience can be taught. There is such a thing as “the new normal” – and that’s what we focus our energies on achieving, even as many of our friends leave and rotate.
A common thread for TCKs is that they “feel” different from the rest of the kids they meet in their home countries. They often feel that they no one truly “gets” them. The same goes for adults who live in a foreign country.
Often the extended families of expats are thousands of miles away and in varying time zones which make communications difficult so the nuclear family becomes the focus.
Research shows that a family living abroad is necessarily more interdependent and tight-knit than the typical family living in their home culture. That is not to say that we don’t know some families with amazingly close nuclear families in the U.S. – it’s just to point out that many expat families don’t have the extended family around on which to rely, and often rely more on each other. This is also not to make light of our extended family.
Our children need their extended family relationships to be strong and stable. This was a big point of the seminar. We love the fact that we can call you and go to you in the summer. It makes the kids feel more grounded and in touch with their own culture.
Though we call Tokyo “home,” TCKs need a sense of home that is beyond Japan. For us it’s obviously America – we are American after all is said and done. For this we rely on our extended family and fantastic friends. Friends are a stabilizing force for our kids and they need to know that the people they loved and cared about when we lived there are still there loving them and caring about them. We are lucky that we have so many people who do love us and care for us.
TCKs need to connect with people like themselves and friends that they’ve had in Japan (or other host culture) who have moved away.
Whatever we do, we are doing our best. It is hard for you to understand the ups and downs of our particular life and we appreciate that you try.

These are the main points of what I took away from the seminar today. We’re going to have a follow-on one about the idea of resiliency in the coming months. I hope it’s as successful as the one today.

The Art of Dining

2009-03-18T14:47:00.005+09:00

The Upper elementary class of the kids' school was the international school of choice this year by the charity Refugees International to participate in their fundraising event, the Art of Dining. The kids created a table setting and then showed it at the Westin Hotel Tokyo amid other tables by organizations, chefs and artists. The Japanese Emperor's sister-in-law, Princess Hitachi, was on hand to view the settings. She stopped and spoke with the children and shook their hands. Bailey was simply thrilled! Enjoy the photos of the kids, the Princess, and a few of the other tables.

Sport Stacking Japan

2009-03-17T10:21:00.003+09:00

Sport Stacking is a great sport for eye-hand coordination, rhythm and other great skills. There are official stacks and times and "fouls" - rules and regulations. Bailey participated in an all-Japan tournament and did wonderfully - a medal and a trophy! He and his friend Shin-Won even did a doubles entry. Enjoy the attached photos.

Bailey and Sydney this winter

2009-03-16T15:53:00.007+09:00

Here are a few great photos from Bailey's ski trip and Sydney's two class trips to the science museum and to the base of Mount Fuji for "fun in the snow day." In the pictures of Bailey, please note that he is the one with a red ski parka and gray ski pants. The school took the kids to a ski area at the southern end of the Japanese Alps called Naspa. They stayed at the New Otani hotel and skied for three days. It was a fantastic trip and Bailey is quite the accomplished skier between the two trips we took as a family and this one. Sydney does quite well at it also! Her class trip to the snow was just for the day (7am to 5pm!!) and involved snowmen, sledding, a fun lunch and sleeping on the bus-ride home. (Sydney wears a yellow parka and beige ski pants) Her class trip was a little lower-key and involved a full day at an amazing museum of science. My favorite pic is the one of her and her girlfriends. Such diverse girls! Enjoy!

From Inauguration Day...

2009-03-16T15:35:00.001+09:00

Tears and Hope

“Mom, why are you crying?” Bailey asked with great concern. Bailey and I, along with his father and little sister, were watching a recording of the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America, Barak Obama, over our breakfast in Tokyo.

The question was startling in its clarity and simplicity, but the answer was not.
Bailey knew that we were not Obama supporters at the beginning and wondered why cared at all about the inauguration. Marc, luckily, was able to field that question. He explained that the president, after the election is not just president of people who voted for him; he is president of the entire nation and that was the essence of democracy. More people wanted Obama to be their leader than wanted McCain to be their leader so that even the McCain (or Clinton or Huckabee or whomever…) supporters had an obligation to unite and stand behind the current president as a cohesive country. They might hope that their candidate might win next time. And perhaps, even maybe, this president might exceed expectations and earn the support of nay-sayers.

But that wasn’t what moved me, Bailey’s mother, to tears. The four of us as a family have made the choice to live outside of the United States largely for business reasons, though we enjoy the lifestyle of Tokyo very much. But the fact that we live elsewhere makes us no less American than any other person in the country. On this day, one man stood before the entire world and projected an image of hope. Even if Obama had never opened his mouth for that speech, the fact that his face could shine with the possibility of a new day was awe-inspiring.

In the global community in which we live, there are constant debates about the very idea of America – is it still relevant? Is it still a super-power? Are the American people worthy of their place in the world economy with the mess they made with the mortgage crisis? The people around me, Japanese, French, Korean, Finnish, Australian, South African, and others, wonder if America should step aside for the likes of China or India to emerge as the world leader. We debate if the American century is over and how Americans should respond to the other countries vying for its spot in the limelight of the world stage. These are not things that I share with my kids, and indeed it’s just talk amongst friends who are all, at the end of the day, expatriates, living away from their home countries in the bubble of Tokyo.

But with Bailey and Sydney though, I wanted to share my dreams that they, too, might grow up to be president. The thing about America is not its military might or economic prowess. What makes America a great nation and a wonderful place to live is that through hard work, all things are possible. Did Obama have advantages that the average African-American doesn’t have – including a devoted grandmother who sent him to private school? Of course he did, but that just means that he had support; it does not mean that any other person who dreams and is dedicated to a cause could not succeed in the same way.

What I saw and wanted to share with my children is the look on Michelle Obama’s face as she kissed her husband and held her child’s hand. The way she feels today is exactly the same as the way I feel when my husband gives a brilliant speech to colleagues at a conference or when Sydney slides her little hand into mine for safe-keeping. I pointed out to Bailey that the Reverend who gave his benediction after the new president pointed to a land where people care about each other and are guided by the ideals of their forefathers to work toward an ideal of a loving and cooperative community. This was not just a prayer for Obama and the country; this was a prayer for each of us – something we can all relate to.

If you think about it, it is nothing short of miraculous that the most powerful man in the world stepped down and handed the baton over to his successor, making him the new most powerful man in the world today. All of the transition was completed in relative calm with relative peace and with a sense of rightness bestowed on the pomp and circumstance that arises from the traditions of the first inauguration of a new and passionate country in the late 1700’s. The United States was founded on a dream of regular people who wanted to be free to do great things with their lives and for the lives of their children’s children’s children…. And so on.
I was crying, I told my own children finally, because at a time when compassion is a commodity to cherish and a misguided sense of justice often trumps empathy, this one man has the power, for at least one day, to unite us all. He has made me feel everything that is good about America. He has given me hope to pass on to my children. And he has brought the global house down with his message of peace not through wishing and hoping, but via hard work and toil, in the boardroom and on the battlefield and on the purse-strings. Nothing is easy, I tell my kids, and more to the point, nothing worth having comes easily.

So the world might get back to its business tomorrow and the rollup of the sleeves will begin in earnest. But today, Obama supporter or not, we are all American and that is what matters.

“I get it, Mom,” Bailey said after my explanation and a few more tears. I hugged him then, and sent him out the door to school.

My best food experience EVER!!!

2009-02-13T12:54:00.006+09:00

Tapas, the Molecular Bar, is located on the 38th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Tokyo. Containing merely seven seats, the experience is that of gastronomic intensity that is completely sensorial, not just taste-oriented.

We went with friends and used all seven seats. The scenery was fantastic. The bar was a corner part of the hotel?s main restaurant and had floor-to-ceiling windows under which the Nihonbashi section of Tokyo glittered brightly at our feet. But beyond the bar, we were soon too entranced with the food and the experience to notice anything else.

Our chef (and entertainer, information source, etc?) for the evening, Jacob, told welcomed us and gave us a few instructions. He would prepare each course, about twenty in all and give them to us one at a time. He would then instruct us on how to eat them and answer any preparation or scientific questions we might have. Luckily for us, he was half American and had trained at the Cordon Bleu institute in Santa Barbara, California. There is always one English speaker and one Japanese speaker as the chefs behind the bar.

For the first treat, Jacob poured Japanese plum wine out of a large beaker into tall shot glasses. He then spooned a little bit of yuzu foam on top. Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit and he pureed it and foamed it. It was very sweet, but an interesting feel ? liquidy and foamy at the same time.
As a small snack, we got shaved, deep fried beets, curled into a little ball, which was sweet and crunchy and if my eyes were closed I would have mistaken it for a potato chip.

The next snack was a puree of olive, infused with lectin and beaten. It looked like a ball of soap suds on the tiny plate. It sort of dissolved in the mouth with a puff and a hint of olive flavor. He instructed us to hold our breath as we put it in our mouths so we would taste it and not inhale it.
From there we went on to caramel popcorn. Seriously. They creamed corn and balled it in liquid nitrogen. Then they dipped the formed balls in caramel.

We had manchego cheese ice cream in the shape of a test-tube wrapped in the thinnest possible slice of dried apple. Manchego is a stinky cheese - sharp and strong, which was the perfect foil for the sweet apple.

For the next course, Jacob showed us a rack of large test tubes full of Konbu (seaweed) dashi (soup stock) mixed with sodium algenate. He jiggled the rack and the drops fell into the enclosed bottom, which was calcium chloride. The dashi formed little round balls that Jacob called caviar. The ?caviar? was a side dish for the sashimi tuna and soy sauce that he had been chemically solidified into a square. Instead of the usual bit of seaweed on the side, there was a piece of spinach that had been pureed and re-solidified on a baking tray and picked up to resemble seaweed. We were instructed to use our chopsticks to put the square of sashimi on top of the square of soy sauce and to put a piece of the mock-seaweed on top of that - along with the "caviar" if we could get it. Again, if we closed our eyes, it tasted like the most succulent of regular sushi combinations, but it was stronger and more solid in texture.

We had a "red" plate comprised of pureed tomato, which was actually yellow, a tiny bit of crab and a roasted red pepper. Keep in mind that each plate was no larger than my hand and had a tiny bite for each taste.

The next course was in a small bowl: an oji (porridge) base, seared squid and then risotto made of squid ink. Jacob topped this with the zest of the Japanese fruit sudachi. Jacob noted that with squid, you have to cook it either 4 minutes or 4 hours - anything in between creates that chewy feeling that most of us are used to. But this squid melted in our mouths - and no wonder - he seared it in front of us with a small blow-torch!

Following that course was beef : it was a roll of Japanese wagyu beef that had been rolled in edible charcoal. They sealed it in a vacuum bag and boiled it for six hours at a controlled temperature of 53 degrees Celsius. It was the most tender thing I've ever eaten ? we didn't even use a serrated knife to cut it.

In a tiny demitasse cup we had what they called "hot-cold" which was hot chestnut soup with a dollop of cauliflower puree "sprayed" on top.

The one rib off the rack of lamb that appeared next came with a warning: beware of squirting! When preparing it, they butterflied the rack and then put the marinade on the inside. They then used food glue to put it together before grilling. We had to stab it to let a little of the juice flow out before truly cutting it.

Served on the top of an upside down shot glass he gave us a disc of frozen orange which we were to insert into our mouths "like a cd".

On a tiny plate, we received a bit of lobster topped with potato foam on a bed of lobster bisque. Jacob drizzled the combination with vanilla oil for smell as well as for taste. A real treat for all of the senses.

The next course was wildly confounding! Jacob smeared a plate with pureed avocado. Then he used his handy blow-torch to sear some pineapple and then some unagi (sea eel). He laid the pineapple and unagi not-quite-piled on the plate. He announced that it was a miso dish without the miso. Eaten together, indeed the combination of flavors mimicked the sweet/salty/savory taste of miso-infused fish, but there was not a drop of miso on the plate. Eaten separately each food tasted like itself, but in concert was a different taste altogether. Wild!

Jacob placed a wide spoon with a ball on it in front of each of us. He had used the sodium amalgamate into the calcium chloride trick with miso soup, but instead of balls, he produced a wrapper, in which he wrapped real miso soup. So we used the spoon to place the ball in our mouths and the miso soup exploded out of the solid miso-soup ball/wrapper.

The next course was the trickiest one: Jacob had taken the alcoholic drink, a Blue Hawaii, and frozen it with liquid nitrogen. He spooned it into a bowl for each of us and gave us a spoon. Before we got it though, he gave us the warnings: try not to let the spoon touch your mouth. Do not leave the spoon in the dish or it will freeze and stick to your mouth. Put the food in your mouth and chew quickly: swallow. don't let it sit on your tongue or it will burn. It was frightening and fascinating at the same time. A true magician with food, Jacob showed us not only how it was done, but he was also able to take a few bites (after warming his mouth with hot tea) and make the smoke of the liquid nitrogen come out of his nose!!! Practice, he said. It was much more of a feel than a taste. Crunch crunch crunch - freeze - swallow! Hurry!

And then came dessert. We got a shelf-full of them. One was chocolate air, one was a gummy made of olive oil and rosemary. There was one spoonful of a ball of New York cheesecake. And there was a "snowball" of cotton candy, made not of sugar, but of cappuccino. Incredible!!

But then there was the last last very last course: fruit. Jacob gave each of us a small plate of citrus wedges - lemon, lime, grapefruit and orange - with strawberry halves sprinkled in. But then came the directions. First, we had to eat half a strawberry. Then we had to bite into a lemon or lime. Bitter, right? That was the test. Then he gave us a teeny tiny dish with a little fruit on it called literally a Miracle Fruit. It was grown first in Africa but now there are other places to get it, including Japan. We had to take the fruit, which was looked like an oval cherry, and pop it in our mouths. Then we had to separate it from the pit IN our mouths and roll the pit and the fruit around in our mouths for a full minute. He literally put a timer on the bar; you'd be surprised how long a minute is when you?re trying to hold something in your mouth.

When the minute was up, we had to swallow the fruit and spit out the seed. Then Jacob instructed us to bite the lemon or lime again. INCREDIBLE! It tasted completely sweetened - almost candied, or more like an orange. It turns out that Miracle Fruit contains a glycol-protein that alters the palate by coating the tongue. The affects last anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the metabolism of the person. So we literally ate all of the fruit on that plate including the lemons. The strawberries were like eating a stick of strawberry flavored sugar!!

So that was the end of it. When we were chatting during and after the meal, Sora (tri-lingual and ever my guide for Japanese things) noted that frankly, English has a surprisingly small number of words with which to describe food. She said that Japanese has a few more, but not nearly as many as Korean. That also, was interesting to note - think about how you'd like to describe your food next time you eat it! Though each course was small, we left feeling satiated - but not overly full. It was the perfect amount of food and variation of tastes. It was a treat for all of the senses and a never-to-be forgotten night.

The Capsule Hotel - part of wacky Japan!

2009-01-31T07:59:00.006+09:00

This week a group of intrepid women decided to check out a phenomenon particular to the Japanese culture - the capsule hotel. The concept of a capsule hotel was originally aimed at Japanese businessmen who work long hours - they could work (read: have dinner, drink, etc.) late into the night. Most Japanese commute into the city from great distances, sitting on a train for an hour or more twice a day, but in Tokyo, the trains stop before 2am. So instead of taking expensive cab rides home, the businessmen can check into these "capsules" and sleep for a night before simply heading back to work in the morning. These days enough women use them also that there are women's floors and men's floors.

Simply put, they are stacked beds in boxes, each equipped with a light, a tv, a radio and an alarm clock. The box has enough room to sit up, and as we learned, five or more of us could fit into it, but in general, it's just a bed.

The eight women met in Roppongi Hills at a cafe for a drink first. We felt we needed it to shore ourselves up!

We then took the train to Akihabara, the electronics capital of Tokyo and walked to the hotel. Akihabara is chock full of electronics shops and manufacturers - perfect spot for the capsule. My friend Nancy had done a little research and this particular capsule hotel had an English sign and website.

The first step as we entered the "genkan" (entryway) of the hotel was to put our shoes in little shoe lockers and hand over the key as we registered at the front desk (no way to get out without paying - you'd have to leave your shoes!) We then went to the eighth floor where our capsules awaited.

It was simply astounding. It looked more like a pet-shop kennel than anything else. The walls were lined with boxes ten on the bottom and ten on top. I had been mildly nervous that it would be more coffin-like, but they were surprisingly comfortable.

Being completely silly girls, we put our clothes and things in the lockers (the locker room was outside of the capsule room) and changed into the Japanese robes - yukata. We then brushed our teeth with the special toothbrushes provided - each already armed with toothpaste. (Can you imagine - greatest idea with actual good taste and fluoride to boot!)

What I found interesting was the security. We had been given a key to a locker and the sleeping room (in which the capsules were housed - we were instructed to keep it locked from both the inside and outside at all times) but each capsule just had a simple shade to shield the guest within.

We took a few photos, laughed a lot and then had a great dinner together before heading home. I cannot imagine what the proprietor of the hotel thought as we checked out after only a few hours instead of staying all night - crazy tourists!

Yet another adventure to add to the list!

5pm on Friday in Tokyo

2008-12-20T08:11:00.004+09:00

In Tokyo, timing is everything. You could run your watch by the trains; contractors and deliverymen give you a time that they will arrive and they actually do it. Every single day at 5pm across the city, chimes play to let everyone know that it's, well, 5pm.

Yesterday I was walking home from Roppongi Hills after getting my haircut and I noted a group of Japanese people waiting on a walking bridge that goes over the main slope. Roppongi Hills is a new-ish area of town (circa 2003) and has upscale shops like Kate Spade, Tiffany's, Isaac Mizrahi and upscale restaurants like Il Mulino, Joel Rubecheon, and the like. They have an outdoor arena that hosts concerts and festivals year-round.

I noted the time: 4:57pm.

Taking my place with the small crowd, I looked over the side of the bridge down the slope. Three minutes later, at precisely 5pm, the chimes started their ringing and at the same moment, the entire street below became ablaze and alive with blue and white lights sending a collective "ooooh" up from the people. The chimes faded seconds later with the the last of the expressions from the people.

I waited a moment, savoring the beauty of the lights and the excitement of the people. What they take for granted is not only the timing, but the magic of the city itself. I have not been to another city that is as busy yet still as quiet as Tokyo. The city and its people are clean and kind. It is a miracle in modern society and it is the ambiance of the city that I love so much.

As they all dispersed, on to homes or dinners or wherever, I stopped into the wine shop that is at the end of the bridge and bought a half-bottle of champagne to share with Marc. It seemed like something to celebrate.

Happiest of Holidays to you all - and may 2009 bring you peace.

Bailey and Sydney's violin concert

2008-12-18T19:57:00.004+09:00

Bailey and Sydney played in a violin concert last weekend. Enjoy the photos!!

Japan Times Headline on sex

2008-11-23T18:44:00.004+09:00

I kid you not: here's the blurb from the front page of the _Japan Times_ for Saturday, November 22, 2008

Business:

All work, no play

The Japan Business Federation is worried the nation's workers aren't having enough sex and wants it member firms to start so-called family weeks to reverse a declining birthrate.

The article on page 8 of the newspaper, the business section, discusses how the 1632 member-firms of the organization are urging employees to leave by 7pm and get special permission before working on the weekend, all aimed at placing value on families instead of the traditional high value placed on hard work. They believe that the average employee works so hard during the week that he has no time or energy to have sex and therefore procreate. In 2007, the birthrate in Japan stood at 1.24. The article goes on to mention that many so-called "salary-men" or white collar workers, used some of the extra time off to arrange extra expeditions to favorite bars they frequent, but others are showing up early at home causing children ask fathers if they are ill. There is a word in Japanese "karoshi" which literally means death from overwork. It's an all-too common term.

But hey, I'm all for extra time for more sex! Go Japan!!

2008-11-07T16:57:00.005+09:00

Last week the kids had an autumn break from school and my friend Kerrin invited the kids and me to go with her to her beach house in Shimoda, on the Izu Penninsula, about three hours south of Tokyo. Shimoda is the official landing spot of the American Admiral Perry who in 1853 landed in his big black ships and demanded that Japan open its doors, which had been closed for over 250 years since the start of the Tokugawa Shogunate, to trade with the west. His arrival brought down the Shogun dynasty and made way for the Meiji Restoration and the re-seating of the emperor.

Marc decided to join us for the weekend, as did Kerrin's husband Steven. In addition, another family from the kids' school was down there, so all three families had a wonderful time riding horses, going swimming in the Pacific Ocean (yes on November 1 - it was warm!) and just relaxing and enjoying each other's company. On Friday night we all went into a local onsen, the Japanese hot spring bath. This is my millionth time going, but the first time that I dared to bring a camera. On Saturday night all three families had a bar-b-que. Kerrin is South African and her husband is a Brit. In the other family, the Coppetiers, Adrienne is Austrian and Fredereic is Belgian. There are some things that transcend culture, though, and one of them is roasting marshmallows. Everyone knows how to do that! On Sunday we were able to walk through the town a bit. Enjoy the photos!

Special lunch with Bailey

2008-10-12T16:12:00.000+09:00

Today Bailey and Marc went into his office to watch the Penn State vs. University of Wisconsin football game - on the brand-new 50-inch flatscreen into which Marc plugged his laptop loaded with the slingbox. One of the partners in the office is a Wisconsin grad, and obviously Marc is a Penn Stater, so they decided to watch together. An 8pm Saturday night game in Madison Wisconsin means 9am Sunday morning here in Tokyo! Afterward, Marc took Bailey to lunch. Later, I asked Bailey about it. "Mom!" Bailey practically shouted, "Dad took me to Burger King - the only one in Tokyo!" "What did you eat?" I asked, hoping to live a little vicariously through his onion-ring experience. "Dad let me have a junior WOO-PER!" Yes you read that right. Bailey had no idea it was called a Whopper; he called it a WOO-PER. It might have taken me ten minutes to stop laughing. Oh the things our children miss by living overseas....

Who could resist one last photo op...

2008-10-10T15:02:00.002+09:00

I was lucky enough to get to spend 10 days in September with my cousins Jenn and Dave and their newborn baby, Erin and their 3-year-old daughter Ella. The flight to Virginia was worth it for these special babies! And a very very special sister/cousin...

Soccer (football??)

2008-10-10T13:26:00.005+09:00

So the main reason we rented a car is to go to the Highland Festival in Makuhari on Sunday. We could have taken a train, but the car was so much simpler in this case. Run by The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) it celebrates Scottish heritage. One of the main features is a 7-a-side "football" (soccer to most of us...) tournament. Anyone who wants to can put together a team. One of our friends took it upon himself to do it. They called themselves the "Azabu United" and recruited guys from our community. Marc was one of the younger players. What does that tell you? Check out the team photo though - at the last second our French friends Denis and Pravya recruited three young Frenchmen who are studying abroad here in Tokyo. That brought the average age of the players waaaay down! Most of the men brought their families too, so the rest of us made up the cheering squad.

The coolest part of the whole thing was the international flavor of the team - French, British, Singaporean, Finnish and American.

The team did well - they won one game and lost two. Perhaps I'm prejudiced, but I think Marc was one of the best players on the field - and one of the most experienced. But most importantly everyone had fun, and EVERYONE walked off the field under their own steam - they might have been tired, but there weren't any injuries. Good news!

The festival itself was fun, too. Bailey mostly watched his dad play soccer, but Sydney played some games and ate fish and chips for lunch. None of us ate the Hagus. What is that, anyway? Check out the photos of the Japanese people in kilts doing the highland dancing. Pretty wild!

There's no way to express how grateful we are for the life we are living. Every day seems to bring something new or different. And sometimes the day brings something familiar - like a soccer game - but gives it a whole different flavor.

Yokohama

2008-10-10T13:11:00.005+09:00

This past weekend we rented a car. I have a feeling that a car purchase is in our future, but that is another story. Right now it's fun to rent one when we want it. The weather was just stellar on Saturday - sunny and 75 degrees so we decided to take a drive to the Yokohama waterfront. Technically, Yokohama is the largest port in Asia and the place where Admiral Perry landed and demanded that Japan open its doors to trade with the West. Because of the old-meets-new atmosphere, it seems that ancient temples are directly juxtaposed with modern buildings wherever you look. We had been to Chinatown here, but that was it.

We decided to visit the harbor and had the luck of catching a yacht show. We had the opportunity to walk along the docks and board a number of the boats to look around. Some of the yachts were simply stunning - three bedrooms, large deck, modern kitchen etc. Bailey and Sydney wondered if we could just live on one and take it to visit wherever we wanted to go. I reminded them that if we had this type of boat, we couldn't afford a house. I'm not sure I convinced them.

The funniest part of the day was Bailey and the rock climbing wall. We bought the ticket for him to take a try and he got all suited up in the harness and proper shoes. As he climbed higher, we realized that people were gathering around to watch the little Western boy work. Bailey climbed his heart out. There was a huge bump in the middle of the wall to scale and he just couldn't get all the way over it. He did the best he could and then felt finished. He pushed away from the wall and started to rappel his way down. All of a sudden applause burst out from the crowd. I swear at least 50 people were clapping for him. I think it made his millennium. But that's why you see the photo of Bailey climbing the wall and with him off center in the photo - I wanted to show you the funny crowd loving the blondie.

The marina had an outlet mall attached with a few Western stores so we got to shop a little too. All in all a fun day out! This car thing could get addicting....

Tokyo at last...

2008-10-10T13:05:00.003+09:00

Things here have been pretty hectic with the start of school, my trip to the U.S. to be with my cousin Jenn and her family and then the Jewish holidays. Here's a quick pic of the kids in Ginza, one of our favorite areas to visit. Great shopping - great food! They block off the streets on Saturday afternoons to make shopping more convenient - the kids thought that was great fun.

While we were there we noticed that a new clothing shop out of England, DHC, was opening. I am not kidding you here: the queue to get into the store - yes just to get IN - was out the door and around the corner - a two hour wait. A two-hour wait to get into the shop. But if you got in, you could say that you visited it on its first day open. That cache only lasts the weekend, you know. Only in Tokyo yet again...

Enjoy!

After a loooooong summer....

2008-09-06T10:48:00.003+09:00

On the way to taking the kids to school we pass a large construction site every morning. In Tokyo, they always surround construction sites with large, white, temporary walls. The panels sort of resemble pocket doors and there is always a large opening in the wall through which staff and trucks can enter the site. The opening section always has its own real pocket-door, closable section to it. Often, one of the panels of the white wall is clear glass, allowing passers-by to see into the site and what's happening with the progression of the building.

The site we pass each day is just humongous - we cannot fathom what is being built. But we do know that the glass panel, as of Wednesday morning, the third morning of school, contained a window-box full of flowers. The windowbox was inside the glass and placed low so as not to interfere with a view of the site itself. The flowers are a jaunty mix of autumn asters and mums.

Only in Japan would there be flowers at the construction site. What a sense of renewal. It seems apropos.

Thank you to everyone who helped us make our summer spectacular, whether in person, by email or by telephone, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

The photo here is from the start of the summer - the morning of our neice Alyssa's bat mitzvah. It was wonderful and joyous and the perfect start to a very long and merry summer of fun and visits.

More on that later; now I need to concentrate on being back in Tokyo - on being HOME.

Department Store Heaven

2008-05-31T14:47:00.001+09:00

I forgot about the department stores here in Japan! The other day I had to go to buy a watch for Sydney for her birthday and I wanted a specific Swatch watch. The best place to get a Swatch is at the Mitsukoshi Department store in an area of Tokyo called Ebisu. I took the train to Ebisu on Wednesday morning after having coffee with my friends Amanda and Michelle. Nothing of consequence opens in Tokyo before 11am, so morning coffee was essential before doing errands.

I arrived in Ebisu about 10 minutes before 11 and sat on a bench in the sunshine. (We have had the worst spring weather-wise! It has been very rainy and quite chilly. I relished those few minutes of brightness with my face lifted to the sky, eyes closed.) At about a minute before 11am I stood up and walked closer to the door of the department store. There were a few people milling about with me, studying the window displays which were elegantly done with the latest styles of clothes, shoes, and handbags. At precisely the appointed time, a man from the inside walked toward the glass door and with a flourish of the keys, unlocked the doors. He stepped outside and, holding the door, shouted, “irrashaemaseh!” This translates to “welcome, please come in and spend money!” The people filed in the door and along the main walkway of the store, there were salespeople positioned every few feet, all of them bowing and saying “irrashaemaseh” as the people passed. After about five minutes of this greeting, the employees went about their business.

In Japan, every customer deserves a proper greeting and welcome into the shopping experience. It is part of the national ethos to revere the customer.
Downstairs in the Swatch area, the salesperson hovered quietly while I surveyed the merchandise. When I was ready, he showed me several selections, letting me turn them over and over in my hand while I decided. I finally chose a multicolor watch with a second-hand to make it easy for Sydney to learn to tell time. He rang up my purchase quickly, asking if I wanted a gift box. He was a bit confused with I said that I would wrap it myself – I wanted to show it to Marc before wrapping – but he complied and put the purchase in a lovely shopping back which he taped shut securely before handing over to me.

It was such a quiet and civilized experience. If all shopping was done this way then the world would be a much happier place.

It's summer!

2008-05-26T15:37:00.004+09:00

After an impossibly cold winter and rainy spring, it's all of a sudden showing signs of summer in Tokyo. It's hard to believe that in three weeks we will be back in the States for ten long weeks (email me for the schedule; it's too hard to explain!)

This past weekend, the kids put on their school play. It was quite a professional job with one parent who is an artist designing the sets. Another parent is a clothing designer and designed the costumes, while another is a movie director, so we will get a professionally done dvd of the show. The show was the musical "Shaharazade: 1001 Arabian Nights" and the kids did a wonderful job. There was not a missed cue or line in the mix. The elementary kids from grades 1 through 6 worked on it - Sydney was too young this year. Bailey had a small but pivotal role as the shopkeeper. He kind of brought everyone back to reality after the tales and he had the final lines of the play. He was calm and collected and did a wondeful job!

What I love most about Bailey is his diversity. He was just as excited about the soccer tournament last Wednesday and his violin concert next week. He's done so many wonderful things this year and learned so much. His Japanese reading and writing are coming along nicely as is his spoken ability.

But mostly I credit his teacher, Sainoor with giving him one specific gift that I hope lasts a lifetime: the ability to calm himself. Sainoor really has Bailey's number. She can see him out of the corner of her eye and if he is bouncing around, all she has to say is "Bailey take a deep breath." I have watched this happen. Immediately after she says it, he breathes in through his nose and out through his mouth and relaxes his shoulders. He emerges visibly calmer and can focus on the task at hand.

This came home to roost during the play. My friend, a Finnish woman named Riikka, came to find me before the show. She had been in charge of makeup. I had told her the story of the deep breath and it had impressed her. She told me that Bailey was like a jack-in-the-box before the show. She told him to take a deep breath and then he was able to sit down, sit still,and get his makeup applied. I was so pleased for Bailey that he has a tool like that to rely on in times of stress. I will encourage him to keep it up.

A few days ago we found out that Sainoor will be moving to upper elementary class (the Montessori school is organized in three year blocs so that there are mixed-age classrooms - ages 3-6, 6-9, 9-12) and since Bailey is moving up also, she will continue to be his teacher. Though we are sorry that Sydney will not have her as a teacher (Syd is also moving up to a lower elementary class for the fall) we are so pleased that Bailey will continue to have her influence. Sainoor has some challenges - she is the tough teacher at school and some of the kids are afraid of her (as are a few parents!) but she has done wonders for our child, and Bailey respects her and her methods. He works to please her, which pleases Marc and me, too.

It's been a wonderful school year. We have loved our first school year here, and look forward to seeing you Stateside all summer!

Cruise from Hong Kong to Taiwan!

2008-04-15T21:55:00.006+09:00

The flight to Hong Kong was merely the tip of the iceberg for a trip that had fun from all angles – kids, adults, rest and sightseeing.

For spring break this year, we decided to take a cruise. I found one that was family-friendly and also good for adults – a Royal Caribbean Cruise. We flew to Hong Kong on Saturday night and spent Sunday morning wandering around Kowloon, the area of Hong Kong across the Harbor from the center of the city. Hong Kong is a pretty typical Asian city except that everyone speaks English. It’s clean, steeped in Chinese tradition, and a slave to modern luxuries. They skyline waves across the atmosphere in a rush of interestingly-shaped buildings.
We were on the ship by about 2pm. Interestingly, they had to keep our passports for customs’ issues and we had to fill out all of the immigration forms for Taiwan ahead of time. Before boarding, we met our friends Kerri and Jeff Dube and their four kids so we could get on together. It was so fun to travel as a group – the kids really enjoyed each other and no one was lonely.

The first thing Bailey was dying to do was try the rock climbing wall, so we did that as the ship weighed anchor. He got to the top over and over again over the next four days. He’s a great athlete. But it was cool to see the skyline of Hong Kong recede from the back of the ship where the wall was located.

The next day and a half was a whirlwind of on-board activities. The kids loved the kids’ club – there was something fun to do for all age groups, so the adults could also enjoy their time. The best part was playing bingo with Kerri – she won the grand prize – and upgrade to the second largest suite on the ship. She is so lucky!

The food was great – we had a fantastic waiter at dinner each night who brought us a ton of things to try as well as everything we actually ordered. My kids ate things like steak, salmon, escargot and a lot of fruit salad. For breakfast and lunch we generally hit the buffet – there was every possible food imaginable – from tuna sandwiches to carved roast beef. There was smoked salmon and bagels for breakfast – boy have we missed that!
On Tuesday morning we docked in the port nearest to Taipei and took a 45 minute bus-ride into the city. Once there we went to the top of the world’s tallest building – Taipei 101. The view was mesmerizing. We could see the entire city! We even got to see the wind dormer – the ball that moves so that the building stays stable in the wind. For lunch we ate in a typical Chinese restaurant. It was delicious! The sauces on the shrimp were savory and the dumplings were larger and more loosely put together than dumplings we’re used to. The fillings for the dumplings were more rice-based than protein based, too.

After lunch we went to the Palace Museum, the best place to see all of the treasures of China. When Chiang Kai Sheck fled Mainland China, he took all of the treasures and art with him. This is his collection. We looked through some of the rooms of the ancient art and then took a stroll through the garden and fed the koi. See the photos! The city itself is nothing to write home about. Having lived in Tokyo for so long already, we have trouble with other Asian Cities. Taipei is dirty and disorganized. The people are nice enough, but they are not overly polite and they stare at foreigners. The museum was just outside the center of the city in what seemed like an oasis of green. Even that was incredibly crowded.

The next day, the port of call was Kaolung, Taiwan, the second biggest port city in the country. We went to the jade market and out for lunch – and then back to the ship – it was a very short port call. The jade market was interesting; we got to hold all of the jade, learn about qualities of jade and then bargain for the items we wanted. It was fun. But this city, too, was dirty and disorganized. The center of the city was nicer than the area of the market, but it was still not great. In the streets, women near restaurants crouched low on the pavement with bowls of soapy water to wash the dishes and utensils used inside. It was very old world juxtaposed with new world.

The funniest part of the second day was that we didn’t take the kids with us into the city. They really wanted to stay on the ship and play in the kids’ club, so we let them. They were happy and we were happy. In addition, they wanted to go to the evening party that night so we let them do that too, and the adults were able to have a drink or whatever until it was time to pick up the children. It was a lovely way to end the cruise.

Back in the port of Hong Kong, we disembarked as quickly as possible and then had dim sum lunch with our friends Samantha and Jonathan Kriegel and their two daughters. We know them from the years we lived in Tokyo before and it was just wonderful to see them. Dim sum is basically a meal comprised of Chinese dumplings. We have had it a number of times in the States and in Japan. There is a lot of pork and shrimp and rice noodles involved. You don’t order off the menu but women with carts of hot food come around to each table and the diners can inspect the food before choosing which dishes they want directly off the tray. It was a fun way to eat.

Hong Kong has this great feature called “in-town check-in.” We were able to go to the in-town airport station and check our bags for our afternoon flight, then go to lunch, and then go out to the airport holding only our carry-ons. Our baggage met us in Tokyo! It was remarkably easy. I wish Tokyo did that – or New York City!!

We had a great trip. I would take a cruise again in a second – it was good for all of us. I hope it’s the first of many trips around Asia over the next five years!

Ohanami

2008-04-02T22:11:00.000+09:00

Here are a few pictures of the beautiful cherry trees in Shinjuku Gyoen (park). The custom is to sit under the trees as the blossoms come out and eat and drink and well, watch the trees. Very relaxing. Enjoy!

Accomplishments

2008-04-02T20:44:00.003+09:00

After a boring month of regular "life" stuff, I have to share my latest accomplishment. I rode my bicycle through the city to the new Tokyo American Club (TAC). (In case I forgot to mention, the TAC razed their building to the ground in January and is rebuilding from scratch - they are in temporary quarters in Takanawa for two years. The new spot is not within walking distance like the old one was.)

Anyway, my friend Amanda-Jane convinced me to try riding there. I cannot believe I did it. I have been quite scared of riding the city streets. I only had one near-miss with a child, and otherwise did quite fine. If I can do this, I can do anything!

The Weinsteins Ski!

2008-02-24T19:24:00.008+09:00

This week the kids had Thursday and Friday off from school, so we decided to take a trip up to Nagano, about 4 hours north and west of Tokyo. We rented a car on Wednesday and off we went! The Hakuba area of Nagano is stunning - adorable and everything a ski-village should be. There were chalets next to the mountain, good apres-ski pubs, excellent hotels, and Japanese onsen (hot springs) all in a contained area near the mountain. You might remember that this is the area that hosted the 1998 winter olympics - and in fact, was hosting a world-cup event for disabled skiers while we were there.

Marc has been skiing since he was about 10 years old, so he enjoyed the experience from start to finish. He said the snow was excellent and the mountain trails were terrific. I, on the other hand, have just had my fourth skiing experience, so all I can say is that the beginner trails were nice and smooth! I don't love it, really, but it is such a fantastic experience and a new way in which to use my body, so I forsee a few ski trips per winter for a while.

The best part of the trip was the kids, though. Bailey took about 15 minutes to get his "ski-legs" back on after a few years, but he took off in a flash. The instructors at the ski-school at which we had the kids enrolled nicknamed him speed-demon. He and Marc spent Friday afternoon skiing together and Bailey kept up with him perfectly. Sydney was the biggest surprise! She took a lesson Thursday morning and went to daycare on Thursday afternoon because I did not want her to get over-done or overtired. Then she took lessons all day Friday. By Friday afternoon she was going up the chair-lift and skiing right down the mountain! In fact, on Sat. afternoon, she and Marc got to ski together - and she really was proud of herself. She did excellently and we were so proud OF her!

We stayed in a place called the Morino Lodge, run by a Canadian and a Scotsman who are total ski bums and they own the lodge to indulge their habits - skiing every day! Craig and Matt were both relaxed and happy people who genuinely want their guests to have a good time. They did everything they could to ensure it. We were staying in one of their tatami rooms so our "beds" were futon on the floor, but the room was quite spacious and clean. Breakfast every morning was nothing flash, but very filling coffee, toast, cereal and fruit.

The weather was absolutely perfect. Both days were "bluebirds" - perfectly blue skies and just about at the freezing level. The sun was so bright we had to wear our goggles to see properly from the glare off the snow. Saturday was snowy - almost too snowy to ski, but we all did a bit of it anyway. We came home Saturday afternoon after lunch.

After each day of skiing we went to a local onsen and relaxed. Onsen are traditional Japanese hot springs. Users take a full-on shower and then soak in the water which is over 100 degrees. The baths are separated by gender and bathers are in the buff. I swear, it is the reason the Japanese live so long - one soak and I can literally feel the stress melting off my body. After the full day of physical exertion the water felt incredible and made us ready for the next day on the slopes.

The whole thing was incredible and I'm so glad we did it. Enjoy the photos!!

Omochitsuki, February 11, 2008

2008-02-12T14:16:00.000+09:00

Yesterday the kids had Omochi pounding at their school! Omochi is a traditional Japanese treat for welcoming in the New Year - and we did it to celebrate the Chinese New Year, not the secular one. Aren't we multicultural??

Omochi are sweet, sticky rice balls. Rice is pounded by huge mallets in a ceramic bowl until it is extra-sticky, then balled and rolled into various toppings before being eaten. Anyway, the event was under the purveyance of the parents' group - and specifically the Japanese parents who knew how to do all this. They did it purposefully on a Japanese holiday so the dads could be there, too.

Each class got 30 minutes to complete the event. First they put all the kids in traditional Hapi Coats and headbands. Then each kid got a turn taking the long-handled hammer and pounding it into the hot rice. Think about it: SANCTIONED SMACKING!!! Each time the kid hit the rice, the traditional shout of YOOISHO rose through the crowd. Cheering and chanting abounded! The kids just loved it. And according to the principal, we had just about 100% parental participation. What a community!

The bowl with the pounded rice was then ferried upstairs to the big multipurpose rooms where Japanese moms stood at the ready to roll the balls and dip them into sauces. There were three different ones: brown sugar, soy sauce and seaweed, and sweet azuki beans. After the pounding the entire class trouped upstairs for tasting. Each kid tried each one and there was so much that they could come back for seconds!

The parents were so great - they had prepared everything perfectly and stayed ahead of the pounding so that there were always plenty of omochi ready for the next class. As you can see above, Marc helped with a good deal of pounding himself.

The most interesting part of the whole thing was the coming together as an international community. In addition to the Japanese contingent, there were Indian kids, French kids, American kids, Armenian kids, Korean kids - and the list goes on... All of those children and their families were uniting to take part in an ancient Japanese tradition. Enjoy the photos.

Hello Kitty Pix

2008-02-06T22:36:00.001+09:00

Hello Kitty Mania!

2008-01-28T14:34:00.000+09:00

January 28, 2008

I don’t have pictures of this yet, but I will get them: we went to Hello Kitty Place in a mall here in Tokyo. This is one of those “only in Tokyo” experiences.

The kids had the day off from school last Monday and I wanted to do something fun and special for them. Bailey had a birthday party to go to (brave parents – 10 boys and fishing rods at a local pond – of course Bailey was the one who got the hook in his finger. Don’t worry – he’s fine) so he was busy. But Sydney needed a little distraction.

My friend Amy is Japanese-American and has a daughter in Syd’s class. Malia and Syd are really great friends. We also had another little girl from the class – a Finnish girl named Aura. All three are five years old and clearly spend a lot of time together in the classroom. It is so interesting to see this Asian, European and American trio interacting with their different accents. It does not stop them from talking a mile a minute! Amy suggested this mall, La-La Port. Just the name is a little odd-sounding, I thought. It turns out that the mall is geared toward mothers and children – stores, restaurants, everything with mothers and kids in mind.

Amy drove and it took about 30 minutes to get there – it’s in Odaiba, near where they have that replica of the Statue of Liberty. There were some American stores – The Gap, Lands End, Claire’s, but most were Japanese brands of jewelry, clothes and shoes.

Lunch was an interesting affair. The restaurant we went to had a big red chandelier made of poufy balloons. Everything else in the place, from the tables to the chairs to the floor, was pink. The omelet Sydney ordered was heart-shaped, as was the mound of rice of my curry-rice dish. There was squeaky, clappy music playing in the background. The girls loved it!

After lunch we went to the Hello Kitty playground. I could not believe this place! You pay by the hour per person and they just mark your in-time. It’s so easy to say that you’re only going to be there 30 minutes – and then you end up staying an hour. Again, the girls just loved it. They got to dress in frilly costumes, put on make-up, serve tea, participate in a live Hello Kitty show (given by a woman in a blue puffy dress with multiple crinolines, chunky heels and high squeaky voice – think of every stereotype you know of cutesy.) and then jump in a ball pit. For the parents – presumably moms – there are massage chairs and a coffee bar – all of which cost extra. The girls changed outfits three times, spent as long as we’d let them in the ball pit (which had the advantage of a big ship in the back of it) and put makeup all over their faces - literally. Luckily there were wipes for afterward. Amy and I bought a throw-away camera. As soon as I have it developed (remember that???) I’ll get the pix up on the blog.

Our final destination in the mall was a chocolate shoppe. Again with the cutesy! Malia had a teddy-bear shaped cake-let, while Aura and Sydney had mini-parfaits. I had a coffee in a teeny tiny pink cup and saucer.

By then the girls were tired and I don’t blame them. They were pretty quiet in the back of the car on the way home.

By the time Sydney and I got home, Bailey was there. His friend Kalani and he had gone to the park with Minnie after the party and Sora had just picked up Kalani before I arrived. So both kids were pretty whipped. Dinner was a small affair of pasta that night before an early bedtime.

All-in-all it was an excellent day off. I’m just proud of myself because in the midst of all that pink and cute, I didn’t throw up once. I just have this crazy feeling that that’s not the last time I’ll be there…

House Photos

2008-01-14T18:07:00.000+09:00

Here are a couple of photos from our house in Tokyo!

Back in the saddle (queue the music here...)

2008-01-14T06:50:00.001+09:00

So we have now been back in Tokyo for a full week, and it feels so wonderful to be here. I am pleased to report that this is home. Our beds are here, the kids’ school is here, and we have come home to a wonderful life full of friends and laughter.
Coming into Narita last Monday was quite easy. The flight was fine – though the kids didn’t sleep much. They’re excellent travelers though; they really know how to handle the long flight. When we got to Narita, we used a luggage delivery service. With four suitcases and still needing to get into the city by train, it’s the best option and not overly expensive. We took one valise with us and left the others for delivery Tuesday morning. We proceeded to get on the train into Tokyo. When we arrived at Tokyo station, we stepped out into the city and it was already dark. The lights of the city twinkled brightly as if to welcome us. You can imagine our surprise, however, when we got into the taxi that took us home and found that the taxi rates had risen as of January 1st! Instead of starting at $6.50, they now start at $7. (Though if the dollar got stronger, that rate would effectively go down…)
Jet lag hasn’t been too bad. The kids slept through the first night and Sydney had a bit of an issue with two 4am wake-ups, but other than that we’re fine. And now, a week later, everyone is settled. The kids ran to school and practically dove into their classrooms on Tuesday morning. They were delighted to see their teachers and friends and get back into routine.
Speaking of routine, this week we’re back to our usual round of activities – ballet, hula, Japanese lessons, violin lessons, and soccer. Bailey is starting Aikido and basketball, too. That kid would take a million activities a week if I’d let him!!
Several people have asked for pix of the house, and I’ll get to that right away.

In the meantime, thanks for your care and support and I wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year! I look forward to sharing our 2008 adventures with you!

A tribute to Grammy

2007-12-23T06:00:00.000+09:00

Since early December I have been back in the U.S. with my Grandmother, who has been quite ill. I know this is a place to talk about Tokyo, but Grammy is - and will always be - one of the biggest influences in my life. She has made me what I am and who I am. She died on December 16th. Here is my speech from her memorial service.

December 19, 2007

I could stand before you today and regale you with stories of trips we took, adventures we had and have you rolling in the aisles with laughter. But I have to say, most of you are here today because you know Shirley Blumin and you know a lot of the stories. Talking to Grammy in her final days of life, what Grammy wanted us to do is concentrate on the future at today’s memorial service so in that vein, I want to give you a speech titled, “The Top Ten Lessons I Learned from the Grammy School of Thought.” These are the things that Grammy taught my cousins and me, and I dedicate them to Bailey and Sydney.

10. Accept yourself but never stop trying to improve yourself.
Grammy loved me and loved me, but she also pushed me and pushed me. She called me in mid-2003, and said, “Aimee, honey, I have cancer, NOW GET GOING AND FINISH THAT DISSERTATION!” And when I graduated about 18 months ago with my doctorate, she was with me. I gave a toast later, to my grandmother, my biggest supporter – who when the going got tough, she never gave me any sympathy, just said, “of course it’s hard! Now get your ass back in the chair and write!” When I feel unmotivated, I simply have to channel my inner Grammy.

9. Education Education Education – it’s not IF you’re going to college – it’s WHERE you’re going to college.
She truly believed that that a university education is the only path to success. But she defined success very broadly – sure, financial success is important, but it’s not the be-all and end-all either. Education gives you options about how to spend the rest of your life, introduces you to ideas and people that you would not have encountered otherwise, and gives you the ability and confidence to see the world from a position of strength.

8. Stand up for what you believe in.
I don’t even have to explain this one. Grammy always championed the underdog – and no one ever had to ask what she thought about a situation. She gave her opinion freely and threw her considerable support behind what she thought was right.

7. Find your life’s work and pursue it with passion.
After her first heart attack, Grammy lived with my family for a year when I was just five years old. Her condition forced her to take early retirement from being the assistant superintendent of schools in Trumbull, Connecticut. But this didn’t stop her. From there, she had a ranch with race-horses, had a mobile home park, a car-transport business and then on to building Tot’s Learning Center. Each of these varied careers she dove into with equal zeal. She worked hard daily.

6. Just as you work passionately, so should you play – HAVE FUN! And the corollary to that lesson: laugh at yourself!
I can see the smiles on your faces as I say this. Grammy loved the dog tracks, to eat good food, to go to the casinos, go to the movies, eat good food (oops, said that already…) and a gazillion other pleasurable pursuits. When she told the stories of her escapades, she told them with the same passion with which she lived them. And often in her stories, she herself was the butt of the joke – like the time the cruise never cruised and she lectured her grandchildren on bringing the right clothes on the airplane because we were not buying anything, but we ended up buying shoes for her because she brought one blue shoe and one black – both of them lefts. She told that self-deprecating part of the story with the same glee as she told of the rest of the adventure.

5. Give back to your community.
Grammy always had a project going on. Some of you, including her grandchildren, WERE her projects! But in all seriousness, Grammy taught me about not just giving money to a cause, but about getting involved with people and places and causes. She didn’t care what it was – she wanted me to choose my beliefs, but as long as I support them diligently.

4. Support your synagogue – teach your faith and customs to your children.
This is an interesting one. I’m not really sure what God and faith had to do with it – I’m not sure how truly religious she was or what her exact beliefs were. However, she believed strongly in the communal and familial aspects of Judaism and was zealous about her practice and this synagogue, especially about the education of the children.

3. Have a wide group of diverse friends and love and accept them unconditionally
This also I don’t need to explain to you. Grammy loved people – interesting people of all shapes, sizes, ages, beliefs, colors, etc. She would give her friends the shirt off her back and accepted people for who they are and what they could bring to her life. My Uncle Jeff reminds me of how she liked to have her “inner 100 and then the outer 200.” Grammy loved people.

2. Attend family events – the most important thing in life is to BELONG. In this family we belong to each other and with each other.
You know, Grammy has been saying this to me my whole life. And I’ve been repeating it to others as a mantra of sorts for the past 30 years. But I’ve never believed it or realized it until recently. In the last days of her life, I spent a lot of hours with Grammy. Taking care of her might have been difficult, but it was truly a gift to me. With her hospice care has come social workers, chaplains and other people designed to help the family of the patient cope with the impending death. It took me until now to truly understand the meaning of belonging and the depth of the bonds of our family. Grammy’s children and grandchildren are spread across the globe, literally. But we communicate regularly with her and with each other. She emails and calls and loves to get emails and calls. I know I can call my aunts and uncles with problems or challenges just as easily as I can call my parents. My cousins and I are family, but we’re also friends – friends with a long history. Explaining this to social workers and chaplains and the like has brought it home to me because they stressed the uniqueness of our situation in an increasingly disparate world: We’re tied together inexorably and the main thing that means is that I’m never alone. That’s what Grammy wanted for us and to impress upon us. We’re never alone. We belong to this family.

Before I give you the top lesson that I learned, I want to acknowledge my mother-in-law, Dottie Weinstein, who is here today. She’s a particular devotee to the Shirley Blumin School of Thought and she and Grammy had several discussions about this particular lesson. As Grammy and Dottie both say, THE TIME IS NOW. That’s the top lesson. THE TIME IS NOW.

Grammy did not wait to take her 85th birthday cruise or to see the tulips in Holland. If something was important to her then she did it – she didn’t wait and wonder if the time was right – she just did it. She lived her life on her terms and she showed me she loved me in so many ways every time she saw me. She made me understand that every day that I share on earth with my Mom and Dad – with my brother Alan, with my sister/cousin Jenn and of course my wonderful husband and children – is a gift not to be put off. Take opportunities as they arise – go for the gusto and experience whatever life has to offer. To me, that was her biggest and most important lesson.

These are the things that Grammy has given to me – taught me. And being faithful to my promise to her, these are the things that I will teach to Bailey and Sydney because they, along with Shaun, Isabel, Zachary, Ella and the babies yet to come in our family – are her future and her legacy.

Speed Stacks

2007-12-04T21:44:00.001+09:00

It has been long in coming, but here it is: my report on speed stacking! I have to say, the whole thing was unbelievable. It was a relatively small event: only 60 or so stackers. There was a huge range of ages - from five to sixty-five, but most were kids under 20 or so. The room was pretty large - on the ground floor of the Tokyo Tower (read: copy of Eiffel Tower...) with about 20 tables set up on the side for practice. The sound was deafening - plastic on plastic on tables for about 40 people.

The head of speed stack Japan, John Fox, welcomed everyone. There was continuous translations between English and Japanese for all speakers. He also explained all the rules. And the list of rules in enormous! There are different fouls depending if the cups fall and how they fall. If the stacker fails to touch the timer with both hands, it's a timer foul. There are different types of fumbles depending on if a cup falls on another cup or on the official mat. A cup falling over is a different fumble from a cup being knocked by an elbow. The list goes on and on... You think baseball is complex? Ha!

There are three official ways to stack - 3/3/3, 3/6/3 and the cycle. The first involves three pyramids of three cups each - stack 'em up and stack 'em down. The second involves the same thing except with 6 in the middle, and the cycle is the hardest and the most interesting. There is a precise sequence to the way the cups have to go up, down, touch on the sides, and then go up and down a final time. The stackers lined up to go before judges who gave them two practice runs before timing them three times, and keeping the lowest time as the official time. It was long.

Bailey did excellently. He is not a pro, but he handles himself like one. The neat part about the judging is that most of them use it as a teachable moment. If the child makes a mistake, the judges actually pointed out where the child went wrong and how to fix it for next time. Bailey listened intently and his teacher from school (who was present in an official capacity - judging and emcee-ing) was pleased with his performance.

While the judges tally times before final rounds, for entertainment, the stackers do relays. They break the stackers into six teams and pick a cycle. Then the first person in the line starts the clock. When he finishes his stack, he runs back to the line and tags the next person, who runs to the table, does his cycle, then finishes, and runs to the line to tag the next person. The timer stays on the whole time until the last guy in line shuts it off. The team with the lowest combined time wins. Bailey's team didn't even win one race! That's okay - they were happy and having a ball!!!

Bailey got into the finals for the 3/3/3 but didn't make it past the first round. Overall he was pleased with his performance for his first speed-stack tournament. Marc brought Bailey over there at 12:30pm, and I left with him at 4:30. It wasn' t done yet either. There were still exhibition stacks by world record holders to happen at 5:30. I just didn't want to wait around any longer. Long day.

It really was interesting overall. I swear it looks a bit like a magic trick when done that quickly. The stackers need incredible eye-hand coordination and for the faster, older kids, it appears that they have no hands because they're moving in a blur. Looking forward to next time.

Now, compare that to last Friday when Bailey ran 3 kilometers at a cross-country meet for International Schools where he came in fifth among all third graders. It was much more physically demanding, but there was less coordination involved. Any way you put it, Bailey is an incredible athlete.

Oh, don't forget the little miss: today was her last hula class. She knows a few Hawaiian words and dances beautifully. Photos for that attached too.

Hope you are well!! Love from us all to you for the holiday season.

Restaurants in Tokyo

2007-11-15T18:53:00.000+09:00

Once again we were out to dinner with Jason and Sora and I did not have my journal! Jason told me that he was going to get me a chain and hang it around my neck. Or next time, they would call me and make sure that I brought it before going out to eat!

Anyway, we were sitting at The Oak Door, a fantastic steak restaurant in the Grand Hyatt Tokyo and the two couples at the table to my right had just finished dinner and left. The wait-staff whisked over and cleared the table. All of a sudden the maitre d came over holding what appeared to be a silver water pitcher or a watering can – the spout looked large. He started squeezing the handle while holding it upright and water sprayed all over the white tablecloth. Then, behind him a server with a cordless iron quickly and efficiently pressed the cloth while still on the table. A slight bit of steam rose from the flat surface, further mesmerizing me. The bus-staff re-set the table and in minutes, the next group of four was seated.

I laughed until the tears were streaming down my face. Jason Sora and Marc were laughing too, but it might have been at me. It really was amusing. You know it IS impossible for me to eat unless I have a perfectly pressed white tablecloth!

Info and pictures from the crazy speed stacks to come…

Speed Stacking

2007-11-08T22:12:00.000+09:00

Did you know that today, November 8th, is National Speed Stacking Day? That's right folks! On this day, people across the globe will stack cups for 30 minutes, making the Guinness Book of World Records for the most amount of people stacking cups on one day. You might ask why I know this. Well, I'll tell you.

Speed Stacking is Bailey Weinstein's newest sport adventure. Yes, he literally stacks cups in a particular sequence and competes to see who gets the best time. So he will be part of the world record for 2007 for people who were stacking cups today. In addition, Speed Stacks Japan is putting on an exhibition tournament this Sunday, so Bailey will compete for a world record in his age group. I will be sure to take photos.

Fascinating life we lead, isn't it?

Halloween!

2007-11-07T22:45:00.000+09:00

November 7, 2007

Okay, it’s a week after Halloween and I’m sufficiently over the trauma enough to write about it. Yes, it was traumatic for the parents – fun for kids and traumatic for parents.
First of all, the last time we went trick-or-treating with the kids in Tokyo was October 2004. At that time, Sydney was 2 and Bailey was 5. It was the first time that the “gai-jin” (foreigner) area of Tokyo was celebrating Halloween and it was lovely. There was a route-map put out by a few people in the Moto-Azabu area and it listed about 15 homes that would be receptive to children ringing their doorbells. It was a wonderful afternoon/evening.
This time was quite different. Apparently, Halloween has caught on in Tokyo – especially in this area. For all of October, there were pumpkin and candy displays in all of the shops – even the convenience stores. There were pumpkins for sale at the flower shops. There were even Halloween items for sale in various places – costumes, etc.
We were invited to a party at our friends the McHugh’s house. Ann and Shaun are Americans and they have three kids – their daughter is 10, their son is 7 and their little daughter is 2. They intended to have a light dinner for the kids before trick-or-treating. When I showed up with Bailey after his speed stacking class (yes, they stack plastic cups for sport…more on that another time…) there were already a few people there. Minnie arrived with Sydney a few minutes later. Ahem, I mean that Minnie arrived with TINKERBELL a few minutes later. Bailey quickly changed into his Obi Won Kenobi costume and was quickly joined by a Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker and a Darth Vader or two thrown in for good measure. Can you see the boys’ theme? Well, it turns out that there were 35 kids at Saint Ann’s house, along with about 20 adults. Next year, if she does it again, I am buying her a halo.
We all ate and laughed for about 90 minutes. Ann had pizza, a fantastic chicken salad, fruit, veggies – simple and kid-friendly stuff that was still yummy for adults. There were, of course, proper drinks (read: wine and beer) for the adults. One of the reasons Ann takes it upon herself to do this is that her apartment is right in the center of Moto-Azabu, where the expats live and the kids want to trick-or-treat. So we knew that when we went out, we’d be able to get to the proper houses right away.
Then we took to the streets. I don’t know what I expected, but this wasn’t it. There were throngs of people. No, that doesn’t adequately describe it. There were hundreds of people. There were Japanese people, European people, American people and I’m sure some Africans for good measure. There were children of all ages and a myriad of accompanying adults. The frightening thing is that since all of the kids were in costume, there really wasn’t a definitive method of necessarily telling who was who and we couldn’t tell kids apart in some cases. Some Japanese people were out with little babies dressed in wee costumes that looked mighty uncomfortable to me. But the majority of the throng was still white people looking to have a little bit of home in their away-from-home lives. In addition, we were out on city streets for heavens sake, and there were cars with which to contend, few as they were. There were a number of times where other mothers joined me in screaming at the top of my lungs “Car!! Move to the side of the street!!”
We all tried to stay together with our friends, but it really proved to be impossible as we snaked through the streets, searching for lights that were on outside of houses, indicating friendliness to trick-or-treaters. At every house we had to push the kids forward into the fray so they could muscle their way to the door and get some candy. I still have no clue if they ever uttered the words “trick or treat’ or if they ever said thank you. There was no way that Marc and I were going to get into the middle of the mix of munchkins. Thank goodness for Minnie – she was so excited to be out there with the kids that she kept a tight rein on Sydney and we could easily follow Bailey because he often checked back with us. Marc’s and my roles were to follow. It was utter chaos until we had had enough. As we neared our neighborhood, we told the kids that it was time to go inside. They hit a few houses right near ours, said goodbye to whichever few friends were near them and we scurried into the safety and relative quiet of our own home.
I had put a bowl of candy out on our front step in apology for not being home, but since our house is up a hill and not precisely on the route, only half of it was gone. I knew some people who ran out of candy after the 200th guest. My friend and landlady, Yumi, told me that they bussed in children from outlying areas because they knew that our little section of the city has all of the expats and would have the candy ready for them. This is very very different from our last experience of Tokyo Halloween. And it’s extremely different from my lovely neighborhood party and relatively sedate trick-or-treating.
So now we’re done with it for a year and I will be more mentally prepared next time. We still have a big bowl full of candy, much to my diet’s chagrin, but the kids are good at not over-doing it all at once.
I know that in the States you will now start the run-up to Thanksgiving and then the countdown ‘til Christmas. I will be thinking of you as you do it. It’s quite interesting to be away at this time of year.

Wishing you calm and peace-
Aimee (writing with a glass of wine on the desk beside her…)

2007-11-05T15:42:00.000+09:00

November 5, 2007

A few weeks ago, the kids had holiday from school so Marc and I decided to take them to Osaka for the weekend. Osaka is not generally a tourist hotbed, but there were several things we wanted to see, and Marc is there so often for business that I felt like I wanted to see it for myself.
The distance to Osaka from Tokyo is more than the distance between New York and Washington DC, but by Shinkansen, bullet train, is less than two and a half hours. I am telling you: Shinkansen is the way to travel. First of all, there are no airport lines to deal with – no immigration, security, or anything. We arrived at the train station at 8:20 for an 8:45 train. The seats are huge, there is a ton of legroom, and if we wanted to get up and walk around, we just did it. The cart comes through the aisle every hour or so which means that there is often food or drink to buy if we needed it. The funny thing is that the conductor and woman (it’s always a woman…) pushing the food cart do not leave the train car without turning around to bow to the passengers.
Osaka is quite a different city from Tokyo. First of all it’s more industrialized; it’s a business city in a way that Tokyo is not. Sections of Tokyo are devoted to business interests, but most of Osaka is based on it being a port city and mercantile center. According to my Lonely Planet Guide published in 2005, Osaka has a bigger individual GDP than all but eight countries of the world. It was razed to the ground during WWII and then built back up quickly so its architecture is eclectic and uninspiring. The people there are less refined – and the women especially are not as elegant and well-dressed. For some strange reason (Marc insists it’s to separate itself from Tokyo) escalators work backwards from in Tokyo. In Tokyo we stand left and walk right. In Osaka, it’s the opposite.
We arrived on Saturday morning and left our bags at our hotel. We stayed at a pretty nice place called the New Hankyu. Hotels in Japan have rules about how many people can stay in a room – so we didn’t have many choices because we were four people in a room. They don’t really do roll-away beds – we had one hotel room with four single beds crammed into it. Not ideal, but we really didn’t care.
We had three goals in going to Osaka: first, we wanted to see the huge aquarium that is supposed to be one of the largest in Asia. Second, we wanted to go to Universal Studios Japan, and third, we wanted to go to see the Osaka castle built in the sixteenth century.
The aquarium, which we did on Saturday, was stunning. It was built around a huge tank that housed a humungous whale shark and the largest manta ray that we had ever seen. They tried to recreate natural environments for things like sea lions and penguins. But really the attraction was the way that the tank in the middle of the building was able to display sea life from eight different levels of the ocean as we started from the top and then wended our way down through the displays. The variety of sea life that we saw was simply astonishing – from the huge ray to the jellyfish that was no larger than my thumb. The kids really enjoyed it and spent quite a long time watching the dolphins play around in their tank.
Saturday night we went out for Okanamiyaki for dinner. Billed as a Japanese pizza, this is anything but. It starts with a pancake – yep, a regular pancake. Then on top of that, they place various sauces, vegetables, meats and other unidentifiable items. We ordered in a fairly indiscriminate fashion and just tasted. One of them had shrimp and squid on it. The cool thing was that the middle of the table was a type of bar-b-que and so the waiter brought the various types of okanamiyaki and they sizzled away in the middle of the table while we ate parts of them. The kids ate it really well. Bailey has become quite adept with the chopsticks, and Sydney is no longer really struggling, though sometimes she asks for a fork.
After dinner we went to the 8th floor of a nearby building to a “sweets museum” which had various shops all dedicated to dessert. Of course we ended up eating ice cream. We’re willing to taste food adventurously, but for dessert we are more reticent. How odd is that???
Sunday we did something totally crazy: we went to Universal Studios Japan. Yep, it’s just like the American version. One major difference: it’s all in Japanese. The weather was perfect – sunny, sparkling and seventy. We bought one of those express passes that allowed us to get into the front of most lines and we rode whatever we wanted. We went on the Spiderman ride, Shrek Adventure, the Back to the Future ride, and then saw the Blues Brothers in Concert. They even drove up to the stage in their trademark black car. Here’s the catch on it all though: besides the Blues brothers show, everything was in Japanese. So on rides like E.T. or Spiderman, the point is to listen to the story and the ride will take the guest on an adventure with the movie character. Well, it didn’t quite work like that for us. We could barely understand anything that was happening through the line or during the greeting parts. We simply followed the crowd to get on the line and then rode. At the end of the day, a ride is a ride, right? Well, the kids thought so. It was a typical amusement park day: we played all day, the kids were wiped out, and we all went to bed early.
Both Sunday and Monday mornings we went to the breakfast buffet in the hotel. That was an experience. Think of every food you can imagine and it was there. They had the Western style eggs, bacon and cereal. They had rice and fish and seaweed. They had kimchi. They had Chinese dumplings. They had yogurt and fruit. They had a small salad bar. There was a spot to make Udon noodles in soup. Of course there was coffee and tea, but they had an array of juices as well. We were stuffed!! It’s funny because Bailey and I are breakfast people. Sydney and Marc ate dumplings and rice.
Monday we went to see the Osaka castle. It was simply breathtaking. It was commissioned by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the man who unified Japan and he wanted it to be the seat of his power. It took 100,000 workers three years to build the supposedly impregnable castle out of granite and it was finished in 1583. However, it was destroyed by the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu, 1615 when he wanted to unseat Hideyoshi and take over the ruling of Japan. It took the Shogun 10 years to rebuild it. It was destroyed by another clan of Shogun in 1868 rather than let it fall to the forces of the Meiji Restoration when the Shogun’s rule officially ended. It is not refurbished inside to look like it once did, as so many things are on the island of Kansai – especially in Kyoto. But there is an impressive museum chronicling the history of the castle and showing various artifacts of the times. The observation deck on the eighth floor has spectacular and crisp views of the entire city. It was fascinating.
For lunch we went to the longest shopping street in Japan. It is not anything touristy –it’s regular shops that people need in everyday life: a drugstore, a market, small restaurants, a few boutique clothing stores. We really didn’t buy anything, but just ate a late lunch. We hunted around for a little bit to find the best spot we could for a bowl of Udon noodles. Apparently, just to distinguish Osaka further from Tokyo, in Osaka one is supposed to eat Udon, while in Tokyo one enjoys Soba.
We sort of “fell” into this little noodle shop which had Udon in the window. It was delicious! They taught us to grind up the sesame seeds with the mortar and pestle and then put it in the cold dipping sauce for the hot noodles. Simply yummy. I think if you asked the kids, that was their favorite meal. (Besides the wacky, huge breakfast, and the American-style burgers at Universal.) One funny note: they asked Marc to check the English on their English menu that they were preparing to print for the first time. Marc deferred to me, the writing professor. I made one tiny correction and assured them that their menu was very understandable.
After the huge breakfast and late lunch, we ate snacks on the train home – not any real dinner. We felt over-food-ed.
We had playdates and other little visits for the rest of the week until Friday, which was our magic day: our shipment from the U.S. arrived. Between the movers working tirelessly both Friday and Saturday and Minnie’s magic, we were pretty well arranged by Sunday night. Our furniture looks beautiful in the house – it’s not too big – and we are now very ready for guests.
The kids were ready to start school again on Monday and I was ready to begin our normal life again. What was interesting was that I didn’t realize how unsettled I still felt until we got our things here and into the rooms and I suddenly relaxed. Our bed. My coffeemaker. The kids’ toys. It was warm and familiar, and we were thankful. We lost a few glasses, but that was it – the movers on both ends did a spectacular job.
I will try to write more often and in little bits from now on. I hope you are well and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Much love,
Aimee

A Note from Bailey!

2007-10-10T20:37:00.000+09:00

At camp I had fun. The fun things that I did were hiking, museum and tennis. One time my class went on hike around a volcano. The volcano erupted 3 years ago. We went on another hike and found volcano rocks. We also saw a lake. There was museum on the volcano. The museum was a volcano museum. I spent 3 days at camp. At camp I slept on futons. For breakfast I Had rice, seaweed and cereal. One time we went to big park. At big park there was a zip line. Also there was a big slide. The bus ride was 2 hours. At camp there was a tennis court. Before we left each group made up a play. My play was “Uno.” Some kids were cards and some were decks. There were 8 people in my group. I can’t wait till next year.

Quick note of the day

2007-10-09T17:34:00.001+09:00

I have a bank account. For those of you who have been aware of my banking issues, this is a big deal. And, now that we have proper visas and proper alien registration cards, I only had one teeny-tiny problem at the bank: bad handwriting. Yep. Bad handwriting. They made me re-do the entire form because my handwriting was bad and it was hard to read my name. Do your own interpretation on the societal impact. Can you see me grinning???

Notes from the Day - Japanese style

2007-10-02T21:59:00.000+09:00

2007 October 2

Some observations from the day, in new blog-snippet format!

I had to go back to the Minato Ward office today to pick up my alien registration card. I walked out of the train station and followed a woman with a backpack. As I walked toward the ward office, she remained in front of me. I took a shortcut to the front door of the office through the parking area. She did not – the walked the full L-shape up the sidewalk and the path directly to the front door. I couldn’t help thinking, “uh, that’s so Japanese!” They follow the rules!!

Speaking of rules, I had a complete 5-year-old temper tantrum last week in the bank. Marc and I had applied for our alien registration cards before we received our official long-term visas. The card takes a month to get and in the interim, we got a “green sheet” (so labeled because the paper on which it is printer is green…) that listed our names, addresses, and alien registration numbers, along with our length of stay. In order to get a bank account, a foreigner needs to have a long-term visa and an alien registration card, but the green sheet will usually suffice in lieu of the actual card. Well, my alien registration card end-date did not match my long-term visa. Citibank said that it was against the rules for them to open a bank account for me. I railed, I shouted, and I cried. I yelled that I wasn’t looking to take their money; I wanted to GIVE them money. The bankers continued to look at me and quietly shake their heads no. I should know better by now. If the rules say that the dates have to match, then the dates have to match. I was still crying when I left the bank. I had just come from another frustrating errand trying to get a new violin bow for Bailey and then it started to rain on me. Of course I didn’t have an umbrella. Sigh. Luckily, as my father taught me, there is no problem that cannot be solved, or at least allayed by Haagen Daaz Chocolate-chocolate-chip ice cream, which we can get here in single-serve cups…

One of the treats of the weekend was meeting a terrific new friend. Michelle is a Kiwi (i.e. from New Zealand) and she has one son in each of my kids’ classes. She has an older daughter in the upper elementary class as well. Her husband runs the Japan office of the dairy of New Zealand. She is fun and silly and likes to drink wine. She is a banker, working for the Bank of Australia/New Zealand, but I’ll try not to hold that against her. She and the kids and I (and her visiting mum) ate pizza and let the kids play for hours. Quite a fantastic time, really. I am looking forward to many such visits together.

Today I had a haircut, my first since being here. I forgot how amazingly wonderful it is. Luckily, Takano-san, my stylist from our first foray here, is still at the same salon, so I got to go back to her. First of all, they use a lap-blanket whenever you’re seated so that your legs shouldn’t get cold. When they wash your hair (which they do AFTER the cut) they do a fantastic head massage, followed by a hot towel on your hairline and another under your neck. And there’s no tipping. I got a fifteen-minute hair-wash for free. And the haircut is the same price as in the U.S. – perhaps less if you include the tip. The whole thing is so experiential – from being greeted by every person in the shop, to being walked to the door and having Takano-san bow as I leave.

Tomorrow will be an early morning for us – Bailey is leaving for camp. Let’s face it: this is not camp like with tents and stuff. They’re staying at a traditional Japanese inn about two hours north of the city – so they’ll have tatami mats and futons on which to sleep. They’ll also have that fabulous Japanese bath (ofura – manmade, not onsen – natural spring) in which to bathe/shower as well as fantastic food. If it wasn’t for the 60 kids on the trip I’d want to go with him! But anyway, I’m hoping I can get him to write a bit for you next week.

Write soon – miss you!

One Night with Jason and Sora

2007-09-30T14:18:00.000+09:00

By now I should know better than to go out on the town with Jason and Sora Kwan and not have my camera and journal. In just one night we had several adventures worth describing.

To start, I must mention that it rained all day on Saturday. Bailey played with Kalani and Jason played with Marc, but Sora and I were with our younger kids all day. It worked out fine and I actually enjoyed spending the day with Sydney, but by the time 6:45pm rolled around, I was ready to go out.

Our first adventure happened on our ride to the restaurant. We were headed into the Marounochi area of town - it's the only area of Tokyo with both big, tall buildings, and wide, opulent streets. It is a true business center. We were on the side of the Imperial Palace Garden when we noticed all manner of police presence in front of us. All of a sudden we realized that there was a matsuri (festival) in progress!

At Sora's request, we opened the windows and could hear the tinkling of that distinctly Japanese sound of mikoshi (portable shrines) music. There were about 30 men and women around this huge float-like vehicle. All of them were dressed in traditional garb - yukata - and shouting in unison as they pushed the mikoshi forward. There was no motor on the float, and it was taller and broader than anything you'd see in the Rosebowl Parade! There were several people on it protecting and adorning the shrine, and there was a little building right on the float, in which there was a ladder leading up to the top of it. There were electric lights on it because, remember, it was 7pm or so, and completely pitch black. The second shrine we saw was completely covered in red Chinese lanterns with women on it. The festival, Sora was able to read, was the town festival of an area north of Tokyo - they bring the portable shrines to Tokyo from the main temple up north to parade with them. We are not sure why.

The police had us stopped for the time it took for nearly 3 shrines to pass, but we didn't mind. We were in prime viewing position. At one point Marc stuck his cellphone out the window and took a photo and we know enough Japanese to know that a few of the shrine-pushers thought it was hysterical that a "gai-jin" (foreigner) would take a picture of it. It was a truly amazing sight to see these huge floats pushed by the throng of men all out of respect and devotion to the gods.

For dinner, we had tapas. Of course we had to have sangria - two pitchers for three of us - Marc prefers beer to sangria, and Jason was driving. Okay, two pitchers of Sangria for Sora and me, with Jason drinking off the top. The restaurant was called Muy, and gave us a small, private room overlooking the street. The food was tremendous. We had mussels in garlic and wine, served on the half-shell with bread for sopping up the sauce. We had chicken in garlic. We had shrimp in garlic with more sop-up-bread. It was delectable - and presented so beautifully. We also had one order of paella to share. This the waiter divided up into four bowls for us. Sora and I got a whole shrimp on top of our bowls. The head and tentacles were right there still on it. "Look honey," I said mockingly, "just like in the U.S.!" Can you imagine an American restaurant serving shrimp tentacles on top of the bowl?

Public note to my friend James in England, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law Don and Doria, friends Scott and Cathy Grzybek, and my in-laws, Dottie and Paul: just like at the tempura restaurant: get past the way it looks and get it in your mouth - you'll be glad you did! Remember that??? For those of you who don't know what we mean, come visit and we'll show you! Now there's a challenge for you.

Whenever Jason, Sora, Marc and I are together, there is the obligatory talk about American vs. Asian culture. If you remember, Jason is Singaporean-Chinese and Sora is Korean, but has spent much of her life in Japan, so speaks in fluent Japanese as well as English. Both of them speak English the way I do - partially because of their upbringing, but also partially because they are American-educated - at Boston University. This time the talk was of American obesity rates. I'm not sure if you saw it, but in August there was an American study saying that obesity is not just genetic, but also based on people's communities - their friends. We have discovered that to be true. Here, both Marc and I feel tremendous pressure to be thin. Everyone is so thin that being the fat person of the group feels terrible. So we eat less because of the food itself and the portions, but also because we really do not want to gain weight! We all agreed that the first thing we notice upon entering the U.S. is the size of the people - in height and weight. The Kwan family has trouble finishing one dessert with dinner and our family might be able to eat three of them!

Speaking dessert, we ordered three small ones, shared them, and left some over. One was rice pudding, one was creme brulee, and the other was a baked apple. I'm still wondering: are those Spanish, Japanese or what???

As we were leaving, since Jason had driven, we got the parking ticket validated and brought it down to the machine. Like any other parking garage I've seen, Jason put the parking ticket in first, followed by the validation tickets. We were 200 yen short, so Marc threw in the money. The machine then said, "arigato gozaiemas" - thank you very much, and spit the ticket back out. What struck me as funny was the screen as it talked: it was a cartoon character - a woman, in full-on bow. Her hands were drawn folded in front of her and we could only see the top of her head. She was bowing properly from the waist. I guess they really wanted to thank us! Sora commented that she's seen better ones - animated ones where the woman on the screen goes up and down, action bowing as she thanks the user. We all laughed.

So then we proceded to hop into the car and drive out of the garage. As we pulled up to the bar separating us from the street, I expected Jason to stop, put down his window, and put the paid ticket into the machine before the bar rose. Instead, we pulled up toward the bar and it automatically rose. I wondered aloud how that happened. Sora explained that with every ticket initially issued, the machine takes a photo of the car. Then the machine is able to tell that we paid. The machine is able to match the photo from entry with the fact that the ticket was paid and put up the bar automatically as we approached the it. Unbelievable.

One more story for you: Sora said that she was thinking of me last week and regretted not having her camera with her at the time. Apparently she was outside of a convenience store that had just been gutted and re-done. Inside she noticed workers preparing to put the merchandise back onto the shelves. (Since she can understand Japanese, she often knows what people are doing when I don't.) There must have been fifteen workers standing together in this pristine, new convenience store that was getting ready to re-open. She said that all of them were standing around in their stocking feet in the new store. Even though the floors would be tromped on by thousands of people daily in only a few weeks, they wanted to preserve the sanitary environment as long as possible. BUT what was funnier to Sora was the fact that just outside the store on the sidewalk was a thin, blue tarpulein. On it were fifteen pairs of shoes perfectly and pristinely lined up so that each of the workers could easily step right back into them and walk out. Neatness over everything. Again, unbelievable.

So this time I do not have photos to post for you, but I will in the future. Let me know how you like the blog format. And I promise to start carrying my camera more often. And I double promise not to go out with Sora and Jason without a full-on readiness pack of camera and journal! How lucky we are to have such lovely friends.

Today, Sunday, it is raining raining raining. It was 86 and sunny on Friday - 67 and rainy both Saturday and Sunday. Crazy. But it does put into balance the fact that we LIVE here. We're not tourists and it's okay to spend a rainy Sunday indoors - we're not wasting time.

Cheers to everyone; please write to me with all of your news. Send email with personal stuff because any comments left here are in the public domain!

Running in Tokyo

2007-09-30T14:15:00.000+09:00

Recently I’ve been taking a run in the morning. I know that technically walking around this huge city should be enough exercise, but it’s not organized, my heart-rate isn?t up enough even though my legs are worked out, and my brain is focused on the destination, not on the exercise. Through the grace of Sandy, my fabulous neighbor in Virginia, and her cohorts, Genie and Jennifer, I’ve become quite the promoter of exercise as a mind-clearing event. About three times a week the four of us would walk/run for about 3 miles at 6am. We’ve been doing it together for over two years - through the heat, the cold and everything in between. We draw the line at hard rain and snow, though - we want to be healthy, but safe.

So now I’m on my own here in Tokyo and I want to continue these wonderful traditions because not only does my body feel better with the running, so does my brain. About two weeks ago I devised a route that took me about 50 minutes to complete and ran it a few times at 6am. This past Thursday, since I didn’t have to get up for the kids school or work - it was Rosh Hashanah (separate message on that) I decided to run at 6:45am.

Before we go any further, I am a morning person. I am at my best in the morning and I always have been. Ask my dad about my adventures as a teenager - he never had to worry about me coming in after midnight - I couldn’t stay awake that long! I’m up early and I go to bed semi-early. It’s been my habit since childhood.

What I discovered is that I love being out at 6am, and if I start at 6:45, the city is already a different place.

First of all, by 6:45, there are significantly more people on the road than there are at 6am. There’s an increase in both pedestrian traffic and vehicle traffic. I had to run around people on the sidewalk and stop for oncoming cars at traffic lights. At 6, I can run through most intersections, regardless of the signal light, since there aren’t any cars. Most people commute into the center of Tokyo from the suburbs -Tokyo is urban sprawl like Los Angeles - and the day starts at all varying times. But my house is near, if not in the center of Tokyo, so people are commuting TO here. That is why the hour makes a big difference.

One of my favorite spots on the morning run has always (even last time we were in Japan) been the walking bridge over Tengenjibashi, near Hiroo. It’s a big square OVER the city streets accessible to pedestrians only by steps at each of the four corners of the crossing. These days I can run up the steps and around the entire bridge. It must be funny to see me though - I run up and down the same set of steps when most people use the bridge to cross the street and go across one way. I go all the way around. From the bridge I can see all four directions. At 6:15 or so, I see the last bit of pink waning in the sky from the sunrise, which is not visible at 7. The street in one direction has cars driving toward the intersection lazily, slowly, at 6:15, while the traffic races to the light at 7. People spill out from every which way at 7, whereas it’s so quiet at 6:15 - quiet enough to hear the wind ripple through the few misplaced trees nearby, even though I-m above them.

When I start my run at 6am, I see mama-sans outside of their little shops sweeping the sidewalk preparing for the day. Some are even watering the sidewalk to clean it more fully. Each shopkeeper is responsible for the stretch of sidewalk in front of his or her shop. By 6:45, most are done for the morning, so there is not even a lingering ”Ohio Gozaiemas” (Good morning) to resonate as I run. I must say, a major problem of running on my route is the two fantastic bakeries that I pass. The smells wafting from them border on insane as the bakers inside prepare for the morning rush of people who stop in for a sweet bread and a coffee before work. Starting my run at 6am means that I see the windows with the shades drawn tightly and can only imagine the soft, chewy treats inside. If I start at 6:45, I can actually see the treats in the window and the bakery preparing to open for the day. It is an excellent thing that I wasn’t carrying any money with me!

Just as a note, I pass many bars on my route, along with shops, office buildings and two hotels. My favorite bar is called the Hang-o bar. Yep, the slogan on the sign is something like “Hang-O bar - be ready for a hang over!” My second favorite is a bar called Tangent. The sign outside says “open from sunset to sunrise.” I have yet to go into these establishments, but one day perhaps I might!

The main difference between 6am and 6:45 is that at 6, the city is just waking up, putting on its best “bib and tucker” and preparing for its day. And that’s what I’m doing: taking time for me to clear my head and mentally prepare for the challenges that are sure to greet me during the day. At 6:45 and later, the city has already woken up and I feel that I’ve missed something in the preparations and perhaps in my own readying for the day ahead. I do love this city. There are a thousand challenges to it -the main one right now being the ungodly and unending heat - but I love it. My commitment to 6am runs proves it.