Tokyo arrival

You're absolutely correct. Pass me my bottle of sake and I'll get this story started...

Our stay in Tokyo was surprisingly excellent. Tokyo is not our favorite city in Japan, but the hotel we stayed at did its best attempt to win us over. The bellhop went out of his way to explain everything in English, and even went back downstairs to the lobby to pick up a children's bath set for Locutus.

We woke up quite early on our first morning in Tokyo. Locutus declined his socks and shoes and so we put him in the baby carrier for our errands.

We exchanged our vouchers for our rail passes, then sauntered over to the Imperial Gardens for a stroll. The gardens are several city blocks of immaculately groomed grass and Japanese pines, with a wide gravel path to traverse. The Imperial palace itself is off limits, but the outer grounds were turned into a very pleasant park. The notable landmarks were a statue, a bridge, and rows and rows of Japanese pines.

The sky was sunny and clear, the temperature too warm for a jacket. The paths were filled with people on their way to work. We both remarked what a tough commute that would be. The park has several running courses set out. And at the hub where all these courses connected, there was a giant stone monolith with a clock for runners to monitor their times.

 

 

We arrived back at the station around the time most stores were opening up.

Since we were all still adjusting to the time change, we decided to forgo visiting the Meiji Jinja shrine and park complex and instead travel to Kyoto while Locutus napped. The ride was uneventful, aside from the half dozen Japanese that had to come over and compliment our beautiful son.

Upon arrival, we wandered Kyoto a while on foot while Locutus napped in the carrier. I was heartened to see throngs of school children carrying their English dialogue books! Tomorrow, we shall ambush the ambushers! We will be in Kyoto for a few days, seeing a mix of old and new sights.

We eventually settled on a hotel, grabbed some dinner, and retired to the hotel room to relax and adjust our internal clocks to local time.

Well...

We walked the Philosophers Path, shopped Kiyomizu-dera twice, talked to three crazy old men, and toured the palace and fortifications of Nijo Castle. Not to mention the fact that Locutus has charmed over 40,000 girls and been an unbelievable trooper the entire time. Our visit to Kyoto is an unqualified success, no doubt about it!

I think...I've got it! We're supposed to blog about it!

Hey Jenn

Wow. This vacation is awesome. We've finally visited the Silver Pavilion, wandered the tranquil paths of Honen-in shrine, revisited Enkando temple to admire the finished restoration and briefly admired the sights of Nanzen-ji from a distance.

But somehow I get the feeling that we're forgetting something. Something I can't quite put my finger on...

What Time Is It?

It's 4:30. That's not late! No, it's early, early, early!

Here we are in a Tokyo hotel room at an entirely too early time of morning. We're trying everything we can think of to keep Locutus happy and quiet until it's a more reasonable hour and we can exchange our vouchers for train tickets, get food, and go tour the Imperial Gardens. I was going to try to post some pictures, but the only ones I've snapped so far are on my iPhone and the new computer and iPhone aren't playing too well together yet.

Locutus has made a bunch of new friends already, including one of the flight attendants. He spent take off leaning over the arm rest of his chair and waving back and forth with her, completely oblivious to the fact that the giant metal tube we were speeding along in was leaving terra firma. That was the beginning of a beautiful 10 hour friendship.

Locutus did not need any of the gravol and took to the entire flying experience very well. He spent so much time in each of the galleys on the plane that he now knows where to find extra napkins, chopsticks, and, most importantly, the beer. He was very warm on the plane (as were Lance and I - I think running up and down the aisles helped contribute to this a little) so it wasn't long before he'd stripped down to a diaper and socks. Even then he was drawn to the very back of the plane where it was refrigerated.

The most confusing part so far has been for the Japanese immigration, customs, and hotel clerks who just don't understand where the rest of our baggage is. They were all very concerned that we had forgotten something. Luckily, aside from not having a writing instrument for our customs forms, it looks like we did remember everything.

Our hotel was easy to find. Very close to Tokyo station. However, Tokyo station is at least the size of Metrotown and we had to walk from one end to the other first in order to get to the exit next to our hotel. The lobby has a train set of Tokyo in it! The staff even ran over to turn it on for me when I was showing it to Locutus. They also have provided an adorable 'children's amenity set' that has a cute little bag with a children's wash cloth, kid size slippers, and a toothbrush & paste set. To show his appreciation, our son is helping them arrange the hotel room properly by relocating the waste bin to the middle of the hallway, tv remote to the bathroom floor, and liberally decorating with bits of torn up toilet paper. I'm sure they'll thank us on the way out!

Weather Forecast

Just in case you were wondering about the kind of weather we'll be having in Japan while we're gone, here are a couple of screenshots I took this morning while checking the weather (yes I'm at that vacation prep stage where you check your destination weather every morning too).

Technically we start in Tokyo, but we're only staying a very short time there. Then it'll (probably) be on to Kyoto. After that we head to Fukuoka.

These are about ideal weather conditions for us. A bit of rain, cool temperatures, but not too cold. I'll be able to get away with a t-shirt (& jacket) and Lance is already debating whether he's even going to bother with a jacket at all.

Japan Trip Beginner's Mind

There's a zen concept called 'Beginner's Mind.' It encourages you to look at things as though you are a beginner. To experience the full scope of wonder and newness of things. Part of the experience of parenting is having the opportunity to experience beginner's mind as you look at the world through the eyes of your child and see them experience things as a true beginner for the first time. And, part of the experience of this trip for Benevolance and I will be watching our son Locutus experience so many things as a beginner. (For those who don't know, Locutus is his screen name.)

Part of what comes with the beginner's mind experience for me is some anxiety and fear that comes with facing new situations. I've never traveled with a small child before and all the 'what if's' are continually racing through my mind. My mantra is 'do not borrow tomorrow's sorrow' as a reminder that I cannot control or predict what will happen.

It helps that we're keeping out travel routine as close to normal as possible. So, we're still flying carry-on only! And we're keeping our schedule flexible and open. So while we do have a list of things we want to do, a reservation in a hotel for our first night, and a plan to watch as much sumo as possible, we are free to be as flexible as possible. Which I think will work well when traveling with Locutus. If he's got a major cranky day, we don't have to get on a long train ride where he'll be more confined (except for the last days where we will need to get back to the airport for our flight). Instead we can play in a park or explore some city streets where his shouts and cries will simply add to the symphony of noises, and not cause (as much) irritation to others.

So keep checking back in this space (or subscribe to the blog if you are more technically advanced) for updates and stories along the way.

JAPAN III - Return of the Gaijin

In a move that caught absolutely nobody by surprise, we are trekking once more to the land of the rising sun. We have wintered in Japan; we have sprunged in Japan: at long last, it's time for autumn.

The juxtaposition of city and nature creates a wonderful backdrop to experience the seasonal variations. In many ways, it's not so dissimilar to Vancouver. As the cool, fall nights creep in, Vancouver's tree-line ignites with bright oranges and reds against that ever-present backdrop of evergreen. Nature's fireworks on display.

Yet subtle differences do exist: Japan does autumn with a good deal less rain than Vancouver; the temperatures remain modestly warmer well into December; and the laws on public consumption of alcohol are far more palatable. But most important of all: Japan does autumn while enormously-strong, nearly-naked men attempt to hurl one another bodily from a raised clay platform. It's non-stop, winner-takes-all, man-on-man action for fifteen days.

It's the Kyushu Grand Sumo tournament. And we're going to be there.