School holiday fun

We've been blown away with the amazing facilities available in Tokyo for kids. Despite a few lazy pyjama mornings during the easter holidays we spent a pretty active two weeks exploring our city. We were lucky to have my in-laws visit from South Africa during this time and we had a great holiday together.

One day we took a trip to Odaiba - a modern, artificial island in Tokyo bay and popular entertainment hub with lots of stuff to do ranging from shopping arcades, amusement parks, legoland and more. A few months ago, some friends took Ath and I to Odaiba one evening to Ooedo Onsen Monogatari (a recreated edo village with lots of food stalls and a great onsen). I was keen to come back to explore more so we took the kids on the monorail over the rainbow bridge to see Odaiba. Although there was some confusion initially about which was the best end of the train to ride (as the train had no driver) the views were great. The kids loved playing at Decks Tokyo Beach. Nothing like the white sand of Bondi but it served the purpose of a play on a beach and Jonah found some Japanese kids to hijack for  buckets ad spades.

Tokyo boasts some amazing open spaces. Bike riding in Yoyogi Park is becoming a sunday afternoon ritual and during the holiday we also tried the 'mud park' opposite Yoyogi.  Its your typical 'olden day' park: basic, simple, lots of tyres and mud. What more could 3 youngsters desire. There are no slides or climbing frames but resourcefulness has resulted in such a fun place to get dirty. The sandpit had real cooking utensils and pots and pans, there were wheelbarrows to ride in, tyres suspended from trees for swinging and a wood sawing area. I had to drag my kids out of there. Once we got home I piggy backed the 3 of them, caked in mud, upstairs to the shower before we stepped foot onto our carpets.

As there were still some cherry blossoms around mid April we took a trip to Hama Rikyu Gardens one day - beautiful landscaped Japanese gardens on the Sumida river near Shimbashi station. Very pretty and although a bit of a trek with kids and strollers this really gives you the sense of a green haven in the midst of bustling urban life.

Another lovely park during Sakura week was Inokashira Park and Zoo. Although Im not really a zoo person, it worked for our crew: small and manageable with a great kids playground and small amusement area.  Although the elephant looked really unhealthy there were lots of happy scurrying Guinea pigs in a large petting area. Rach was a natural and loved holding them while Anna tried but just couldn't do the claws on her lap - it was quite entertaining watching her scream.

Another fun outing was to Tokyo Sea Life Park - an awesome aquarium about 15 minute train ride from Tokyo Station. We had a long walk through the station but it was worth the commute. Rachel was taken with the penguins. Anna loved patting the sting rays and baby sharks and we all loved the massive tank of huge tuna fish. Super cool! It continues to amaze me how these incredible facilities such as Tokyo Sea Life & Inokashira Park zoo are free for kids. Love the Japanese logic.

Probably one of the most fantastic outings for kids we've seen in Tokyo was the athletic park called Mori Koen Field Athletic Course. 100Y to get in ($1) and about 10 hours of entertainment. This place is a gem with about 36 obstacle courses the kids have to challenge like climbing giant ropes and wood jungle gyms really high. They have courses across ponds (Tom Sawyer style) and have to climb walls using ropes and bars.  Some Japanese friends took us - and it's one of those places your children will remember for a lifetime.  Amazing amazing - we will be back there!

The final day of school holidays was a special treat for me and the girls. We ventured 45 minutes on the train to Disneyland and although a long day it was a very special experience and perfect way to end the school holiday. Disney celebrates its 30th year anniversary in Tokyo this year, and commemorates this with a parade for the duration of the year - called 'Happiness Is Here' . Turns out the day we went was THE first day of the parade, so we saw people queuing for front row seats in the parade for 6 hours! It was pretty special and a highlight of the day. We covered about half of the park I think and will definitely be back with Ath next time.

We had a great weekend away at Lake Kawaguchiko near Mount Fuji. I'll have to capture this experience in a another blog but it was a lovely trip out of Tokyo. We had awesome views of Fuijsan for half the trip and the other half was a right off, due to the rains from a typhoon that made its way into Tokyo that weekend.

In all this was a really great holiday for the girls with not only lots of entertainment and amazing excursions but also an abundance of quality time and love from their adoring grandparents which definitely added the cherry on top of a magical holiday.

Inokashira Park and Zoo

Hama Rikyu Gardens 

Celebrating 30 year anniversary of Disneyland Tokyo 

Odaiba  - Tokyo Decks Beach 

Penguin area 

Tokyo SeaLife Park in  Kasai Rinkai 

Sakura in Tokyo

It's hard to describe in words or photos the spectacle of the cherry blossom season. I'd heard about the Hanami ('Hana' - flower;  'mi'-watching) before we moved here, but living in Tokyo during the Sakura (cherry) season has been a really special experience.

We first realised that this country took its spring time seriously when even Starbucks changed the colour of their cups to pink for a few weeks in March and launched a spring campaign with their sweet and yum Starbucks 'Sakura' frappachino. 

Exploring parks and open spaces in cities we've lived is something Atholl and I are good at doing. We typically spend hours with the children walking, riding bikes and playing ball most weekends. Yoyogi Park, Shinjuku Gyoen and Meiji Park all lie within a few kilometres from our house. Although quite different, all three are gorgeous expansive green spaces serving as havens in this super busy mega-city.

The Hanami season is a time of watching the flowers bloom. Having being in winter coats forever - given we missed the Ozzie summer this year moving here in September - the first sights of small white blossoms in Yoyogi Park got me really excited.  I got hooked into reading the daily Hanami reports (explaining the percentage of blossom opening), working out best spots in the city to see the flowers bloom and naturally making lots of extra trips through Tokyo's parks to see the changes in the colours and growth as the weather warmed up. 

The season is relatively short lived (around 2 weeks) and the start is totally weather dependant. It can also be over very quickly if there's a large rain. The opening of the flowers this year took place around the middle of March. During this week I took a trip to Shinjuky Gyoen one morning and was amazed to see the large groups of people (some on organised tours) gathering around the trees discussing the stage of Hanami and taking photographs.

I've had a great two weeks viewing the Sakura often on my own (with my favourite travel companinon
baby Jonah) and sometimes with friends. I loved walking through Aoyama Cemetery one weekend which boasted some bright pink Sakura and also enjoyed a boat trip along the Sumida river to Asakusa (on an informal tour I took with school mums) where we saw lots of cherry trees on the river banks. 

Another great morning was cycling with a friend along the Meguro river. I borrowed a 'mama chari' -  an electric bike with a baby seat for J - and we cycled about 10 kilometres along the banks of the river under white cherry-tree lined avenues. Nakameguro was alive with Hanami parties and even early in the day (we got there for lunch) there was an amazing vibe with street vendors selling pink coloured alcoholic bevies and lots of cafes and bars buzzing. 

This past weekend, we spent a few hours in the Kitanomaru Park, north of the Imperial Palace grounds, also an amazing site where the cherry trees dip down into the moat below and it was beautiful seeing the magnificent Sakura against the backdrop of rowing boats on the water. Exiting the station (Kundashita, exit 2) was a breathtaking sight of Sakura. The blossoms are starting to drop so large white piles floated on the water giving a snow-like impression.

What really makes this time of the year special is the festivity around the Hanami. The Japanese celebrate with 'Hanami parties' across all of Tokyo's parks - lining picnic mats under the cherry trees and eating and drinking beneath the cherry blossoms. This obviously gets pretty rowdy in the late afternoons with lots of drinking and partying.

Although I've photographed more than a thousand trees I still cant get enough. Not only in the parks, but everywhere, sometimes it's the pink cherry tree outside Anna's bedroom window, or driving down the busy Meiji Dori road which is lined with Sakura in full bloom that just takes my breath away and calls for a picture as it's so pretty.  

Next weekend, we're off to Lake Kawaguchiko (5 Lakes Fuji area) and we're hoping to catch the tail end of the season, although its been raining this week, so we may be out of luck. Although I'm pretty satisfied that I've seen the best of the Sakura and promise never to comment on the Asian/ Japanese tourists taking endless pictures of Bondi Beach.  My iphone camera is overloaded with nothing else than the spring trees...(some of which are seen below across various locations).