Of public holidays and long nights

Tuesday was a public holiday. It was a nice break to the week and the day was spent quite nicely doing a little with the family.

The kids did some painting. 

Then we indulged in a BBQ.

Kate was feeling unwell and the poor girl was really affected by the high temperature. It soared to above 39, nearly 40 and it was worrying. So yesterday, I brought her to the doctor who just doused her with medication. It's been 48 hours and the fever is still raging and K needs the meds to help her cope with it. That's resulted in 2 consecutive nights of the husband and I waking up to ensure that she doesn't burn through with the fever. So heart-wrenching to watch her cry and wail because she's feeling hot/cold. Sigh. Really hope she gets better soon. Two nights of bad sleep is wrecking us.

On a slightly happier note, this is a drawing she did for her brother. "See Mommy? I did this for Jake. J-A-K-E. I wrote his name." With this, I re-taught her how to write "S". 

Friday, come already!

Japan, day six. Harajuku, Shinjuku.

Thankfully, the skies cleared up and we had lovely, warm weather after the previously-wet day. Though in my head, 3 hours after I slept, when the mother rang our door bell because Jake was becoming out of control, it was just black skies and lightning from the pounding headache. Dehydration, much. So after mustering my eyelids to open, I downed some liquids and washed up to bring the kids to the nearby supermarket so that the mother could do her fair share of grocery shopping. Her best find - peaches. Millions of peaches, peaches for me. Peaches, mostly for the dad because that was his only request. Fresh, sweet Japanese peaches. So his wish, is her command. During this time, I was downing my coffee (lifesaver) and trying to keep the kids entertained. We ended up munching on some snack - food as a bribe and distraction always works. I don't have pictures, but I remember quite clearly us just being by the roadside (this was after we'd roamed the isles of the supermarket already and survived the somewhat dangerous activity of boy nearly taking down the shelves in the supermarket). We looked at birds. Cars. Locals on their bicycles. We were talking (loudly. Or maybe it was just the voice in my head), laughing, passing time. It was... quite nice. And you know what, that's what I miss most about the holiday. The fact that I was with the family all day, experiencing everything with them. And the presence of one another constantly. That's what you cannot take away, the secret bond that creeps up on you no matter what you're doing. Eating, sleeping, pooping, laughing... So I digress.


After the errand, which ended abruptly because the kids were getting really antsy, we headed back to the hotel to wake the husband up. And off we went to Harajuku.

While he'd contemplated us taking a slow stroll to Harajuku (about 4km away), we made the right decision to cab there. We got there in a jiffy. 

Someone's happy she got to eat candy!

It was a rather warm day and we quickly made the decision to split up to shop more efficiently. The mother and I took Jake, and the husband Kate.

First stop - this Sanrio shop that had this life-sized iphone Kitty peeping at me. 

Here's our team in the lift. We entered this building because there was a proper toilet and Jake had pooped. 

I think I have forgotten to mention that my dear boy was on this poop-fest all holiday. We suspect it's the water that he may be sensitive to, but from day two that he's been in Japan he'd been having diarrhea. From the very wet to the pasty.. poor boy. And on the runny days, he soils himself up to twice a day. On this Harajuku day, he'd pooped and soiled his pants twice, so that he ended up wearing his sister's tights.

Our lunch in this uber cutesy food court. Pink much. And, the boy acting cute too (hah)

And within minutes of our lunch, he's gathered his own fan club. 

He then fell asleep after all the excitement. Here's pictorial evidence of him in funky wear - I guess the Iron Man tee compensates for the polka-dotted (female) tights. Sharing, in this instance, was a necessity because he had no pants to wear. #damnleakydiapers 

While he napped, the mother kindly offered to stay with him while I ventured for a grand total of half hour. I strolled the streets and chanced upon a quaint little boutique 3/4. It's a local designer which carried some clothes with classic cuts and I managed to find two dresses. Then I had to head back to our designated meeting place. 

Crossing the roads of Harajuku on a Sunday afternoon 

We cabbed back to the service apartment then, and after the diarrhea Jake's been suffering from the past few days, Kate joined in the sick-fun by vomitting. This was the start of her gastric flu that (thankfully) lasted only 3 days (severely, though it lingered for a week).

The husband volunteered to stay in the hotel with her so the mother and I brought Jake out. We hit the nearby Isetan and I managed to do some last minute shopping. Bought some stuff that was tasked to me, walked about to take in the charm and handsome-ness that men-in-suits offered (men's department. Go check out the men's department. Japanese men all suited up. Mmmmm.), then finally some cheap clothes for the kids; pants - at that juncture - were a necessity for Jake who'd truly ran out of clothes.

And just a picture to show how he fits in the baby chair in the toilet. I only used it with him this one time. He wouldn't fit in it anymore very soon!

We headed back to the room to check on Kate and while she was feeling better, she wasn't in any shape/mood to head out. We then split teams again where the mother stayed in with K and we brought J out with us in search of food.

Lala! No reason for this except that it is cute. Ha!

We walked along the streets in search of beef for the husband but after walking ages and not being able to find a suitable spot, we (sadly) settled for Yoshinoya (or something similar). 

Poor husband with the lacklustre dinner

After dinner, we roamed the streets for a bit and I was taking in the quiet, enjoying in the cool weather and loving that we were on holiday. It may not have been perfect but it was, in its way.

Big man, little man

We headed back to start packing because we had an early start the next day. This was our last night in Shinjuku. 

Sibling love

Sharing their food - such moments are totally heart-melting and absolutely lovely to witness. 

Japan, day five. Kichijioji, Shinjuku.

In Shinjuku, we stayed at Citadines Shinjuku. While the room was big enough to accommodate 5 people in Disney (they must be used to big families), we booked 2 rooms instead in the city. Each night, one kid will sleep with the mother and one with us. We awoke to breakfast at the hotel then after the usual fussing (Have we packed jackets? Enough diapers? Where is Jake's waterbottle? Did you see Kate's shoes?) we finally stepped out.... into the rain.

The on-off drizzle was really the biggest pain through the trip. I was worried that we will fall ill, and it made moving about so inconvenient. The mom had invested in some raincoats while we encountered rain in Disneyland, so those came in handy.

Along the streets of Shinjuku, very near our hotel. Mom with Kate in her red Mickey raincoat.

Adventure to Kichijioji 

Not sure what Jake was doing, but this pic is just pretty cute

Funny Jake - not sure what he was doing, but that's the husband in the background getting our tickets at the transfer point. We had to do a change to get to our destination. 

Kichijioji Station

In my very hasty research before going to Japan, I'd asked friends what to do/where to go and this was one place that really appealed to me. It has so much potential of things to do - read about it here - but alas, because of the rain - no parks, no cool leisurely strolls, no checking out quirky shops amidst departmental stores. All we managed was a quick meal (vending machine style), one son who soiled himself and his father with his poop, and 3-hours cooped up in one very small mall for the whole time we were there. Bummer.

While waiting for the husband to change Jake, we waited by the streets for him to return. And I'd nearly forgotten about this pic until going through my pics... and I snapped this to show how fashionable a Japanese man is even on a wet, rainy day. #standlikemodelallthetimeplease

So within this mall that we chose because it was sheltered and links to the train station, we did some shopping. It was very basic and nothing much at all... but at least we were dry.

A very pleased girl when I agreed to her buying donuts

Her choice of donut - Hello Kitty, Halloween-style

For myself, I was eyeing the strawberry shortcake. Love the cream in Japan - rich and delish.

This is what I had - a very yummy creamy cake. And why are there two boxes of the same? Because the mother and I are telepathic. Turns out that while we had gone separately to purchase our own snacks, we ended up buying the same thing! 

And here's a sneaky pic of them bonding :)

Within the 3 hours, the boy had taken a nap and by the time we left, it was about 5pm. We then ventured back the same way we came.

One of my favourite people on the train 

We exited at a mall again in Shinjuku, and split ways to shop more. We then met up in the evening and that night, we had dinner that we bought from all the little stores at the basement of Isetan. We had skewers, rice, sushi, tempura... quite a lot. After putting the kids to sleep, the kind mother looked after both kids while the husband and I had a chance to venture out on this Saturday night.

We trawled the streets which was surprisingly quiet on a weekend, puzzled over signs with poor English (1 hour = 5000Y.  Girls only bar. What did they mean?! Only girls get to enter, or the bars only have girls (to attract the men), or... we're still not sure now), then headed into a smoky (euw, we stank so badly after!) bar where we watched soccer (the husband) and live entertainment (that's just me being a voyeur).  So let me share abit more about my "live show".

There was a table with two girls beside us. I saw two different men approach them. The first was flatly rejected. He'd entered the pub, walked up to them to speak (I'd mistakenly thought he was their friend) then upon their response, he then walked out of the pub. That intrigued me which was why I then observed the second man's approach more closely. This second guy had more luck - he ended up talking for ages (I was wishing for subtitles so I could understand their exchange) then after many minutes of talking, another guy appeared with drinks all around the table. I found the whole scene highly entertaining. And dodgy. And highly amusing. I was entertained.

One pint each for us. 

After a drink in this English pub (yes, an English pub in Japan) we decided to hit another joint, just because. We ended up in this strange club of sorts where there were people of different nationalities. The bouncers were mostly African, the bartenders Japanese, and the customers were from all over. It wasn't too exciting nor too bad, and after another 2 drinks we left in search for food.

One for the road. Date night in Shinjuku.

Just because. 

We ended up going to the supermarket because it was open. We stocked up on snacks. Plenty. 

Then after much deliberation, we found a place open (it was past 2am) that served beef which was what the husband wanted. 

The night ended with us mildly intoxicated (I made effort to wash my hair and scrub up properly because we stank of ciggies!) and hitting the sack at 4am. It's been a rather, long, day.

Good morning, Shinjuku. Hello pounding headache.

Japan, day four. Goodbye Disney, hello Shinjuku!

We awoke to the usual morning ruckus of a 1 and 4-year-old. As per our daily routine, they'd start nibbling on breakfast - what we'd usually purchase from a bakery the night before, roast some coffee and let the kids do what they do best - jump around on the beds, and mess the room.

One of their favourite things to do in the room - look out the windows. You can make out the volcano that's in Disneysea, and we can also see the sea and the Mickey train.

With some help from the mother (again, as always!), the kids were brought to the indoor playground so that the husband and I could pack in peace. After our usual 2 hours (truly, we need all that time), we vacated the room. 

A panaromic view from our balcony. On the night that we ran, the husband and I ran from the hotel all the way to across Disneysea which is directly in front across the centre block of land. 

The pretty fish tank at the hotel lobby that entertained the kids daily. My Mickey girl. 

Finally a decent picture of the kids, proof that we went to Disneyland, Tokyo!

Jake, with the Mickey windows

Happy family. So thankful that the mother went with us. Hope she had a decent time too!

We headed for lunch, then were faced with the ordeal of lugging all our luggages and 2 kids all around. For 5 of us, we had 3 huge luggages, 1 medium-sized one, and 1 small luggage. This does not include our own handcarry bags (backpacks/handbags etc). It was quite a feat - especially when the kids did not want to walk on their own; or we only had one pram to hold one child at a time. This was also a sneak to the adventure we'd encounter upon arrival in Shinjuku (more on that later).

After lunch, we had a semi-elaborate plan of watching the kids (Mom took one, we took the other), and fetching all our luggage from the hotel to the bus station (one train station away). We raced and caught the bus on time that brought us from Chiba to Shinjuku. The ride took about an hour+ and it was mildly trying with the kids bored and fussing on the bus. Cue embarrassed and harrassed parent(s) trying to shush the kid(s)! *groans.

It was dark by the time we reached Shinjuku at about 6pm. And that, as hinted above, marked the start of our family adventure trek in Shinjuku.

We were dropped off at a/the Shinjuku bus station. Where exactly, I don't know, but the husband had a map and he had asked the bus driver for general directions. The first thing that happened was Kate whining - she'd insisted on being in the pram (no) then insisting for a chance to "help with the luggage - I don't have a chance *whines" and we had barely taken 20 steps. So, imagine this.

One. The husband was navigating two big luggages with his backpack which was full of things. The mother was pushing Jake in the pram with her handcarry bag. I was carrying my sling bag and a tote bag that held all the kids' stuff; along with a crying toddler, a big luggage and a medium-sized luggage. (Because we hadn't that much stuff (yet), we'd managed to pack the small luggage into one of the big ones (great idea that I contributed, I must put on record because as it is we already had more than enough on our hands!)) So there Kate was, wailing, and in the end I conceded and let her wheel the medium-sized luggage. After she took no more than 10 steps, she'd insisted on being carried.

Two. We'd probably made about 20metres and crossed a mini road, when the husband put Kate on one of the big luggages and started to wheel her along. Mom continued with Jake-in-pram and I pulled both luggages (one big, one medium). This didn't work very long because Kate-on-luggage wasn't too feasible. Add on Jake who started to cry and insisted on joining in the action and insisted that I push him, not nainai.

Three. Mom pushed one big luggage, I put Kate in the pram and pushed her then carried Jake. At this time, we'd probably crossed about 3-4 blocks and the husband then (cue dramatic music that's a sign to more "fun" times ahead) approached a stranger (random pick. If this was lottery we'd have won top prize) to ask for directions. He was a young chap in his twenties, who did not know where our destination was. Not a problem because he then referred to his GPS map-on-phone (we did not purchase any local phone card so we did not have our own internet) to try to help. He then kindly offered to lead us to our destination - we were all grateful and let him lead. We started ploughing through the busy streets of Shinjuku.

Four. It was quite a walk and I was getting tired carrying Jake, so I did a few permutations of switching him between my left and right arms, placing him partially on the pram (the lid!) so that his weight was more manageable. Through all these, the husband was going strong with his two luggages, and mom with her one big luggage and one medium luggage - and it was at a point when we hit an upslope that I really saw the hilarity that I started to laugh. Oh, boy, it was probably 20+ degrees and I was sweating. We were quite a sight - with our barang in the middle of a Sunday evening amidst the locals. The mom joined in and truly, it was quite an epic moment. We were quite pathetic, really but it's such things that made up great travel stories (haha).

After this adventure for, I don't know - eternity, we came to the central of a great mall. I'd recognised this from my last trip to Tokyo and it was somewhere beeeeeg. There was Chanel, and buskers, and buses and plenty of people - and at this point, the husband and the chap had a discussion and he apologised that he did not know where we were going and advised that we take a cab instead (cue horror faces).

Five. We had to take two cabs and even that was not smooth-sailing because one of the taxi drivers did not know the way to our hotel (gasp). After some negotiations of broken English (him) and exasperated English (us), we split up into the cabs and headed off. I was worried that we'd get lost but, phew, we didn't.

I remembered to take a pic of K in the cab (she and I were in one) to document our adventure (!)

After what seemed like a really long night, we dumped our things in the hotel and headed out for dinner. We walked along the streets, found a quaint little noodle shop and had our dinner there. There was a 24-hour supermarket nearby and that pretty much ended our day after all that drama, so after dinner, we headed back to the hotel and crashed. Our first night in Shinjuku.

Japan, day three. Tsukiji, Disneysea.

The day started dark and early for the husband and I. Our alarms went off at 3.30am. We'd booked a cab for 4am.

Tsukiji Market

We were worried about the ticking of the taxi meter and thought we'd be broke by the time we got there. About S$100 later, we arrived. The skies were dark and it was cold, and we had no idea what to do or where to go. Upon alighting the taxi, some guards waved us towards the road and the husband and I dutifully crossed it. After which, we just walked in the area. It was a huge warehouse kinda setting and we had no idea where to go. We just walked.... and witnessed workers unloading fish, cartons, driving around on these singular car-bike thingies. 

We saw many doors that had "No Authorised Personnel" type of signs which we walked past, then we saw one that said "visitors' viewing area". We walked in through that door. It was a huge warehouse room where people were walking around, and a lot of unloading of fish was going on. The husband and I stood there for like, I dunno, 3minutes and an old man walked up to us. He started speaking in Japanese or Japanese-sounding-English to the husband, and from their back views, I just saw him do an action of putting on a jacket; while he firmly but surely put his hand on the husband's elbow to lead us out of the warehouse. All of this happened so quickly that I had no chance to take any pictures... so all I had is this.

The husband walking alongside the old man. 

He was walking us back to the entrance where we came from and it all felt a bit strange. Turns out, the husband and I had unwittingly walked about on our own which was not allowed. There are scheduled tours of the fish market! Oops. So anyway, we were led to this holding room with many other people. Everyday, there are only two scheduled tours of the Tsukiji fish market. Each group holds 60 people. The groups were divided into two and identified by coloured vests that the officials distributed. Once the quota is met, sayonara! 

I felt like we were in quarantine with a whole bunch of weird other people

Instructions to everyone (available in various languages) of what to do and what not to do. Most of the market was marked "non-accessible"

The odd thing of the whole experience thus far (it was only 4.45am then) was how surreal and strange everything felt. The bad thing was because of our accidental self-tour, we missed being in the first group. This meant an additional 30minutes of bumming around. The good thing was that we didn't miss being in the tour officially and well, our plan of visiting Tsujiki is still on track. 

5am 

Only 120people a day

After an hour+ of waiting around, we finally were led out of the room. And the guide led us... back to the same exact place that the husband and I had ventured to earlier! 

The husband and I with many fishermen and fish

Serious inspection going on. They hacked at the meat with this thingy, picked out bits of meat and rolled it between their fingers like they were tasting the texture. 

When it was time, a man will stand on a box to elevate himself then ring this bell to gather the bidders and everyone stood around conducting serious business.

The whole business was very swift and efficient. Everyone was very civil and quiet and well, orderly. It didn't feel that long, but half hour later, we were led out of the viewing gallery. The whole experience was very novel to me and the husband expressed his delight at having experienced it. I also think it was quite interesting but what kinda creeped me out was how it felt like we were watching human exhibits live. As much as the fishermen were well, observing the dead fishes more than us, it all felt rather queer.

We were led back to another guardhouse where we returned the vests and were free to venture - only at  areas that were allowed. So the husband and I walked through the rows of shophouses where some wares were sold, along with fresh fruit, sushi and other kinda of food stalls.

Simple breakfast

We then tapau a box of fresh sushi back to the hotel to consume with the mother. The husband and I took the subway back to the Chiba area - it cost us a lot less and we were back within the hour. By the time we reached the hotel, it felt like we'd done a lot but it was only 9am. 

And the kids were (obviously) already up 

After taking turns to wash up, we ate the sushi (I forgot to take a pic!) which was really fresh! The mother helped bring the kids to roam the hotel for a bit while the husband and I managed to take a short snooze. It was about noon when we finally left the hotel to continue the day. That day, we hit Disneysea.

The Mickey shuttle bus that took us from the hotel to the train station. 

Again, we took the train to Disneysea and it was a lot less crowded than Disneyland. The weather was also awesome that day. It was all sunshine and it even felt warm. Upon entry, we saw several mascots roaming around.

Pluto and Daisy at DisneySea

Nainai and Jake, Halloween 2013 @ Disneysea

We had lunch and then put Jake to nap (who was tired and cranky). Kate was snoozy too but it was parade time so she was distracted and temporarily energised to catch the show.

It was a hot and sunny day

ootd pic

After the parade, Kate crashed while Jake awoke. We explored the park and caught some rides.

No idea what this ride was called but it was (another) round-and-round kinda safe ride for the kids. 

An interesting find was the Mermaid Lagoon. We did some rides - that's the "jellyfish" on the top left, the dizzy seashells on the top right, and the bottom pic was Jake getting himself wet in the water area. 

We also caught the Mermaid show "Under the sea" where Aerial sang in part English-part Japanese; we saw the evil Octopus and other sea creatures "swim". It was quite a pleasant show. The kids managed to sit and watch it the whole duration of about 15 minutes.

It was already dark by the time we left Mermaid Lagoon, so we moved to the next theme area which was Aladdin. We had dinner (bad Indian food) that was compensated by the beautiful lit-up carousel. After a hasty dinner (for me, cos I remember the food was really not great), we brought the kids to ride the carousel.

Beautiful dinner view

On the carousel ride - look at how big my kids look sitting all alone on the horses!

After the ride, we hit the store to browse and shop.

Kate trying on a very bling tiara. 

Then walked around to pass time until the main show at 8pm. We walked and walked and chanced upon the pyramids!

Ok, maybe not pyramids. But it was some ruin theme for sure.

Some poorly taken shots of the show - it was really beautiful and I enjoyed it too.  

We also managed to catch the 830pm fireworks which was truly spectacular. At that moment, I remember feeling very happy as I watched the fireworks burst in the sky, and watching the fascinated faces of my children - life was great! As we were leaving, the husband decided that to give Kate a treat to buy something of her choice, so we brought her in... when she spent agessss not able to decide what she wanted to get! Such a typical girl. 

Hmmm... what to get?!?!?!?

After much stress thinking, she picked out some princess clips. We took the train back to the hotel and got ready for another night of wash-up, go-to-sleep regime. 

And just for fun, here's my ootd at Disneysea. My minnie-alike-polka-dotted sweater to match the occasion!

This was our last night in Disney and I was looking forward to moving out to Tokyo City.