Densha

Today we went to Yokosuka to a photo studio to get some pictures made. While the verdict is still out on the studio so far, it's terrified child 1, studio 0. She sat for two or three pictures and then went into a fit. I think it was just a little too much for her. We're going to try again on Sunday. Hope we have better luck. Two bright spots on today's jaunt - one, we got to go to Miki House, my favorite clothes store and second we got to eat some kaiten sushi at our favorite place beneath Yokosuka Chu-o station. The fish portion is generous (but a little expensive) and the flavor is, well, great quality Japanese sushi. Even in Hawaii the quality doesn't come close. Our gal can't eat sushi yet (no raw fish) but did enjoy natto maki and we also brought her favorite food along - bananas.

Momoka really loved the train today and was calling every train that went past ours "sha". Train in Japanese is densha. We took the local train (that stops often) so we could have a seat and she was really happy (express trains are usually quite crowded). She looked out the window when the train was moving and was so enthralled when the doors opened and closed as the train pulled into and was exiting the station. At the end of the day she was calling the trains "densha". She is such a smart little girl and is really learning words quickly now.

What a great way to get around. Japanese trains are reasonable, fast and very punctual. I wish we had made the same investment in the US many years ago, especially around the more populous areas. This train system in Tokyo makes the subway system in NYC look like tinker toys.

Hey Daddy, I love the train!

The all too familiar mouth full of banana pose . . . . . .

What is that on her left cheek? A sticker. She loves to play the sticker game by first putting them on her face and then putting them on your face. If you're not careful she'll put them on your face and then you'll forget and walk around with a little bear or frog sticker on your mug. That happened to Momma as we left lunch yesterday with Taz. Taz told her "Misao, you have a sticker on your face". Sure enough.

Yokohama Anpanman Children's Museum

Well, we made it to Japan. It was a pretty long flight. Momoka wasn't too thrilled with the airplane and despite the best efforts of momma and I she was pretty unhappy. We brought along a portable DVD player with Elmo, Barney, Blues Clues and Baby Einstein DVD's, toys, books and snacks. Even with all that about 1/3 of the way through the flight she started getting a little fussy. Momoka needed a nap but couldn't get settled in. She sleeps great through the night and enjoys sleeping in her bed. She will also sleep in her car seat, but anywhere else, napping or otherwise, is a difficult proposition. I think that's because she has been somewhat of a home body and never developed the skill of sleeping in different places (and definitely not on airplanes). Even though she got a little fussy she is such a trooper and we are so proud of her. She is still just a baby but will allow us to yank her out of her environment and fly her half way around the world with really only minimal griping. What a gal.

We rented a weekly furnished apartment (much like Oakwood in Rappongi) and it has been a nice place to stay. I have been traveling to Korea and Okinawa but momma and Momoka stayed in the apartment and have been doing fun things like going to the dentist. I will finish my business on the 25th and we will be staying through the 1st of June so we'll have some time to do fun things together as a family - like cleaning out Akachan Honpo - YATTA!

One thing we did get to do this last weekend is take Momoka to the Anapanman Children's Museum in Yokohama. I have talked about Anpanman in previous posts and when we learned there was an entire museum dedicated to him we knew it was one of the destinations we had to stop at. Needless to say our gal loved the place. It is one Anpanman toy shop and restaurant after the other attached to a historic museum of the cartoon itself. Our gal wandered from place to place and was in heaven with all the toys and stuff. We did not go into the museum yet but will go back during the week when the crowds are smaller. Here are a few action photos of our gal having a snack at the "Jam Ojisan Bakery".

Here she is eating the ears off "Cheese" (pronounced Cheezu). Cheezu is a little dog in the cartoon and this bread was baked in the shape of his face.


Hey, these ears are tasty!

Inside the bread was a sweet cheese filling. Not too bad.

Q: "are you sure this doesn't have any vegetables inside daddy?"

Hey, Cheezu sure is tasty! Taking a big bite.

This is one of her favorite characters - "Jam Ojisan". Jam Ojisan is the baker who bakes a new Anpanman head and puts it on Anpanman's body if something bad happens to him. Long story but trust me, that's how it works.

Here she is testing some banana milk we bought her to drink. On top of the drink is an outline of Anpanman's face made out of cocoa powder. She was drinking the milk out of a regular straw, which for me is great. She is completely off the bottle now and uses these cool cups momma found that have these built in straws. She does not like traditional sippy cups but loves to drink from a straw. We're just happy she dropped the bottle with no complaints. Such a big girl!

Off to Japan

We're off to Japan until early June. Hope Momoka enjoys the flight (8 + hours). We have the portable DVD player and a bag of toys and books. We also bought her a seat so we won't all be on top of each other in the cattle car. Flying ANA so that should be nice since the service is great. Fingers crossed!

Eating out at Tiki's

Here we are eating at Tiki's in Waikiki. Momoka is great at restaurants and enjoys eating restaurant food. Momma is pretty particular what Momoka eats and makes sure she gets a good balance but when we go out to eat she pretty much gets whatever she wants, which suits her just fine. She is very interested in what we're eating and I think she just enjoys trying new stuff.