Japan trip 2014 - Kids

Friday, the 8th of August

This day's breakfast was yummy again: salad and two tiny little sandwiches in sweet bread. And of course the coffee to wake myself up.

There will not be a lot of text in this day's post because it was basically a day for amusement that does not require subtitles.

After soom research online on where to spend a day with my daughter I discovered a place my inlaws and husband had not heard of, Kids Plaza Osaka. It is supposed to be the first ever museum in Japan that was created only for kids to develop their skills and learning in diferente subjects and levels. It ranges from learning about diferente animals, to climbing, painting, cooking and shopping, as well as other more complex academic subjects like physics for instance. Of cours some of these things were too complex for a 2 year old to understand but I knew she'd still find something appealing.

For those of you who do not have kids, one of the hard parts of being a parent is to keep your child happy while trying to not drive everyone around mad, that seems to be particularly challenging in a country where everyone is supposed to be quiet and still as to not affect others around you. So we try to sit or stand in places closer to the corners of rooms and transportation vehicles.

Inside the train it is often problematic, first there are trains where you just will not find a seat so if your child is cranky and bortherline wanting to burst in a loud cry you cannot or should not pick them up because you might lose balance and fall and even when you have a seat kids get upset of being in the same place for more than a few minutes without having anything to do.

So basically you try your best to keep them occupied as I am doing there.

Of course when we got to the second train ride that didn't work and she started standing trying to walk everywhere and even sat as you can see with her feet on the seat and we caught her bad behavior on photo. haha

She looks like a little angel though, doesn't she?

We eventually arrived to out destination and it seemed wonderful. Mari did not want to leave the entrance where they had balls going through paths all over the place. Even I stared at it for at least 5minutes. That was fun!

After that we had to go by elevator to the other floors. It seemed like it wasn't super full so we were happy about that. I love how they have dark lamps in that hallway, makes mari shine as if she was rocking out at the local club.

When we got to the 4th floor we realised however that it was madly crowded much to our surprise aftr coming from the lobby and that made this day a ridiculously tiring day. I had never seen so many kids in the same place ever in my entire life.

The first place we went to was the central element, a sort of climbing structure.

 and a lot of fish and bugs to get to know

 Finally we found a more quiet corner with toys and things directly aiming at my daughter's age and we took our shoes off and just sat there and relaxed, we were dead tired by then.

 she spent a lot of time gathering blocks from the floor and putting them back into their proper storage space. I hope she keeps enjoying that so she will help mom clean the house when she's older haha. she also loves playing with cars!

 We did not have lunch and it was close to 5pm already so we went to the nearby Mos Burger which I already talked about. As we were ordering we noticed that Mari had just fell asleep.... we got her so tired she slept without even wanting to eat. She was beat!

Mos Burger, yummy but kind of small I suppose. I had a ginger ale that day, love the stuff, almost never have it.

 On the way to the station we figured it'd be smart to get some food for Mari in case she'd wake up and so we looked for a place that had some. We eventually went in this supermarket which I thought was a pachinko parlor. It looked just like it, loud and super corny. And when i said that my husband smiled and said that it is actually a supermarket chain in Osaka famous for being exactly like that on purpose: Super Tamade. It is damn cheap... and corny, had I meantioned corny? Yeah... c o r n y.

Then it was back to the mountain land, Sango, home sweet home. I like Sango, I can totally picture me living there, I don't know why that is. Weather was starting to change. Uhh

 Dinner that day was interesting, that eggplant was amazing, i love eggplant and Mari ate chicken like there was no tomorrow! I swear she eats like an adult, unbelievable.

 And I got a treat! When there's icecream it always feels like a special occasion, like my birthday or something hehe. :D

After icecream and relaxation we might or not have gone jogging, we've been running a lot but I can't really guess when and I am too lazy to cross check with my runkeeper account haha. <3

Next day would be something a bit special so I was lookinh forward to waking up in a couple of hours.

Love,

Jo

Japan trip 2014 - Crossing the bridge

Friday, the 7th of August

Breakfast was at the same time and it was also delicious as usual! We are very lucky.
O pequeno almoço foi à hora do costume e delicioso como sempre! Temos muita sorte.

Right after breakfast my father in law got ready and we all got in the car. We wanted to visit a special place in the area, a place where my husband last went when he was a kid, some 25 years ago.

A seguir ao pequeno-almoço o meu sogro acabou de se arranjar e entrámos todos no carro da família. Queríamos visitar um lugar especial naquela zona, lugar esse ao qual o meu marido foi à uns 25 anos atrás. 

My father in law's car (and apparently most cars) has a GPS that came with it when it was purchased. It is located in the place some cars have the radio etc. When the GPS is not on it is being used as a tv. I asked what comes with the cars which do not come with a tv/gps so he said "the radio etc" and then he pressed a button and the tv flips around and the cd/mp3 radio device ir revealed. It's like a car from the future. Or maybe what expensive cars in my country also come with, I wouldn't know, I'm a regular person in my country and people like me do not get to be so extravagant. I like that in Japan this seems to be pretty common.

O carro do meu sogro (e aparentemente na maioria dos carros) tem um GPS de origem. Está na zona onde normalmente os carros tem o rádio. Quando o GPS não está a ser usado, esse mesmo ecrã pode ser usado como uma mini televisão. Perguntei o que é que os outros carros que não trazem o GPS de origem têm no seu lugar e então disse "o rádio, etc". Foi nessa altura que, ao pressionar um botão, apareceu um rádio/mp3, etc. A mim pareceu-me uma espécie de carro do futuro... ou então é daquelas coisas que já existem nos carros caros que se vendem em Portugal. Eu obviamente não sei a resposta a isto visto que não tenho oportunidade de viver de forma tão extravagante mas gosto que no Japão isto pareça ser algo comum.

The trip was pretty nice but the place was pretty far away (I had no idea it would be to be honest) so there was time for everything, to take photos, to watch tv, to laugh and sing, to sleep....
A viagem foi agradável mas o local pelos vistos era muito longe (Não fazia ideia que iria ser tão longe) e, por isso, houve tempo para tudo: tirar fotos, ver tv, rir, cantar, dormir...

We stopped for coffee but especially because my father in law wanted to buy some special Konnyaku that is especially nice in that particular area.

Apenas fizemos uma paragem para beber café e porque o meu sogro queria comprar um Konnyaku especial que se vendia naquela paragem.

The place we were headed is Totsukawa in Nara and the reason was to visit the Tanise bridge, the longest suspension bridge of its kind in Japan.

O local para onde íamos é Totsukawa em Nara. O motivo da visita tem um nome, ponte Tanise. É a ponte suspensa mais comprida dentro do seu género.

The signs of landslides are present and remembre those who live there that they might occur again.
Os sinais dos deslizamentos de terra estão presentes e lembram os que ainda vivem nesta zona que poderão ocorrer novamente.

I was amazed because suddently there was movement, we could see a parking lot with some cars, a restaurante of sort, gift store etc... when on the way it seemed like it was empty.

I had not seen the bridge clearly but I was excited!

Estava um pouco incrédula por ver que a zona afinal tinha algum movimento, estacionamento com alguns carros, uma espécie de café/rest, uma lojinha de lembranças, etc... quando durante a viagem não tinha visto quase carro algum.

Ainda não tinha visto a ponte mas estava deveras excitada com a ideia de a atravessar.

My first impression.
Primeiro vislumbre.

 So Mari kinda... goes a bit nuts about being apart from mom from time to time so I had her with me. After 1min I realised I could not cross with her and freaked out and turned back.
A Mari fica um bocado agitada quando está longe da mamã de vez em quando e por isso decidi ser a pessoa encarregue de a levar na travessia mas quando o tentei fazer desisti passado 1 minuto, não ia conseguir.

 So my husband and father in law went on without us. When he returned I told him I wanted to cross but couldn't do it carrying Mari so my father in law volunteered to take care of her. We distracted her with something and off we went.
It was kind of hard I must say, not because its high or anything but because it is fairly unstable, the wooden floor seems like it'll break in any instant and the floor moves... and there's big spaces in between some of the boards. To make it worse on the sides there's no "floor" just a net. Also the plaque outsider says that no more than 25 people should cross at the same time... and there isn't anyone checking or controling that.
O meu marido e sogro foram sem nós. Quando regressaram disse ao meu marido que também gostava de atravessar a ponte já que nunca mais devemos lá voltar e o meu sogro então voluntariou-se para ficar e tomar conta da Mari. Tivemos que a entreter com algo mas no final lá conseguimos ir sem que ela desse por isso.
Admito que não foi fácil, não pela altura a que nos encontramos do chão mas pela fragilidade aparente da dita ponte. É muito instável e as tábuas que compõem o chão são toscas e parece que podem partir a qualquer momento. Além disso de lado nem há chão, apenas rede e por entre as tábuas por vezes há um espaço considerável de forma que podemos ver o chão através dele. Para tornar tudo ainda mais assustador, existe uma tabua no começo que diz que não devem atravessar mais do que 25 pessoas de cada vez... não só parece que está esse número ou mais a fazê-lo como não há ninguém a fazer um controlo do número de utilizadores.

The net as floor
A rede a fazer de chão

The view is incredible.
A vista é incrível.



Spacing.
Espaçamento



And her it is, in its full glory, the Tanise bridge
E aqui está ela, a ponte Tanise.

 We then left and started heading back home. On the way back we saw a smaller suspended bridge and decided to stop. This one had a warning that only 3 people could cross at the same time even though it seemed sturdier.
It was perfect for Mari to cross which she did do and the scenery was stunning as well.
Decidimos pôr-nos a caminho. Encontramos uma versão mais pequenina da ponte suspensa e resolvemos parar por uns minutos. Esta tinha um aviso que dizia que apenas 3 pessoas podiam atravessá-la de cada vez apesar de parecer muito mais estável.
Era perfeita para a Mari atravessar e foi exatamente o que fez, foi divertido e a vista era lindíssima mais uma vez.

We made one stop to get some beverages and snacks since we had skipped lunch. I went with Onigiri again because they are cheap, conveniente and super tasty (my favorite is the salmon and mayo one).

Paramos uma vez a caminho para comprar bebidas e um snack já que não tínhamos almoçado. Novamente escolhemos Onigiri pela conveniência, preço e porque são super saborosos (o meu favorito é o de salmão com maionese).

We eventually arrived home and rested for a while.

At dinner time we went to what they call a familly restaurant.

Eventualmente chegamos a casa e toda a gente descansou um bom bocado.

Para o jantar decidimos ir ao que chamam de restaurante familiar.

Gusto, an affordable familly restaurant.
Gusto, um restaurante familiar acessível.

When we arrived home I still was given a match icecream, my favorite kind of icecream!
It was a really nice day, I cannot complain!
Quando cheguei a casa ainda me deram um gelado de chá verde, o meu gelado favorito!
Foi um dia muito bem passado, não me posso queixar!

 Love,

Joana

Japan Post - normal life is relevant

Saturday 1st of August

This was just a relatively calm day spent at home. We woke up, had something tasty for breakfast, Mari watched her favorite cartoon (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) and we just spent time together and rested.

Cartoon time is the only time Mari lets everyone do their own thing quietly, and she even lets me cut her hair!

 We eventually went out for two reasons: we wanted to go do some errands and do some shopping and also because Mari gets cranky if she doesn't take a stroll at least once a day.

The only place to do some groceries at walking range is the Sango A-Coop supermarket which is besides the train station. In order to get there we have to walk 10min. That lets us see some nice things such as crows which I do not see a lot in my own country but that I see all the time in Japan.

 Sango basically looks like the country side. Small houses and a lot of green. Very little cars go by and even less people.

Sango looks like this.

 I find that the streets in the suburbian areas are also kept very carefully. In my country these would be without the marks (unless by chance they had been painted at the time) and even with holes... here they always seem newly repaired for some reason.



Just a nice house.

A-Coop. Vegetable section. I love supermarkets in Japan.

 I have been lying to you, we are actually technically in Oji, when you cross that bridge its Oji but it feels like we're still in Sango so I'll keep to saying that's where we are. That's the building my familly lives in. I love how its a big complex but it still blends with nature due to its architectural traits and also color.

 And this is what we got: onigiri, bento, bananas, eggs, ice coffee, matcha latte, cucumber, mayo and a lemon. haha

 I have been bad and i did not post earlier and now what always happens happened: I forgot what happened that day, and if it wasn't for the photos I wouldn't know anything at all! :|
I have such a bad memory, I wish there was something I could do to fix it but i've always been this way. Blogging helps but it does not do miracles if I do not post every single time something takes place.

Oh well hope you liked the post anyway.
Love,
Jo

Japan 2014 - How about we go to the movies again this year?

Tuesday, 29

Looking back I think my mother in law was starting to show some concerns regarding us not having a clue about how we are going to spend these days in Japan and so we actually decided to go to the movies that day while they did their errands with Mari.

My inlaws left us in the nearest cinema, a place where my husband had worked before when he was still living here, in the nearby town of Oji.

I like going to the movies in Japan, the quality is quite good and everything is so organized and everyone so polite and well behaved i never have to worry about people making noise and whatnot.

I was very disappointed though because they had no sweet popcorn, just salty popcorn and another odd option, barbecue flavored popcorn (what?) so I got a pepsi and that was it. That wasn't a bad idea considering how expensive tickets are, we paid around 3.800yen for both tickets which is around 28 euros.

Pepsi, tickets and freebies, all advertisment but also a food menu for the cinema which is convenient.

 

From the movies available it wasn'thard to pick, (no, of course not the Kyary Pamyu Pamyu one!) Omoide no Marnie. When Marnie was there is the newest movie from the Ghibli studios and another one without Miyazaki's or Takahata's names in the credits. So basically it shows what the studios will be up to in the future.

Without wanting to spoil it I'll just say I loved it, I cried as I usually do when I am moved by something and I relate to its characters. I am also usually surprised when I watch something with no subs and I understand 90%+ of it because my japanese isn't great but it is a movie for younger audiences as well which helps. I loved it so much I got goodies as souveniers.

 

A postcard set that tells the whole story and has ridiculous quality... a lovely cameo which is used to make our bags pretty and a lovely pin. Spent less than we did on two movie tickets but I still felt like a spender.

Accross the Aeon movie complex there's a supermarket with some stores and since we had time we went for a walk, I love spending time in the kid's section... i love the trains, the licca stuff, the cute looking dolls, even the baby sort ones which i find scary in my own country, Japanese people just make everything look so cute... i am looking forward for Mari to grow up playing with these ones!

 

We found a small café type place with affordable lunch menus (700yen (5 euro) for the dish, a side serving of rice, miso soup and coffee (cold or hot)) and went for it.

My husband caught washing his hands with the hot towel provided.

A very odd mix for me: 3 fried shrimp with mayo, two different pasta (one with mayo, one with ketchup?) na omelete, cucumber, I forgot the name of that brown looking tube thing, and a piece of banana and Orange as dessert). It was marvelous and super fresh though.

 

I tend to go for iced coffee in the summer. It comes with cream and the syrup which substitutes for sugar.

And for those of you who have not been to Japan, they also provide with free water or tea and keep refilling it for you if its not on the table.
 

It was a lovely place, it felt like the sort of place whereyou become friends with the people running it, it had books (a lot of manga), movie posters as well as food descriptions on the walls, two very clean fishtanks and the clientele was varied, older man Reading and flicking their cigarettes as if they had all the time in the world, working ladies in their break, young loner looking types and 3 kids jumping around and 3 ladies keeping them company. I really liked that... the feeling that everyone was welcome there.

 

We left soon after and the idea was to take the bus to the Oji train station but I asked if we could go walking because I felt like it despite the fact that is hot and humid outsider. My husband, to my surprise, said yes instead of "are you nuts woman?" so off we went holding hands, laughing and chatting. Felt nice even though people stare a bit from the confort of being hidden in their cars.

On the way to it there's a big shoe retail store where my inlaws took me to buy sneakers in the past and since I got all those blisters and am still planning on jogging I went there and got some.

Yes the red thing with the big shoes kanji, Not obvious enough for ya?

 Unfortunately there were no Nike as cheap as last year and I wanted to be safe and order appropriate running shoes and not just some sneakers so I spent another "movie ticket" amount on shoes which look super boring.

 

Paid for them and got a drink from the vending outside (it was cheap, they have apparently increased a lot of prices including vending machine drinks): which proves we have not been out much because I am addicted to them and cannot believe we only got 1 so far!

 

We then continued walking for a while untill reaching the train station area, this is what Oji looks like, a bit more lively than where we live even though its just the next stop in the train line.

Normal places in Japan look like this, people just think Japan is the land of perfection but its a normal place.

Spotted this fella, love this photo.

Koi fish in a regular river

Oji traffic

 We went to the local 100yen store, Seria which is a store i love in Japan and where i get my stationary from. I sort of overspent there and got like 10 euros of stuff for myself, my dolls etc.

 

I also stepped by the local bookstore to get the new Muchacha bag, a copy of Kera (they do not sell Gothic Lolita Bible there even though its not a small bookstore and I got a cheap Miku x Milk colab notebook because it was cute even though I have never watched or read anything vocaloid related ever.

We then got on the next train and walked home. My mother inlaw fixed us dinner which was amazing! Japanese meat is heaven, its like butter! You have no idea...

Meat heaven <3

And Mari's meal because its adorable <3

And dessert: Matcha icecream, yes I am spoiled here, so happy

To finish here are pics of the things I got that cannot be uploaded to my Poupéegirl account. I will post more relevant things one wears here but the small irrelevante ones i'll just post there so if you are nosey like me, go there. haha 

KERA magazine, its gotten me severely hooked on Angelic Pretty's Cameo Window series which I'm sure i'd get if the JSK with the full shirring was not already sold out in wine. I hope i can resist the brown and ivory because nnng.... its so pretty!

Miku now looks appealing, she had to get rid of the ugly uniform and dress like a normal person. haha

MUCHACHA ACHACHUMU's new box, small bunny bag + postcard set

Seria stuff for my dolls: their own playing car, a open/closed sign, a staircase for the garden and a small brush set just because.

Seria card, letter set and random bunny&cat decorations I want to put on a beret or make rosette's with.

 And then we slept like babies. No jogging still because I still have the blisters but i made up for it by walking and being more active, i guess.

Hope you liked reading.
Love,
Jo