織紙 - Letters from Olivia

A great day

Last Saturday was somewhat of a landmark event. I went to Shizuoka on a day trip to meet my best friend here, the beautiful Madame Kaya (her dad named her after a French teacher he once had). We've been friends since my Kyoto days, which is her hometown. But these days she calls Nagoya home, having made the move a few years ago after marrying a monk-in-training who will one day take over his family's temple there. So we decided on Shizuoka since it is roughly halfway between Nagoya and Tokyo. Our plans consisted of cafes, lunch, shopping and a couple of hours at a nearby onsen (hot-spring) and of course, lots and lots and lots of talking. We ocasionally talk on the phone while apart, but the time change and her work schedule makes it a bit difficult. We hadn't seen each other since last srping so we had LOTS to catch up on.

The reason this event was a big deal was because it marked the first full day I have ever spent away from Kaion. I know, crazy huh? In the past 15 months, it was the first time I spent more than one meal away from him. I had to catch the train early and the boys were still snuggled up in the futon when I kissed their foreheads and slipped away. Soon I was on the train into Tokyo and then transferred to the bullet train there. As the Shinkansen sped up and away from Tokyo I swear my heart started to beat a little faster, both from excitement and trepidation (and a grande Americano I picked up on the way). Of course the moment Kaya and I saw each other it felt like no time had passed at all and we were soon holed up in a local coffee shop, chatting away. I talked occasionally of Kaion, but mainly about other stuff, fun stuff, silly stuff, serious stuff, we covered it all.We were so busy talking that I completely forgot get a picture of us together. Or any pictures at all really. Only these three to document such a great day. Mt. Fuji as seen from the train window. Our okonomiyaki lunch. And Shizuoka station.

  

 And it was wonderful. Soooo wonderful. There is the joy of children. And the rock-solid security and love of a husband. But a friend, a really good friend has the ability to make your heart soar. We had such a fantastic time together. And as I stood on the escalator up to the train platform waving to Kaya with tears in my eyes, I felt so blessed to have her in my life.

And then I got on the train back to Tokyo. Then transferred to the train to Ichikawa. And by the time I got to my home station, I was running, literally, running to get home to my baby. And he had already gone to bed. Which made me kind of sad. A whole day spent without seeing his mom. But he was fine. And that was a difficult but at the same time good feeling. And I pressed K-chan for details about what they had done all day. What time did Kaion wake up? What did he eat for lunch? Where did they go? And then I got ready for bed, crawled into the futon and snuggled his head and breathed in his delicious baby-sweet smell for a very long time. And life felt pretty much perfect.

Like I needed another reason...

to love you Uniqlo! But here it is:

Photo: www.uniqlo.co.jp

Behold "knit leggings", which are actually super skinny tight jeans. But feel like leggings. But look like jeans. And they have an elastic waist with a drawsting. Can you say comfortable? And only 1,990 yen (about 20 bucks).Wow. I love these. Bought a bunch. Dark wash. Black. Grey. Anyone else want some?
 

2.23.2010

Happy birthday today to my dad! We hope you have a great day and we are looking forward to celebrating with you in a couple of weeks when you visit us in Victoria.

See you soon!

xoxo The Origami fam

Pick me!

Not to let the cold get us down too much, while we were in Fukushima last week we decided to go strawberry picking. This is called "ichigo gari" in Japanese and I thought it would be something fun for Kaion to try. Strangely, the season for strawberries is in the winter in Japan and a lot of greenhouses that grow them offer something like a 20 minute all-you-can-pick-and-eat type package. That's the catch - you don't get to bring any home with you, you have to eat them while picking. Not like that's a lot to ask. Compared to the bland, behemoth imported berries we get in the supermarket in Canada, the berries here are plump and juicy and oh-so-sweet. 20 minutes is nothing - I could eat them all day long. 

Well, I was definitely on the money with this idea - Kaion had a blast, and while he seemed more interested in carrying around the plastic bucket the strawberry farmer handed him, he did eat A LOT of strawberries. We all did. YUM.

And while you can't bring home what you pick, you can buy from the farmer in bulk. I got this glorious 1.5kg box for 1000 yen (about $12), which I turned into jam to bring a little taste of Ichigo home with us.

*see link to the left for more pics
 

 

Rajio taiso

In Japan, every morning at 6:30am one can greet the day with Rajio Taiso, a kind of aerobics radio show. Well, more just like the warm up and stretching part of aerobics. But it's a very popular form of exercise here, and in many companies and schools, the broadcast is recorded and the exercises performed en masse at the beginning for the work or school day. Kaion, being a bit of an early riser, has taken to doing the exercises with his obaasan every morning. Observe:

 

 

Fu-fu-fureeeezingu!

 Well, we're back from a few frosty days up at the cabin in Fukushima. We managed to make our trip coincide with a heavy-duty cold snap that blanketed the country last week, and let me tell you, opening up the cabin in the dead of winter is something only the hardy should take on. First, it took us half an hour to clear the driveway of snow before we could get into the house. Then when we got in and turned on the heater in the living room, the themostat told us that the temperature in the house was a balmy 0 degrees. Needless, to say, we kept our coats on for awhile waiting for things to heat up. Then there was the work outside to be done, undertaken by the fearless K-chan empowered by his experience with -30 C winter conditions in Calgary, turning on the electricity (most important for gettting the toilet seat warmed) and the water. As I laid out the futons in the tatami room with icy cold hands I reasoned that at least we would get to crawl into them later all nice and toasty after the obligatory hot bath soak. Or not. K-chan came inside to deliver the very bad news that the pipes were frozen and we were waterless at least until the house warmed up a bit. We hadn't had dinner yet, and no water for cooking and washing up, so we got back into the car (heated seats, I Love You) and drove down the mountain to the nearest convenience store for a niku-man (hot, steamed bun with pork filling) and Cup Noodle ramen meal. Baby K fell asleep for the night on the way back up the mountain and somehow stayed asleep in the transfer from warm Volkswagen to cold futon. K-chan and I both decided to hit the hay as well since there was nothing else to do and the three of us kept each other alive through the night by the power of body heat. Ironically enough, I had a dream that night about my sister who is in Hawaii right now and was probably at that very moment lying on a beach in her bikini.

Um, are we having fun yet?

Of course! The next morning we woke up to a warm house, free-flowing water and a full schedule which included:

More shovelling!

Lunch at the local Jusco mall. Ramen for mom and a kids' meal for Kai - gotta love the rice balls!:

And a 100-yen ride in the kids' area after. Kaion took me for a ride in the bus:

And of course, a day at the cabin would not be complete without a trip to the Ashi-yu! Look at how much longer Kaion's legs are now, compared to last year:

Well, at least this vay-kay I won't have any tan lines to worry about!
 
 
 

Tokyo, baby

Yesterday was a full-day Tokyo affair. K-chan's parents don't actually live in Tokyo, but in Ichikawa. Back in the day, Ichikawa was considered Far-Away from Tokyo and there wasn't even a train station in K-chan's town until he was 4 or 5 years old. K-chan's dad talks of taking the bus into Tokyo a few times a year when he was young like it was some kind of overland adventure. But Ichikawa is really only about 30 kilometers from the centre of Tokyo and nowadays kind of a commuter suburb. In fact, when we lived here I took the train every day to work in Tokyo; it took about an hour door-to-door. So going to Tokyo never seemed like a big deal. Until I started doing it with a baby and a stroller and no elevator at Ichikawa station. And a half-hour on a train is a looooooong time for a toddler who wants to get out of his stroller. So, it's become kind of an adventure again and definitely not something we are going to do everyday.

We started the day in Ginza, taking my dead 2005 iBook to the Apple store to see if it could be revived. Apparently it can, to the tune of 45,000 yen (about 500 bucks). So, no. Then lots of walking, a browse through Uniqlo, lunch at Yoshinoya and buying some red bean buns to take home at Kimura-ya. Here's Kaion, taking in the sights on the Ginza main drag:

After lunch we walked over to Hibiya park. A beautiful green space where I spent many a lunch hour walking when I worked for the J-gov. The park is adjacent to Kasumigaseki, which would be the Japanese equivalent to Parliment Hill. Here's Kaion at the fountain; the building where I used to work is the tall one in the background:

It is a magnificent patch of green right in the middle of Tokyo, sadly my poor photography skills just don't doit justice. After the park and some pigeon chasing (Kaion), we headed over to Yurakucho and snacked at Muji Cafe. And Kaion discovered a new treat, tamago pan, egg bread, making a nearly full-body experience out of it:

Finally, for dinner we met with some of Kenichi's surfing buddies and their families. Fortunately the izakaya we went to gave us a private room, cuz the evening turned into a kind of Romper Room with sashimi and beer. All the other kids (5 of them) are girls, so Kaion got quite a bit of attention from the "jyokyo" (girl gang) contingent, dancing, playing tag and having sparkly stickers applied to his face. He had a blast. Fell asleep on the train ride home, slept in his clothes and didn't wake up until 7 this morning. Sayonara jet-lag. I guess a night of partying was all he needed to set himself straight!

 

Anyway, we're off to the cabin in a few minutes, just packing up now. So, Origami fam will be spending the next few days off-line, onsen-ing and playing in the snow. See you again on Thursday!

  

 

 
 

Japan 2010, Day 1

That title makes it sound monumental. It wasn't. It was just an ordinary day. But a great one, actually. I forgot how much a love winter in Japan. OK, so I don't mean the lack of insulation or central heating, wearing a hat to bed, or huddling around a pot of stew on a tabletop gas burner to keep warm ("indoor camping" as my mom once dubbed it on a February visit to Kyoto). I mean the beautiful crisp, clear days where the angle of the winter sun makes everything slightly golden and when at the end of a morning walk, a cup of green tea and a warm  "cream pan" (a sweet bun with custard inside) feels just right. Ahhhhhh.... Come to think of it, scrubbing myself silly and then sinking into a tub of hot water right up to my neck is a pretty nice way to end a 10-hour trans-pacific flight, as well. A couple of months ago, while out for brunch with my good friend H, her husband asked me what was it that I loved about Japan. And I had a really hard time giving a straight answer. But now I realize it's all those little things that add up to a whole.

February 6th is the day that K-chan's great-grandpa passed away many, many years ago. Before K-chan was born, actually, so he never knew him. But it is customary to go visit the grave on this anniversary, so we made the five minute drive over to the family plot on the hill up behind the train station, to go for hakamairi (literally, "grave visit"). In Japan, cremation is the norm and the ashes go into a family tomb. It seemed kind of nice to me, the idea of being surrounded by your family, even once you've made your grand departure. It also made me think a bit, I mean, if we're going to get all traditional and technical about it, the hill behind the station is very well where I could be headed when my time comes (probably not, though. Kenichi and I both want to be sprinkled over the ocean).

Anyway, we brought some fresh flowers for Hii-ojiisan (great-granpa), scrubbed up the marble a bit and lit some incense. And that was that. Kaion had a grand old time running around and playing with the water bucket and scoop. Here he is in front of the family haka (the characters on the column behind him say "Udagawa family grave"):

Tadaima!

I'm so excited to change the Origami background to "Tokyo cityscape" again. You know what that means....we're back! After a looooooong flight with a very genki one year old, we were greatful to finally touch down in Nippon! So here we are for the next few weeks. Jet lag has been a bit tough on Kaion, and in turn on his parents, but last night went well, the turning point I hope, so from here on in it's Tokyo a-go-go!

Back sur mes pieds

Good news! Yesterday I went in for my follow-up X-ray/doctor's visit for my foot and the lovely doc told me to take the Aircast off, put on some comfy shoes and get walkin'! Sooooooooooo great, I was so happy to hear that, I felt like chucking that hulking cast out the window and over the Bay St. bridge with a victory cheer as I drove home. So I've got my stylin' sneaks on and have been out and about today like a free woman, taking Kaion to music class this morning and now have just come back from a stroller walk up to the health food store and back. Too much, too soon, you say? Maybe. My foot is protesting a bit now, but it doesn't hurt so much where it was broken but rather in the muscles around it that haven't seen much action lately. So yes, I will be the lady wearing white workout runners with jeans and sporting a peculiar gait as I learn to walk again over the next week or so, but probably the most noticeable thing about me will be the big smile on my face. I've got my foot back!

The forementioned music class this morning was interesting. I signed Kaion up for it way back before X-mas thinking he would love the music and the dancing around. So we get to the class today and everyone is sitting in a circle and we start to sing the welcome song, which goes "Hello (child's name), I'm glad to see you here" and repeats around the circle for each kid. So we get to Kaion and everyone sings "Helloooo Kaion..." and suddenly K bursts into tears and turns around and snuggles his face into my neck, sobbing! It was so out of character for him, he never even really went through the stranger anxiety stage, so I didn't really know what to do. So I kept singing and holding him and bouncing him but he wouldn't have any of it. Eventually, I had to get up and take him out of the classroom. He calmed down a bit in the hallway and after about 5 minutes I said "OK, let's go back in and do some dancing and singing" but when he looked into the classroom through the window in the door he just vigorously shook his head "no" and clung to me and cried some more :-( So we paced the hallway a little more and then I said, "OK, Kaion let's go back in. It'll be fun to sing. Ganbatte." and we went back into the classroom and started to dance and wave some silk scarves around with everyone. And 30 seconds later he crumbled and started to sob again. So we spent the rest of the 45 minutes in the hallway playing with a paper cup and some Cheerios. I felt really sorry for him, he even cried when we went back into the room at the end of the class, just to get our bag and shoes. He did get his 12 months shots last week and had a bit of a fever the past couple of days because of them, so that might have something to do with the sudden mood shift. He was crabby when we got home to and has now been asleep for a few hours, since we started our walk to the health food store, so I hope he'll be feeling a little better tomorrow.

When I got to the health food store with sleeping baby in tow, I relished the chance to sit and have a cup of coffee (my nerves needed it today!) and look at the paper for a bit. And then a lovely woman came over to say what and angel Kaion was and gee did she ever like my bag and I looked up it was none other than Silken Laumann! For those Origami fans who don't know who that is, she is one of the most famous athletes in Canada and won a bunch of medals in rowing back in the day. Most Canadians can recall the brutal accident she suffered in 1992 just weeks before the Barcelona olympics, but managed to make an amazing comeback and win the bronze (read about her story here). She was lovely and meeting her was a real treat.

In other news, Ronpa came for a visit last weekend and he and Kaion enjoyed an afternoon of chasing ducks and playground fun at Beacon Hill Park.

And that's officially the last picture you'll see of me with a broken foot.

Whoo hoo!