TMG fundraising picnic

I know that it is a while ago that Tokyo Mother Group had a fundraising picnic in Shinjyuku Gyoen.. but I would like to write about it now to congratulate the coordinators of TMG for their success on their event. We got there late, but there were so many new and old moms with their friends and family. These can happen all because of the volunteer work done by coordinators.

I made good friends through this group, and really recommend those who want to make friends to get involved with the group as a volunteer. The group is working on voluntarily basis, and I hope everyone takes time to pay back what you get out from there.

What a shame, I only got photos of Ken & Sofia from this picnic….. But you can see how much fun they had then.

They will be having another picnic at Shinjyuku gyoen on 31st of May. Come and meet new mothers for some fun before rainy season gets here.

Tokyo Mothers Group: http://www.tokyomothersgroup.com/

Visit to Kochi....

Sorry for not keeping up with this blog. We've been having sort of busy week.

Ken had a good time visiting his grand parents in Kochi where he enjoyed harvesting Shitake mushroom, onion, bamboo shoots, carrots, broccoli and celery out from thier farm. He also had a fun playing with crabs from creek nearby.

Where his grand parents live is so rural, but surprisingly movie crews visited thier village recently to shoot a movie called Harimaya Bridge. The producer/director, Aaron Woolfork spent his time in this remote area as ALT from JET program in 1992, and it insighted him to chose this area for his movie.

If you are former ALT from JET, why not check out what your pal accomplised after the program? It will be on show this June at TOHO theaters.

Harimaya Bridge: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0902982/  http://www.harimaya-bridge.jp/

Decorating eggs...

So, we colored eggs, and decorated with 100yen shop stickers.

ken ken ken

I thought Ken might be too little to get an idea of egg hunting, but he emjoyed finding and collecting them to his basket.

Thanks Harriet for organizing, and happy birthday to Sofia!

Find us at the supermarket!

Easter sunday is coming up, and we are planning on making Easter eggs.

Here are the food colorants you can find at the supermarket. They only cost 150yen for each. 

Food colorants are called 食用色素, shokuyou shikiso in case you need to ask store staff.

to be continued....

Free saxophone concert at Tokyo Western Art Museum

Sun shinny day...but with chilly wind.

We made it to the free concert at the National Museum of Western Art. It was held at the forecourt of the museum (right infront of the gate of hell by Rodin), so didn't need to pay even for the entrance fee. So it was really free professional performance, yes!

Ken showing his baby sign for "tower".

As we were all outside, it was easy to get out from there when kids got fussy. Ken liked their performance and said "more, more" at the completion of each number.

Their next free performance at the same location will be on April 9th, and the crowd for cherry blossom should be gone by then.

http://www.tokyo-harusai.com/program_e/page_122.html

大きな栗の木の下で：Under the spreading chestnut tree

Ken learns lots of nursery rymes at his hoikuen. As I learned most of them as a kid, I can sing & dance along with most of them. Thought you might wanna do the same in Japanese, and so will share some of the nursery rhymes in this blog

The first one is....大きな栗の木の下で：Under the spreading chestnut tree

Yes, this is the girl scout songs, so you probably know the English version, too. But I am not sure if the gesture is the same... the part pointing a nose seems very Japanese (well this particular version is pointing at the chest), isn't it?

Anyway, here is the Japanese lyrics for those have difficulty in reading hiragana:

Ookina kuri no ki no shita de,  Anata to watashi

Nakayoku asobimasho,  Ookina kuri no kino shita de

BTW, this version is sung by Gospellers, a very famous Japanese singers group..

Enjoy!

鉄道博物館：The railway museum in Omiya

Another rainny day....

I wrote about Train and Bus museum by Tokyu the other day. http://stride.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2009/03/train-bus-museu.html This was a tiny museum that Tokyu provides mostly for thier public relation purposes.

Now this time, this railway museum in Omiya is the real museum with much more space and trains to see. They also have a kids room to stretch their legs with blocks and train toys, too.

A bit far and expensive, but it could be an option to remember as a rainny day activity.

There are 2 restaurants but they have a shop to sell obento with lots of free tables and chairs. On the way to the museum, the Omiya station has within-station shops, Ecute http://www.ecute.jp/omiya/pdf/shop/map.pdf where you can get gormet bakery and obento. (This is what we did!)

The railway museum: http://www.railway-museum.jp/en/index.html

Entrance fee: 1000 yen for adults, 200 yen for 3-6 year old.

Tickets are on sale!

I was looking foward to purchasing a ticket for La Folle Jornee....buuut, I found out that I have to work on these days. Have to miss thier concerts again this year. 

For those who are interested, they have 45min-concerts for kids starting at 9:30 on May 3, 4 and 5th at the Tokyo Forum. The price per seat will be 1,500yen. http://www.lfj.jp/lfj_2009e/

Of course, this is not the only the oppotunities!

I found this other classical music festival "SPRING FESTIVAL IN TOKYO -TOKYO OPERA NOMORI-" held in Ueno. About this event:  http://www.tokyo-harusai.com/about_e/index.html

There is a free short program: Quartet SPIRITUS : The Harmony of Saxophones http://www.tokyo-harusai.com/program_e/page_122.html

Violin concert for kids April 13th : http://www.tokyo-harusai.com/program_e/page_135.html

I guess oppotunities are there, and just have to look for them. As we living in central Tokyo, why not use these oppotunites?

Train Bus Museum: Miyazakidai

Rain, rain, rain

I t feels like it has been raining everytime I get a day off to do something with Ken. There is not so much to do in rainy days, but here is an idea for those living in southwest part of Tokyo.

This train & bus museum is adjacent to Miyazaki-dai station, 20min from Shibuya. The entrance is right in front of the ticketing gate, so once you get on a train, you don't need to worry about getting wet.

Yes, it is far, but the entrance fee is very reasonable: only 100 yen for adults and free for kids under 6. There are Doutor coffee, Kobeya, KFC by the museum, and you are free to get in and out of museum to get food. They also have a free chairs and tables on 1st floor and so you can enjoy your lunch there while you have kids explore the area.

It is a tiny museum and far from central Tokyo, but is reasonable, indoor and easy transfer (usually you can transfer to different line on the same platform in Tokyu.) to get to. If you are living this part of Tokyo, it might be worth while knowing that it exists.

Tokyu Train & Bus Museum : http://www.tokyu.co.jp/railway/railway/west/link/museum.html

closed on Monday, open 10:00-17:00

More photos: http://www.date-navi.com/museum/densya-bus.html

Happy Birthday, Aya

We are back in this Oyako cafe, Skip Kids for Aya's birthday. I just can't believe how fast the time has gone by, and they are all 2 now!

There are not too many venues for birthday parties here in Tokyo, Skip Kids is the one, and for more authentic western party package, you would consider My Gym http://www.mygym.jp/specialevents/ or Gymboree http://www.gymboree.jp/en/parties/index.html .

Personally, I envy Sofia whoes birthday is in late March as we can always expect it to be ga ood reason to have Ohanami :)

Anyway, Happy 2nd birthday, Aya!

(Sorry to those who were there for him making a big mess afterward!)

Again, more info about Oyako cafe: http://stride.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2007/12/cafeskip_kids_da61.html