From museums to madness and the mundane in between

Tired. But still wanting to share. Resorting to lists today.

Things we've done this week that we've loved

• Disneyland
• Ueno Koen (park)
• For it's fun outdoor play ground

• For the somewhat tired and dated slot machine rides

• Natural History Museum (Ueno)
• Incredible interactive displays over 5 floors, and an informative Japanese section
• Friendly and engaging volunteers who were wonderful with the children
• 360 degree theatre show of dinosaurs and the deep sea
• Required two days to visit (with the children's enthusiastic consent!)

• Shopping at Uniqlo
• Updating our tired travelling clothes and replacing lost items
• So shopping there again, clothes that actually fit me!
• Japanese in public so stylish. Kiwi travelling family of 5 somewhat shabby, but not now!
• 8th story restaurant in Shinjuku next to Uniqlo
• Fantastic food

• Awesome view of trains (kept Master T and Master A 100% amused)

• Y2500 discount from free vouchers from Uniqlo for our big spend up!

• Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi (near Harajuku)
• Well, the MOTH and I loved this. So serene. Children not so serene.

• Commemoration of 100 years since the Empress' passing - amazing displays of Japanese History (Miss K enjoyed this).
• Dancing with Earthday group (Miss K and I)

• Kiddyland in Harajuku
• Five stories of everything kawaii (cute) you can imagine.
• Despite being absolutely crowded, the children were intrigued with all the characters and want to go back!

Things we've learnt:

• Catch trains between 9:30am and 4pm (before 5pm) in Tokyo
• Eat dinner in (so little people aren't exhausted on crowded trains post 6pm)
• Get early nights
• Say yes more and go slow
• Crowds make everyone tired
• Changeable weather (we've gone from short sleeves to merinos over one week) can make people temperamental
• Paper and pens are fantastic entertainment
• Work as a team
• Even when being together as a family, each child needs their own time and attention with Mum and Dad.
• Children are incredibly resourceful when it comes to play. Kids have been using giant bags of nappies as 'trains' and rearranging our meagre furniture for other games.
• Takeshita street in Harajuku is very crowded on Sunday!(Not my photo, but this is pretty much what it looked like. I was too overwhelmed to dare let go of a child's hand and photograph anything down this road!)

Japan reminds me to be grateful for:

• Space
• Our own rooms, gardens and a ground level washing line back home

Our washing line outside Miss K and Master A's room. That's an air-conditioning unit to the left.

• We think so many people go out in the weekends because it's too cramped to stay home
• My own kitchen
• There are certain challenges to cooking with minimal utensils, not to mention bench space (behind the boys, you can see how much bench space I have to work with - that includes a two element gas stove (of which only one works), and an oversized sink.

Our kitchen. The boys made a train!

• Having visited Japan on my own
• Travelling on your own in Japan, there is so much more freedom and ease to access stores, tourist sights and transport.
• Travelling with children is much harder. But it's wonderful to share my memories and joys with them and to see them respond to the newness, strangeness and excitement that is Japan.

More stuff we've lost

• Miss K's polar fleece
• Master A's polar fleece
• My sunglasses
• Am also sure some elements of sanity starting to erode...

But we're still smiling!