We love Japan!
(Since we didn’t have internet access very often in Japan, we wrote these entries on the laptop and are postdating them to when they were written… in the next few days we’ll add the rest of them as we match up the pictures, so stay tuned for more Japan news!)
We arrived in Tokyo yesterday afternoon after a ~12 hour flight from Los Angeles. Riley was not only good on the flight, she was delightful. She took 2 naps, ate a lot of food (although the United kids meals were not much to speak of), and played played played. She made friends with all our neighbors, including a little boy who cracked her up by pretending to fall down over and over again (making all kinds of crazy noises), an old woman sitting behind us who played peak-a-boo (in Japanese) through the seats, and a young guy sitting next to us who picked up her pink bunny rabbit and smiled every time she dropped it over the seat (which, of course, quickly became a game for her). Just in time for our trip, Riley has become obsessed with airplanes. We see them flying overhead a lot from our balcony, and as soon as she hears one she starts looking, then points and says excitedly, “airpay airpay!” She was pretty thrilled at the airport, and stood at the big window looking out at all the airplanes parked at the gate very happy.
Having traveled quite bit with Riley, we’ve learned to have plenty of (non-messy) snacks at hand, including freeze dried fruits (which she eats by the handful) and lots of crackers. We also made a point of bringing lots of little toys in bags (half the fun is getting the toy out of the bag). We brought little magnets (just big enough that she can’t choke on them) that stick to the tin they come in, little stuffed dog and horse (emphasis on little), crayons (she likes to draw, but she also likes to take the crayons out of the box and into the bag, then into the box, then into the bag…) and cheap cards with pictures of animals on them (for playing Memory, but we just look at them). There is also a little cloth drawstring bag (that I bought years ago in Peru, knowing I’d someday find a good use for it 🙂 ) with little mini animals (her favorites: dogs, cats, horses) and cars. She sticks her hand deep into the bag and comes out with a handful, then plays for a while before putting them back in and getting a new handful. Or sometimes she takes them all out one by one and lines them up, then puts them back in, one by one.
Anyway, the flight was really uneventful, thankfully. We arrived in Tokyo in the afternoon (midnight our time), skipped the whole customs line (because of Riley, they took us in the special family room), and had our first experience with Japanese bathrooms (which are clean and beautiful and have large, soft changing tables and seem to be completely electronic).
Our hotel was fantastic. We went straight to sleep, but Riley of course woke up at 1:45am. I spent the next couple hours hanging out in the lobby with Riley, which was actually pretty entertaining. She ate her oatmeal, then we went exploring. The super nice guys working at the front desk (have I mentioned how everyone in Japan is so nice?) brought out a little toy projector that plays music (not annoying music, thankfully) and displays a rotating disney scene which kept her amused for quite a while (not so much watching the scene, but playing with the projector).
Now we’re on the train with Brad and George on our way to Osaka. We bought onigiri to eat on the train (rice balls with fish in the middle, wrapped in seaweed) and turns out Riley loves them! Even the fish part! Amazing. Brad has developed a new game for Riley (which he will probably soon regret): We’re sitting in facing seats and he puts his feet up to hers then dances them around. Then he hides them under the seat, and she leans way over to look for them. She keeps slumping herself down farther in the seat to stick her feet out closer and saying “more?”
So yeah, we’ve been here one day, but so far we love Japan. Everyone is nice and friendly and helpful and doesn’t laugh at our pitiful Japanese (actually, most people seem to speak at least a little English). The train station is madness with hundred of people running around, but most smile at Riley, and somehow (as George pointed out) no one even bumped into us.
More travel news to come!