MY BABY FOOTSTEPS

Day 9: 28 Oct
Itinerary:
- Leave Osaka for Singapore at 11.00am via SQ619

It was our final day in Japan. Armed with all our luggages and with Yahn in a stroller, we made the dreaded journey back to the Airport.

Pre-flight must haves: Snacks. Especially her favourite chips and cheerios put in a easily accessed container.

Pre-flight must haves: A full tummy. I love Kansai Airport cos WL, being a Krisflyer Gold, got 2 passes to either enter the VIP lounge, or 2* ¥2000 to spend at some of the cafes or restaurants! Chose the latter cos we couldn’t have brought our girl (counted as one headcount too) into the lounge with us… plus, ¥4000 can really give us a feast at the restaurant!

Pre-flight must haves: A full tummy (Part 2). This was what we ordered with the ¥4000 credit. The most expensive feast we’ve on this trip! Although technically, it’s free. Udon + Miso Soup + Sashimi + Sushi + Tempura + Edamame + Orange Juice + Green Tea… A grand feast that we couldn’t finish!

Pre-flight must haves: A final parting family shot… Just before take off to show our exhausted, yet happy faces at having yet another wonderful family holiday…

Inflight must haves: Activities for the girl to keep her occupied for the duration of the flight. So we had the stickers for our flight to Osaka which kept her quite entertained. This time, we gave her the same stickers PLUS a sticker book we bought from a 100Yen shop.

Inflight must haves: Tons of patience as the girl decided stickers can go EVERYWHERE including her face… her daddy’s spectacles… her mommy’s pants… and even the floor. Oh well, whatever it takes to keep her in the seat.

Inflight must haves: YUMMY FOOD AGAIN! We ordered post-weaning meal for her even though she’s way past this stage. The flight attendants even confirmed with us again that we wanted a post-weaning meal instead of a kid’s meal for our 2-year old.

YES PLEASE. When faced with a fussy-eater, we’d really rather feed her mushy things that she’ll just swallow than to have to remind her to bite, chew and swallow… Not to mention a fussy-eater who has a habit of hamster-ing food in her cheeks… *sigh* Yes, post-weaning meal for her please.

Again, the flight was empty… So apart from having 4-seats in a row again, there were empty window seats for the girl to peep out and look out into the skies. Definitely a good decision to travel Japan when tourist numbers are at an all time low.

And finally… when the zzz-monster kicked in, the parents got some rest and more uninterrupted inflight entertainment movies.

Conversation with Yahn for the days after we return to Singapore:

Girl: Go back Yahn Yahn room!
Mommy: Go back Yahn Yahn room? But that’s in Japan, we’re in Singapore.
Girl: Go back Yahn Yahn room! I want go back Yahn Yahn room PLEASE!
Mommy: … Tell papa.

———

Mommy: What do you remember of Japan?
Girl: Feed rabbits! Feed deer!
Mommy: Did you feed rabbits and deer?
Girl: Yes! Ride little pony!
Mommy: Wow… how did you ride the pony?
Girl: Aunty carry. Hold tight tight and ride little pony!
Mommy: And what else?
Girl: Popeye! Olive! Snoopy! Charlie Brown! Abby! Hello Kitty! ….. (and she went on listing every character she met in Universal Studios before repeating her feed-deer-feed-rabbits experience )

———

POST TRIP REVIEW on travelling with a toddler:

Yahn, the free spirited one in her terrible twos, was a hassle to travel with… but also a mega joy.  She was always on the fly, always exploring things around her… and in the process opening our eyes too to sights that we would otherwise have missed… and sounds that we never bothered to stop and listen to. She also brought out the child in us when we followed her around the Kids Plaza and Universal Studio… or did I speak just for myself?

POST TRIP REVIEW on travelling to Kansai: Osaka / Kyoto / Nara:

Japan… one of our most favourite countries in the world for the smiles the people always give… the efficiency of a modern metropolis but not at the expense of their rich history and culture… the social courtesy of everybody even during the rush hour of the day… and the yummy food and pretty trinklets that line the tourist streets… didn’t disappoint again.

I did fear slightly for the nuclear disaster further north in Fukushima, but convinced myself that Osaka and Kyoto are far enough south to not have any effect on us for just a one week holiday. Furthermore, if the Japanese said there’s no radioactivity in Kansai, I believe them.

And good too… cos it was a great place to bring a 2-year old. There were tons of things for her to do. Aquarium + Universal Studios + Kids Plaza + Animal farm etc… Even the temples and shrines in Kyoto had huge gardens where she loves to run around in. Food wise… I think my little fussy eater agreed with Osaka cuisine. Takoyaki… Udon… Donburi… BENTO SETS! What could she possibly complain about?

But I did end up with some lessons which I’ll definitely employ for future trips:

• Forget proper meal times. Bring lots of healthy and yummy snacks for the anytime-anywhere munch
• Instead of bringing new toys / activity packs that she’s not been introduced to before, bring those that she likes to play with back home so she gets into it immediately, instead of trying it out for the first time and giving up if she doesn’t get it at the first try.
• Make her LOVE the hotel room right from the first day. it really makes the “end of day” announcement easier. “Shall we go back Yahn Yahn’s room now?” — “YES YES! Go back Yahn Yahn’s room!” (Although the risk is she’ll grow to love it so much that she keeps bugging us to go back there even when we’re back in Singapore)
• Train them on local cuisine. I think she LOVES udon cos days before our flight, I’ve been serving udon to her.
• Bring more outfits and shoes… At 2 year old, she started having her own opinion of what shoes she wants to wear. No matter how cold it might be, she’d insist she wants to wear her Barney sandals instead of the shoes… and “DUN WANT SOCKS!”… Next trip, I worry if she starts getting fussy about her clothes too… *FAINTS*
• And a life-saviour… the baby carrier. Bless you, Kat, for lending it to us. For the times she wants to be carried but our arms are giving way… For the times she doesn’t want to be carried but she had to be cos we’re walking between expensive priceless antiques in the castles… And for the times she refuses to nap but we all know she had to cos she’s losing her balance from exhaustion… THANK YOU.

And if you’re thinking of going to Japan too… Some tips:

• We made Osaka our base and do road-trips out to Kyoto and Nara whenever we want to. Not the best decision with a little toddler who might give hell during the one-hour train ride… but still doable cos it’s really quite fast and comfy if you get the limited express trains. Otherwise, do plan a stay in Kyoto so you get to see more and travel less!
• If you’re staying Osaka and want to stay in Namba, check out the Fraser Residence Nankai… IT’S THE BEST! Washing machine-cum-dryer… mini kitchenette… bath tub… separate bedroom and living room… and a walk-in wardrobe… What else can compare?!
• If you’re out to have some fun and want to keep a nice momento from the tourist sights… you can consider bringing along a notepad cos some places (like shrines and even train stations) have those stamps for you to collect.

Gosh… I have spent almost 2 weeks blogging about our Kansai trip. At times I felt crazed… like what am i doing trying to dig my brain for memories that were almost forgotten and trying to pen them down in a rush… And then I remembered my purpose.

To capture our memories so that years down the road when our memories fail us, we could remember. So that years down the road when the girl grows up not remembering how she spent her childhood, she would know. So that days, months or years down the road when people ask about what we do together, we have something to share.

Quick links on our Kansai Trip:

- Day 1: Singapore to Osaka
- Day 2: Osaka (Namba, Dotonbori, Harvest Hill)
- Day 3: Osaka (Kaiyukan, Tempozan Marketplace, Naniwa Kuishinbo)
- Day 4a: Kyoto (Kiyomizu-dera, Kodaiji)
- Day 4b: Kyoto (Heian Jingu, Ginkakuji, Potoncho)
- Day 5: Universal Studios Osaka
- Day 6a: Nara (Kofukuji, Todaiji, Nara-machi)
- Day 6b: Kyoto (Fushimi Inari)
- Day 7: Osaka (Kids Plaza Osaka + Osaka Castle)
- Day 8: Kyoto (Kinkaku-ji, Nijo-jo, Nishiki Market)
- Day 9: Osaka to Singapore

Day 8: 27 Oct
Itinerary:
- Kinkaku-ji 金閣寺
- Nijo Castle 二条城
- Nishiki Market 錦市場

Spent our last day in Kyoto. Went to Kinkaku-ji early in the morning and there was… *gasp*… YET ANOTHER SCHOOL FIELD-TRIP! Why-oh-why are so many schools out on field trips these few days?! Oh well, just gotta make sure the girl doesn’t run off and get lost in the crowd then…

Before entering the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji), WL saw the view above and mentioned that there was an interesting rock formation on the mountain. Took a look and told him it was actually used in some fire festival! (Googling revealed the Daimonji Festival (Gozan-no-Okuribi 五山送り火), held on 16th August, where five giant bonfires are lit on mountains surrounding the city, including the ’大’ word that we see!) I really must try to remember to always slow down, look up and around everywhere I go cos who knows what gem I could find!

After ooh-ooh-aah-aah-ing at how interesting it was, but not wanting to wait for the next bus-load of school-kids to crowd the temple even further, we rushed in…

… And stand amazed at the beauty of the Kinkaku-ji. I’ve seen tons of pictures from the web and guidebooks… but nothing could beat the sense of awe at seeing the sparkling Golden Pavilion face-to-face.

As WL puts it, it’s good that we went to Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) before we came here cos the difference is stark. Ginkaku-ji has a very peaceful zen feel… like I’m in meditation. But Kinkaku-ji makes me feel like I’m looking at royalty… Cos how could something so grand and golden not be part of the palace?

But we couldn’t linger… The crowd was crazy. Everyone wanted the best spot for photo-taking so there was quite a bit of shouting and gentle shoving. Maybe that’s why I don’t feel so “zen” here compared to Ginkaku-ji… Anyhow, we slowly made a nice slow walk around the garden… enjoying the various sights and other shrines scattered around… and then made our way to…

… the Nijo Castle. I love how these two places are located just next to their respective bus-stops! No need to walk for miles or climb tons of steps. Perfect.

Stepping through the gate, we stood still, admiring the Castle… and the ladies walking around in kimonos. The whole scene made me feel like I went back to the olden days when ladies dressed in kimonos, and men wore samurai outfits… I’m definitely going to dress up in a kimono to walk around on my next Kyoto trip.

Went into the Castle and experienced the famed Nightingale Floor. IT REALLY CHIRPS! Not the squeaky floor-boards you hear when you walk up an old staircase… But chirping! WL got quite pissed at me cos I was walking at the speed of a snail, trying to see if I could escape detection by not activating the Nightingale sound.

Guess who’s happily running around the beautiful Castle grounds after her nap? That’s why we need space. Lots of them.

I love the Nijo Castle’s garden. I dare say this was the most beautiful garden we’ve seen in our trip. Maybe it’s because we have finished the whole trip’s itinerary and could really take the time to relax and enjoy… or maybe it’s just cos the girl was also in a very good mood that day and took her time to admire the birds, the bees, and even sat on one of the benches in the park as we had a nice mommy-daughter chit-chat while the daddy went around capturing the beauty of Nijo Castle’s garden in his camera.

Autumn has arrived in Kyoto and trees are turning red…

… And this is how the colours begin.

As we walked along, enjoying the time together, reminding myself to look up and around… I found a sakura bloom!!! Is it possible?! Google (my best friend ) revealed that it is, and that there are special sakura breeds that bloom in Autumn! So next time you go autumn foliage viewing, look out for them!

Walked out of the gardens and entered a fair of sorts… After this photo was taken, my little girl went up to this lady sitting there in the corner slurping away at her udon… and STARED! Gosh… how rude! The lady looked stunned and embarrassed… so I took it as my cue to…

… Buy her a bowl too. *SIGH* See how happy she was knowing she’s going to get hot yummy noodles in her tummy….

And see how stressed the mommy was, trying to feed the girl strand by strand on the open-air seats / table-top where the girl is absolutely non-restrained. Needless to say, probably 8-10 strands later, she declared “ALL DONE!”… and ran off, leaving the mommy and daddy to finish the leftovers.

By the time we finally left Nijo Castle, it was closed. See how the gates behind WL were locked shut? Took a parting shot with the girl beaming brightly while on the daddy’s back…

… but only cos she’s being naughty again. (zoomed in shot…) POOR DADDY almost lost his eyeballs…

But cos it was still early… like around 4pm+, we decided to head down to Nishiki Market in the hope that we could still catch some action.

And we did. Some shops were closed by the time we got there… But many others still had their wares displayed for sale.

Although Nishiki was supposed to be an early-morning activity where you see people trying to get the biggest, the freshest, the BEST… it was still quite crowded during the evenings. Maybe people who knocked off work, looking for some dinner to fill their tummy before heading off for a beer?

… or even tourists like ourselves, buying some mochi back as souvenirs.

And then as we walked further, we had an unexpected find. A shrine! Found out later that this was the Nishiki Tenmangu Shrine. Enshrined there was god of the brain who blesses talents, wisdom and knowledge! … Of course we didn’t know that when we were there so we just walked around and admired everything around.

At such a late hour (6pm), it was really a surprise find… and there were also several people praying too!

Ema prayers… This place was a bit more high-tech. Instead of you having to write your own prayers, they had chops and ink-pad where you could quickly stamp your prayers. (zoom in to the picture above to see what I mean )

Because this was the last night, and we had to leave the hotel early tomorrow morning for the airport, we decided to finish up our yen at a nice restaurant. The girl decided to exert her opinion by standing outside an omu-rice shop beside the shrine, obviously attracted by all the pretty waxed food display at the entrance. Since we were none the wiser on where to go, we just went along.

Yahn: Mommy, I know I’ve been a naughty girl this trip… But I’ll behave from now on okay? Can we not go back Singapore?

Yahn: Look, I promise to eat the rice with the stew… But can you not put egg in them? I think I’ve eaten enough egg on this trip for the next 3 months…

Yahn: WHAT IS THIS?! Dessert!!! Forget all those talk about behaving… I want some of this! 这个这个!!!

Yahn: And I want it NOW!!!

Yahn: Oh gosh… How blissful it is to have a SUPER yummy dinner, ending with a SUPER-DUPER yummy strawberry chocolate  sundae… Can we do it again soon?

With our tummies blissfully satisfied, we had a relatively easier time back to Namba on the train. The girl even bid farewell to Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Hello Kitty and the Sesame Street gang for the last time (poster found @ Namba station).

Headed back with a super heavy heart knowing we have to bid farewell to Japan soon…

Quick links on our Kansai Trip:

- Day 1: Singapore to Osaka
- Day 2: Osaka (Namba, Dotonbori, Harvest Hill)
- Day 3: Osaka (Kaiyukan, Tempozan Marketplace, Naniwa Kuishinbo)
- Day 4a: Kyoto (Kiyomizu-dera, Kodaiji)
- Day 4b: Kyoto (Heian Jingu, Ginkakuji, Potoncho)
- Day 5: Universal Studios Osaka
- Day 6a: Nara (Kofukuji, Todaiji, Nara-machi)
- Day 6b: Kyoto (Fushimi Inari)
- Day 7: Osaka (Kids Plaza Osaka + Osaka Castle)
- Day 8: Kyoto (Kinkaku-ji, Nijo-jo, Nishiki Market)
- Day 9: Osaka to Singapore

Day 7: 26 Oct
Itinerary:
- Kids Plaza Osaka
- Osaka Castle 大阪城

One joy of bringing a toddler along on trips, is to (sometimes) make us feel like kids on holiday ourselves. At least I felt that way when we headed down to the Kids Plaza Osaka which was almost like a children’s museum-cum-science center of sorts. A 5-storey buildings with various exhibits, workshops, pretend play etc… How can the inner-child in me not break through.

Headed to the 5th floor first, which was the Discovery Floor. Tons of hands-on exhibits where we can learn about science and culture. Wanted the girl to learn and discover first before unleashing her to play at the Kids Town.

A skeleton puzzle where you can piece the bones together… which was really too difficult even for me. Hey, I didn’t take biology back in school you know… But the girl, crazy about skeletons because of a dancing skeleton song was quite amazed to see it up close and touch the bones too.

Playing doctor, hearing heartbeats! We play doctor now and then where I’d put the play-stethoscope to my chest and manually hum out the sound of my heart beating. So now with this, she finds it thrilling to actually hear it straight from the stethoscope!

Yahn: This heart beats healthy and strong. Keep running and jumping around like me and you’ll remain fit and well!

Yahn: After playing baseball at Universal Studio, I’m trying my hand out in rugby!

Yahn: Hrms… What does this sound reminds me of….?

The girl is especially excited when we went to the multi-cultural plaza where musical instruments from all over the world were EVERYWHERE!

Yahn: What did you say this was again, mom? Angklung? I don’t really care… I just know I’m given the license to grab and shake hard to create music!

Yahn: This xylophone looks so backward without the usual rainbow colours I’ve seen… But it still sounds so good!

Yahn: But my all time favourite is still the drums! If you’ve seen my previous video, you’ll know I have a good sense of rhythm in me… Check me out!!!

But for a 2-year old, play takes precedence so after a short while, we moved down to the 4th storey – the Adventure Floor!

There was the Peek-a-boo area for toddlers which was completely empty. The girl had the whole place to herself as she played with the HUGE train track…

… Bounced on the alligator bolster…

… And watched the cars go gliding down the ramp!

There was also a HUGE pretend-play area where kids can dress up to be…

… a policewoman! The girl off to make her rounds…

Or even the cutest post-master you’ve ever seen!

She even tended to the okonomiyaki store…

… And a sushi store…

… Stealing bites off the sushi before serving it to her customer!

But amongst all the play areas (such as a hair-salon, a post office, a kid’s mart, and even a plumbing room where you get to play with and arrange pipes), her favourite was the childcare center… Though it probably just looked like an ordinary house complete with a dressing table, a kitchen, and a VERY well-stocked fridge…

The animal lover in her made sure the house-kitten didn’t go hungry…

… And the lazy bug in her threw the doll out and helped herself to the under-sized bed! The daddy said “MAYBE she’s ready for her own bed? ” You wish.

So she liked playing “house“… But my favourite had to be the supermarket! (Didn’t I tell you the inner child in me was screaming to be set free? )

The young one got to pick up a basket… go along choosing and picking food off the kiddo-sized shelves…

… Put the selected ones into the shopping basket…

… and then self-checkout at the cashier by scanning the barcode of each item, putting them into another basket to “bring home”… And the cute thing was, after you’re done scanning all items, you get to print a receipt of your purchase too! How realistic!!!

But the whole pretend-play would probably reach out to older kids like 5 years old better? I saw the other school-kids running around, diligently sending out letters and postcards as postmaster… diagnosing diseases as doctors… cooking up a storm as master chefs etc… While my little 2 year old was enjoying herself playing with each of the items, she didn’t fully comprehending the roles of each occupation. Maybe I can convince the daddy to bring us back again 3 years later?

One final stop to make clay figurines before leaving the Osaka Kids Plaza… This, she appreciated loads cos we work with play-doh at home quite a lot. And even though there was a language barrier between her and the staff at this clay-room, it didn’t matter at all cos they were all smiles and patience as they tried to guide her along making a duck, a bunch of grapes, or even a starfish!

So we moved along for a late lunch. (My monkey finally realised she was hungry )… And then proceed towards the Osaka Castle…

My girl’s latest hobby – pigeon chasing. I left her with her dad while I went to get a cool Qoo drink from the vending machine. Came back and found the park void of the hoard of pigeons there previously. “Did your girl scare all the pigeons away?!?!“, I asked the daddy who just gave me a wat-do-ya-think look. I hope there’s no social norms we’re breaking in Japan letting the girl traumatise the pigeons this way.

Relaxed at the park a little bit more, enjoyed the fountain in the center which casted a pretty rainbow through the scattered water… and attempted to find our way to the Osaka Castle.

Yahn: MOMMY! Why did you bring us on a roundabout walk?! You could have entered the castle grounds from this gate direct from the park!!!

Yahn: No thanks to my mom who couldn’t read maps to save me and Papa… We ended up walking more than we needed to. Though, I’m not complaining really… I have TONS OF ENERGY to spend!

Yahn: TA-DAH! Made it up the castle!

Cos we spent more time than expected at the Kids Plaza… and no thanks to the mommy who got the family kindof lost (:P)… By the time we reached Osaka Castle, it was sundown and the final beams of sunlight gave the castle a beautiful golden glow. See! Sometimes, unfortunate things just happen for a better reason.  :)

And because the view was so beautiful outside, we decided to give the inside of Osaka Castle a miss as we just enjoyed the sunset… the cool breeze… and the many pigeons who had to suffer my daughter’s pigeon chasing hobby. *whatever makes her happy*

Returned back to Namba where the daddy took a beautiful night scene from our service apartment’s window. Stayed on the highest floor (13th) of the building and had a wonderful bird’s eye view of the surroundings. Turned in for an early night to prepare for the last day of Osaka… *sniff, how did our holiday go by so fast?!*

Quick links on our Kansai Trip:

- Day 1: Singapore to Osaka
- Day 2: Osaka (Namba, Dotonbori, Harvest Hill)
- Day 3: Osaka (Kaiyukan, Tempozan Marketplace, Naniwa Kuishinbo)
- Day 4a: Kyoto (Kiyomizu-dera, Kodaiji)
- Day 4b: Kyoto (Heian Jingu, Ginkakuji, Potoncho)
- Day 5: Universal Studios Osaka
- Day 6a: Nara (Kofukuji, Todaiji, Nara-machi)
- Day 6b: Kyoto (Fushimi Inari)
- Day 7: Osaka (Kids Plaza Osaka + Osaka Castle)
- Day 8: Kyoto (Kinkaku-ji, Nijo-jo, Nishiki Market)
- Day 9: Osaka to Singapore

Day 6: 25 Oct
Itinerary:
- Train to Nara via Kintetsu…
- Walk to Kofuku-ji 興福寺
- Walk to Todai-ji 東大寺
- Walk to Nara-machi Koshi-no-ie ならまち格子の家
- Train to Fushimi Inari Taisha 伏見稲荷大社

Called the reception early in the morning to enquire about the weather. Was told Nara will rain in the afternoon, and Kyoto in the morning. So the believers in us headed out to Nara… Only to exit the train to a downpour. *SIGH* so much for planning…

Headed into the Tourist Info Center located just outside the station and got a nice map, and recommendations on where to go. The lady even offered a Goodwill Guide to bring us around, for free! Much as I would REALLY liked to, we didn’t take up the offer cos the schedule of our walk was going to be highly dependent on our girl, and I don’t really want to hold a Goodwill Guide ransom to such rubber timing…

By the time we came out from the Info Center, the rain had dropped to a drizzle. So we started our way to Kofuku-ji with our trusty umbrellas (which happened to be bought years ago from Japan too! ).

It was a small temple which had a main pedestal with 12 statues of various Buddhas. There was also a corner where you could write your wishes on an ema 絵馬 (Japanese wooden plaques for writing wishes) to hang up, which we didn’t do cos the rain stopped and we ran out, eager to find the deer of Nara Park. (Yah, deer-spotting was really our key aim of Nara )

But seriously, we needn’t have worried. They were EVERYWHERE! Once we stepped out of Kofuku-ji, several were waiting for us. And my girl, the fearless one ran up and started patting them away – my heart started racing cos there were signs telling us these deer are wild and they could bite / knock / kick so treat them kindly and gently… which my girl WASN’T DOING!

She probably got too used to the mild and gentle rabbits and thought all other animals would treat her well too… so imagine how upset and scared she was when this particular deer kicked her! Well, if my constant reminders asking her to be gentle to the deer fell on deaf ears, I’m sure this kick taught her for good – she had her daddy carry her all the way to Todai-ji.

It was a fantastic sight. Deer lazing under the trees, deer grazing on the grass… And look! Some of the leaves have already turned red for autumn! With such gorgeous scenery along the way, we hardly noticed the distance, and soon reached Todai-ji grounds.

There were push-carts selling deer biscuits everywhere for ¥150. We bought ours from a secluded store, hid it in the bag, and decided to only take it out to feed a deer when we’re away from the herd. We’ve seen a few people attempting to feed the deer immediately after the purchase, and ended up throwing their biscuits and running away to protect themselves from the greedy animals!

This was the lucky one we chose. The girl was still kindof scared from the previous encounter, but nonetheless gamely agreed to feed the deer. Probably just one or two biscuits before this one got super impatient waiting for the daddy to (1) take one biscuit at a time, (2) pass to the girl, (3) before offering to him. In fact, it got so impatient that it bit and pulled at WL’s shirt which got him so pissed that he walked off…

… and offered the rest of the biscuits to another deer! It was quite cute. Me and my girl were still standing around in that corner, and the daddy stormed off angrily and called out to another wandering deer, “Come here! This is for you.” When the first deer went to him asking for more, WL told it off in a stern tone, “No more for you. That’s what you get for biting.”

It looked as if he was telling a child off for misbehaving and hence no biscuits / snacks as punishment. People around were probably looking at him, amused too, that he was muttering and telling the deer off as if it was a child.

That’s what you get for antagonising a daddy.

Continued our walk up the path to Todai-ji… with the girl in her daddy’s protective arms. Not a bad thing too cos there were deer poop everywhere and we didn’t want to risk the girl stepping on one.

This is the lake just outside Todai-ji… See that lone maple tree turning red there in the background? Autumn was coming! Would have loved to visit when the autumn foliage was at its peak but this was the only week the daddy could take leave, and we really didn’t want to hit the tourist peak period. Not with a toddler in tow. It’s really easier if she gets a lot of space to run around and enjoy herself, than to be forever stuck in her parents arms, pushing and navigating through a massive tourist crowd.

That’s us… just before we entered Todai-ji… Okay, so we didn’t get the tourist crowd… But that day was a hot day for school field trips! See that train of little ones walking along towards Todai-ji entrance? Guess we’re not going to get the temple to ourselves…

We also got a few bus-loads of tourists too… *ARGH*… Oh well, instead of lamenting how we have to share the space and spoil our pictures with so many people in the background, we made good of it by asking one to help us take a family shot!

This place was really gorgeous. More so cos the temple itself was pretty much standalone. No tall trees or statues or pagodas or anything to steal it’s thunder. Just the temple itself, against the sky. You really got to see it to appreciate its beauty.

Washing our hands before entering Todai-ji… The girl was getting the hang of it.

The Todai-ji Buddha you’ll see immediately upon entering the temple, apparently Japan’s largest bronze Buddha statue (Daibutsu). Todai-ji is also supposedly the world’s largest wooden building (source). In fact, most of the Japanese shrines and temples we’ve visited were made almost entirely from wood, which pretty much explained why many of them were a reconstruct of the original after they were damaged by fire over the years.

One must-do in Todai-ji (at least for the kids), was to crawl through a hole in a pillar (said to be about the same size as the Daibutsu’s nostril)! The belief was that those who can squeeze through this opening will be granted enlightenment in their next reincarnation. Mythical perhaps… but we still sent our little one across cos we knew she would have liked it. “Yahn, do you want to crawl through the hole?” gave us a loud “YES YES!”

Although I FIRMLY believe I could fit through the hole, I didn’t try it cos we were surrounding by high-schoolers and I don’t want to be the laughing stock should I underestimate myself.

After a walkabout in the temple to view the hole-in-the-pillar and the various artifacts and models telling us about Todai-ji’s past and present (whatever little we could understand from the english descriptions), we lighted a candle in prayer for everyone in the family…

The girl, not fully understanding the symbolism behind it started singing “Happy Birthday to you” loud and clear… and even attempted to blow the flame off the candles! *FAINTZ*

Took a last view of the beautiful Todai-ji grounds… immersed in the whole sense of serenity…

… And moved off to grab yet another ice-cream treat for the girl! …and ourselves, of course. These Japanese mascots really work very well in making us part with our money!

Had lunch at one of the cafes along the way, and made a nice slow stroll to…

… the Nara-machi Koshi-no-ie. It was actually a former merchant’s home, now open to the public for free so we could appreciate the layout of traditional machiya townhouses, and how they lived. Interesting fact: Machiya features a long rectangular design with a narrow front and deep interior because land taxes were assessed on the width of the house’s facade rather than the total land area!

Nara is really a very walkable place. I mean, if we could carry a 10kg toddler and walk everywhere… AND still enjoy ourselves… AND accomplish three key sights before 2pm… I’d say it again – Nara is a SUPER walkable place. My only gripe was we couldn’t take advantage of a guide which could have helped us appreciate Nara more… but that’s fine. We’ll come back next time when the girl is older so that she too, could appreciate the stories Nara told.

<to be continued in Kansai Day 6b cos this post was getting way too long> ….

Quick links on our Kansai Trip:

- Day 1: Singapore to Osaka
- Day 2: Osaka (Namba, Dotonbori, Harvest Hill)
- Day 3: Osaka (Kaiyukan, Tempozan Marketplace, Naniwa Kuishinbo)
- Day 4a: Kyoto (Kiyomizu-dera, Kodaiji)
- Day 4b: Kyoto (Heian Jingu, Ginkakuji, Potoncho)
- Day 5: Universal Studios Osaka
- Day 6a: Nara (Kofukuji, Todaiji, Nara-machi)
- Day 6b: Kyoto (Fushimi Inari)
- Day 7: Osaka (Kids Plaza Osaka + Osaka Castle)
- Day 8: Kyoto (Kinkaku-ji, Nijo-jo, Nishiki Market)
- Day 9: Osaka to Singapore

Day 5: 24 Oct
Intinerary:
- Universal Studios

After a super tiring yet fulfilling experience in Kyoto the day before, it was a rest day (at least for the parents). A day of minimised walking to soothe the aching calves from over-exertion from all those stairs climbing to visit Kyoto shrines and gardens…

So it’s going to be Universal Studios today! The girl was excited… cos we told her she’s going to meet Elmo, Cookie Monster and Abby!

But we decided to lunch at Universal Walk first before entering the amusement park to avoid their lunch-time crowd. So while waiting for time to pass, we leisurely walked around and enjoyed the Halloween decorations all over, especially this HUGE pumpkin which the girl wanted to take photo with!

She REALLY likes pumpkins (like one year ago in USA Sesame Place, or just along the streets of Philadelphia, or even when we make homemade art and craft pumpkins). Seriously? I think she’s been watching too much of Abby Caddaby from Sesame Street turning everything into pumpkins through her failed magic spells.

It would be a waste if we entered Universal Studios and she only knew the Sesame Street gang… so we introduced her to Snoopy at the door too!

But it turned out that her favourite characters from this visit (if you should ask her now who she met in Japan) were Popeye…

… and Olive! She’d tell you how Popeye and Olive tickled her and would even sing their theme song out loud on a good mood. I know now my girl needs no preparation. She’s game and ready to accept whatever and whoever comes her way.

But all was not wasted. When she did meet Snoopy and Charlie Brown in the alleyway as they were leaving from Meet-and-Greet, she ran all the way to greet them. Gosh… if I had known she’ll be such a big fan, I might have arrange for her to be part of the Meet-and-Greet too.

But all was forgiven when she entered the Snoopy Playland. It’s amazing how kids could spend hours at the same small mound just climbing up and sliding down and not get bored of it all!

So good was her mood that she was happily posing for photographs for the trigger-happy parents…

Yahn: Hey, Lucy… Business hasn’t been good recently right? But that’s good news too, isn’t it?

Yahn: Hey Charlie Brown, hey Marcie… when do you think they’re bringing me my drink?

Yahn: You think you can keep me under lock and key? Think again… My parents didn’t call me Houdini for nothing!

Yahn: Hey, this is going a bit too far now, don’t you think?

And after all the photo-posing to satisfy the parents and make them think the exorbitant entrance fee was worth it, she’s off again. Sat herself down in the classroom and played with the interactive… erh… desktop? Though sadly, because this is Japan, she couldn’t understand whatever these were saying. Even the English edition wasn’t working very well…

So we headed off to the Baseball pit for 3 hits. I’m not sure if she gets it but we all did have fun! The daddy said he felt like he brought two kids to Universal Studios that day.

After spending an hour or maybe more there, we headed out for more. Here’s the girl again with her pumpkins… this time even attempting to steal a lollipop from the ghosts!!! Fearless, this one…

Not even dinosaurs scare her… She laughs in their face!

After playing all the way, and 3 hours past her nap time, she gave a mega stuggle in the stroller before completely concussing for a snooze… with two ice cream sticks stuck between her teeth! (That was how tired she was…)

And in a flash, it was 5pm and Halloween celebrations began! On our way to hunt for souvenirs while the girl was knocked out, we ran into the Halloween March that paraded the grounds!

After all the characters went past, little dressed up ones followed the march! This was the point when I regretted not stuffing Yahn’s Halloween costume into our luggage for this moment. She would have loved to join in the gang and march along with the rest too!

Oh well, no time for regrets… With all the cacophony, I needed to get the souvenirs fast before the girl awakens. Here, 3 popcorn containers for the girl and the cousins. Yap… WL and I had popcorn for dinner that night… *groan*

And as expected, the girl woke up soon after. The daddy barely had time to take just one ride (single rider) as I sat by the stroller munching away on popcorn, and the girl woke up wanting some popcorn herself… “Gladly my dear… We’ll gladly share our popcorn dinner with you… ”

But of course that wasn’t the only item on her dinner menu… (so don’t go calling the child welfare services on us…) After returning back to Namba, we headed to Takashimaya, found the bentos on discount (cos they were clearing stock for closing), bought one and headed back for the fussy-pot to pick and choose her own dinner menu.

Late night conversation in bed with the girl:

Mommy: What did Yahn Yahn do today?
Girl: Saw Popeye! Popeye tickled!
Mommy: Really? Do you like Popeye?
Girl: YES! And Olive! And Elmo! And Cookie! And Abby! And Hello Kitty! And …. (conversation repeats)

It wasn’t exactly a super exciting day… but with all these happy thoughts accompanying my girl into dreamland, I guess it is still a successful and memorable holiday-day.

Quick links on our Kansai Trip:

- Day 1: Singapore to Osaka
- Day 2: Osaka (Namba, Dotonbori, Harvest Hill)
- Day 3: Osaka (Kaiyukan, Tempozan Marketplace, Naniwa Kuishinbo)
- Day 4a: Kyoto (Kiyomizu-dera, Kodaiji)
- Day 4b: Kyoto (Heian Jingu, Ginkakuji, Potoncho)
- Day 5: Universal Studios Osaka
- Day 6a: Nara (Kofukuji, Todaiji, Nara-machi)
- Day 6b: Kyoto (Fushimi Inari)
- Day 7: Osaka (Kids Plaza Osaka + Osaka Castle)
- Day 8: Kyoto (Kinkaku-ji, Nijo-jo, Nishiki Market)
- Day 9: Osaka to Singapore

Day 4: 23 Oct
Itinerary:
- Train to Kyoto, bus to Kiyomizu-zaka, and…
- Walk to Tainai Meguri 胎内めぐり
- Walk to Kiyomizu-dera 清水寺 (+ Jishu Shrine 地主神社 & Otowa-no-taki 音羽の滝)
- Walk to Kodai-ji Temple 高台寺
- Bus to Heian Jingu 平安神宮 (+ Jidai Matsuri Festival)
- Walk to Kyoto Handicraft Center
- Bus to Ginkaku-ji 銀閣寺
- Bus to Potoncho / Gion 祇園

<continued from Kansai day 4a > ….

So finally we left Kodai-ji and headed towards Heian Jingu. By some luck, because it rained the day before, the Jidai Matsuri Festival was postponed to this very day! Supposedly one of the biggest festival of Kyoto, about 2000 marchers would be dressed in exquisite costumes from the Heian-era of 8th century to the Meiji-era of the 19th, and march all the way from Kyoto Imperial Palace to Heian Shrine! We were caught in a traffic jam on the bus cos traffic had to give way to the procession, so we alighted and rushed to catch some action too!

And because Heian Jingu was the ending point of the whole procession which runs about 4.5km, we saw a few unexpected happenings. Someone lost control of a horse and it kind of went berserk for a while, scattering a small portion of the crowd away for fear of a stampede… And one of the marchers collapsed and vomitted. It was a sad sight because the finishing line was just probably another 500m away!

But the prettiest, and of course and most leisurely of all the participants in this procession would have to be these 3 ladies. I believe they were the “Ladies of Heian Period”. Perhaps the empress?

But because of the Jidai Matsuri Festival, we couldn’t enter the Heian Jingu… All we could do was take a photo of the beautiful red shrine in the background with tons of people… Yaps, the girl has fallen asleep on our way there, which was quite fortunate cos I really don’t want her running off in this crowd…

… So we just moved on next to the Kyoto Handicraft Center. Nice… but not our cup of tea. I don’t really fancy VERY-lifelike dolls sitting in my living room. Especially not all those stories of how because they are so lifelike, that they almost have a life of their own… *spooky*… But I was seriously tempted to get this ninja suit for my girl to wear for Halloween! But the husband said my KPI was to kim-gek-fy the girl… not to encourage her monkey-ness.

Left empty-handed and took a bus towards Ginkaku-ji. Along the way, we met another procession from Hachi Jinja 八神社 (located just beside Ginkaku-ji). We had no idea what this was about… But the heaving of the men and the sounding of the drums woke the girl up.

I don’t think this was part of the Jidai Matsuri Festival but I’m none the wiser. All I know was some of the men weren’t wearing pants! As in, you could see all the way up to their crotch, like a sumo wrestler! Both the husband and I felt quite embarrassed… and plus the drumming was kindof deafening so we didn’t linger and hurried along to the Silver Pavilion…

And here it is… The Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku-ji), one of the UNESCO World Heritage site. It isn’t silver, but still very beautiful…

And again, a dry garden of sand, depicting waves. Found a website that gives a very detailed explanation of Ginkaku-ji and the garden. Apparently that mound near the left of the picture could have been modelled with Mt Fuji in mind… And apparently, the garden requires that the walls of the sand platform be reshaped, and the garden re-raked every single day!

I guess this might be the teaching of impermanence, where things don’t have to stay forever… where you may watch your masterpiece crumble, and slowly build it up again. And maybe it was this ingrained into the Japanese that helps them carry on through the tough earthquake times of Kobe and the current Sendai’s tsunami aftermath… The belief that things will recover – slowly, but definitely.

But even so, I’m not taking chances. My girl stays tightly in my arms, far away from the Silver Sea…

Or if she must insist on breaking free, then the only other place she’s allowed is into her daddy’s arms.

Walked around the compound to get various views of Ginkaku-ji. First it was the dry garden (karesansui), and now in front of the classical Japanese garden with a lake…

By the time we left Ginkaku-ji, it was getting dark. Night does fall earlier during autumn… So we sat down by the roadside just outside the temple for an ice-cream treat…

… And proceeded off into the night towards Gion.

Reached Potoncho… just to walk around a little…

… And saw a Maiko on her way for an appointment! It no longer mattered if the one I met in the morning was a makeover. I’ve seen the real thing now and that I’m sure! So she was following the guy in the suit on the left who looked more like an escort than a customer. And they hurried along so fast, only briefly stopping to greet one of the bosses of the restaurants along the way…

As for my girl who did not know what she missed? She found a playground in the dark with her powerful night vision. And there at the playground we stayed to her absolute delight, refusing to leave… until we promised her french fries.. So off to MacDonalds we went for our dinner before heading back to Namba for the night…

Quick links on our Kansai Trip:

- Day 1: Singapore to Osaka
- Day 2: Osaka (Namba, Dotonbori, Harvest Hill)
- Day 3: Osaka (Kaiyukan, Tempozan Marketplace, Naniwa Kuishinbo)
- Day 4a: Kyoto (Kiyomizu-dera, Kodaiji)
- Day 4b: Kyoto (Heian Jingu, Ginkakuji, Potoncho)
- Day 5: Universal Studios Osaka
- Day 6a: Nara (Kofukuji, Todaiji, Nara-machi)
- Day 6b: Kyoto (Fushimi Inari)
- Day 7: Osaka (Kids Plaza Osaka + Osaka Castle)
- Day 8: Kyoto (Kinkaku-ji, Nijo-jo, Nishiki Market)
- Day 9: Osaka to Singapore