Tokyo Dad

Baby Fever

Our son has had a fever for the last couple of days, which has left him a bit lethargic and not as lively as he usually is. It's horrible to watch, to be honest, and I feel so sorry for him.

My wife took him to the doctor, but it didn't really help – he just said that he had a fever, but it wasn't flu. Well, I could have told you he had a fever! Apparently, the flu jabs aren't ready yet, which I find extraordinary. The whole affair isn't helped by the fact that I spend most of my days surrounded by people coughing and sneezing, whether on the train or in the office. Some people seem to think that going to work when they're sick shows how dedicated they are to their jobs. It doesn't, it just shows that you have no common sense and don't give a toss who you pass your germs on to. Stay at home.

As for my son, he seems better today – his temperature has come down and he's been trying to go outside and run around, which is a great sign. Hopefully he'll be back to his boisterous self very soon.

Tax on Cigarettes in Japan

The new government here is Japan is finally thinking about increasing the tax on cigarettes by between 1 yen and 10 yen per cigarette. I think this is a brilliant idea, although I'm hoping that the extra tax would be used to fund welfare programmes or health care, not more roads...

Cigarettes are seriously cheap in Japan - nearly four times cheaper than my native UK and about three times cheaper than in France or the US (as was reported in the paper the other day). I find this extraordinary and considering the amount of people who get cancer every year as a result of smoking, I am still stunned at the attitudes to smoking here. Until very recently, you could literally smoke anywhere in Japan and no-smoking areas in restaurants or coffee shops were not separated - in fact, they were often situated in such a way that you had to walk through the smoking area to get to them. This has improved drastically, I must say, in the last five years or so, and many streets in central Tokyo are now smoke-free, which is great, especially for parents.

While they're at it, why not increase tax on other stuff, like alcohol and luxury items, and remove it from necessities such as children's clothes and basic, essential food items?

One Small Step for Baby...

I know I've said this before, but it's amazing watching a baby learn to walk. They start off like little drunk monkeys, with their arms in the air and their legs seeming to operate by their own free will; shooting out, whizzing off to the side or jerking slowly forward.

Give them a few more attempts, though, and the coordination comes. My son is not about to attract the attention of the Bolshoi Ballet just yet, but his walking is coming along very nicely and he loves doing it. He walks between my wife and I across the living room floor, sometimes with a look of grim determination on his face, but mostly with a massive grin - nearly as big as ours.

Which brings me on to shoes. We've been given a couple of pairs of shoes for him, but he seems to prefer being barefoot, which I think could be for the best to strengthen his feet and legs. Obviously this might not be such a good idea outside, where there's more chance of him hurting himself or stepping on (or in) something not very nice. We went to a big baby shop recently where they had a massive selection of shoes on offer, including a series of shoes which are apparently designed to 'introduce the baby to walking in stages.' There are, they say, five stages, which I am sure is in no way a money-making scheme. Of course not.

Well, of course it is a money-making scheme. Nobody wears shoes in the house in Japan, but the first shoes should only be worn in the house. And the flimsy uppers wear out in about ten minutes. The next stage didn't seem much better. Luckily, we've been given a pair of Nike Sensory Motion shoes which have thin rubber soles designed to help the foot move as nature intended it to. Hopefully they'll be better.

Did I mention that this is all amazing to watch?

Mama Chari (ママチャリ)

We've been looking to buy a bike to carry our son around for a while, but the law changed recently regarding these kind of bikes, so we waited (I don't know the details of the changes). They are affectionately known as 'mama chari's' (mum's bike) here in Japan, although the 'official' name is 子供のせ自転車 (bike for carrying children).

So we finally bought one - a nifty looking Dellica Duo, which set us back ¥40,000. It's not exactly the bike I wanted, but it's great fun to go riding together as a family. Although our son spends half the time trying to take his helmet off, he does seem to enjoy riding. I heartily recommend getting one if you've got kids as you can get fit, save money (on petrol/train fares), help the environment and have fun at the same time!

What Does a New Japanese Government Mean for Parents in Japan?

In case you didn't know, Japan has a new government after the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was voted out after an incredible 55 years in power. Politics doesn't interest me - I wouldn't trust most politicians further than I could spit them - but as a parent in Japan, I do have an interest in what the new government, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) headed by Yukio Hatoyama ,right, has in mind for child-rearing support.

Perhaps the most attention-grabbing policy put forward is to raise the monthly child allowance the government gives to parents. Under the LDP, child allowances are currently only given to households with children of elementary school age or below and are weighted on parental income. Families receive up to ¥10,000 a month for children up to age 3, after which it is ¥5,000, except for the third child, who continues to receive ¥10,000. The DPJ promises to raise this to ¥26,000 for every child until the end of junior high school regardless of parental income, starting with half the amount for the 2010 academic year. Sounds good to me. (Although these payments claim to be monthly, we actually receive them quarterly. I'm not griping, I just thought I'd point it out.)

Another policy put forward by the DPJ, and applauded by observers and me alike, is to reinstate financial support for single-parent households on welfare - amounting to about ¥23,000 a month in Tokyo - which the LDP scrapped in April.

All in all, it does seem like the DPJ have a more realistic idea of what it means to raise a child and they do seem to be supportive of people who want to have children, which is a good thing. It's sad when financial worries persuade people who want children not to have them. Let's hope they stay true to their word and help current and prospective parents in Japan.

Surfing in Chiba

I was lucky enough to spend the weekend with my family on the Boso Peninsula in Chiba this weekend, which gave me a chance to go surfing for the first time in over a year!

We also took our son into the sea, although the movement and noise was a little bit scary for him, so we took him back to the swimming pool outside the hotel where he was a lot happier. Hopefully the saltwater (it was also a saltwater swimming pool) will do his skin some good, as it always seems to help mine.

It was great to get back in the water again, even though the waves weren't that great and, happily, I found that my new exercise regime has given me more stamina and made me more supple, whereas Muay Thai seems to have improved my balance. The net result was that I even managed to stay upright for a few seconds!

That is not me in the photograph, needless to say...

Aeon Lake Town, Koshigaya

Last week was a bit of a shopping-fest, not that we bought much, with visits to Costco and the new(ish) Aeon Lake Town operated by the Aeon shopping group.

The shopping centre is split into two parts, Kaze (Wind) and Mori (Forest), which are connected by a walkway resplendent with airport-style travelators. There are far too many shops to list here, but suffice to say that you can probably find whatever you need. For me, one of the best things was finding a Kua'Aina, which makes probably the best sandwiches available in Japan: their avocado sandwich is a dream for a vegetarian like me. There are also very clean facilities for changing and feeding babies, which is nice (our local shopping centre has the baby facilities located close to a smoking area...).

The size of Lake Town is both an advantage and a disadvantage - it is massive, which means there's loads to see, but you'll be knackered trying to see it all (or perhaps that's just old farts like me!). Plus it is very, very crowded, especially in and around the connecting passage, which isn't so nice when you've got a baby with you. Just to conclude on an even more moaning old fart-type note, the music from some of the shops is so deafeningly-loud, it's uncomfortable to be near them, let alone inside them.

Right then, time to go outside and moan to the young folk for playing outside my house..

Costco in Japan

We went out to the new Costco in Shin Misato, Saitama Prefecture, the other day, which is very close to Ikea and a yet-to-be-completed Lalaport. It was our first time to visit a Costco in Japan, or anywhere for that matter, so we were interested to see what it was like. We paid the ¥4200 yearly membership, which covers both my wife and I, and then set about navigating the warehouse-style shop.

In case you didn't know, Costco is cheap - in many cases very cheap. I like Perrier, but don't like paying ¥270 for a bottle too often. At Costco I got a box of ten bottles for the equivalent of around ¥170 a case of non-alcohol beer for around ¥110 a can.

There is a catch, of course, in that you have to buy in bulk. Until relatively recently, we didn't have a car and we were living in a small apartment without much storage space, so buying things in bulk would present a problem both in transporting and storing the goods. Now that we have a car and a bit more space in our house, there is less of a problem.

All in all, I'm glad we joined and we will be shopping at Costco regularly. There are loads of things that I like on sale there that are difficult to find in normal shops in Japan, plus the nappies (diapers) are cheap for as long as our son needs them.

Baby Swimwear

Now that summer is here with a vengeance, we're taking our son to a local outdoor pool, so naturally he needs some cool threads to be seen in!

We were quite taken aback by how much swimwear for babies is, but nevertheless we decided on this nifty little number by Ocean Pacific which we bought at Murasaki Sports.

Not exactly cheap at over ¥3,000, but he looks so cute in it, so we're more than happy!

Competitive Parents

"How old is your baby now? Six months, ten months, eighteen months? Blimey, by that age my baby had mastered the trombone, was performing perfect backflips on the trampoline, reading Shakespeare and debating theology."

Well, my baby makes noises, slobbers, has trouble keeping his balance, giggles for no reason and doesn't like solid food. For some parents, this is enough to have them rushing off to a child psychologist to see if they are 'developing' properly. For me, it's called being normal.

Why do parents feel the need to be competitive about their children? I'm sure we can all remember saying crap like 'my dad does karate' at school, but we had an excuse then because we were kids. Now it's more common for me to hear the opposite; how athletic/smart/artistic/gifted/terribly attractive their progeny is. And it's weird! Even better is when you hear people who haven't got kids giving you advice. 'Ooh, no breast milk after one year old, no, no, no.' 'Not crawling yet?! Get down on all fours and show him how it's done.'

All babies – and the big, stupid people they turn into – are different. Here's what I think: my baby is wonderful and the most precious thing in my life. He'll start walking, talking and eating food in his own time. What's the rush? I love him and will not compare him to any other babies. Because I know that he's number one.

My Son and Sakura

The sakura (cherry blossom) is almost in full bloom and my son seems to love it! He was bouncing up and down, smiling and laughing when he saw the trees and got angry when we moved away. Do we have ourselves a little samurai? That being said, he got tired after a while and was more interested in trying to take my glasses off - a seemingly endless source of amusement for him!

We will be heading out to West Tokyo today to meet some old friends, so he'll have even more chance to see the flowers.

Water Baby

My wife recently took our son to a free trial at a local swimming school, although I was unable to go due to work. Apparently, babies can start going to such pools from around four months old, although we thought that was a bit young. Originally, we were going to wait until he could walk, but a local pool was running a special offer, so we thought we'd take him along.

The good news is that, despite a shaky start, he seemed to enjoy it. All of the other children there were around two years old and rather noisy, so he was a bit intimidated at first but settled in later on. He was eventually kicking his legs and laughing, which makes me wish I could have been there. Still, if he does start going, I will be able to take him there on Saturday mornings, which will be great. Our one concern is that he seems to suffer a little bit with itchy skin, so we will have to be careful in case the chemicals in the water cause an adverse reaction.

Hopefully in a few years he will be able to go surfing with me!

Registering a Birth in Japan

It took a while to get around to it, but I have finally registered the birth of our son with the British Embassy here in Tokyo. He now has both Japanese and British birth certificates and, therefore, both Japanese and British nationality. Unfortunately, before he turns twenty-two, he will have to choose whether he wants to take Japanese or British nationality. I think that's a bit crappy.

Anyway, here is what you need to do if you want to register the birth of your lovely child in Japan (I don't know if it is the same in other countries, but I can't imagine it being that much different):

1.Child's hospital birth certificate

2. Child's Ward Office birth certificate. In Japanese, this is "shussei todoke juri shomeisho";

3. Parents' marriage certificate and, if appropriate, evidence of the termination of any previous marriage of either parent;

4. Long-form UK birth certificate(s) showing parents' details or British Adoption Certificate(s) for the British parent(s) or, if born outside theUK, documentary evidence of claim to British nationality, e.g. naturalisation or registration certificate;

5. If one parent is Japanese, a photocopy of the family register ("koseki tohon"). [If the child's birth is already shown on the family register, you do not need to provide the ward office birth certificate under item 2 as well. However, in this case you must send us an original certified copy of the family register bearing the ward office's stamp - a photocopy is not acceptable];

6. Both parents' passports (except for Japanese nationals).  

It took me a while as I was waiting to get hold of the 'long' form of my birth certificate (easily obtainable in the UK). Once I had that, the process was very straightforward and only took about twenty minutes from start to finish at the embassy.

More details can be found at the British Embassy website:

http://ukinjapan.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-japan/marriage-birth-death/how-register-birth

Sweet Potato for a Sweet Boy

Our son has taken a liking to sweet potato, which is great because it's very good for him (well, everybody, actually) and it is widely available - and quite cheap - here in Japan. This is one of the few foods he has eaten so far - he had an allergic reaction to strawberry - but he eats it without any fuss.

Barley Tea for Baby

We are slowly but surely introducing our son to solid food and are now introducing other drinks into his diet. Yesterday, he ate a few mouthfuls of rice (ground nearly to a paste, naturally) and also quite happily drank some tea, much to our surprise.

The reason we were so surprised is that we put the tea in a bottle and he had previously shown an extreme dislike towards anything in bottles. Last night, however, he quite happily drank around 20ml of tea from his bottle, not once trying to shove it away or contorting his face and moaning.

We started him off with barley tea – known as mugi-cha (麦茶) here in Japan – as it is easy to drink, caffeine free and rather nice. My wife drinks gallons of the stuff (we buy an organic brand) and I am partial to a few glasses myself, especially cold mugi-cha in summer.He has also been drinking water recently, which is a good thing as Japan is incredibly dry during winter and he has trouble with his skin. Hopefully, adding more liquid to his diet will help his dry skin.

Shopping for a Pram

Buying a pram was not one of the things I gave much thought to before I had a child - obviously - but I was slightly stunned as to how many different styles and kinds there are! I have to admit then when the salespeople were giving my wife the spiel about which pram (or 'baby car' in Japanese, which I think is ace) she should choose, I wandered off with my son in arms, pretending to look for something else...

The choices are important, however, especially if you live in a place like Tokyo. Size and weight become very important considerations as one tends to travel on trains a lot. Therefore, you want something that folds up into a manageable size and doesn't weigh a ton. That being said, you don't want something that will fall to pieces if you drop it or is only suitable to be used for the next three weeks.

We eventually went for a Combi pram, like the one in the picture. I plan to use it for the first time today, so I can't report on how good it is yet.

Daily Yomiuri 'Kids Special'

On Friday 18th July (i.e. tomorrow) the Daily Yomiuri newspaper will include a special section on summer activities and events for families with kids. I've never really paid any attention to these kind of things in the past, but this looks pretty good. There seems to be a strong sporty theme, which I heartily approve of given some of the portly little buggers I see getting around recently, including surfing and windsurfing, yoga (yes, really) and football (soccer).
More sedentary pursuits are also being covered, including art exhibits and interactive shows. I'll talk more about the events later for those who may not have been able to get a copy of the paper.