Shinagawa's Ramen Theme Park

We recently went to "Shinatatsu" - the Ramen theme park consisting of 7 famous Ramen shops in Shinagawa. It's about a minute walk from Shinagawa St.'s Takanawa exit.

The entrance has a flight of stairs (about 10 steps) so you have to carry your stroller but otherwise there's slopes inside to get to the shops.

Out of the many choices, we went to "Setagaya" (same as the one in NYC) and ordered the Setagaya Ramen and the Gyoro Ramen.

If you like fatty ramen ...Gyoro Ramen is the bowl to have! It has tons of pork fat bits floating in the soup but lots of veggies to balance it out. I'm craving it already.

Anyway, since most ramen shops are small and not very stroller or kid friendly, I would recommend Shinatatsu cause the shop was very spacious
http://www.shinatatsu.com/
(Japanese site only)

BTW, for diaper changing, etc., do it at the station or Takanawa Wing EAST which is right next door.

Sugao Soap

Sugao Soap.
A handmade soap with all natural ingredients.

Sota started having skin trouble (I think from the humidity and hot weather) so I was given this soap to try.

Unlike soaps sold in stores, sugao soap melts easily so instead of using the whole block all at once I was told to cut it into small pieces and dry the soap after each use.

It may sound a little troublesome but try it cause it worked wonders for Sota!
http://www.sugao-soap.com/
(Japanese site only)

1st sleepover!

Last night Kaito and Sota had their 1st sleepover!

They were both excited and full of energy that even after bedtime they were running around chasing after each other.

Thinking they'd be grumpy without the full night's rest, they were in a great mood and so happy to see each other in the morning!

We gotta do it again!

Kaito's mommy...Thanks for cooking all the delicious food!

Omori Furusato-no-Hamabe

We went to Omori Furusato-no-Hamabe the other day.

It's an artificial beach but this is the only fake beach in Tokyo that has a cove, tideland, and white sand (carried from Shodo-shima).

There isn't much shade so a lot people were ready to get a tan or relaxing/having a picnic in their own tents.

There's a small food stand but I recommend that you bring your own food and drinks.

The beach doesn't allow you to swim but if you're going with your kid you can still enjoy the water and sand so don't forget to bring a change of clothes and towels.

After you enjoyed the beach, your kids can play at the roller slides or check out the seaweed museum.

And if you got a little too much sun, stop by the 3rd floor of the museum and rest in the air conditioned room while checking the view of the park.

It's a 15 min walk from Heiwajima or Oomori-machi St. on the Keikyu line.

http://www.city.ota.tokyo.jp/midokoro/park/furusatonohamabe/index.html

(Japanese site only)

Thank you mommy!

To all the mommies out there...

Maternity & Baby Festa

If you have time this weekend, check out the Maternity & Baby Festa at Tokyo Big Site.

I went when I was still pregnant and just by filling out some questionaires I got lots of free samples (clothes, baby massage cream, powdered milk, etc).

It'll def. be crowded so it may be tiring but it's great insight to the newest baby gear and stuff.

http://www.bigsight.jp/english/

Yokohama Anpanman Museum

We went to the Anpanman Children's Museum & Mall today.

There was an hour wait but since it was the 1st time there we decided to wait on line and see what's inside. It's 1000 Yen for both adults and children to get into the museum which has Character Diorama's, slides, murals, a stage where Anpanman comes out to dance (specific times only) and spaces for kids to play. If your child loves the animation and the story, they will love the museum.

As for Sota, he loves the songs and dancing so he wasn't as interested in the museum, so even though we waited an hour, we came out in 30 minutes (LOL).

But luckily, we heard that Anpanman would appear in the Mall's Square at 12pm so we got a space in the front. Sota was so excited to see the real Anpanman and to be able to dance with him.

So since you can see Anpanman and other characters appear in the mall (mall is free of charge), you really don't have to wait on line and pay to get into the museum. The mall has enough stores to see and places to eat that you can have just as much fun.

http://www.yokohama-anpanman.jp/main.html

(Japanese site only but they have English brochures)

ParkYoga＠TokyoMidtown

Until May 5th, Park Yoga(no fee) is being held at Tokyo Midtown. Even if you're not a Yoga person, it's great to get up early and relax under the blue sky. And tt just feels so great to walk barefoot on the grass!

During GW, everywhere you go is gonna be crowded so get up a little early and try Park Yoga. Afterwards we had brunch in Midtown, making it a really pleasant afternoon.

There are trees to create shady areas so kaito was happily on the blankets and yoga mats watching daddy do yoga.

If you're bringing your child, driving would be easy cause there's lots of parking space early in the morning.

http://www.tokyo-midtown.com/en/events_news/detail.php?id=14

Costco's Tricycle

I've been looking around for a cheap, yet simple & nicely designed tricycle for Sota.
While searching online and not finding what I liked...I read in a bunch of blogs that Costco sometimes has tricycles for really cheap.

Since I'm not a member I joined my friend today who is a member. And lucky us, they had a new stock of the Radio Flyer tricycles for only 5250 Yen! Depending on when you go, it seems that the brand is different or they don't have any at all, but if you're looking for a tricycle def. check Costco.


I always joined my friend to stock up on the food, laundry detergent or just to have that slice of pizza but I realized that not only do they have food from the States but in the middle section where I hardly look, they have great English kids books and other toys/clothes for good prices too.

http://www.costco.co.jp/eng/index.htm