LEKUE Ice Cream Molds

Even though summer is over,

kaito is always saying "ice, ice".

Unfortunately, they don't sell MUJI'S 100% fruit ice which he loves so

I bought Lekue's ice cream molds It's 3500 Yen for a set of 4
which they don't sell at stores (cause it's out of season)
but luckily I found it on the net.

kaito seemed confused at first but loved it.
It's easy to make and great cause you can use 100% juice.
So even though winter is right around the corner our freezer will always be stocked with kaito's favorite ice.

Crayons for the window

I was recently introduced to Kitpas crayons which can be used to draw on the window (or white board, glass & alot of other stuff).

Sota loves to draw and uses up a whole pad of paper when he's "in the drawing mood".

So now that we have the Kitapas crayons, he can draw & erase, draw & erase on the window as many times as he wants. (Great for mommies cause it saves $ and paper)

And it makes it double the fun, to think you're drawing on something you're not really allowed to draw on.

It's about 1000 Yen for a box with 12 colors.

http://www.rikagaku.co.jp/items/kitpaskids.htm

(Japanese site only)

GAP kids model contest

If you think you're child is the cutest, enter them in the
2011 babyGap & GapKids model contest!!

It's an easy application process via PC by Nov. 14th!
(Unfortunately, the form is only in Japanese)
http://gap.co.jp/star/

MOTOSUMIYOSHI station

October 14th is known as Railway Day in Japan

so we went train-watching at Motosumiyoshi (Toyoko Line/ Meguro Line).

It's the perfect spot cause right infront of the ticket gate is rooftop garden

where the kids can watch all the trains pass.

It's a recommended hangout for train loving kids.
And luckily there's a bunch of benches so the mommies can sit down.
Bring lunch and you can spend the whole afternoon there.

Motosumiyoshi is famous for their local shopping street with bakeries, bento stores and lots more so you can buy lunch there.

Arakawa Amusement Park

When we're looking for something to do on the weekends, we check to see if there's any Anpanman shows going on at this site↓
http://anpanman.jp/shisetsu/event/nuigurumi/n_schedule_kt.html
Luckily, there were 3 locations that had the shows today so we chose to go to the closest called Arakawa Yuen. There were 2 shows (11:30am and 2:30pm) each 20 minutes long with a meet & greet afterwards.

They have some shows scheduled in October/November. and as long as you pay the 200 Yen admission for adults, you can enjoy the show.

As for the park itself it's the perfect size and a lot of fun for the kids. 　You can enjoy the 'Norimono Hiroba' with a ferris wheel, merry-go-round and smaller rides for the little ones;

see cute animals in the 'Doubutsu Hiroba,' play in the ball house in 'Fu-a Fu-a Land';

fish at the fishing pond;

color at the coloring corner; play on the slides in the park section.

If you get hungry, they have a mini restaurant and a kiosk to buy food at (& draft beer for the mommies and daddies).

It's only a 3-minute walk from Arakawa-Yuenchi-mae sta. on the Toden Arakawa Line.

http://www1.tcn-catv.ne.jp/acc/arakawa_yuen/yuuen01.html

(Japanese only)

ANPANMAN POOL

The last pool of the summer for kaito was spent at Yomiuriland's Anpanman Pool!

The Anpanman pool was huge compared to the usual local pool along with SL man slides, Uncle Jam's Bread factory, a section to play with water guns...definitely a fun place for kids.

There are also small waterslides and a wave pool making it fun for both parents and kids.
It's a great way to end your summer so check it out tomorrow (which is the last day)!

Adults 2800 Yen

Kids (over 3) 1800 Yen

To check more details see:

http://www.yomiuriland.co.jp/english/wai/

Chopsticks

If you're looking for training chopsticks for your kids,

Edison Chopsticks is recommended!

We've tried combi's chopsticks which was hard to use but Edison chopsticks were easy. Just place your fingers thru the rings and then you move your hands and you're guided to grab the food.

From the 1st time he used it, Sota was able to grab food and was so proud each time.

It's about 1,200 Yen and they have chopsticks for lefty's too.

http://doctorpeople.jp/goods/hasi_one.php

shiokaze park

Wanna have a barbaque party?
Shiokaze Park (close to Daiba station) is the perfect place.

You can rent everything you would need for a bbq (chairs, tables, bbq grill, etc)and you can order the food too.

Of course you can bring your own stuff/food too but if you're a crowd of 30+ people with kids renting the gear and having the food ready to cook is too convenient.

The price starts from 2000 yen.

Just keep in mind that it's hard to get a reseravation cause it's popular.

You can make reservations from 2 months before so even if it's a tentative date, make the reservation!

http://www.herofield.com/bbq/shiokaze/index.html

They have parking spaces or it's a 5 mins. walk from Yurikamome's Daiba Station.

bicycle

Finally bought a bicycle that I can ride with kaito.
Angelino's Posh Assista↓
http://www.angelino.jp/angelino_posh/posh_assista/index.html









When pedaling, it's really light and easy cause it has the assist feature, but the actual bicycle is a little heavy. Eitherway, kaito seems to enjoy riding it.












His helmet is of course a CARS helmet from Lazer.
It can be adjusted inside so it'll be good for a few years.
http://lazer.jp/kids/index.html













This "Hamax" is kaito's friend Haruto's ride.
http://www.hamax.no/default.aspx?CatID=1166








Looks cool but after much consulting, I was told that the rear seat setting would be ideal after 3, when you child can talk more.

Can't wait for the weather to get cooler so we can go cycling.

Wind Valley Farm

Our first delivery from Kazenotani Farm arrived!
It's a farm in Saitama-shi that grows all their vegetables naturally.
This delivery included pumpkin, okura, burdock, 2 kinds of ginger, potatoes, basil, etc.
and kaito seemed to really enjoy all the vegetables... I used the okura to put in Somen, potatoes to make french fries, pumpkin to make pottage, etc.

Kazenotani Farm BOX (7-10 items) is 2100 Yen
You can chose if you want the delivery to be every week or once a month.

These vegetables make you feel really happy and warm.
If your interested in ordering too, check the site below.
http://wvfarm.exblog.jp/