Saturday, January 5, 2013

Tokyo with Laetitia and my girl pal

It was December again and normally, over Christmas, we would go back to France to spend Christmas with my in laws.  The Christmas that just passed, however, I decided to do something different.

I was going to take the girl to Tokyo and the husband would take the boy back to France for Christmas.  We felt that it would be a good thing for us to spend time individually with one child.  Part of our parenting belief is that one on one time with the children is beneficial to them.  And for the girl to spend time with mummy and boy with papa is important as there are specific bonds that the same sex parent could build with the child. With Laetitia, the experiences we have of doing girly things together is something she will not do with her papa.  

So we excitedly planned for the trip to Tokyo. We invited one of my girlfriend along too.  And so off we went!  This time, we flew Cathay Pacific to Tokyo.

As we had a good experience staying in Oakwood Aoyama the last time we went to Tokyo together as a family, we decided to go back there.   Oakwood Aoyama is nicely located near to Omotesanto area where there are lots of shops and restaurants.  It is not far from Harajuku and Shibuya too.  One can totally walk along Omotesanto towards Harajuku to Meiji Shrine and that was what we did! 

The girl and I at Meiji Shrine. Flat Jane, a school project of the girl, came along as well.

We visited Asakusa for the Sensoji temple and went shopping in Isetan Shinjuku as well.  After two days to touring around Tokyo, we made a trip out to ski!

We went to Yuzawa for two days of skiing and stayed in a lovely ryokan, Echigo Yuzawa Hatago Isen.  It was relatively easy to get to Yuzawa from Tokyo. It took only an hour on the Shinkansen.  At the train station in Yuzawa, there's a sort of a traditional Japanese market and it was very interesting with tons of yummy Japanese food and snacks.  The hotel was right opposite and that made it really easy for us to get around.

We booked for a private skiing instructor and both the girl and my girlfriend took a 2hour lesson with him.



My little girl with my girlfriend.

And the highlight of the trip for the girl, a visit to Sanrio Puroland to see Hello Kitty and Hello Daniel!  There are special Keio train and entry combo tickets which you should purchase before going.  




We  had a wonderful time spent together doing girlie stuff while bonding as mummy and daughter.

On our last day, we visited Tsukiji Fish Market and had some yummy sushi and sashimi.  The fish market was not the girl's favourite as it smell a little but a great experience for the adults.

Overall, we had a good time.  I was able to enjoy some good moments catching up with my girlfriend as well.  In addition, having my friend with us also helped create some breaks for both the girl and I when we need a little time off from each other. 

Across the continent, the boy and his papa had a great time together as well.  It helped them build a closer relationship together and do boy stuff.  I have to say that I am looking forward to possibly a next trip where we, the parents, do one on one time on a special holiday with the other child too.  A once a year trip alternating the kids would be awesome for us to create additional special memories in our children's lives aside from the times we spend together as a family.

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