Yesterday, Marty and I went to Tokyo Disneyland.  There is a national holiday on Monday but we had expected the park to be quite quiet yesterday.  We were wrong.  Yesterday was the first day of their Hallowe’en celebration.  When we entered the park we noticed that there were a lot of people dressed in Disney costumes.  At first we thought these were Disney crew members but there seemed to be far too many of them.  In Tokyo Disneyland it isn’t strange to see adults wearing Mickey Mouse ears or Tigger Tails as the Japanese really do enjoy getting into the spirit of things.  But even the Japanese adults don’t usually go dressed as Cruella de Vil or Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

We picked up an entertainment guide and discovered that for a limited number of days they were allowing adults to enter the park dressed as their favourite Disney character.  I really wish I had taken a camera as there were so many great costumes.  I particularly liked some of the interpretations of the Cheshire Cat.  No-one wore a face mask and reading the Disney site today it seems that these aren’t allowed.  But there was a whole variety of wigs and make-up that made the costumes fascinating.

The park was really full but somehow managed to maintain a fun, lively, party atmosphere without being claustrophobic.   In the evening we decided to queue for more than an hour to get in Disney’s Haunted Mansion.  Normally we wouldn’t do this - we have been in there many times before - but it was refurbished and re-opened yesterday.  It has been themed on “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and I thought the changes were much better than the attempt they made to change the Pirates of the Carribean ride to reflect the films.

We have had a lot of visitors over the past year.  Now, when people come, we try to find at least one place to go that we have not been to before.  On Sunday we went to Karuizawa.  We were a bit concerned about this trip as we went via the Shinkansen which made it more expensive than our usual journeys (11,000 円, 58 GBP).

When we arrived it was raining.  Raining so hard that we couldn’t actually see into the main street from the train station.  Thankfully this heavy rain only lasted for around 15 minutes and we were then able to venture out.  The first thing I noticed was the lack of humidity.  I knew it was in the mountains and that it would be cooler than Tokyo but it was so good to be able to walk around and not feel sticky and uncomfortable.

The area was really beautiful and I would like to go back on a clear day so that we could take the cable car up the mountain.  I love that Japan is as green as Ireland.  Though walking through Karuizawa I was reminded more of the towns in Canada that are in the Rockies.

I wonder how much it would cost to rent a house in Karuizawa next summer?

Forest in Karuizawa

Today I went to Kamakura with my Dad and Step-mum.  I really do love going to see the Daibutsu.  It was very hot today which nearly stopped me from taking any pictures as I find it hard to hold a parasol and focus the camera at the same time.

Daibutsu at Kamakura

Today, for the first time since I got back from Copenhagen, the sun decided to shine.  My house guests suggested that we take a walk round the Imperial Palace before it started to rain again.  It was really hot and humid outside but the beauty of the gardens helped me cope with the weather.  Part of the gardens appear to be a sanctury for all sorts of insects so I will probably complain about the bites on my arms for the next day or two.

Imperial Palace East Garden

Ninomaru Garden, Imperial Palace

I spent the day wandering around Kamakura with my current house guests.  As they had a guide book I ended up seeing places I had never been to before.  One of these, the Kaikōzan Hase-dera, is certainly worth visiting - even in the rain.

Gardens at Hase-dera

Flowers in Rain

Japanese Garden at Hase-dera

Today I made my first visit to a dentist in Japan.  I have had a lot of pain in an erupting wisdom tooth since the middle of last week.  This happened to the same tooth a couple of years ago.  I went to see a dentist in Northern Ireland and at that time I was told the tooth was fine and that it was normal for this to cause a lot of pain.

This morning I woke at around 5.30am with a fever and decided that I would need to go and see someone about the tooth.  I had no idea where to go so I did a quick search for “English speaking dentists in Tokyo”.  Luckily for me one of the top results was a surgery in the building Marty works in.  Going to the dentist can be quite a traumatic experience.  I have never really understand what dentists do to make people feel so uncomfortable.  Today I didn’t feel nervous but that was mainly because the fever made me feel sick and I was in quite a lot of pain - I didn’t really think anyone could make me feel worse.

I turned up without an appointment just after the surgery opened.  I was told that I would have to wait for an hour.  I was thrilled with this.  When I had the problems in Northern Ireland I found it really hard to get an appointment at the dentist.  Even though it was considered an emergency, because of the pain, I still had to wait for two days until a dentist could fit me in in their lunch break.

I was impressed with the surgery.  It was really clean and peaceful.  The dentist made me feel comfortable and took time to explain everything that was going to happen.  It seemed more efficient than any dentist I have been to in Northern Ireland.  The dentist who analysed my x-ray and looked at the tooth didn’t do any of the mundane things like taking the x-ray or cleaning my gums.  He had a dental technician to do this for him.

Although the visit went well it turns out that I have a problem with my tooth.  The dentist wanted to schedule surgery to remove it at the start of next week but I will be in Europe as I am going to YAPC::Europe.  It’s haven’t felt well in days and it’s possible that I am going to feel awful throughout my whole European trip but I don’t want to cancel.

Summer has arrived.  Tonight for this first time this year I have been serenaded by the cicadas.  I don’t like the summer and I am finding it difficult to cope with the heat.  I find it hard to stop myself getting ill because I’m not eating and drinking enough.  The heat makes me lose my appetite and no matter how much I drink it doesn’t seem to be enough.  I started to feel weak and debilatated during the week and realised that I really need to eat more.  I keep thinking that I’ve eaten enough but fruit and salad don’t contain enough calories to be the only thing I eat.  I have added kanpyo maki to my diet but I am not eating enough of this to make up the calories I need.

To fix this problem I have tried to make sure that any food I buy is food that I really like eating.  This does mean that the grocery bill is increasing but at least I should be healthier.  On the plus side I’m losing weight.