A Fish Out of Water: Shinagawa Staycation

Hideaki had a Friday off this past weekend, which fell right between our anniversary and Shuma's birthday. We really wanted to take a trip to the beach to celebrate, but without time or funds for a drive or flight far away we were left with somewhere near Tokyo. Well, the water around Tokyo is already nasty enough, and although I doubt there is any appreciable amount of radiation in the ocean in these parts it just didn't feel right letting Shuma into the ocean. So after a long search for Tokyo hotels that both still had pools open (a lot of hotels have outdoor pools only, and the season is really short) and allowed babies in them, we settled on the Shinagawa Prince Hotel. I found a good deal that included a night in one of the best rooms (35th floor, main tower), four tickets to the pool and fancy buffet breakfast, and it cost 20400 yen for all of us.

It was a great choice as I had to go through Shinagawa anyway, on my way to immigration to pick up my new visa. So a little announcement: I now have a permanent residence visa! I no longer have to worry about extending my visa (or getting arrested for forgetting- oops!) and won't be kicked out when my spouse visa expires due to a divorce or Hideaki dying. Not that I'm planning anything, but, you know. It's a relief.

So back to the hotel: it's not a terribly fancy place, but very very big and with lots to do (movie theatre, bowling alley, aquarium, two pools, tonnes of restaurants, shopping etc). We didn't leave the building (well, complex of buildings) for twenty-four hours but still really enjoyed ourselves. We started with just checking our room out. Shuma loves exploring new places and we might as well have been at Disneyland for all the fun he had.

Our view wasn't great, mostly office buildings and Shinagawa Station, but if Shuma were a little older he would have loved being able to see all the trains, especially the shinkansen (bullet train).

We had a late lunch downstairs at Anna Miller's. We were playing it safe because of Shuma, and the food was as unimpressive and overpriced as we expected, but I finally got to try the pie people have been raving about for years. Here's the thing- I love apple pie, and by apple pie I mean the North American kind with rich, flaky pastry and gooey, cinnamon-scented filling. The Japanese kind, with tough pastry and a firm, bland filling, just doesn't cut it. So I've been suspicious of Japanese peoples' claims that Anna Miller's apple pie is the best ever. But I had to try and it turns out that- yes! It's the best apple pie I've ever had in Japan. Maybe not the best in the world, but it's a true American apple pie. Yay. So I'll be back for a kid-friendly dessert sometime.

After lunch we tried the pool. There is an indoor pool, with a sauna, jacuzzi and kiddie pool, but it was off-limits due to swimming lessons at the time so we used the outdoor pool. It also had a kiddie pool, which was the only place babies were allowed and was freezing cold, and although Shuma and I are pretty tough when it comes to water temperature we didn't last very long.

The boys needed a nap after all that strenuous lunch-eating and pool-frolicking. Actually, I'm the one who needed a nap after getting a very squirmy Shuma in and out of his swimming diaper and swimsuit and stopping him from crawling away while I was changing, all the while trying to preserve my modesty and hide my tattoo, which is of course not allowed (the tattoo, I mean). It was exhausting, but he loved being in the water so much that it was worth it.

Next up was Aqua Stadium, the hotel's aquarium. This was Shuma's second visit, and the place is notable not so much for its aquarium displays (although the shark and ray tunnel is very cool) but for its seal and dolphin shows. I had been prepared to hate the shows the first time but found myself really enjoying them, and of course Shuma loved watching the seals and dolphins perform. This show was a little different from the first one, in that there were almost no kids and thus far less splashing (the first time I went everybody in the first few rows got soaked), the lights were darker, and the music they played before, during and after the performance was kind of romantic. Or at least the Japanese version of romantic: 80's ballads, 10cc's "I'm not in Love", and gospel! Apparently dolphin shows are a very popular date venue.

So he loved the show but he also loved watching the fish and other non-performing creatures, and the lights and waves and reflections. He probably would have had a great time without the trained sea mammals, and now that I think about it the part I liked best about the shows was just being able to sit down and watch at our leisure. Wouldn't it be nice if aquariums had seats to let you sit down and watch the fish? Actually, they did put out seats in the tunnel for the last few hours the aquarium was open, with the lights turned low and little tables with candles, and they were serving drinks so we sat down and had some champagne and watched the rays glide overhead. I think that's the best idea ever, but then we noticed that everyone else was in couples and we remembered it was like 8:30 on a Friday night so we gulped down our drinks and got ourselves out of there. I may be an obnoxiously doting parent, but I do realize that nothing spoils a romantic atmosphere more than a baby. Even a good one.

There is also a restaurant we didn't try that has fish tanks at every table. But more aquariums should have seats! It's such a brilliant idea. I'd never leave (maybe that's why they don't).

Watching Shuma's face was just as interesting as watching the fish. He was really mesmerised by everything and I wish more pictures had turned out.

After the dolphin show they announced that you could touch one of the dolphins for 700 Yen, and because we're idiot parents we stepped right up. Of course Shuma was scared, and in the special commemorative picture they took (which we didn't buy) he looked absolutely terrified. I think it was being held over a giant tank of water that scared him, rather than the dolphin itself, and who would blame him. They dolphin trainer was really nice about it (as was the dolphin), and let us just look at the dolphin from the side of the tank, taking quite a bit longer than the other kids. He also encouraged us to take lots of pictures, which is nice (too bad most of them didn't turn out).

I'm still totally on the fence about animals as entertainment, especially dolphins. When Shuma is a few years older and expresses an interest on his own I may try another dolphin touching/kissing/swimming type thing. Ooh, and a few years after that maybe he'll be old enough to take to Mikurajima or Ogasawara to see them in the wild! Can't wait.

We had a quick dinner at the hotel's family-friendly food court, and then went to bed early. The hotel has a daycare centre, right next to the aquarium and movie theatre, so we'd thought about putting Shuma there and watching a movie or getting some cocktails (or going upstairs to our room), but it turns out that you need to make an appointment for anything after 6:00 (and even then it closes at 9:00) and we were too late. This isn't a country that encourages people to have a life after kids.

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel's nicest buffet. The food was pretty good and they had corner booths with low sofas reserved for families, so we got a nice place to sit. After checking out we tried the pool again, and because it was daytime and very hot it was excellent. We were able to stay for much longer, and also able to try the indoor area, and Shuma had such a good time and charmed the pants off of tonnes of people. Before going home we went across the street to TGIFriday's for lunch. Perhaps because we'd had something similar the day before, but I wasn't into greasy American food so didn't really enjoy it. Ooh, but I liked my cocktail and truly wished I could wean the boy right there and then so I could have more.

Shuma had a blast! We'd mentioned it was his birthday, so he got the full birthday treatment with a half-dozen staff members (and all the tables near us- I love that about Japan) singing happy birthday and a free dessert and picture. He had exactly the kind of reaction you hope for: several seconds of utter shock and confusion followed by total delight. It was so awesome that I want to do it a few more times (after all, his birthday isn't until next week).

The dessert (an ice cream sundae) was just a bonus, and of course we couldn't let him eat it with his dairy allergy and all so we had to finish it ourselves. We're such good parents. We did give him the maraschino cherry, which is the sweetest thing he's ever eaten so it goes without saying that he liked it. It was really nice of them to take a picture but it was not only a really bad photo but possible the worst one ever taken of Hideaki and I. Luckily Shuma looks OK, he's Mr. Photogenic.

And then we had to go home. It was sad for our little staycation (ooh, I hate that term, but what else can I call it?) to be over, but it felt like we'd been away from home for days. In a good way. Just one night, but much cheaper and easier to prepare for than a real vacation, and so much fun. We're thinking of making this a tradition.

Shinagawa Prince Hotel
Plans start at about 5000 Yen per person (double occupancy) in one of the annexes up to several tens of thousands of yen; if you're with family it's worth spending a little bit extra for a nice room in the more expensive main tower

Anna Miller's
Apple pie a la mode 819 Yen, whole pie 4148 Yen; other American style pies also available
High chairs for older children only (no belt)

Shinagawa Prince Hotel Pool
Indoor pool open 8:00am to 11:00am, 1:00pm to 4:00pm; 6:00pm to 9:00pm; Outdoor pool open 8:00am to 6:00pm from mid-June to mid-September
Admission for hotel guests from 1100 yen, various plans for non-guests
Babies and toddlers in diapers allowed in kiddie pools only (both indoor and outdoor pools)

Epson Aqua Stadium
Open weekdays 12:00pm to 10:00pm, Saturdays 10:00am to 10:00pm, Sundays and holidays 1:00am to 9:00pm
Adults 1800 Yen, 1000 for elementary and middle school aged kids, 600 for preschool kids above 4, free for kids under 4. Guests of the Shinagawa Prince Hotel (and several other nearby hotels) get 300 Yen off admission. Weekdays after 6:00pm admission is 1000 Yen

Food Court Shinagawa Kitchen
10:00am to 10:00pm 8 food counters plus (licenced) drink counter
High chairs for older children only (no belt)

TGI Friday's
Weekdays, Sundays and holidays 11:00am to 1:00am; Fridays, Saturdays and days before holidays 11:00am to 3:00am
Baby high chairs (with belt) and booster seats available

Comments

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Kamakura has a beach and is close to Tokyo. That said it took us several hours to drive there. The train would be way longer. Looks like you made the best of a Shinagawa staycation.

Posted by: David | 2011.09.17 at 03:39 AM