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New Zealand's Top Mummy Blogger Parenting Travel Blog Family Planetbox Stainless Steel Lunchbox

PlanetBox Review: Nixon’s quirky eating and the Lunchbox that makes it all ok

The arrival of PlanetBox lunchboxes in New Zealand has been long awaited by Mums and/or Instagram food stylists for a long, long time. With a picky eater on my hands, these bento-style lunch boxes looked like just the thing to help Nix make the most out of his packed lunch each day. Little & Loved kindly provided the Rover for review, check out their range of PlanetBox products and accessories here > PlanetBox Lunchboxes available in New Zealand!

I’m writing this mid-bedtime battle with Nixon, so I feel like I’m banging on a bit about his somewhat ‘difficult’ behaviours at the moment but it is what it is. Our little guy is a gorgeous wee package full of surprises and challenges and we love him for that, as trying as they may be.

Anyhow, food is the topic de jour, in particular, Nixon’s LOVE of food.

This statement comes with caveats, of course, doesn’t everything when you’re discussing a 4-year-old?

Nixon loves all food that is;

Quick to eat
Not touching other foods
Not mixed with other foods ie he loves berries and he loves yoghurt but he can’t stand berries IN yoghurt.
Not in any way being devious about vegetables. “Just don’t try and hide veges in my shit Mum, just don’t”.
Not past it’s prime, even slightly. no brown bits on bananas, apples or avocados, please.
Not a fancy hybrid of any kind. A croissant is perfection. A pain au chocolat is abhorrent!
Not in excess of any one element; too cheesy no good, too buttery no good, too much mince in a mince pie? No good.

So meal times at our house are usually a two-step process. We usually cook all the components of our meals separately, serve Nixon in his divided plate and then combine the ingredients for everyone else’s meal. Last night we had an amazing turkey and vegetable fettuccine. Nix had roasted turkey, fettuccine pasta with alfredo sauce (no bits!) and chopped tomatoes and beetroot on the side.

Kindy lunches are a similar scenario, complicated further by the fact that lunch must be packed separated and stay separated throughout the day – bento style. Needless to say, we’ve had lots of semi-full lunch boxes (with the contents inadvertently mixed together) return home at the end of the day with a very hungry wee boy. Nix needs to eat a lot and to eat often, so finding the right lunchbox for him to get used to before he heads off to school later this year is key right now.

I’m totally aware of how OTT this sounds (it’s just a freaking lunchbox right???), but, Zoe from Little & Loved took some time via Instagram to chat me through lunchbox options for Nix and his ‘requirements’. There’s no doubt that PlanetBox as well as other bento-style lunchboxes have become popular in recent years BUT, they are quite an investment. If you’re looking at purchasing online it’s amaze being able to ask questions before dropping 90 bucks on your kids’ school lunch receptacle right?

So, Nixie’s PlanetBox Rover arrived and I was immediately in love; the gorgeous, retro packaging, the seemingly indestructible nature of its eco-friendly, stainless steel construction…….. I know a friend who has had 3 PlanetBox lunchboxes for her kids since her eldest began school over 6 years ago and they are still going strong, so the longevity of these guys is amazing.

However, I underestimated the depth of my son’s food ocd. That river runs DEEP ya’ll. I was all set up to send him off to kindy on Friday with his new PlanetBox lunch box but, a ‘Farewell Day’ for his plastic Systema was required. Literally, I had to agree to one more day before we could recycle the lunchbox I thought he disliked so much because his food got all mixed up inside it!

Strange little fellow lol.

Two weeks into PlanetBox Life, both Nix and I are converted and convinced. I initially worried that the latch system might be a bit tricky for him (no idea why I presume my 4.5yo is a baby still?!) – it isn’t, that it might be a bit heavy – it isn’t, that it might not hold enough – it does. But my most overwhelming observation comes from the fact that Nixon’s PlanetBox comes home from kindy four days a week completely empty. These are the most perfect, rubbish free, bento-style lunchboxes I’ve personally ever used or seen. Nix eats everything now because his food stays separated………no matter what. I’ve flipped it, shaken it all about (as does Nix on the daily!) and the smart design stays true every time.

Zoe has a great range of eco friendly Planetbox stainless steel lunch boxes and accessories in stock here in New Zealand, all with a five year warranty. Dishwasher safe, eco-friendly, non-toxic and built to last, I know I’ll be using this awesome lunch box for years to come.

Shop the Little & Loved collection here > Stainless Steel PlanetBox Lunchboxes

New Zealand's Top Mummy Blogger Parenting Travel Blog Family Epson Ecotank Printer

True Story: The printer that made me forget how much I hate printers

I’d given up on home printers years ago, but after receiving Epson’s innovative WorkForce EcoTank Printer to review, I’m ready to smash work, life admin and school projects in 2018 – without running out of ink once.

I am a techy, gadget geek, early adopter kinda girl.

You don’t keep blogging for over 10 years without having some sort of affinity for how technology can increase productivity and creativity and improve your lifestyle, at least to some degree.

Despite most communication being conducted via email these days, ‘life admin’ still requires paper and printing. Forms, permission slips, itineraries, confirmations, tickets, bank statements, school projects, photos… I need to print multiple times per day (heads up, in my experience, printing needs increase exponentially with the number of kids you have!).

I swore off printers 3 years ago after bringing the last failure home. I purchased a ‘WIFI’ model that never connected to our network, wouldn’t talk to my Mac computers, printed everything on a 25° angle and required new cartridges constantly. The kicker? If you purchased on special it was often cheaper to buy a whole new printer (which came with ink cartridges) then it was to stock up on ink. This sort of false-economy is super disheartening as both a consumer and as someone who tries to think about the impact our purchasing has on the environment.

It was time to say goodbye to the weakest link in our home office environment, preferring to suffer through the inconvenience of waiting for that friend who could print something out at work (Dave and I both work from home so this was ridiculous!) or actually driving up to our local stationery store and using the kiosks there.

The printer that made me forget how much I hate printers

There is always an exception to every rule, however, and it appears one printer company have magic-ed up a device that can do what I need it to do – and do what it says it can do on the box!

Meet the Epson WorkForce EcoTank ET-4750.

My New Best Friend!

This multi-function marvel has addressed every problem I’ve ever experienced with printers as, well as doing its basic job of printing better than I could have imagined.

Why I LOVE my Epson EcoTank Printer

So many reasons, but let me count the ways:

EcoTank – there’s a BIG clue in the name; this printer has no cartridges, it has refillable tanks (!!) and comes with enough ink in the box for 2 YEARS WORTH OF PRINTING! I’m dead.

WIFI Direct Print/Copy/Scan: I know, sounds good right…but…NO buts this time, it legit works and is super easy and fast to set-up. I work from two Macs, my husband uses a PC and there are iPhones, Samsung and Huawei phones in our house – WE CAN PRINT FROM ALL OF THEM. It’s a home office miracle and I love it!
It holds 250 sheets of A4 (in a hidden draw so Nixon can’t steal it for his ‘projects’): this may not sound like a big deal, but I’m often printing in a hurry e.g. homework ‘remembered’ as Ethan is running out the door for the school bus. Scrambling for paper to print with and then struggling to get it to feed without jamming etc. is now a distant, horrible, memory (lol).

Half a ream in the paper tray no worries!

Borderless printing: I had no idea my EcoTank did this until we returned from Japan and Nix wanted to bring a picture to Kindy news of a manta ray he saw in the aquarium in Osaka. I actually squealed in delight as the beautiful image came out of the printer. Guys remember – borderless printing is GOALS!

The convenience of having a home printer again and the ease of WIFI printing is just so delicious; I’m literally singing the EcoTank’s praises to anyone who will listen. There is a large range of models and price options available and all come with that amazing no cartridge, refillable tank system and 2 years of ink included.

Check out all of the options here for more info> Epson EcoTank Printers

Nixie’s gorgeous borderless image of Waffles/Talulah (the visiting pig) to share for news at kindy.

New Zealand's Top Mummy Blogger Parenting Travel Blog Family Summer Tip Top Ice Cream

Recipe for Summer – Fruit and Ice Cream

Waitangi Day is the line in the sand when it comes to New Zealand summer I reckon. The big stuff all happens ‘Pre-Waitangi’; the massive 6 week school holiday kicks off for the kids, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, road trips, tropical cyclones………….

Come Feb and the return to school – ‘Post-Waitangi’ summer kicks in.

It’s just my opinion but this is where the best summering happens as we all begin to savour every last sunshine-y Sunday, every after school beach-dash and every balmy BBQ dinner. Shaking every last grain of sand out of summer in New Zealand is our duty as Kiwis. Much like our ‘no man left behind’ attitude to summer stonefruit or our ‘eat ALL the berries’ culinary philosophy, making the most of these golden days is in our blood and helps me survive the extreme hardships of winter……in Auckland :::::::shudder::::::

Forget your kiwifruit or Navel Oranges, or any other fruit growing without a stone, bramble or vine. I’m a summer fruit girl from way back. As such, a snatched glimpse of a laden Christmas Plum or Golden Queen tree has always been a bit of a trigger for me (I’m sure many of you can relate right?). I can remember a very blurry summer holiday when I was around 12 and had the good fortune to be invited away with my besties family. The bach we were staying at had a marvelously overgrown and steep backyard that wound its way uphill towards the neighbouring fence line. Exploring in the shade of the afternoons once we returned from the beach yielded a marvelous discovery – a Golden Queen peach tree, surely as ancient as the Kauri, (I mean, it was definitely as BIG as a Kauri wink wink, I was 12 remember!) literally groaning under the burden of its fruit. The dilapidated fence separating us from our golden prize was merely a challenge, and not of the moral kind, unfortunately. The lack of houses in any direction simply reinforced the fact that this ripe token of summer was ours for the taking, and besides, pilfered fruit always seemed to taste a wee bit better when you were 12!

Fast forward more than 20 years and some of the first things I purchased when we bought our house were fruit trees. One Golden Queen peach tree, one heritage black plum and one nectarine tree. To be honest, my mini-orchard was on the back-foot from day one with its care in my decidedly less-than-green hands so we are struggling, but, I’m picking the 2019 harvest will be a beauty, ie we might get some fruit we can eat! My lack of peach-prowess could, of course, be due to the fact that we do not live in the Hawkes Bay. They’ve got that peach growing on lockdown there which is why another kiwi fave of mine, Tip Top, keeps it local and uses real fruit grown by real NZ farmers in their Peaches & Cream Ice cream – no dodgy fence jumping going on here either, tsk tsk 12yo Melissa lol. When we’re growing so much amazing produce right here in NZ we should absolutely expect that our local suppliers are sourcing FRESH ingredients from those growing it locally. Combining one of our most beloved summer fruits with the goodness of New Zealand milk and cream is a taste of summer I hope my boys will remember as synonymous with growing up in New Zealand.

The iconic Boysenberry is another kiwi fave that takes me back to pinching fruit from the vine on my Nana’s farm. Its incarnation into the multiple award-winning Boysenberry Ripple ice cream from Tip Top has made boysenberries a generational obsession in our family. If there was a momentous stop for a scoop of ice cream when I was a kid, I don’t remember my Mum ever (ever, EVER) selecting any flavour other than Boysenberry. Habit or heritage, whimsy or some other romantic hankering for the past, the fruit and flavours of New Zealand are freaking awesome and play a huge role in how I remember the 38 summers of my life.

Nelson farmers have taken up the reins and for years have been supplying Tip Top with enough kiwi boysenberries to keep that famous ripple in the freezer year round – but I reckon ice cream always tastes better in summer, yeah?

Keeping it real and, real kiwi is a big deal to Tip Top, one of the bit-players in each of my summers. Recognizing the importance of legacy ingredients in our lives, it’s rad to see that using REAL fruit grown right here is just as important to the big guys as it is to would-be-backyard-mum-orchardists who might one day grow enough peaches for each of us to have one simultaneously.

This post was made possible by the good peeps at Tip Top!

PS Find our waffle recipe here

Ethan and one of his best friends planned a Waitangi Day Waffle cook-off and nailed them! They were pretty stoked when I whipped some surprise toppings out of the freezer – Peaches and Cream and Boysenberry Ripple ice cream from Tip Top.

New Zealand's Top Mummy Blogger Parenting Travel Blog Family Japan Nara Park

Family Travel Japan: Nara and the Great Buddha

Nara was added to my Japan To-Do list pretty early on as I felt it was an easy combo of culture, religion and cool stuff for the boys, ie lots of roaming deer lol. Oh and this place is ancient!

The boys and I were on our own (which is always slightly terrifying for me at the moment because…..Nixon!). Dave was working so we packed up and headed south on the train. One little local line (¥150 ea) and then we were free-riding on the JR trains with our passes. Ethan and I make a good team whilst navigating train stations so we managed to complete the 3 transfer trip with no problems.

You don’t have to walk far from the station to experience the cuteness, and often aggressiveness of the Nara Park deer, 50m from the train station they are out of the pavement, harassing punters for deer crackers! In the Shinto religion, deer are considered messengers of the gods and there’s over 1000 of them roaming the giant park. Purchase the little crackers from the vendors with green umbrellas for ¥150, break them in half and have fun.

After Fun with Deer, we wandered for a bit as there was a small lake nearby and my fish-mad boys needed to see if there were fish to peruse.

Nara Park is so, so big guys. I was super stoked we had the stroller as the walk from the station to Todai-ji, the Buddhist temple housing the world’s largest bronze statue of the Buddha Daibutso was quite a hike. But, on the way, we (accidentally) found the Yoshikien Garden. A beautiful moss garden divided into 3 separate areas. With free entry for foreigners we were in like flynn and the boys really, really enjoyed exploring this deserted but stunning corner of the park.

Nix didn’t want to leave but I eventually coaxed him out of the garden and we headed to our final destination within the park, Todai-ji, which was, until 1998, the worlds largest wooden building. The scale of this complex is so huge it boggled our minds. Watching the boys soak up the history and craftsmanship in world heritage sites such as this is what our trip was all about for me. Hopefully, they remember how these sights made them feel about their place in the world – I’m probably reaching here a bit with Nixon I realise lol. The Daibutsu statue, the flanking Bodhisattvas and the two wooden guardians protecting him are so beautiful you simply won’t want or be able to rush through the building.

Entry was around ¥600 each for Ethan and I, approx $7.50NZD and totally worth every cent.

Like other large stations in Japan, there are some great shopping and restaurants to experience in Nara before you board your train. Though on this day, Nix was so beat, we sat down in McDonald’s for the ONLY western takeaway meal we would eat for the entire two weeks! That’s not a bad track record, plus, I really wanted to eat an egg burger lol.

You could definitely spend a whole day exploring Nara Park and see so much more than we did, my boys can’t be pushed for speed when they are doing lots of walking – and neither should they when it’s of the sightseeing variety.

Don’t miss Nara, it’s fun, low key, relaxed (providing there’s no festival on at the temples) and you can explore at your own pace.

Fly Jetstar to Japan like we did > www.jetstar.co.nz

New Zealand's Top Mummy Blogger Parenting Travel Blog Family Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe

Cook, Eat: Twice Baked Sweetcorn and Bacon Potatoes Recipe

Vegetable prices here in New Zealand are absolutely ridiculous this summer. If mortgaging your house to keep up a steady supply of the green gold aka, avocados is not your jam, then you’ll be looking to purchase in-season produce whose price point reflects the fact that it’s IN SEASON lol.

And that brings us to corn.

I can’t think of anyone I know who doesn’t love fresh, kiwi grown sweetcorn. It’s the perfect summer vege, it stays fresh in its husk in the fridge, travels well and can be enjoyed in a variety of ways.

After travelling in Japan for 2 weeks, we had been missing our kiwi fruit and vegetables like crazy so every meal at the moment revolves around salad and veges. Last night I whipped up some Twice Baked Sweetcorn and Bacon Potatoes using fresh as, LeaderBrand sweetcorn and spinach. We’ve got a winner here folks, these corn taties and variations on them will be a menu regular in our house from now on. Sub the bacon for a hearty Meat Free Monday Meal, or switch your protein and dice up some leftover bbq sausages etc. This is a super easy recipe to get creative with and prep early so you’re not rushing at dinner time.

I wish I could take credit for this amazing recipe but I can’t lol. For more yummy, fresh ways to eat NZ sweetcorn, check out the recipes section over at www.leaderbrand.co.nz

Twice Baked Sweetcorn and Bacon Potatoes

2018-01-31 13:30:00

Save Recipe

Ingredients

4 large potatoes, washed
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cobs LeaderBrand sweetcorn kernels, cut from corn
6 rashers bacon cut into small pieces
100g cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup cream or milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 pack LeaderBrand spinach
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to season

Instructions

1. Preheat over to 180℃.
2. Place potatoes on lined baking tray, poke holes in them, bake for 45 mins or until soft through. Remove from oven, allow to cool.
3. Meanwhile, cook bacon pieces for 2 minutes, add corn kernels and stir for a further 2 mins. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel.
4. Cut a large flat slice off the top of baked potatoes. Using a tsp, scoop out the insides into a large bowl being careful to leave a thin layer of potato around the skin so it doesn't tear.
5. Add corn, bacon, sour cream, milk or cream, chopped spinach and parsley to the bowl and mix with potato. Season with S&P.
6. Using a tsp, fill the potato skins with the bacon and corn mix and place back on the oven tray. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake in the oven for 20mins or until cheese is melted and golden. Serve immediately.

By LeaderBrand

https://www.thebestnest.co.nz/

New Zealand's Top Mummy Blogger Parenting Travel Blog Family Japan Tokyo Tokyo Kyoto Shinkansen

Family Travel Japan: Tokyo > Kyoto on the JR Shinkansen Bullet Train

Lord have mercy bullet trains are freaking amazing. Pure Japanese innovation and technology designed to increase the efficiency of people moving between Japan’s two biggest cities. Of course, the Shinkansen trains now run the full length of the country and with the amazing Japan Rail pass you are free to use Shinkansen at will.

mummy-blog-new-zealand-blogger-mommy-travelblog-family-Japan-Tokyo-Kyoto When we planned our multi-stop itinerary; Tokyo > Kyoto (with day trips to Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima) > Nagano > Tokyo, it was obvious that investing in the JR pass was the way to go, and after our first foray from Tokyo to Kyoto, I’m totally hooked!

So, until this point, we had not made one wrong move on the trains. Which is seriously impressive if you’ve ever tried to negotiate Tokyo or Shibuya station with 3 massive pieces of luggage, a teenager and NIXON. But oh yes, arrogance comes before a fall and we made the grand JR Pass faux pas of getting on the blacklisted Nozomi Shinkansen as we flew out of Tokyo Station:::::::gasp:::::::

Ethan was mortified as we searched for our seats (which were taken by legit Nozomi passengers) thundering the aisles with 60+ kgs of luggage and NIXON, only to have our mistake discovered by a friendly European businessman (very Christian Gray), who looked at our tickets and pronounced our fate: you’re on the wrong train.

No major problem, we were supposed to be on the Hikari, so we just hopped off at the next station and re-embarked a couple of minutes later when our actual Shinkansen arrived.

So, big differences between the local lines and riding on Shinkansen;

There are reserved seats. It’s roomy, comfortable and there are power outlets to charge you shizz!
You can eat and drink on Shinkansen which is a big no-no on local trains. There is always a full complement of restaurants and convenience stores at Shin stations plus the wee shops on the platform are super cheap and have delicious sushi, bento boxes and sandwiches as well as beer, wine and cocktails. So charge it!
You get everywhere you want to go super fast. Obviously. But you pay for that for sure. For example, tomorrow’s trip from Kyoto to Nagano costs ¥13,000 which is around $161 NZD each. Considering we rode the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto, Kyoto to Osaka, Hiroshima, Nagano and then Nagano to Tokyo, as well as all of the local trains we rode every day in each stop, the $579 pp for the Japan Rail Pass was a GREAT investment.
With a JR pass you have to do all bookings and transfer through all gates manually, you can’t use the ticket machines (this applies to local lines as well as Shinkansen). Your JR pass allows you to reserve seats on the bullet trains, which is awesome, but, if the reserved section is full, don’t be afraid to take a gamble and jump in an unreserved car. We did this rather than waiting on the way back from Hiroshima to Kyoto and it was totally worth it. Seats the whole way and no waiting!
DON’T ride the Kodama unless you have to. It stops at every station and sometimes is subject to long waits at the platform.

When we arrived in Kyoto, we realised (surprisingly!) that we weren’t in Tokyo anymore!! The local train network was not as fancy, easily signposted or as comprehensive as we had become used to and we quickly hopped on a JR train heading in the wrong direction. Off/on, backtrack we eventually arrived at the right station, (not JR arghhh) and set about trying to find our AirBnB.

The street it was on had no house numbers and we had no image of what the property looked like. Did I mention it was raining? Eventually a schoolgirl walked by and I showed her the address on my phone. It turned out we were standing right in front of the place the whole time.

Kid status: great! The boys are super good on the trains as we allow them their iPads so they watch Netflix play their games for the duration and we make sure they have heaps to eat lol.

So, our Kyoto arrival was a little fraught, but we made it and settled in for the next 5, busy, days.

New Zealand's Top Mummy Blogger Parenting Travel Blog Family Japan Tokyo Ueno

Family Travel Japan: Day 3, Ueno Park

After declaring it an anime-shopping-free day, we decided to make the most of the beautiful weather in Tokyo so headed for Ueno Park. In Cherry Blossom season, this is one of the spots to be in Tokyo, however, as we are visiting in winter I was willing to take a gamble and have a wander. Home to many museums and Ueno Zoo, 3 temples and one shrine, Ueno Park is a beautiful place to wile away the hours.

I was actually really stressed out on Tuesday when we visited. Nix has been really, really hard work so far on this trip and he’s sucking the life out of me, so it was with great delight that I saw a freaking peony garden, IN FULL BLOOM no less, entry fee ¥600 ($7.40NZD). Dave saw that and was like, go ahead babe, I’ll hang with the boys.

Hallelujah.

One thing to remember about travelling with kids is that it can be quite tricky to steal a little quiet time. Dave and I find that we are so tired each night, we usually go to bed right after the boys so there’s not a lot of alone time to regroup. Ergo, a wander through some Japanese peony gardens was exactly what the doctor ordered.

We took our time exploring the park grounds, finally heading down a hill to Shinobazu Pond and the Bentendo Temple. This was such a great spot to wile away the sunny winter afternoon. The temple stands in the middle of the pond so there was lots for the boys to explore and look at, delicious food vendors (we enjoyed chicken katsu and crab skewers), as well as a lovely spot to sit and enjoy a cold Asahi.

As it was our last night in Tokyo we couldn’t resist the urge to head back to Shibuya and see the crossing in all of its after work, neon glory. I seriously LOVE this place, the energy is amazing but at the same time mellow and fun. Such a strange juxtaposition. We wandered and found the statue of Hachiko, the gorgeously loyal dog who would wait at the train station every day for his master Ueno to return, even after his passing, #heartmelt! We also saw a full Mario Cart tour stopped at the lights at Shibuya Crossing. This was something Dave and I really wanted to do but you need to hold an international drivers license so make sure you grab one of those in New Zealand before you leave home.

For only the second time (gasp), I popped into a shop I wanted to look in – Zara was having a huge sale so naturally I had a quick browse and nabbed four t shirts for $28 NZD! Everything in a size L is always on sale here, it’s the one time I’ve genuinely been stoked about my size lol.

One thing we are definitely missing is fruit and vegetables. The meat, seafood and carb situation is plentiful and awesome but we love our fresh produce so we stopped to pick up some dinner from the mind-blowing Tokyu Food Show at Shibuya Station. I don’t even know where to start here. Think, every type of uber-fresh seafood and meat in a small format market, complete with butchers, fishmongers preparing your purchase, but, in a fancy metropolitan supermarket. It was crazy packed, frenetic but so, so amazing. There was a whole ‘restaurant’ section in the market where you could find anything under the sun so Ethan picked out some sushi and gyoza while Nix wanted (more) chicken katzu and some potato wedges. Dave and I ate some crazy omelette-y meat/rice combo from a teeny restaurant around the corner from our house. Full tummies = happy Jacks.

So, a different kind of day here, and one just as enjoyable. The parks here are beautiful and so worth exploring. It’s super easy when travelling to get in the trap of ‘paying’ for your experiences in a country, but you just don’t have to at all. Let yourself wander unscheduled and you may start to finally find that ‘I’m on holiday feeling’.

New Zealand's Top Mummy Blogger Parenting Travel Blog Family Japan Tokyo Ikebukuro

Family Travel Japan: Day 2, Ikebukuro

In my fast and loose ‘Mind Itinerary’, I had pencilled in Monday for a trip to Sea Disney in Tokyo. However, after one day on the ground, what we really wanted to do was simply see and experience more of Tokyo.

So, we ditched Disney and saved hundreds of dollars. The kids did not care and Dave and I were infinitely happier!

We began everyday in Tokyo with a visit to the most amaze bakery about 20 paces from our front door. I had NO idea that bakeries were a thing here, and my god, everything that comes out of Japanese ovens is fit for the gods I tell you! The Arteria Bakery was divine, the best pastries, breads, curry buns, melonpam, blueberry and apple pies………we tried it all. Yes. We. Did.

Dave had to work, so the kids and I headed off on foot, navigating the 30-minute walk to Ikebukuro where the boys were super excited to experience J-World, an anime theme park featuring Dragon Ball Z – off course. I find Google Maps a bit dodgy at home in NZ, but here the app works perfectly. We were navigated through gorgeous, quiet wee residential streets and alleys, just as spic ‘n span as the rest of Tokyo, and made it to Sunshine City in Ikebukuro in no time. I’ve realised on this trip the beauty of having no car! Exploring on foot is such a pleasure here and gives a real sense of what life is actually like here in Tokyo.

We had unwittingly stumbled upon a kids-go-free day at J-world so we were off to a great start. Ethan loved this place, Nixon enjoyed it even with only a cursory knowledge of anime, however, give it a miss if you or the kids are not fans as it will all go right over your head as there is no English translation or context. That said, the boys were happy so I was super happy!

Sunshine City is a HUGE mall, it was a struggle to navigate but we found the restaurant level and I braved ordering food without Dave for the first time. The kid’s option was easily identifiable by the Hello Kitty plate and was so perfect for Nix. It came with a giant tempura shrimp, about 10 fries, a small hamburger patty and some rice, dessert and orange juice. Literally ALL of Nixon’s favourite foods, neatly separated how he likes it. The dessert was a strange custard that he wasn’t a fan of, but aside from that 10/10.

I had a good look at the menu before ordering and noticed that there were two prices; one for the individual item and one for the ‘set’ which included rice and miso soup. As Ethan is not a fan of miso and the rice servings are huge, we ordered one set and one individual item and saved around 200¥!

After a quick visit to the Pokemon shop (soooo cute!) we headed upstairs to the Sunshine City Aquarium located on the roof of the mall. We absolutely LOVED this place. Skip the sea lions and penguins and head for the aquarium tanks. There were so many fish, reptiles and amphibians here that we had never seen before it was amazing for my animal-mad boys. A leopard shark, huge sunfish, giant spider crabs, poisonous frogs and so much more. It def got us pumped for the big aquarium visit to come in Osaka.

New Zealand's Top Mummy Blogger Parenting Travel Blog Family Japan Tokyo Ikebukuro

Whilst in Ikebukuro we headed straight to the heart of this shopping mecca and soaked it all in. There was a girl on the street with an owl advertising the ‘Owl Cafe’ nearby, there was an 8 story department store dedicated to DIY and basically, home and lifestyle called Tokyu Hands. I could have spent hours in here but I was with 3 boys so time was limited lol. Ethan was granted his final Dragon Ball Z shopping mission and found a figure he wanted in the giant Animate store. He was happy and I was happy the search was over.

The neighbourhoods between Ikebukuro and our accommodation were so pleasant we opted to walk the 30 minutes home again and pick up some don bowls for dinner on the way home.

I know no-one will believe this but, the only shopping I’ve done for myself is a $5 floppy felt hat on clearance from Uniqlo!!! Shock horror I know. Not even ANY sneakers!

There are 12 more days though.

Day 2 = AWESOME.

Fly Jetstar to Japan like we did > www.jetstar.co.nz

New Zealand's Top Mummy Blogger Parenting Travel Blog Family Japan Tokyo

Family Travel Japan: Day 1, Tokyo

Lord. Japan is far, far away from Auckland, New Zealand.

And I mean far.

But that is what makes it so amazing.

After two great Jetstar Flights (thanks Jason for the attention you gave the boys on the long Gold Coast – Narita leg!), we landed on Saturday night at 6.30pm at Narita Airport. It felt heaps later of course as it was fully dark (mid-winter) and we’d been awake for like, days by that point lol. This is where my planning came into full effect. There are 3 terminals at Narita Airport and we flew into #3. There is no train station there so we really enjoyed our walk to terminal 2. I’m not joking either, despite how awesome the Jetstar crew were, after 8 hours on a full plane with a kid with Hirschsprung’s the fresh air and being able to stretch our legs was luxury.

The walk between terminal 3 and 2 is just over half a km, there is a shuttle bus you can take if you cbf walking.

I had pre-purchased our Japan Rail passes in Auckland from www.traveljapan.co.nz (who were totally awesome, I highly recommend dealing with them). This was quite an investment, $1737 NZD for 3 adult passes (under 6’s ride free) but we are travelling extensively within Tokyo, using the Shinkansen (bullet train to Kyoto), day trips to Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima, ferry to Miyajima, then north to Nagano and back to Tokyo via Shinkansen so it’s absolutely worth the money. JR passes are exclusively for foreigners so you are issued with a voucher in NZ and have to exchange this for your actual JR pass upon arrival in Japan.

The JR information centre is on the station level in Terminal 2 at Narita and located in a great spot right by a 7-11 for snacks, a Foreign Exchange kiosk and a Pocket WiFi rental shop. I picked up our passes, Dave rented our WiFi gadget ($99 for 2 weeks, unlimited data and up to 10 devices!) and we settled down to a cold Asahi while we waited for the Narita Express into Tokyo.

Like Auckland Airport, Narita is a good haul out of the main city, almost an hour into Tokyo Station where the train split, literally. The first 6 cars went on one line and the rest went through to Shibuya Station which is where we transferred to Ikebukuro. This was probably the trickiest part of our commute as we had to use a local line to get to our AirBnB, which meant we had to buy tickets and generally figure things out as the line is owned by a company other than JR. Super cheap though, $1.70 per ride and probably even cheaper if we buy multi-trip passes which we will over the next couple of days.

Booking our accommodation was by far the most difficult part of planning our trip to Japan. The cities are so huge, I had to figure out which parts were quiet and suitable for a family, what we could afford, where homes were in relation to the trains and our to-do list. I would have spent at least 5 hours researching each of the 3 properties I ended up booking.

Here’s where we are staying in Ikebukuro > https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/10222084 and it’s absolutely perfect, bigger than it looks, sparkling clean and about 50 steps from the train station. We arrived at around 11.30pm on Saturday night, the neighbourhood was silent with no one around, despite a couple of sake bars on the street. It felt so safe. After picking up some pastries for breakfast from the bakery on the way to the train station this morning we were utterly convinced that this property and it’s location are an absolute win for us. If you like a sleep in the trains might bother you as they start running from around 6am I think, but Nix is such an early riser this doesn’t bother us at all.

Day 1 – Tokyo

The most difficult part of trip planning is scheduling in your itinerary in my opinion. So I really try not to do too much of that. Speaking frankly, kids hate being rushed around from here to there, trying to meet trains/deadlines/expectations so, we just don’t travel like that. I have ‘region goals’ I’d like to hit while we are in Japan, but little else cemented in. You get a better feel for what you want to do more of, see, once you’re on the ground I reckon.

So today we rose early, headed out at 9am after some cuddles and showers, hit the local bakery for the MOST amazing croissants, apple pies and cream cheese and blueberry pastries and hopped on the Tobu Toju line back to Shibuya Station.

We coffee’d at Starbucks and found the incredible Shibuya Crossing, probably quite quiet as it was Sunday morning lol but still totally awesome. What we noticed immediately was that Japanese locals walk like they are driving ie they stay in their lane! Big contrast to our family where the boys are constantly running, backtracking, stopping in the middle of the footpath………we are very conspicuously the square pegs here!

So we did a little shopping, not much to be honest and just had a really great time wandering around. At lunchtime, we charged a local eatery which, as it turns out specialized in pork Sta Don bowls. Dave nailed the kiosk ordering system and we had a delicious meal of fried rice, gyoza and the pork/rice bowls. I’m not a huge pork fan but the meat was shaved and thin it looked like bacon but was brown rather than pink. We were quite proud of ourselves after that!

Ethan had done some research and wanted to visit a store called Mandrake which was 4 floors underground in Shibuya. Specializing in all things Japanese anime, this is a collectors paradise. We saw one Pokemon card with a $1550 NZD price tag! E is on the hunt for Dragon Ball Z merch while we are here so this was a perfect starting point.

Always walking, we headed away from Shibuya and found ourselves gawking at the uber-trendy fashion hub that is Cat Street, Harajuku. Our destination was actually Kiddyland which was just around the corner, a large toy store dedicated entirely to character toys. Think Miffy, Hello Kitty, Star Wars, Marvel, Pokemon, Peanuts, Trolls………super fun, very cute, also very crowded and hot.

Everyone was slightly frazzled after Kiddyland so we stopped for a snack (and cocktail hour!) before diving into Takeshita Street which was seriously amazing. A mix of huge international stores and small independent market-style shops, wandering along as night fell, stopping for crepes and enjoying people watching – this is Harajuku after all – was so, so fun. The crowd is INTENSE, however, but Japanese people are so incredibly lovely, quiet, well mannered and patient, even with my nutty family, you never really felt affected by the masses of people.

After that, we were well and truly done for the day so we hit the trains and headed back home. We had realised throughout the day that Nix was not going to be able to hang with the amount of walking we’ll be doing on this trip, so Dave found a Babies ‘R Us and set off again to bring home an umbrella stroller and some dinner. The footpaths here are clean as a whistle, super flat and perfectly maintained so pushing the stroller is no problem and everyone seems to be accommodating regarding leaving the stroller to enter stores and restaurants.

Day 1 was so awesome! Everything has fallen into place and we are just in LOVE with Japan, so excited for what the rest of the trip will bring.

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Summer like a Kiwi – What happens above 23°

January marks the second, ‘official’ month of New Zealand summer. We Kiwi’s are comfortably settled into the annual, seasonal slow-down we look forward to every year. The kids have chilled out after the excitement of Santa’s visit, Mum’s everywhere have celebrated ‘un-decking the halls’ and returning Christmas to the boxes in the garage and everyone sadly mourned the last slice of festive ham and wedge of Pavlova.

If you missed the mania of the Boxing Day sales, tragic New Year’s Eve jandal blow-outs were easily rectified by those crazy enough to brave the malls and give the beach a miss for at least a couple of hours, joining those shoppers equipping themselves with everything they need to smash their NY resolutions once and for all.

The Summer of 2018 is definitely shaping up as one to remember. In true NZ style, the weather has given us highs and lows (!! lol !!). The gaudy, golden sunshine and blistering temps of the week before New Years gave many campers revelling in #ThatTentLife a false sense of security, as evidenced by the appearance of many quintessential Kiwi behaviours, only exhibited when the mercury begins to rise;

What happens in New Zealand when the temps rise above 23°?

An unwritten law in NZ requires many to revisit the ‘Togs, togs, togs……undies rule’ each summer. If you’re unsure or have forgotten the accepted rule of thumb for ‘how far is too far’ to wear a speedo from the water, then please watch the public service announcement in the link above.
Unlike togs, there is less regulation around jandals ie, you can wear them everywhere for the period December-March (Summer here in New Zealand), and then again from April-November.
Here in New Zealand, we punch above our weight 24-7 – but if you’re talking about the ozone layer……..yeah we have none. Hot times put everyone at risk of Coconut Ice Sunburn. This kiwi fave is only acceptable when talking fudge, NOT tan lines so slip, slop, slap constantly.
No-one is too old for a swim in a paddling pool. No-one.
Chilly-Bin ownership is mandatory, as is taking your chilly-bin everywhere with you in Summer.
Similar to birds flying in formation, New Zealanders possess a synchronicity that sees us switch from ice cream to ice blocks as soon as the temperature hits 23°. This proven phenomenon is backed up with retail stats and the age-old debate surrounding the Best Fruju Flavour of All Time. Of course, the big talking point amongst those participating in Summer this year, is the irresistible mash-up of Kiwi icons Fruju and L&P, firing up the Fruju-flavour-frenzy even more!

How Our Frozen Summer Faves got even BETTER

Like most parents, Dave and I are becoming more and more aware of how the food we feed the boys affects their health, mood and wellbeing. Nixies shortened GI tract following Hirschsprung’s surgery means food moves through his little system super fast and adverse effects on his mood and behaviour become apparent really quickly. Avoiding those dreaded artificial food additives can seem daunting but is made infinitely easier when you know that one company has eliminated all the baddies from their entire range of yummy products!

Who? Tip Top that’s who.

The commitment to only using natural flavours and colours is a big deal, especially when you do a tiny bit of research about the alternatives. You can’t really talk ice cream without thinking about chocolate right? Tip Top has replaced dodgy additive E155 – Brown HT (made from coal tar, a suspected carcinogen and mutagen that is banned in the US, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Norway, Belgium) and is now using simple, caramelized sugar to achieve that rich chocolate brown colour we all expect in our fave Trumpets. There are super-cool, and surprising, alternatives in place throughout the Tip Top range that sees beetroot, spirulina, gardenia and turmeric extracts replace the synthetic dyes and coal or petroleum derived additives that other companies are still using today.

We Kiwis are the best at just about everything we do, so we want our awesome, NZ made products to reflect that. Gone are the days of ‘numbers = colours and flavours’, we are discerning consumers with a growing consciousness towards what we put in our bodies. As we make better choices we are expecting the producers of our favourite foods to do the same. It’s pretty awesome to see Tip Top, a name synonymous with New Zealand, take the lead and make our summer treats #GoodtoShare for everyone.

This post was made possible by the good peeps at Tip Top!

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