Since all three of us cancelled our appointments in July, we all needed a cleaning. Luckily, I was able to schedule our appointments for noon on a Saturday, which meant we didn’t need to get onto the train until 11am, missing the morning rush. Even on the weekends, there are peak hours, of which I had no desire to encounter.
As we walked from the train station to the dentist office, I felt a little weird. Even though we go out and about in Hikarigaoka, I’m not used to being around very many people anymore. It reminded me of when we first moved here and I had to get used to being in crowds. Since masks are a norm here, it didn’t feel any different than a regular winter day, with crowds of people milling around adorned in sweaters, jackets, and masks. Perhaps the number of people was less than usual, but it’s been so long, I really couldn’t tell.
Our dentist visit went smoothly. We started the appointment by rinsing our mouths with disinfectant (basically Listerine), but everything else was pretty standard. The staff never removed their masks and they wore either regular glasses or eye protection. I noticed the large window in my exam room was open. Luckily it wasn’t too cold on Saturday. The schools are also keeping windows open at all times, which at this point isn’t a big deal for the kids. But I’m sure it will get more difficult as the temperatures continue to drop.
Once we wrapped up our dentist visit, we headed back outside to explore the city. It would have been a shame to go all that way and head right back. We know that we won’t be seeing very many holiday lights this year, which dampens the holiday cheer for us. So, we took this opportunity to stay and see some.
Before the sun set, we mostly just wandered around, doing nothing in particular. We knew there were some Christmas trees at Roppongi Hills, as well as the German Christmas Market. I was able to buy some of my beloved lebkuchen (a German Christmas cookie that I treat myself to once a year). My son found a Christmas ornament that he wanted to buy for his tiny tree that sits on top of our shelves in the living room. My husband treated himself to a root beer with lunch, which is a very hard to find item in Japan (I’ve heard it smells like a pain relief compress to most Japanese people, so it’s not popular at all).
FujiFilm Square had an amazing exhibit with photos of space taken by the Hubble Telescope. I love that little gallery, as it always has amazing photos on display. Plus it is free, which is not usually the case in Tokyo.
It is getting dark here around 4:30 pm these days, which meant we didn’t have to stay late to enjoy holiday lights. We stood outside Roppongi Midtown at 5 pm to watch as their lights lit up for the first time that night. We found a small area where there were “light stones”. There were maybe 15 round discs laying in the grass, which children were hopping from one to another, expelling pent up energy. Right at 5, the stones lit up and changed colors with every stomp. By this point, there were exactly 15 kids there and instead of hopping from one to the next, they just stayed on a single disc and danced around to make it change colors. Although Christmas music was playing in the background, the most joyful sound was that of the children laughing as they made the discs flash green, pink, and blue.
We also enjoyed their life-sized snow globe, which kept changing colors. Roppongi Midtown did not include a huge lightshow this year, instead opting for a skating rink.
We didn’t stay long, as the crowds were getting thicker. Instead we grabbed a quick bite for dinner and headed home. We were exhausted! It’s so easy to forget how taxing the city is. I walked further that day than I had since February (according to my steps tracker on my phone). We might bicycle far, but we haven’t just wandered for a very long time. Regardless of how tired we were, I’m glad we stayed for the lights. They bring a certain feeling of magic that is such a treat this time of year.
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