Searching for Playgrounds

So far, Max and I have checked out two playgrounds.  We came across our first one by accident yesterday on a leisurely stroll in the Akasaka area.  I peered up a narrow side street and saw a set of stone steps that led to the archway of a shrine.  With nothing better to do, I rolled Max up the side street and parked the stroller at the foot of the steps.  I unclipped Max and we set up the steps.

Once we were up the steps, we saw that the shrine actually sat in a small park with some playground equipment. The ground on the playground side was packed dirt (and in some areas mud) - in contrast to the lovely stone pathways that surrounded the shrine.

I was unsure how to properly conduct myself at a shrine.  There was a structure with small pool of water filled by a bamboo pipe and two dipping utensils.  Max wanted to play in the water but I thought better of it.  Instead we wandered on the pathway and played with small stones lining the walkways.

Soon we headed to the playground and Max quickly learned to climb up and send himself down the slide.  He went up and down for a while and played on some other structures.  We watched the birds flying above and played on the stone lions guarding the shrine.  We were the only ones in the park and it was peaceful.

With mud encrusted in the soles of our shoes, we finally said our farewells to the lions and headed slowly down the stone steps back into the bustle of a Tokyo morning.

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Today, we ventured further, to Robot Park, which is literally adjacent to our future apartment in Roppongi Hills.  As the playground came into view, Max began to squeal with delight so we hurried across the street and up a slope to join the other parents, kids and strollers. 

It was a mixed crowd - both Japanese and International.   Most kids were older than Max and threatened to bowl him over.  Still he ventured fearlessly about, went up and down some slides and an unusual slide whose surface was made up of round metal dowels that spun as the kids rolled across them.  Max absolutely loved it and was soon going up and down by himself.  It was so nice to see him so happy.   

Max refused to get into his stroller for our walk home so he walked alongside me through Roppongi Hills.  I finally had to force him when we were ready to reach the main road.  I think he was overtired because after protesting he dropped off to sleep, lulled  by the roar of traffic.