ChiGarden – The creative playground of Chisa

Felix’s birth story

12th January, 2020 on Motherhood, Pregnancy

I read a lot of birth stories during my pregnancy, something that I’d been avoiding until then. They always feel deeply personal and I didn’t think that I’d want to publish my own experience, even though reading the experiences of others really helped and encouraged me. But I figured no one really reads this blog anyway, so I might as well!

This isn’t a negative story although things didn’t quite go according to plan, so if you are reading this whilst pregnant and can’t handle that right now, or just don’t want TMI (although seriously don’t read birth stories if that’s the case) feel free to just scroll through to the cute newborn pics. (more…)

Adventures in Japan – Mt Fuji

25th December, 2019 on Food, Motherhood, Travel

Some of my best memories of the previous times I’d visited Japan were staying at traditional ryokan, with tatami rooms, kaiseki style meals, yukata to wear and an onsen to bath in. This time I was set on staying near Mt Fuji, the shy mountain I’d only seen shrouded in clouds.

We had an epic six leg journey from Osaka to Lake Kawaguchi one of the Fuji Five Lakes that surround the mountain. There we splurged on a ryokan with views of Mt Fuji over the lake – the best chance (but not guarantee) of being able to see it. As luck would have it, the weather on our second day in Kawaguchiko was clear and perfect with amazing views. We went up the rope way on a nearby mountain to get more views, but the ones from our accommodation were my favourite.

We also had beautifully laid out dinners served in our room, which was perfect for Felix to roll around on the soft tatami.

This was my third time to Japan and I think I should probably explore some other parts of the world, but I loved getting to experience it again with my little family.

Adventures in Japan – Kyoto

23rd December, 2019 on Travel

From Osaka we did a short day trip to Kyoto – not really enough time to see a lot in such a beautiful and interesting city, but enough to try some great food and see a whole lot of tourists dressed in kimono. We had given up on the travel pram at this point, and were very happy with that choice when we encountered a lot of stairs and cobbled stone paths in the old town and leading up to Kiyomizu Temple.