From Disney to the Racecourse

I am a bad person for not writing on this for so long. Let me repent with tales of recent activities:

I'm still kind of regretting not buying the leopard-print Mickey Mouse ears to mark the occasion, but on Friday evening I went to Disneyland. I can hear you saying 'aren't you a bit old for that?' and 'since when have you liked Disney, or indeed any animation?', but I think you're all just jealous. The secret of enjoying the experience was to embrace my inner six-year-old and relive the memory of how excited I was to see Snow White's castle in EuroDisney, as it was then, so many years ago. One of the slightly dubious charms of Disney is that there is more or less exact replication between parks - irrespective of the fact that I was 6000 miles away from Disneyland Paris, the castle was exactly the same. What was better than before, though, was that various edgier films than Snow White have come out the Disney studios in recent years, which have in turn created more adult-friendly spin-off rides. I think my favourite was the classic Space Mountain, closely rivalled by Thunder Mountain (incidentally, why are the three biggest rides all called *** Mountain? Is there a prevalence of mountains in Disney films that I never noticed?), but everything was wonderful in an innocent, high-on-toffee-popcorn kind of way.

Yesterday there was the altogether more earthly attraction of Tokyo Racecourse, where there were lots of apparently important horse races going on. I didn't have the faintest idea how to judge form, so I tended to plump for whichever horse looked like it was keen for a run in the paddock when placing my grand total of two 200 yen bets (so a total of less than 3 pounds spent, hardly breaking the bank). I also proved to be a complete dunce at understanding how different kinds of bets worked, which I think actually says good things about my lack of prior gambling experiences! Unsurprisingly, I didn't win anything. I think the best way to view these kinds of things is as part of an entry fee to enjoy the atmosphere - it's undeniable that I enjoyed watching the races and participating in that atmosphere more because I had a (small) stake in which horse won, but it's foolhardy to view it as anything more than that. Any winnings are an unlikely bonus that can't be relied upon or expected. That way, I can (I think) square enjoying the day yesterday with the lingering remnants of Presbyterian anti-gambling instincts that come with my Scottish blood.

Today I ate a particularly delicious yet unlikely-sounding tart: caramelised pineapple on top of macerated raspberries on top of crème patissière, resting on a crisp sablé pastry base. It was amazing. If I had enough pastry chef skill to make that, I think I would die content with my life's work.

Dad's coming to visit on Wednesday for a week which will be lovely. There will be fishing in a river (actually a canal), for the second time in my life, in Ichigaya - if anyone saw the fish documentary on BBC4 a while back, you'll have seen where I mean; if not, see http://www.adamhollis.co.uk/page17.htm (written by someone who got the Daiwa Scholarship two years before me, incidentally). There may also be sea fishing, at which point I plan to opt out discreetly with the intention of not freezing to death. Perhaps there will be a trip out of Tokyo or two as well.

More soon, I promise...