While in Tokyo last year, my friend took us out to a lovely cafe called the “Nano Cafe”. There was a very long wait to get in, but she insisted it was worth the wait. I was rather skeptical as we’d just spent a long day at an amusement park, and my son was starting to whine (OK, I shouldn’t blame my son all the time…I was starting to whine too!).

After the 20 minute wait or so, and the relentless whining (I’m not saying who!), we were called into this rather cramped, dimly lit cafe. We squeezed into the corner and grabbed the menu fast.  But something caught my eye right away – on each of our tables were these little jam jars filled with some ultra tiny blocks, similar to legos.  I also noticed that the whining had instantly stopped and my son went from a near meltdown to one you couldn’t even budge.  He dumped the tiny blocks onto the coffee table and started to build. Each piece was TINY – and after examining each block, my friend told me that they were called nano blocks (Ah, hence the name of the cafe…Nano Cafe) and these were all the rage in Japan! We were all hooked! I’d never seen anything like it before and though they were tiny (the smallest piece measuring 4mm x 4mm), my son was able to really work with them quite easily. All around the cafe, there were display cases with several world masterpieces (like the Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, and so on), all made out of these nano blocks.

Nano blocks at the Nano Cafe

Of course, we HAD to buy them, but it was our last day in Japan and the cafe didn’t have any of these nano blocks for sale. They said they were available at some of the toy stores in Tokyo but we just ran out of time. Well, months went by and we’d almost forgotten about these blocks, but last month, while on a trip to Singapore, I had gone to Takashimaya, one of the largest Japanese department stores in Singapore. And what do you know….right there in front of me were shelves of nano blocks! I just couldn’t believe it! I think I was actually more excited than my son was! I just had to get them!

So here are just a few images of the sets I bought. I did a little research once I got back to the States – they’re apparently available at FAO Schwarz. So, no, you’re lucky you don’t have to go all the way to Singapore or Japan for these amazing blocks.  I highly recommend these little masterpieces for yourselves. It’s a great stress reliever, and each package comes with instructions on how to precisely put the pieces together! The giraffe took me about two hours to complete.  I haven’t attempted the others yet. Do remember that the parts are quite small. So use your discretion when your kids pry them out of your hands!

(All images in this post were either taken by myself or provided by www.diablock.co.jp/nanoblock/)

My very own Nano Blocks

Summer is finally here but I noticed my feet were nowhere near beach-ready! This happens every year, you see. Here’s my problem.  I’m extremely ticklish and thus tend to forego pedicures in general, but this time, even I realized that I really didn’t have a choice.  I had to endure the dreaded pedicure!

Recently, while in Singapore, I kept seeing signs for “fish reflexology and relaxation spa”, and wondered what this fad was all about. A huge hit in Japan and Korea, and now Singapore, these spas have several pools filled with “turkish spa fish” which “gently” (um, I don’t think so!) nibble on the dead skin on your feet. I had read that the sensation was similar to tickling.  I wasn’t sure where the relaxation part came into the picture, but was told that the laughter and giggles generated from said tickling was what relaxed you!

Well, considering the state of my pathetic feet, something needed to be done. I could either choose a traditional pedicure at a spa, or go for one of these fish spas.  So, I bravely decided to “relax” in a pool of dead-skin-nibbling fish! What WAS I thinking?!

The place I went to was called “Kenko Reflexology and Fish Spa” at the Tanglin Shopping Center (This place has several branches in Singapore). I showed up as soon as they opened – even though their literature states that the pool water is changed daily and they have various filters and methods to keep the water clean at all times, it just felt better being the first one there. (Also, assuming no one else was around, I could in fact bail quite easily without any embarrassment to myself).

So there I was, at 10am-sharp.  The receptionist asked if I wanted to do the fish spa for my feet for 15 minutes or 30 minutes, or a full body experience !! EEK! Who on earth would want to try that ??!! Naturally, I opted for the 15minutes for feet alone, but mentioned that if I could tolerate the fishies, I’d extend it to 30 minutes. Ha!

So she took me into their spa room, which thankfully faced Orchard Road – a great place to just people-watch.  I rolled up my jeans, where she proceeded to spray some sort of soap on my feet and then jet sprayed my legs clean. I was shown 3 pools – a tiny fish pool (each fish measuring an inch or so), a medium pool (with 3in fish) and the large pool (with whopping 6 inch fish with mouths the size of tennis balls!).  Apparently the larger the fish, the lazier they are (and therefore less ticklish). But since I needed all the help I could get, I opted for the tiny pool.

So the clock started.  I had to get in. Closing my eyes, I stuck my toe in and within seconds I could feel the water move and there they were – at least ten fish sucking on my toe! Without thinking too much, I just put both feet into the water – I didn’t realize how deep the water was – the water came up to just below my knees) and wherever there was skin below the water, there were fish.

For the first 15 seconds, I just clenched my teeth and kept my eyes shut. It felt more pulsating than ticklish, except for when they chose to nibble your soles of your feet – now THAT was excruciatingly ticklish). But I have to say, I started to get used to it and even opened my eyes (only to shut them back again, after seeing that practically every fish in the pool was nibbling on my feet! How embarrassing!). There must have been about a hundred on each of my legs.

I was trying to take my mind off these tiny fish by looking at the pretty people walking outside and at some point, I glanced over at my watch and noticed that it had already been about 20 minutes. No sign of the receptionist. So I looked out again and finally about 25 minutes into the torture, she appeared. I was done.

I carefully took my legs out of the pool and surprisingly not one clung onto my skin, as I had feared. I picked up a towel to dry my legs and realized that my feet were significantly softer! I couldn’t believe this. These tiny little fish were so hardworking and efficient! If it weren’t for the sole tickling, I’d probably do it again……. in another lifetime perhaps.

I took a ton of photos, but I’m only posting the ones that hopefully won’t creep you out

The fish spa room where you can see benches to sit on while soaking your feet into one of several pools.  The spa overlooks Orchard Road, Singapore’s high end shopping district.

One of the pools

Here’s the pool with the tiny fish

Little fishies working on my feet

A closeup

and finally………

the LARGE fish! Just too gross to even look at (Sorry fishies !)