家族 Means Family, and Family Means That Nobody Gets Left Behind

Reading: Japan: Its History and Culture, W. Scott Morton and J. Kenneth Olenik

Listening: teachers chatting

Thursday, June 7

After finishing with my afterschool activities (i.e. learning how to maneuver a lavender puff stick into a floral arrangement), I hurried excitedly into Kobe, where I made my way to the Sannomiya Union Hotel and hugged my mom for the first time in eleven months.

The family--also including Dad, Grandpa, Grandma and Scott--shared a cramped reunion in the tiny hotel room. I was all happiness in their company again, and I fell contentedly asleep beside my mommy.

Friday, June 8

Everyone awoke EARLY, catching a train from the city of Kobe to the countryside of Miki. We arrived at my station of Shijimi an hour before my usual wake-up time, and I left my family at home before heading off solo to work. The group arrived several hours later, spruced up and bearing enormous boxes of cheerily packaged omiyage for my co-workers.

校長先生 (the principal) received us warmly in his plush office with hot cups of green tea and plenty of conversation. In the staff room, my family met my fellow teachers, and Mom and Dad received a special tour from 教頭先生 (the vice principal). Everyone responded with kindness and generosity to their visit: the calligraphy teacher gave Mom a traditional fan, and the computer teacher presented Dad and Grandpa with an enormous bottle of top-quality sake. 教頭先生 took our picture at the front of the school.

When the others left for a soba lunch at Sagami, Scott remained with me to attend class with the third years. Scott and I sat in the back like delinquents, laughing and predicting which student would fall asleep next. The two of us ate a cheap meal at a sushi shop near school before meeting up with Mom and Dad for a first year class. I interact well with the teacher with whom I work for this class and we shared a relaxing lesson of teaching the students American gestures, followed by the students teaching us some Japanese ones.

In the afternoon, Mom and I shared a long talk about the future in my room. Scott furiously beat all of my top scores on my Wii, and the others rested. When Chris arrived from Tamba, we all returned to Kobe.

Chris and I guided our group to dinner at the faboo M-int Building, where we ate at a new tonkatsu restaurant. The breading on my エビフライ (fried shrimp--I rarely eat the tonkatsu) was light and crisp, with not a touch of oilyness. As with most tonkatsu shops, the restaurant offered unlimited refills of the standard miso soup, cabbage salad, and rice . . . only this place features a hearty soup brimming with slender enoki mushrooms and tender chunks of daikon and carrot, crisp cabbage garnished with a tart yuzu dressing, and fluffy barley rice.

Chris and I stayed overnight at the hotel.

Saturday, June 9

神戸へ、ようこそ！We Hyogo-ites planned a day of touring 南京町 (Chinatown) and Harborland. Unfortunately, the weather was crap, and we wound up trapped under the covered shopping arcades of Motomachi for a few hours. We kept busy sampling 和菓子 (Japanese sweets) in the local shops. We found a delicious dorayaki--sweet, chunky beans sandwiched between soft, pillowy pancakes--at a premium sweets shop. For lunch we ate at a restaurant in 南京町. I ordered a dim sum plate of assorted steamed and fried delicacies, accompanied by scallop soup, a creamy tapioca almond float and jasmine tea. As we exited the restaurant we discovered that the weather was suddenly sunny and beautiful, perfect for checking out Kobe's most famous view--the harbor.

Scott, mocking ピース. Not cool, dude.

Gramps, relaxing along the canal outside Mosaic.

Mom / Grandma / Scooter

The folks.

Gram and Gramps returned to the hotel via Prius タクシー, but the rest of us shopped at Tokyu Hands for omiyage (though not without stopping for crepes and melon sodas at Dipper Dan). We all met up for dinner at a noodle shop nearby the hotel.

Sunday, June 10

京都！After checking out from the hotel, we caught the train for Kyoto, my favorite place in Japan. I suffered through much of the train ride due to my first migraine in months (Mom alleges that I must be allergic to my family). In a rare act of Japanese train generosity, a woman (around my grandparents' age, even), seeing my pale face, gave me her seat. I hate to admit that I accepted it from her, but thankfully, she found an open seat at the next stop.

We lunched at くらま, a restaurant in the station. I found a delicious ランチセット.

Rice and goodies in a pot. 釜飯, one of my greatest food loves. The set included warm ちゃわんむし (savory egg custard), smooth Kyoto tofu, crisp pickles, and red miso soup. Coupled with a strong iced coffee, my meal left me ready for exploring.

An amazing cake display in the station. The cakes can be purchased at around 700円 a slice.

Chris and I usually spend our Kyoto days trekking madly around the city, but my family spent their first day here in mellow fashion, shopping for omiyage (the irrational demands of omiyage purchasing still baffle me) in the basement of Porta. Following dinner, Chris and I bid our goodbyes and returned to Miki.

Monday, June 11
By a grand stroke of 幸運 (luck), I had the day off from work. The other teachers mumbled something about a Founders' Day, but I could hardly care so long as I wasn't required to be at my desk. Chris and I woke up at 5:30 am, with him driving back to Tamba and me catching an early train back to Kyoto. I enjoyed a lovely two hour ride with the commuting businessmen before meeting my family at the New Miyako Hotel to join the 外人-filled Sunrise Tour.

二条城 (Second Avenue Castle)

I love Nijo, with its beautiful artwork and nightingale floors, but on Monday, it was packed with school students attempting to impress the foreigners with their English.

金閣寺 (The Golden Pavilion)

Kyoto Imperial Palace

Chris and I first visited the palace on Open-to-Everyone-and-His-Mother Day earlier this spring, but this time around, I found myself on a rigidly organized group tour. We submitted information forms to the guards and marched through the gate in lines of four. Though our tour group, along with one other, were the only visitors on the grounds, we saw far less of the palace interior than Chris and I saw.

Kyoto Handicraft Center

No tour is complete without a stop at a tourist trap. We ate a mediocre lunch and browsed through the many overpriced souvenir items. I vowed never to shop at this place, but Mom bought me a pair of geta in a size suitable for my duck feet, impossible to find at your average shop for Japanese.

平安神宮 (Heian Shrine)

Chris and I almost visited the last time we were in Kyoto, but had to leave for my school party. I loved the beautiful grounds of Heian Shrine the most among all our stops.

Nails to protect the bright vermilion structure from evil birds.
(The word "vermilion" always reminds me of counting flies in biology class. Gross.)

Wishes. On one card, a girl prayed that she and her boyfriend would make up after a fight.

The gardens at Heian Shrine.

三十三間堂　
I had promised myself that I would finally snap a photo in this hall of 1,001 golden statues, but a young monk circled suspiciously around our tourist group, preventing me from doing so.

清水寺 (Kiyomizu Temple)
It figures that this most famous location would be the last stop on our tour. Did you know that you can vote to make Kiyomizu Temple one of the New Seven Wonders of the World? Let's all trying our best to make Japan number one!

The bus carried us well up the hill, for which I was thankful, having nearly passed out on our hike up last time. We wandered through the temple for a mere half hour before returning back down the mountain street to the bus. I WILL see all of Kiyomizu one day!

We shopped through the small shops lining the streets outside the temple, with Mom buying me several Hello Kitty straps (京都限定) and treating Scott and I to fat シュークリーム stuffed with custard and soft cream. I sampled at least five different 八ツ橋 (three-sided sweets stuffed with fillings such as an, strawberry, or even green apple) from a favorite sweet shop, before we climbed back onto the bus which brought us back to the hotel.

I said my goodbyes to my family the following morning, as they were leaving by Shinkansen for Tokyo and I was leaving for work. I'm thankful that they had the chance to visit me here, to spend time with me, and to see why I love this country.

I miss and love you all so much. I'll see you at home!