I am fortunate enough to be able to go back to Japan for vacation every year. I was not able to go back to Japan for five years while the kids were very small. Life was too hectic back then to even think of being away from home. Thanks to Mike who actually takes time off while I visit Japan with the girls, I am able to leave in peace. He even says he enjoys staycation with the boys, so it's even better!
The girls and I flew to Osaka connecting at Narita in late June. It's a rainy season in Japan, but I usually have pretty good luck with the weather. The travel was very long, but the girls did great. They were happily watching movies on their personal entertainment device or playing with iPad. I bought the Wi-Fi on the plane again and was able to read and browse the Internet. Travel has gotten so much easier. If they can shorten the actual flight time to at least half then I have nothing more to wish for!
My Dad came to pick us up at the airport in Osaka. He was his usual self with worn out hat and Japanese zouri slippers. He looks older a bit, but his spirit is still the same. He insists I grew taller, but I know he shrunk. I let him believe I had some magical growth support instead of arguing with him. The girls did not sleep at all on the plane (Saya a bit on the connecting flight), but we decided to have dinner at the airport since it will be a long ride home. Saya wanted to eat soba noodles and Aly wanted sushi, so Dad took Saya to a noodles restaurant and I took Aly to a sushi place. Aly was gobbling up the chirashi donburi (a vriety of raw fish on top of rice in a bowl). The girls and I didn't eat much on the plane so we were hungry. Dad said Saya ate like a horse, too, and I am sure that is what happened!
My Mom was home after a while since she had a meeting somewhere. She is an exceptionally busy lady and she is rarely at one place more than 2 hours! She is always doing something for other people and I wish I had a fraction of her energy in me. I am sure that is why she looks and thinks young for her age. The girls were tired so they bathed and went to sleep, They didn't wake up until 5 am which is very good for the first night after arriving. Jet lag can be very brutal and sometimes wakes us up at 3 am with nothing to do other than rolling around on the mattress. We were very excited though to begin our first day in Japan. We wanted stroll around the streets and see, smell, touch and listen to Japan. The girls and I are always wide-eyed on the first few days because it is so refreshing to experience something out of ordinary and for me to show the girls the roots they are very much connected to. For that I feel very lucky to be able to return.
Our schedules filled up fairly quickly and we were so busy from the day two. I will write about more in the next post.
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