Soju, shochu and schools: My parents second trip to Japan!

In November, my parents visited Japan for the second time, and it was equally as jam-packed as the first time, but in a different way. I alternated long weekends travelling with two/three days back in work, for about three weeks.  Although they visited so many places without me, I’ll stick to the places we visited together.

 

Seoul

 

A well-known favourite of mine, we met here to experience the apparent “hype” I gave this city. My mum fell in love and ate her body weight in fried chicken, in preparation for the weeks of dreaded Japanese food to come. I took them to all my favourite areas too; visiting palaces and museums, Namsan Tower and eating our way through Insadong and Namdaemun markets. 

We unintentionally timed our trip to coincide with the Seoul Lantern Festival, where lanterns depicting objects and people, float on Cheonggyecheon stream, a recreational area running through the city where you can walk along the banks. It was somewhat reminiscent of lantern festivals in Japan, however the calm music and the trickle of the stream created a completely different atmosphere that was super tranquil, hidden between the flashing lights of nearby neighbourhoods.

I’ve turned into a proper wimp when it comes to cold weather, and winter in South Korean is positively baltic… obviously my excuse to drink all of the soju and eat a hotteok when I couldn’t feel my hands. I got my mum stocked up with numerous beauty products of course, and she appreciated the men. The less said about that the better, but I’m pretty sure she wants to go back because there were so many places she’s heard me talk about, but we just didn’t have the time. My dad did seem extremely out of place in Hongdae around clubs and make up stalls galore, but fear not, he found numerous bars, including a Liverpool FC one. I guess you’ll never drink alone, no matter where you go.

Kobe, Himeji and Osaka

The next long weekend started nice and early for me, as I left at 5:00am to catch the shinkansen and meet my parents in Kobe. Close to Osaka, Kobe is famous for its China town (one of three in Japan) and its beef. Haruka also joined us for this part of the trip, and her shinkansen arrived from Nagoya just after mine.

First, we visited somewhere my dad had researched, but I had never heard of. He’s a bit of a professional now with his list of go-to spots in Japan, probably more so than me. Nunobuki Herb Garden is located right behind Shin-Kobe station, so we took the cable car and the view was glorious. The sky was clear and we could see almost all the way across Osaka Bay. 

There was a German festival at the time, so we slowly walked down the mountain fuelled by some mulled wine and bratwurst, plus the most amazing dango I’ve ever seen. There was an area full of hammocks, and a local musician played somewhat folky music to keep us entertained, even if both Haruka and I struggled getting in and out of them gracefully.

 

The trail down the mountain led us to a quiet waterfall, and once we reached the bottom we headed to China town and the harbour area. Kobe was much quieter than I expected, but I’m glad I’ve been. If nothing else to say I’ve eaten some dumplings there, and the infamous Kobe beef. Don’t get me wrong, it was expensive, but you can’t really go to Kobe without trying it. If you ever visit, ponder what I learnt; “all Kobe beef is wagyu, but not all wagyu is Kobe beef”.

Himeji was our second day trip, and despite living near one of the most amazing castles in Japan, you still can’t enter Kumamoto castle due to earthquake damage. So, Himeji was actually my first castle experience, and it didn’t disappoint. They actually limit the amount of visitors for the day since it’s so popular, but even with the huge numbers it didn’t seem rushed, or like you couldn’t see the wood for the trees. 

As with Kumamoto, parks near to castles often have food festivals, which we stumbled across in Himeji. My dad loves anything allowing him to try more local delicacies, so we snacked there before heading back to Osaka for custom Kit-Kat making, and spending our evening at a local yakitori joint eating some of the best grilled chicken with yuzu pepper paste.

Kumamoto 

Once my parents finally arrived in my stomping ground, the fun didn’t stop, with us going on adventures, eating with my friends, and them even gate-crashing an ALT pub quiz and complaining they didn’t win. Despite that, two stand out moments to me, and hopefully to them too, were dressing in kimono, and visiting my schools.

My mum has been obsessed with kokeshi dolls for as long as I can remember, so it was apt for her to want to dress like a real life one in a kimono. My friend Billy made time in her busy schedule to prepare the most amazing morning for us, laying out styles she thought my mum would like and dressing her with glee. Next was my turn, and Billy let me wear what she knows to be my favourite kimono of hers, along with a handmade fur obi that got many looks and is just fabulous. 

Shuffling around in our geta, we then took my dad to the local rental shop to get him in on the action too. He really embodied it, and I felt him taking on an Edo-esque personality before my eyes. Even the woman dressing him asked if it was his first time, as apparently he held himself perfectly.

The autumn leaves were at their prime, and at Suizenji Park we couldn’t have asked for a better backdrop to some cheesy family photos. I’m so glad Billy could give my parents a chance to experience something so typically Japanese.

A few months prior to my parent’s visit, one of my teachers had a demonstration lesson to plan and perform (with me might I add, talk about pressure) for numerous teachers from across the prefecture. Long story short, he based it upon their impending visit, and a month after the demonstration lesson, the occasion finally arrived.

Honestly I think some students thought I was just joking until that day, but my parents got to experience making origami, how to write their names through calligraphy, play kendama and making traditional helmets out of newspapers.

After lunch, we headed to one of my elementary schools to experience more calligraphy with 5^th graders, and 4^th graders prepared the most heart-warming presentations on their favourite Japanese things. I was really blown away by the whole thing, and especially how much effort everyone put in. We established that my mum is the most shocking kendama player on the planet, whereas my dad had all the kids going wild when he smashed the most difficult play.

I was so glad to have the opportunity to introduce my parents to school, because I hope they could understand what my daily life really is like, and why I love it so much. They left with so many gifts and letters from students, and despite the language barrier, I was so proud of my kids for trying so hard to communicate and be patient. I’m pretty sure my parents felt the love and gratitude from all of my students just as much as I did.

Drip drip drop, little (by that I mean relentless) April showers.

My parents recently visited Japan for the first time, and I was able to join them for all but one part (Tokyo) of their whirlwind journey. We visited Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Kumamoto, Fukuoka, Nagasaki and Miyazaki prefectures, all in the space of 9 days. Pretty impressive if you ask me.

The only place I hadn’t been to before was Hiroshima, and what a beautiful place. My parents had timed their visit to coincide with the cherry blossom, and once we arrived in Hiroshima, the sakura were in full bloom.  Hiroshima itself was somewhere I’ll definitely be returning to soon. It had such a relaxed vibe, and that, along with hundreds of people enjoying hanami (cherry blossom viewing) along the riverbanks, made it utterly beautiful despite the greyness.

Visiting the Atomic Bomb Museum was a solemn one, as you’d expect, however I’d recommend anyone to go to the museum in Nagasaki instead. While Hiroshima is still the more well-known of the two atomic bomb targets, that is seemingly its downfall, as I felt like I was being hurried through the museum without any time to reflect.

The day we took a trip to Miyajima was the only day we weren’t soaked. It’s somewhere I’ve wanted to go for a while to see the Great Torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine, and it didn’t disappoint. We also took the cable car to the top of the moutain, and the view was just stunning. Momiji manjyu is now one of my favourite local delicacies, and the fried version, age momiji, is something else.  

I also had the most hilarious food experience after going to a recommended ‘hole in the wall’ Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki restaurant. After explaining to the elderly woman working (doing everything alone might I add), that my mum wasn’t a particularly adventurous foodie, she proceeded to practically shove things in my mum’s mouth to prove it was okay and cook away at 100 mph.

Never did I see the day I’d be taking my parents to purikura, but we took some hilarious photos there. The one I chose in Hiroshima apparently gave my dad a sensory overload, much like the pachinko parlour I told my mum to just pop her head into.

My parents have vouched to return to Japan again, and I can only hope they decide to take things easier. Here’s me, over a week later, still catching up on sleep after Japanese-ing to within an inch of my life. 

All in all though, I’m happy they actually got to see what my life over here is like, especially after meeting Sheridan and Clare, and spending a few evenings in cute little Kumamoto. 

They got to meet Kohei too! Even if I did have to spend a day nursing him to recovery, I’ll give him credit where credit’s due… he attempted to keep up with my dad’s bourbon drinking, not a feat many would take on. 

So here's to next time, when their new found love for Kumamon and fancy Japanese toilets will have hopefully blossomed even more. またね！

Living & breathing Japanese (literally, I was on a homestay).

I am extremely grateful to have been involved in a homestay during my time in Kyoto, which took place during my third week of the exchange. My family consisted of my host parents, and two daughters, Miki and Asuka. They also had a pet ferret called Ponta, but don't even get me started on my hatred for that thing. I'm not a fan of being targeted, constantly bitten on the ankles, and even having it break into my room and get INSIDE my pillow case.

It was obviously meant to be, as there were numerous Hello Kitty things in the house, and my room (a small guest room downstairs with a futon) came complete with Hello Kitty curtains. 

I'll always remember how the first thing my family asked me was if I got car sick, and with good reason too, I think my host father fancied himself as a bit of a boy racer down the small Kyoto side streets. My family were super cute, as they struggled with pronouncing my name, like most Japanese people do. Instead, I acquired the nickname of "keito". This was my favourite thing because whenever my host mother would run a bath, she'd shout that to get my attention from upstairs.
Somehow, through a lack of me paying proper attention, I even ended up cooking lasagne for the family one evening because they wanted to experience both my cooking, and some western food. Afterwards, Miki was feeling super sleepy so I taught her the phrase "food coma", which she absolutely loved!

Asuka was studying English for her university entrance exams, so we really helped each other develop ways to remember certain things in our other languages. She would always get confused over her left and right, so I taught her the simple trick of looking at her hands to find the “L”. It was so adorable to see how happy she was after I'd taught her such a simple thing, and needless to say, I trusted her directions a lot more from that point on.
Most evenings after dinner seemed to be the time when my host family would socialise. It often ended up with me telling them about random things they wanted to know about England. One evening, I even spent almost two hours trying to teach my host mother how to say "the earth is round" without making her r's sound like w's. It ended up with me making her practically growl to get the noise out, much to Miki and Asuka's amusement. 
Another evening, there was a discussion about my dislike of heated Japanese toilet seats, which they couldn't understand my logic of it feeling like someone has just been sat on it before you. Also note to self, never, ever try to explain the concept of a Yorkshire pudding to anyone in Japanese, it's not going to go well!

My confidence in speaking Japanese has come on leaps and bounds, proven by the fact we had to give a speech about our experiences to fellow classmates at the end of the exchange. On the first day, I was put off by just introducing myself in the language to people I knew had a greater ability, but by the end I was much more confident in my own ability. I know this is definitely down to being involved in a homestay, and even though sometimes I had no clue what my host parents were saying to me, I managed to find ways around this and be able to wing it.

In Kyoto we saw so many people dressed in kimonos and yukata, and one evening we even got a chance to wear yukata ourselves at a festival on campus. There was also a Hawaiian themed DJ night going on, which I can only describe as if the SU was more tame, had a cream carpet and closed at 8:30. What a random experience that was!
Aside from my time with my host family, I made a trip to Osaka to try the famous okonomiyaki and visit Dontonboori, where I took an obligatory photo with the iconic Glico sign. KUFS also organised us to experience a calligraphy session and a tea ceremony, which was a great insight into traditional Japanese life.
Our final day involved a ceremony and leaving party, which consisted of a lot of picture taking, goodbyes and also a nice little certificate saying I'd successfully completed the programme. We ended our final night by visiting Osaka for a firework display along the river during the Tenjin Matsuri.

I don’t think I’ve taken as many photographs as I have during these past three weeks, and yes, I have been that tourist taking pictures of trees. You could live in Kyoto all of your life and still have only just scratched the surface, and I really hope I get the opportunity to go back some day!