My Mom in Japan!

On Sunday July 21^st, my mother came to Japan to visit me. My last day of work before summer vacation was the 19^th. So, right from the beginning of my summer vacation, it was action packed! I was so excited for my mom to experience Japan because she is very open-minded and interested in learning about all cultures. The only thing she was not very good at was saying anything in Japanese haha! I think by the time she left, the only thing she could say was the name of my town. :P

Mother and daughter purikura.

Anyway, I will give a day by day breakdown of what we did.

July 21^st: She arrived in the evening. This was the first time someone who has come to visit me had flown into Itami/Osaka Airport. It was kind of complicated to get there, so it took a while getting back. It, of course, was super humid and gross out. My mom got a full taste of Osaka summer heat the second she stepped out of the airport!

One strange thing happened on the train ride to my place. I have always told my mother about how polite and reserved Japanese people are, but I swear my mother ALWAYS attracts crazy people. So on our ride home, a group of about four middle aged ladies walk over to us and start asking us tons of questions (in Japanese) with very loud voices. They were examining all my mother’s things like her suitcase, purse, wedding ring, and fingernails and commenting on them.  When they learned she was my mother, they freaked out and asked her how old she was. Then they asked me and did the math. My mom was kind of embarrassed. Apparently they were on their way back from a concert. They seemed kind of drunk. In any case, my mom’s first experience talking to Japanese people (well, me translating) was not what she was expecting. When we got to my place, we chatted and went to bed.

July 22^nd: We woke up a little early and went to my school. My mother wanted to see what a Japanese school was like since she is a teacher in the U.S. Since it was summer vacation, it was ok for me to bring her. When I brought her, I introduced her to some teachers and students. I was surprised by how shy my students were around her! Usually they are not that shy and are very talkative around me, but when my mother was here, they were so nervous and couldn’t speak! One of my JTE’s kept making them do self introductions. It was amusing. I think my mother enjoyed seeing my school.

After that, we went out for lunch with two of my JTEs at a place called Getten. It was a gourmet kushi-katsu place. It was super fancy and delicious! There were a couple pieces of kushi-kastsu that kind of made us nervous, though. For example, there was one with a fish tail sticking out of it and another which was a whole shrimp with the eyes and face antenna things. I was so proud of my mom for eating them! It was a perfect first meal out (not to mention like all the workers were really cute young men haha)! After that, my teacher took us to her house. She wanted to show my mother and me her house because it is a very big traditional Japanese style home that was built by her family. It almost reminded me of a temple! I got to meet her mother-in-law who was the cutest little Japanese woman I’ve ever seen! Then we went to the nearby local temple. My mother was so impressed by everything. I enjoyed the beautiful lotus flowers at the temple.  It was a good first day!

*By the way, I should mention that it was one of my mother’s goals to try all sorts of different Japanese foods while she was here. So I will also be giving a breakdown of what we ate while she was here.

July 23^rd: I figured that it was best for me to show her downtown Osaka right away so she could get a feel for where I was living. First, however, we went to Osaka Castle. I think she was impressed by it. We were planning on eating takoyaki on the castle grounds, but many places were closed. Perhaps it was because it was a Tuesday morning. Instead, on our way downtown, we ate at a place in Kyobashi that I always bring visitors too. It’s simple Japanese home style cooking. My mother got a big curry udon, and I got teishoku. We then headed downtown. We walked down the Shinsaibashi shotengai (covered shopping street) and did some shopping. I showed her the Glico Man and other areas. For dinner, I took her to kaiten-zushi. That was fun!

Mother's curry udon.

Osaka Castle.

Dotonbori.

Kaiten-zushi.

July 24^th: On this day we went to Kyoto to the Higashiyama area. First we had Italian food for lunch in the station (I know, not really Japanese). My mom was obsessed with the smoked salmon spaghetti which is really common in Japan, but not so much in America. Then we made our way to the Higashiyama area and shopped along the old streets up to Kiyomizu-dera. After looking at the temple and going in “the womb (which is a pitch black underground cavern with a “magical” rock inside that you make a wish in front of),” we continued North up to Yasaka-jinja and Maruyama Park. There we met our friend Satsuki. My mother hadn’t seen her in years, so it was nice. We shopped a bit around the Gion district before going to dinner together. We got omu-raisu.  It was a nice outing. We took pictures in front of Kyoto Station and Kyoto Tower before saying our goodbyes to Satsuki.

In front of Yasaka-jinja.

In front of Kyoto Station.

July 25^th: We went to Tenjin Matsuri. Tenjin Maturi is the 3^rd biggest festival in all of Japan. That being said, it was really crowded! We did a LOT of walking. On our way to the river where the boat parade would take place, we stopped at some food stands and saw the ground parade. I really liked the parade. We also happened upon a street performer doing magic. That’s always fun! Once we reached the river, we watched the boat parade a little before making our way to the main food stands. My mother tried takoyaki for the first time. I think she liked it except for the fish flakes. In addition to the yakisoba and chocolate banana we had earlier and the takoyaki then, we also had kara-age and kaki-gori that was alcoholic throughout the night. Oh, I forgot to mention that during this time, we were drinking chu-hi and beer (well my mom was drinking beer and I was drinking chu-hi). I was drinking the large, strong cans, so I was getting pretty buzzed. Later we met up with a couple of friends and tried to watch the fireworks, but it was so crowded that we couldn’t even see them. After that, against our better judgment, we got coaxed into going to an izakaya with my friend at the time (he turned out to be a creepy stalker). We ate some stuff even though we weren’t that hungry (but he was), and we drank a lot more. I was for lack of a better word, wasted! So I guess something good came out of it haha!

Partying at Tenjin-Matsuri.

Ground parade.

River parade.

July 26^th: This was our Nara day. It was a good day indeed! When we first got to Nara, I took my mom to the matcha café that I love. We had the small butter chicken curry set and then for the main event, matcha parfaits! They were so good! Then we made our way on the course I usually take through Nara. First we played with the deer in Nara Park and checked out Kofuku-ji. The antlers on the deer had grown so much since I last saw them in like May-ish! Then we made our way to Isuien Garden. I was excited to take my mother there because when I showed my mother pictures from my first Japan trip, she thought my most beautiful picture was from Isuien Garden. When she saw the main scenic view, I think she was in awe. I felt pleased haha! After that, we went to Todai-ji, of course, and saw the biggest Buddha statue in Japan. Then we made our way to Kasuga-taisha, a shrine known for having around 3,000 lanterns. Up until this point, this was the way I always went, but accidentally on our way back, I took a wrong turn, and we ended up at this beautiful pond with a gazebo in the middle. We enjoyed that view for a bit before finally making our way back to Nara Kintetsu Station. When we got back to my town, we went to Daifuku which is a yakiniku restaurant in my town. I think my mother really enjoyed this dinner a lot. We cooked vegetables and meat on the grill at the table, and we also had kimchi, bibimbap, and soup. We finished off the night by stopping at the “dog bar” in my town for a couple drinks. She loved it! It was a super eventful, jam-packed day!

Matcha parfait.

Nara Park.

Isuien.

Gazebo out on the pond.

Yaki-niku (Well actually yaki-yasai). Haha!

July 27^th: This day was a little more relaxing. In the morning, I brought my mother to my tea ceremony class. She tried onigiri for the first time on the way there. It was cool that my mom could actually see me practice and meet my classmates and teacher. After that, we went home and chilled out and ate supermarket food for lunch. My mom really likes Japanese potato salad haha…so do I. Later, we met up at Balabushka with some other JETs to celebrate the JET year coming to an end. It was fun to just chill out, drink, and talk with everyone. I think my mom was impressed because I know and meet people from all over the world. She met some people from different countries at the bar which she enjoyed. After that, we went back to my town and stopped in at White & Cigar. This wasn’t the first time we went together since my mom came, but I don’t remember which day was the first day. We enjoyed having a few drinks (my mother may have gone home before me haha) and chatting with everyone.

Tea ceremony class.

July 28^th: This was karaoke night! I don’t know if we did anything in the morning, but I know we met everyone around dinner time at Torikizoku in West Shinsaibashi. We ate a bunch of izakaya food like yakitori. I don’t think my mom will ever forgive me for having her try nankotsu (chicken cartilage). Many people I know like it, and I thought maybe she would too. I didn’t want to tell her what it was though because I thought that if she knew, she wouldn’t try it. Well, it turned out that she hated it anyway. :P We drank at the izakaya and my mom got sufficiently “loose” for karaoke haha! We headed to Rainbow Karaoke in Dontonbori. It was my mother’s first time to go to a karaoke box. She had a blast, and everyone enjoyed watching/laughing at her. She kept drinking at the karaoke box, got really rowdy, and was dancing on the couches! It was so funny!

On our way to karaoke!

Fun times!

Andrew surprised us all with his fast rapping!

July 29^th: This was the one year anniversary of me coming to Japan, so we had a mother-daughter date. It was really nice! First, we went to Osaka station to satisfy my craving for an Auntie Anne’s pretzel. From there, we took the subway to Namba. We browsed around in Tower Records to kill time before going to see Monsters University in theaters at Toho Cinemas. We both enjoyed the movie so much! It was great! After that, we went to my favorite restaurant; the all-you-can-eat kushi-katsu place in Namba Parks where you cook it yourself at the table. We seriously had a blast there! I think my mom’s favorite Japanese food ended up being kushi-katsu as well. It was a perfect little one year anniversary celebration.

There is this crazy cool fountain thing at Osaka

Station that my mother and I starred at for a bit.

I love this place so much!

July 30^th: This is the day we went to Koya-san in Wakayama Prefecture. I had been meaning to go there for a long time. It’s a place famous for having a cemetery called Oku-no-in where many famous Buddhist monks are buried. Plus it’s on top of a scenic misty mountain, very secluded. There’s also a really nice temple called Garan there too with a gigantic 2-tiered pagoda called Konpon Daito. It’s very impressive. It’s about a 3 hour trip from my town to the peak of Koyasan. One of the fun parts is getting to take a cable-car to the top. Once you get into Wakayama, the view from the train window becomes incredible! When we got there, we went straight to Oku-no-in. It was so surreal. I was completely visually stimulated by the sight. After taking it in and walking around a bit, we left Oku-no-in and headed to the Garan temple complex. On the way, we stopped in a few stores and another mini temple. When we got to Garan, the view of the Konpon Daito pagoda took my breath away. It was so big! We went inside it and looked around in awe. We were sufficiently stimulated for the day. After walking around the temple complex and getting a quick snack of oyako-don to share, we made our way back to Osaka. It was a long trek, but when we made it back, we got okonomiyaki for dinner. It was so good! We kind of went at an off time, so we had the place to ourselves. Therefore, the nice workers cutely decorated our okonomiyaki for us. After dinner, we shopped around again in Shinsaibashi before heading home.

Graves in Oku-no-in.

Oku-no-in. So cool!

Konpon Daito.

Cutest okonomiyaki ever!

 July 31^st: We went to Kyoto for a second time this day. This time, however, we went to the Arashiyama, and one of my students came with. Now before you get all freaky-deaky on me for spending time with a student outside of class, please let me explain. So first, she is totally a teacher’s pet to me which is cute. Without saying anything to me, she went home and seriously asked her parents if she could come to America with me to stay for a couple weeks when I go home next. Her parents seriously said yes haha! Then she told me about her plan. She really likes English and America. I told her that when I am finished teaching in Japan, she could come visit me in America (after I asked my parents). So, whenever I finish JET, I really think she will come stay a couple weeks at my house.  I have met her mother several times and her father once. I attended her trumpet recital that she invited me to. So what I’m trying to say is that I know her parents, I’m not a creep, and she really wanted to meet my mother when she was here. So we invited her to come along with us to Arashiyama. I was surprised to learn that even though she’s a Japanese girl living in Osaka, she had never been to Arashiyama! I’ve been there like five times!

When we first got to Arashiyama, we had lunch. We ate ten-don. Then we made our way over the big bridge (after playing by the river a bit) before heading to the monkey park. We climbed up the mountain to the monkey park. I really enjoyed seeing wild monkeys and feeding them (from the safety of the little safe hut on top of the mountain). There’s such a beautiful view of Kyoto from up top. The monkey seemed a little more irritable than when I last saw them. I think it was because of the heat. After getting our fill of monkeys, we climbed back down the mountain and made our way to the bamboo forest. We stopped for ice-cream cones on the way. They were particularly good ones! We happily walked through the forest while eating our ice-cream cones. Then we came to my favorite garden in Japan so far. It’s called Okochi Sanso. It was the personal home and garden of the Japanese jidaigeki (period film) actor, Okochi Denjiro. I had learned about him and saw some of his films in college. It had been a couple years since I went there for the first time! The entrance fee is a little expensive, but you get a nice post card and a cup of tea and tea cake included in the price (1,000 yen). First, we drank our tea and ate our tea cake before exploring the garden. It’s such a beautiful garden in my opinion. We stopped and walked around Tenryuji a little before heading home. I think my student really enjoyed herself. My mother and I did too!

Ten-don.

I forgot the name of this bridge, but it's like the
icon of Arashiyama.

Baby monkeys!

Bamboo forest.

Okochi Sanso.

The new ALT in my town arrived this day. So after I got home, I met him and gave him a little walking tour of our area. He seemed really cool and friendly, so I was excited to have someone like him in my town!

August 1^st: Honestly, on this day we were completely exhausted from going on two major trips two days in a row. Actually, I had some things I needed to take care of at my board of education in the morning/afternoon, so on this day we just went out for a dinner in Shinsaibashi. I had been so proud of my mom for trying all sorts of Japanese food every day, but this day she (and I) needed a break. Like typical Americans, we were craving Mexican food. So, we went to El Pancho and had a nice meal. Oh! I almost forgot! This day, in the evening, I taught a little English night class for adults. I brought my mom with me! My mom enjoyed interacting with the older Japanese folks in English. So actually, this day ended up being kind of busy. I think we ended our night at White & Cigar (I ended my night there more times than I have mentioned lol…I seriously love that place and the people there so much!).

Mom and I at White & Cigar.

August 2^nd: On this day, we had a nice trip to the Osaka Kaiyukan (Aquarium). First we stopped for ramen in Kyobashi on the way there. I’m not sure if ramen was tied for first place with kushi-katsu or not for my mother’s favorite Japanese food, but I know that she REALLY liked it! When we got to the Aquarium, we walked through it and had a nice time. Just like me, my mother was impressed by the whale sharks and the Japanese spider crabs. After the aquarium, we got bubble tea floats in the Tempozan Marketplace before riding the huge Ferris wheel outside of the Aquarium. When we were at the top of the Ferris wheel together, I felt very happy and thankful that my mom came to visit me. J

Japanese spider crabs.

August 3^rd: One of my favorite experiences took place on this day, my mother’s last full day in Japan. We went to Kobe to see a huge, popular fireworks show over the sea. It’s called the Minato Kobe Fireworks Festival, and it takes place every year at Kobe Port. This was the 42^nd year, I think. They light off about 10,000 fireworks in an hour!

Before going to Kobe, we got lunch at an Indian restaurant because my mom never gets to eat it in America because my dad doesn’t like it, and it is a lot more popular in Japan than America. It was spicy and delicious! The chai tea was particularly good. We made it to Kobe a few hours before the show, but the area was already packed with people! So many people (men and women) were dressed so nicely in their yukata. I really appreciated looking at all the effort that went into their outfits. To me, yukata and kimono are artistic and beautiful.  After buying some snacks to have for the show, we decided it would be best if we camped out in a spot like everyone else was already doing so we’d have a good view. We sat there for teo or three hours! We passed the time by playing games and talking. It was a test of patience but totally worth it because when the show started, our view was awesome!

Kobe Port.

Fireworks!

Fireworks!

Fireworks!

Fireworks!

Here's a video of the fireworks.

Last summer, since I was stranded without a phone or internet, I had no idea where to go to see fireworks or how to get there. I had been looking forward to seeing a Japanese firework show for a whole year! I had heard that they were stupendous compared to American ones…and it was true (with the exception of like Disney World). I love fireworks so much. I think they are so romantic and make you feel so good inside. Seeing as they were extraordinarily beautiful fireworks, I was moved by this experience.

August 4^th: What can I really say about this day? We got up and made our way to the airport. I was sad to see her go, and she was sad to leave me. However, I think we were both happy and thankful for her visit. I really got to spend some quality time with my mother, and we’ll always have the memories.

Goodbye Mom! I love you, and thanks for coming!