Reflections on JAPAN!--ETHAN

😭😭These are reflections on my trip to JAPAN. It's a Q&A with myself.

Q: What did you love about Japan?
A: The thing I loved most about Japan is the food. I wish we had all their food here. My favorite food is SUSHI. Sushi is SO good. I love the rainbow roll. I also loved the peanut butter bread.


Q: What was different than your life in San Diego?
A: I think that one big difference is the public transportation. They get around by trains and bus. Also they have a their own language which is VERY different than English.


Q: What did you think about the people in Japan?
A: I think that all the people that we met in Japan are very nice. Everybody there gave us gifts. Even Yuji gave us 10,000 yen!


Q:  What was the best thing you ate in Japan?
A:  The best thing I ate is tonkatsu sandwich. I got it the first time and then I had 6 DAYS IN A ROW! It is SO good.  The tonkatsu is SUPER fresh!


Q: What do you miss the most about Japan?
A:  The thing I am going to miss most is all the shrines. The shrines are SO cool. My favorite shrine is the Giant Buddha in Nara.


Q: What will you ALWAYS remember about your first time in Japan?
A:  The thing I'm going miss most is the toilets. They are SUPER  high tech. I'm going to use the bidet the most next time we go.

Reflections on Japan -- by Izzy

My mom asked us to write some thoughts about our trip to Japan. So I asked her to ask us some questions.

Q: What did you love about Japan?
A: I loved all of the different types of food like yakiniku, sushi, and tempura. Everything had a great taste. I also loved meeting everybody who helped make our trip very fun and easy (all of Yuji's family -- Reiko, Fumiko, Kayoko, Mitsuko, Hiroko, Rina, Kazuki, and the Ikedas, Hiramarus, Rumi & Souri, Haruna!).

Q: What was different than your life in San Diego?
A: Some things that are different are the pachinko parlors, the shrines and temples, and the transportation. In San Diego most people get around by car. We don't have a train system but we do have buses. My family rarely rides the bus because we don't have to.  But we walk a lot and they walk a lot in Japan too.


Q: What did you think about the people in Japan?
A: Everyone we met was very nice and helpful. Everybody helped us out and some made us delicious meals! In Hiroshima, Haruna whom we had never met before, met us at the train station and took us all around Hiroshima! People were just so kind!


Q:  What was the best thing you ate in Japan?
A: The best thing I ate in Japan was the Yakiniku. I loved cooking the meat and eating it, too.😜 The sauce had lots of flavor!


Q: What do you miss the most about Japan?
A: I miss the awesome bathrooms and cool traditional houses! The toilet is separate from the bath and shower, which is so smart!!! The water in the tubs is really warm and it feels so good. I also love the rooms with the tatami mats. I love how clean the houses are and how you always have to take off your shoes which keeps the house VERY clean!


Q: What will you ALWAYS remember about your first time in Japan?
A: I will always remember the toilets! They are very fancy and have many different settings. The seat is warm and it flushes by itself! Also the ofuro, the deep soaking tubs. I loved all of the cat stores, too. There were so many awesome cat stores that we saw! They must love cats in Japan as much as I do!

Last Day in Tokyo: Visiting the Ikedas!--Izzy

Last Day in Tokyo and Visiting the Ikedas! By Izzy

8-16-17

Today is our last day in Tokyo which also means that it is our last day in Japan!😢 We got up and walked around Asakusa and did some shopping. After that, we took the train and bus to the Ikedas. My mom stayed with the Ikedas when she visited Japan when she was 9! The Ikedas are good, long-time friends of Jiji. Satoru-san said that he has known Jiji for FIFTY years!!! 

When we got to their house there was a welcome sign at the front of their house. Their granddaughter, Ito-chan was spending her summer vacation with them and she was there too. Their Obaachan (grandma) made some juggling balls and a tissue holder that they gave to us. Satoru-san and Akiko-san had some karaage (fried chicken), fries, edamame, and sushi for us. Mom told Akiko-san that I love mochi and Satoru-san said that Akiko-san was really good at making mochi. We helped Akiko-san roll the mochi into balls and she taught us how to boil them. The mochi was very good with honey and some sesame seeds. We had some sushi but I didn't eat all of it because I ate too much mochi. 😐 

After the lunch, we walked to the Daiso near the train station. I got a pencil case and some candy.  Finally, we stopped in Akihabara electric town. I got another outfit for my Sumikko gurashis. We took the train back to Asakusa and had cup of noodles for dinner since we were still full from our delicious lunch. 

This is our welcome sign!!

This was our delicious sushi lunch!!!



And this is us making mochi with Akiko-san!!

Last day in Japan-- ETHAN

Today is our last in Japan. I am SO sad. Today I woke up and we packed up all our stuff. Then we went shopping. We walked to Rox, a place with a bunch of stores and it wasn't open yet so we went to another place with other stores. We walked around there for thirty minutes and then we came back to Rox because it was finally 10:30. We also went to the other Rox on the other side of the street.  We went in that side because there was a sports store. We found a youth  Japan soccer jersey but it was TOO much money. 😞

So then we went to the other building and Izzy wanted to get a Japanese backpack but it was 33,556 yen. In American money that would be $313.61. There is a Daiso which is a Japanese dollar store. I didn't get anything. Then we checked out of the hotel and took a train to the Narita airport. We departed at 5:25 pm and we arrived at 11:30 in the morning in San Diego ON THE SAME DAY!!!! We are officially time travelers.

Second Day in Tokyo!!--By Izzy

Our Second Day In Tokyo:Studio Ghibli Museum By Izzy

8-15-17

Today we walked through Asakusa and went to Sky Tree, the tallest broadcasting tower in the world! We met up with my mom's coworker, Yasu-san, and his daughter, Nat-chan. It was rainy, too. We walked to the Sensouji temple and saw many different shops. We walked to Sky Tree and went inside. Since we love Sumikko gurashi, Yasu-san told us that there was a temporary Sumikko gurashi store and of course, we went and bought some things. I got a little tapioca guy from the store and an accessory for my other animal. There were so many cute things that I wanted to get!

 We got some food and took the train and bus to Mitaka which is where the Ghibli Museum is. We said goodbye to dad, Jorge, and Yasu and Nat-chan because we only had 6 tickets. I went with Cia, V, Ethan, and the moms. We first went into an exhibit that shows you how animation works. We also went to the Neko (which means cat) Bus room and the kids waited in line to get on. We got 5 minutes to play around on the neko bus. You could go inside and on top of him. HE WAS VERY SOFT!!! There were little makkurokurosuke(soot gremlins from Totoro) stuffed animals inside of him! 

We also got to see a short film that is a Studio Ghibli original. The cool thing about the film was that only two voices were used to make all of the sounds such as rain, eating, river flowing, and wind. There was no dialogue only sounds. It was REALLY good. We went through some of the other exhibits and got frozen yogurt at Straw Hat Cafe. The flavor was honey and lemon and it was very refreshing. The last thing we did was go to the store and shop. I bought a Jiji cat from Kiki's Delivery Service, a Totoro washcloth, and a pack of origami paper. We met the Hiramaru family (Nat-chan, Yasu, and his wife Akane-san) for tonkatsu near the hotel. That was a very awesome day!!!!! 

Neko bus!

Sky Tree

Sensouji Temple in Asakusa

Ghibli Museum!

This is my Jiji! (not my grandpa!)

The IKEDAS -- ETHAN

Today was our last full day in Japan. I am sad. Anyway this is our day.  We first did some shopping around Asakusa. Then we took the train and bus to the Ikedas. It took us about thirty minutes. My mom lived with the Ikedas when she was 9 and she went to Japanese school! We got to see the school she actually went to! She had to make a speech in front of the whole school! She said she was VERY nervous. I would be. Here is a picture of the school.

They had very nice welcome signs for us!

Then we went in their house and they prepared a feast for us. First they brought out homemade Karaage, potatoes, and mochi! Akiko-san taught us how to boil the homemade mochi so we all tried it! They also bought sushi from a sushi place near them. Everybody had their own plate! Their granddaughter, Ito, was there too. She is 8. Their obaachan (grandma) made us juggling balls and a tissue holder.

After their house we went to Daiso. I got a punch gun and some candy.

Second day Tokyo!--ETHAN

As of today we only have two more days in Japan! 😞I am VERY sad. Well anyway, today we woke up and had Mister Donut. It is SO good! I got a churro that is wrapped around so it looked like a circle. It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! Izzy and I wanted to have another donut but mom said no. So we went on and walked around Asakusa and on our way to sky tree we stopped at the Asakusa Shrine. It is a famous shrine which I don't know why. I will have to read about it. It also has a lot of stores that make a giant market. Then we kept on walking. I couldn't wait to get to Sky Tree. It took a long time to get to Sky Tree. It took about 30 minutes to get there. It was SO cool! It is like a mall. We didn't go to the top because it was cloudy and rainy. There was a Sumikko gurashi shop. I was in HEAVEN! I got a mini snail named speedy for Deno. I also got a like pickle car.  I also got a mini tonkatsu named Ton-ton. My snail came with a little sign that said look-alike snail. Ton-ton came with a little mini shrimpy.

Then we took the train and bus to STUDIO GHIBLI MUSEUM! My life depended on that moment. I was SO excited! When you walk in you look and there is a giant fan! There is also a chair that you sit down and there is a little film in black and white.  We turned right and there is a room. The first thing
you see is these pictures and you lift up and it says the name of the movie in Japanese . My favorite movie there is My Neighbor Totoro.  Then we went on and they showed some figures. Then they hand in a glass cylinder and they spun really fast and there was flickering lights and it looks like there moving! That's how they show how animation works. It is SO cool. Then we went up these tiny stairs  and went to the room  where there is a giant neko (cat) bus! We waited for 5 minutes and we took of our shoes and went on. We went on top and in the middle. It was SO awesome but you only get 5 minutes on neko bus. Inside neko bus were makkuro kurosuke (soot gremlins). After that we went up MORE stairs and we got on top of the building and there was a statue from a movie we don't know. Then we went downstairs again and watched a short film that they ONLY show in the museum. At the shop I got a neko bus stuffed animal, a Totoro and Totoro pin.

For dinner we had tonkatsu with the Hiramarus. It was OISHII!

Our first day in Tokyo and leaving Kamakura-- ETHAN

Monday, August 14th

Today I woke up and Yuji was up.  He just came in from India! So then I went back to tell my mom. She was already awake and we went back down  and I met Yuji. Rina and her brother Kazuki were there. We met Rina 4 years ago in Chicago and we had never met Kazuki. Right before we left Rina and Yuji gave us AWESOME CANDY and Yuji gave us each !10,000 YEN! In American money that would be 100 dollars!

Then we took the train to Tokyo. Rina and Kazuki came with us. The first thing we did was The Owl and Hedgehogs Cafe. There was a one hour wait so we ate udon for lunch in that time. When we went in there were SO many OWLS! My favorite one is the great horned owl which is SO big!We also got to hold hedgehogs. They are SO cute! All of them are squirmy. They are poky even with gloves and the owls felt weird because they have claws. We also fed the owls. They flew off the branch and ate the food.Then we went to Loft and got a little shrimp named Shrimpeno and a big sea monster named Deno. Then we went to our hotel we are staying in and it is called Asakusa view hotel. It has a VERY good view. For dinner we had beef that you cook yourself (yakiniku)! It it so hard not to burn it! And SOOOO good!!

First day in Tokyo -- by Izzy

First Day in Tokyo! By Izzy August 14, 2017

Today we woke up and met Momo and Jiji's best friend, Yuji. Rina and her brother Kazuki are related to Yuji and they we there, too. Ethan and I have met Rina before when she visited Momo and Jiji in Chicago. Rina gave the kids some snacks and candy and Yuji gave us each 10,000 yen!!! We are very lucky to get that much money!

We packed up and we were driven to the train station because it was raining. Rina and Kazuki went with us. We took a few trains to get to Ikebukuro, where the owl park is. Only the dads didn't go to the owl park. We went inside but the people at the counter said the wait would be around an hour!! So we made a reservation for an hour later and we outside. I said that I wanted udon for lunch and I was in luck- there was a udon place right across the street! We ate lunch there and it was really good! We went back to the owl park and we were able to get in! Ethan, Vincent, and I fed the owls. We put a glove on and the barn owl would fly to us and perch on our arm then we would give them the food with tweezers. After they ate the little piece of meat, the owl flew back to its perch.

The hedgehogs were in a wooden box with some fake grass on the bottom. Their was a hedgehog in the box that had a metal ring around him. The picture of the hedgehog is above. We got to hold some owls and hedgehogs-both were really cute. After that, we walked to Loft and got a few small things. We met up with the dads and went back to the hotel. A few hours later, we went to dinner. We all met up with mom's coworker Yasu and his family. We had Yakiniku which is meat that you cook on your own on a grill on your table. I had fun cooking it and also LOVED eating it!

Back to Kamakura! -- by Izzy

Back to Kamakura!! By Izzy August 12 & 13

Saturday, August 12

Today we took the train back to Kamakura! After the train ride, we walked to the Kamakura house and relaxed for a little while. We saw the monorail tracks.  Last time we were here and when we came back they said we could ride on it! All four kids and the moms went on the monorail and we didn't go all the way to the top. There were some active spiders on the car so Cia and I didn't want to ride it down. We walked down the mountain and relaxed for a little while. I also took a bath in the big soaking tub. I love the big tub and it even has jets! It always feels so good at the end of the day!

Sunday, August 13 

Today in the morning we walked to the Daibutsu which is the giant Buddha. The other kids and Mom went with us inside the Buddha. The inside was pretty small. After that we walked around the neighborhood and we ate lunch at the Tokyu store. We walked back to the house and got ready to go to the beach! We were lying on the sea floor (in shallow water) and we had to go over the tiny waves. We saw my mom's friend Hiroko, her husband Nobu, and daughter Hana. We had cold noodles and tempura for dinner (delicious!!) and did the fireworks that Reiko-san and Kayoko-san gave us. 

3 Days in Kyoto!!!!!!!!-Izzy

3 Days in Kyoto!! By Izzy August 9,10,11 2017

Wednesday, August 9 (Koko's Birthday)

Today we took the Shinkansen to Kyoto from Hiroshima. Haruna, Rumi, and Souri went with us to the train station and we said goodbye to them. We took two bullet trains, one for 1 hour 30 min., and the second one for 15 min. When we got to Kyoto, Mitsuko-san (Yuji's cousin) picked us up and we took the bus back to Yuji's condo. Mitsuko-san gave me and Cia origami paper that had some instructions, so Cia and I made some origami while the parents relaxed. The condo is very nice and I am happy that we are staying in it.

Then we walked around Kyoto and looked in some stores. We had ramen at a place with stalls. I sat with my family and the Vegas sat across from us in the opposite room. We could see each other through the kitchen because there was a little window where they give you your food. You have dividers on the counter and when you get your food, they put down a little curtain for the window. The ramen was delicious and I loved the broth. We walked around and looked in some shops. We also went to a arcade, but the only game was a drumming game. The rest of the games were claw games. We stopped at seven-eleven to get some dessert and other stuff. We were in the same area all three days so we went to the same seven eleven every day. We took the bus home and I took a shower and soaked in the tub. 

Thursday, August 10

Today we went to the Fushimi Inari Shrine. The shrine is famous for all of its Tori-i, which means gates. We took the bus to the shrine, then started walking up the mountain. I couldn't believe that there were over 10,000 gates at the shrine!!! Inari is the god of success in business so every gate was donated by a Japanese business. We climbed to the top of mt. Inari and got shaved ice. Cia, V, and I got lemon and Ethan got Hawaiian which tastes like ramune. We also took the bus to the International Manga Museum. To me, the museum was more of  a library because they had so many different manga for you to read. For dinner, we went to Chao Chao Gyoza. Their Gyoza was sooooooooooooo oishii! We tried many different types and it was raining when we got outside!

Friday, August 11

Today is our third day in Kyoto! In the morning we took the bus to Arashiyama. We walked to the top of monkey mountain. Almost at the top, there is a playground that you can play on. There are swings, teeter-totters, a small zip line, and a very long slide. You have to walk up the stairs to the top to get to the top of the slide. I would get some speed, then my shorts would ride up and I would get stuck at the middle of the slide. I loved the zip line and we also didn't know that you can feed the monkeys!!! At the top of the mountain, you can go into a room and buy a bag of peanuts, bananas, or apples for 100 yen. You put the fruit or peanut in the palm of your hand and the monkeys are hanging on a fence  that they put their arm through to grab the food from your palm. We got a few bags of peanuts and bananas. We saw one baby monkey that was on the back of it's mama. We were all suprised at the way that the monkeys could peel the bananas and crack the peanuts. When we were walking down the mountain, it started to pour! I got pretty wet, but Ethan and Cia got drenched!!!! I got a monkey sticker for my water bottle. We walked to a small train station and got lunch there. We got some karage, yakitori, and takoyaki. Next, we took a walk through the bamboo grove. We went to Nishiki market to try many different foods. We had ramen for dinner again and then we took the bus home to the condo.