I had lasted the drought. It had been a month without my wife and over half a year since I had less than 6,000 miles between my family and me. However, there was a storm brewing to the east. Kate's arrival from her trip to the U.S. came just one day following my conference in South Korea. Our reunion served as the perfect primer for the week. Jonce, Katie Jean, Joe, and my mom were scheduled to land in Japan just three days after Kate. Over the course of one week I planned on giving them a Japanese-culture crash course. Yes....rain was coming....I looked up at the sky and I welcomed the downpour with open arms.
Kate and I were running to the International Arrivals area of Terminal 1 when I hear "Seth!" come from my left. To my surprise I looked over to see an unkept, possibly homeless man sitting down against the wall. How did this man know my name and how did he get in the airport?! Well, upon further inspection it was Jonce...with one of the gnarliest beards I had ever seen. Shortly after seeing Jonce, we noticed Katie Jean emerged from the crowd looking cheerful as always.
Shortly thereafter we cruised over to Terminal 2 for my mom's flight arrival. After a short while I watched Joe and my mother's face completely light up as they entered the arrival area. Truly a hallmark moment. When I asked my mother about her most memorable moment in Japan she said "Seeing you at the airport when we arrived and hugging you neck!" There is a reason why countless movies capture this moment of arrival, it's magical... So, after a brief reunion we made our way to the Japanese utility vehicle I rented for the big pickup.
Everyone was in good spirits, which made it much easier to deal with my stupidity as I drove onto the toll road (wrong road) on the way to Tokyo (wrong direction). 800 yen and 30 minutes later we were back on the right route as it started to rain. Here at the Hosting Enterprise of Rubberneckers Organized by Walkers in Japan (HEROW-Japan ...possibly the worst acronym ever) we slowly ease you into eastern cuisine. So for their first meal I decided to introduce everyone to Japanese curry at Cocos.
Kate and I were running to the International Arrivals area of Terminal 1 when I hear "Seth!" come from my left. To my surprise I looked over to see an unkept, possibly homeless man sitting down against the wall. How did this man know my name and how did he get in the airport?! Well, upon further inspection it was Jonce...with one of the gnarliest beards I had ever seen. Shortly after seeing Jonce, we noticed Katie Jean emerged from the crowd looking cheerful as always.
Lets get something straight, the whole reason why I grew a beard in the first place was for people to differentiate between Jonce and I more easily. Now I have to get new glasses or something. Plus, now I have beard envy!
Shortly thereafter we cruised over to Terminal 2 for my mom's flight arrival. After a short while I watched Joe and my mother's face completely light up as they entered the arrival area. Truly a hallmark moment. When I asked my mother about her most memorable moment in Japan she said "Seeing you at the airport when we arrived and hugging you neck!" There is a reason why countless movies capture this moment of arrival, it's magical... So, after a brief reunion we made our way to the Japanese utility vehicle I rented for the big pickup.
Excited to be in Japan and in the rental car! Plenty of room for everyone and their respective luggage.
Everyone was in good spirits, which made it much easier to deal with my stupidity as I drove onto the toll road (wrong road) on the way to Tokyo (wrong direction). 800 yen and 30 minutes later we were back on the right route as it started to rain. Here at the Hosting Enterprise of Rubberneckers Organized by Walkers in Japan (HEROW-Japan ...possibly the worst acronym ever) we slowly ease you into eastern cuisine. So for their first meal I decided to introduce everyone to Japanese curry at Cocos.
Yay! I can't read anything, but there are pictures!
This style of curry is always a crowd pleaser. In fact, Joe instantly feel in love with the pork cutlet curry. Looking back on all of the food he tried while visiting, he said this was his favorite. Everybody seemed to really enjoy the curry. Katie Jean also had an octopus salad that she liked a lot.
The rest of the rainy drive home was filled with lively conversation as we discussed our big week ahead of us. Once we got back to the Ninomiya house I showed everyone around and made sure nobody went to bed before 9:00 to help with jet-lag. It was raining, both literally and figuratively. I was finally able to spend time with family and I was loving every minute of it.
Christmas, Big Buddha, conveyor belt sushi, and shopping were on the itinerary for the next day. Much more to come!
-Seth
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