August, 16, 2018
So, let’s talk holidays.
Before that, though, I want you to know that as I am writing this, I am sick. I
have been sick from the start of my holiday, until now, the end of it. Looking
back, it was a very good vacation and I got to spend a lot of time with my
family, but it was a challenge at the time, battling the heat, my own
frustration with said heat, and sickness that cropped up basically from the
word go.
So, where to begin? Well, I didn’t sleep before heading down to
Tokyo because I had a very early Shinkansen to catch and I was afraid I would
miss it, so I started out this trip pretty out of it. I made my train and my
family was on a tour that was unable to contact me due to some crossed wires,
but the hotel let me into their room and I crashed until their tour was over. We got Mexican that first night. You might laugh,
but after so long without, it was so damn good. I was really happy…then the snoring.
Everyone in my family snores, but it’s hard for me to manage, personally. So, I
didn’t sleep much in Tokyo.
Fuji was…a difficult
trial. Not a bad one, mind, but a difficult one. The heat was an omnipresent
entity during this entire trip and it beat me down. I sweat from every pore and
I was gross by the end of every journey. Thankfully, it was higher up in the
area we went and cloudy, so it was more manageable, but I still felt like dying
each and every day. The bus to Kawaguchiko, the lake just below Fuji, was supposed
to take only about 2 hours but traffic caught us going and coming so we arrived
and returned an hour late. It was super frustrating. The area itself was
beautiful and I got to have a lovely Indian lunch and talk with another US
citizen living in Japan. Gave me some food for thought about my future. We also
got to climb using a ropeway to a tanuki and rabbit shrine and got a decent
view of the peak of Fuji. Pictures to come later. A running theme of this tour
would be our giving up on walking, as we were so tired and hot after the ropeway
that we took a bus rather than walk to the last spot on our journey. The music
forest, or music box museum. I love this place. It’s like a giant fairytale garden,
but it’s based in realism, with music boxes from all over the world preserved.
We even got a performance from a charming opera singer and our tickets could be
turned into music box reading cards. We also got to see a wonderful concert
that had live sand painting with the accompanying music. It was crazy seeing
the indistinct sand smudges turn into a whole scene to enjoy. But after all
that, it was time to go back. I was hoping to get Kaiseki in Tokyo, which is a
special style of Japanese feast, but our schedule didn’t allow and we got back
to our hotel right as the Kaiseki restaurant was closing. We could still get food
elsewhere and I had a Japanese twist on American mini burgers which was great.
Sunday was where the
chinks in the armor started to show. I began to feel not just hot and tired, but
sick and with pain in my throat. I headed to the Tokyo skytree, but said to
hell with waiting two hours to climb up. We visited a Ghibli store, which was
cool and nostalgic, and then headed to the national museum. It was full of
great art, but again, the walking killed me and my family. After that, we
headed out to an Izakaya tour to try some amazing delicacies from Tokyo and all
of Japan, including eating a still twitching fish. It was meh, I’d rather have
had regular tuna, but the food overall was excellent and again I got a chance
to think about my future as our guide was an Australian woman who found her
calling in giving food tours with another company. Sounds like a heavenly job.
Monday, I felt like
garbage. I’ve felt that way basically all the way up until today. My throat was
on fire, I had a wheezing cough, and the heat didn’t help. So, I struggled to
get ready for the trip to Natori. My family and I got Taco Bell which was a
nice taste of home, plus now I can say I had Japanese Taco Bell, along with KFC,
Mcdonalds, and Subway. The waiting and the heat was brutal and when we got to
Natori, my family got lost and I had to do some quick thinking to find them.
They actually managed to call my phone after we missed each other and
apparently some wires got crossed so they were waiting upstairs while I was
waiting on the 2nd floor. After heading to Natori, we got a taxi,
which we would get every day afterwards due to being tired of walking, and my family
checked into their hotel. Then, I took them to Yakiniku. My restaurant had a
great selection of different meats and my mom and dad left satisfied, so long
as I didn’t tell them what was in any of them, hehe. It felt good to sleep in my
own bed. After the snoring and the heat, I had my A/C and my own futon back.
Looking back, I think
Tokyo is a magical and wondrous place, for example there’s a giant Ghibli clock
sculpture that moves at certain times outside the hotel we stayed at. That
said, it’s also too crowded, too hot, and a bit too busy for my liking. Some of
my favorite times during the trip was when my family and I didn’t have to run
around and could just get downtime together to relax. Natori and Sendai mostly
provided that.
I couldn’t go to the
doctor till Thursday due to the holiday, so I’ve had to tough out my sickness.
On Tuesday, we took the Sendai Loople bus tour, but it was so crowded and so
hot. I love Sendai castle and we had fun looking at all the souvenirs and
trying weird stuff, but the Zuihoden mausoleum was a bit much with all the
stairs, waiting, and heat. We were going to make four stops, but settled at
two. We were all so tired. We also wanted to visit Matsushima, but with me
being sick and down and the heat beating us silly, we decided against it. I
think I’ve sweat more in this one weak than in almost a full year. Anyway,
after the tour, we bought some trinkets in Loft, had some crepes, and tried omurice
for my family. I love food and think of myself as a gourmand, so I wanted my
family to try the weird and wonderful daily food that I loved in Japan, like
yakiniku and omurice.
We headed to the
bathhouse on Wednesday and had a good soak. We also ate some cold soba and
tempura along with ice cream to help refresh ourselves after the bath. It was
very restful for everyone and a much-needed break, which helped us all to
relax. That said, I was still sick and worn down from the whole trip. Bless my
family for helping me. I didn’t get mean or angry, but I did complain a fair
bit. I really do hate summer. After that, we had dinner at a hamburger steak
restaurant called Bikuri Donki. I haven’t been very hungry through most of the
trip just through sheer dehydration and exhaustion. I’ve only wanted water and tea
and indulged in generally one to one and a half meals during my time in Natori
with my family.
The final day of my
family’s stay, I had to get up early and book it to a doctor. I got medicine to
help with my horrible, wheezing, painful coughs and throat burning. I managed
to get what I wanted and it has helped me to feel better, but I am going into work
a bit down tomorrow, as I’ve just been run ragged. Today, the goodbye was
pretty light, as my family knew I needed rest. I took my mom and dad to my
local ramen shop and they got to meet the lovely family who’ve given me
delicious food for so long. We shared a yakisoba, katsudon, and chashumen lunch
and it was excellent. They love pickled food and our hosts gave them plenty, to
my delight. Everyone had a good time, but I was finally weakened enough to want
to rest and write this. So that’s how we’ll end my vacation. Sick, bedridden, exhausted
from the heat, but with some pretty good memories.
