So about a week and a half of seeing our old friends, eating the delicious foods, spending time with family, and enjoying the life in Japan finally came to a close today.
Departure is always a moment of life where sadness and a chunk of disbelief become evident. It’s an uneasy feeling and just to be separated from Emi’s parents who took so much care for us was very undesirable. But, I was glad to have gotten closer to the family and the Fukushima trip which I thought was the most memorable part of the trip. The hot, green teas and manjyus were something I enjoyed a lot (getting older I think). It was best to think more of the fun things we did and return to Hawaii in a sleeping mode. That made it easier I guess.
Prior to our departure, we were able to meet my mom who was on her way back to Guam from the Seoul trip with her brothers. We were very lucky to have met and spent time only about 1 hour before boarding the plane. As the plane took off, it was time to say a sad farewell – Sayonara Japan…
On Sunday, we went to shio higari (clam picking) at Kanazawa Hakkei Umino Koen. It was a crowded Sunday as the Golden Week was at its peak. Children were everywhere as we looked for a place to park the car. The place we wanted to go was closed by the late morning hours so we found a different place to clam pick. It was quite an experience to clam pick for the first time. A challenge perhaps as I didn’t know if I were picking the right clams as there were all sorts of crustaceans at this shallow river.
On the way, we stopped at a baseball field where high school students were playing a fun game. Can you see the ball?
Guys waiting for their turn.
We were very lucky to find a parking spot along the river bank. Notice how low tide it was.
Luckily, there weren’t too many people here compared to the other place.
We found all sorts of shells here, not just clams.
Even oysters were here.
Boombox too. This was flipped upside down by the force of the tidal change.
The clams we caught in the morning.
Cooked asari miso shiru. Note: This was eaten the next day as we needed to get rid of the excess sands and sediments. Don’t ever cook it right away or you’ll be eating sand clams with a nice crunch to every bite.
In the afternoon, we went to this town to do some shopping.
Donuts from Mister Donuts.
STOP sign on the paved sidewalk.
A view of the residential area.
As today was the last full day, we went to a soba restaurant with the family. This was the appetizer.
Fried fish with crab meat and sauce.
Pan fried fish fillet with ikura.
I believe this was roast duck.
Hot soba.
Cold soba.
Sakura ice-cream. This was delicious!
And not to mention, one of our luggage was filled up with goodies and snacks. Yes, that’s not me who packed it. We brought 2 luggages to Japan and now we had 4 total to bring back.
We met Steve at Yokohama Chinatown today. He traveled from Gunma prefecture just to see us. The rain continued to fall this morning but eventually tapered off by the afternoon hours. We had lunch together and checked the famous Chinatown where it was flooded with visitors as it was the Golden Week. We also went to Motomachi to buy gifts and observe the retail establishments. It was nice to spend time with him who has been a good and old friend from Hawaii. We both became friends from surfing at Pops in Waikiki and continue to keep our friendship. Steve loves Japan and looks forward living there. However, he misses the Kona coffee, ahi pokes with ogo and the Hawaiian Host chocolates. I agree… It was fun meeting with you today.
At the Kitakurihama train station, as we waited to board the train to Yokohama Chinatown.
We got off at this station where those lamps signified you were in Chinatown.
Welcome to Yokohama Chinatown! Luckily, the rain stopped in the afternoon so everyone was able to walk freely.
Everything was nicely decorated and cleaner here.
The Chinese food was quite expensive compared to Chinese restaurants in U.S. Portion, smaller too.
Sweet and sour deep-fried wonton crisps with peas. This was good!
Stir fried noodles with sliced bamboos and green peppers.
Fried rice.
Sweet and sour shrimp.
Panda manapuas. There were lots of panda decorations throughout Chinatown.
Steve, Emiko and “Panda” Hello Kitty.
Me and Steve.
Steve and his favorite Hawaiian Host chocolates. The store was selling it. How much you ask? Let’s just say you can get it cheaper in Hawaii.
This was a very nostalgic moment when I saw a rickshaw in Japan’s Chinatown. You would never expect to see this but here it was. When I was living in Bangladesh, there were lots of rickshaws available and I used to always ride on them. I admit this was in a much better condition, mint condition perhaps. The guy was even well dressed and had pamphlets ready.
Motomachi area. There were lots of variation in terms of retail establishments. The last time I was here was about 4 years ago and shops have trended more to high end.
Hawaiian shop? Yup, there was one. The space between buildings were so tight as in this picture.
Daytime in Chinatown.
Nighttime in Chinatown. Always busy.
- See Yokohama Chinatown 2008 photos.
We relaxed at home and spent time with Emi’s parents as it rained today. It was very nice to spend time together watching the Japanese TV program, keeping warm inside the kotatsu and spending a family time together. I really enjoyed watching the TV program as it was very different than the American version. Most of the shows featured a learning episode, quiz question shows filled with laughters and cooking shows which Emi’s mom and I watched attentively. We had sushi again for lunch today.
Chie drove all the way from Tokyo to see us today. We then drove together to the town of Misaki, famous for their maguro (tuna).
At first, we had a hard time finding this restaurant but managed to discover it after many tries.
Sushi chef preparing the colorful sushi platter.
The portions were generous and we also had a platter of fresh maguro nigiri later. The hot green tea was also a nice combination.
After eating a big sushi meal, we went to a strawberry farm where we paid about 1,000 yen for all-u-can eat strawberries with 30 minute time limit.
Basically, you would walk between the rows, pick the strawberries and eat together with sweetened condensed milk. You don’t even have to wash the strawberries. They were edible as is.
Depending on which row you are in, you could be very lucky!
These 2 ladies loved the strawberry picking and probably ate more here than at the sushi restaurant.
They were still eating as the 30 minute time limit was up. The strawberry farm was an unique experience as I have never done this before. The smell when you get inside the tent was admiring and the fresh strawberries were delicious as ever and fun!