I did do a lot of new things this time, but also a couple of traditions have been created.

I visited Akiko’s hairdresser again for another Japanese haircut (ヘアカット, hea katto). I knew I wanted my hair to be cut to the length somewhere between my mouth and my chin. I communicated that through Google Translate to make sure I was understood, but after that I quickly defaulted to “whatever you recommend is fine!”

お任せ(Omakase) means “I leave it up to you.”

It is hard to focus on an activity while trying to talk in a different language, so on the car ride there, Akiko told me to just enjoy the car ride so she doesn’t get distracted while driving and trying to communicate in English. Akiko’s hairdresser said the same thing about maybe we shouldn’t talk much so he can focus on cutting my hair. But we did successfully talk back and forth with Google Translate in Japanese during the haircut.

I am happy with the results!

Another tradition from last time, Seika’s grandpa took us out to dinner again to enjoy 焼肉 (Yakiniku, Japanese bbq). Just like last time, I took off my shoes upon entry, and I accidentally started to put on the toilet shoes. Even the accidents are traditions, haha!

Unlike last time, the size of our party was larger. Last time, it was Seika, me, Seika’s parents, Grandpa, and Uncle. This time, it was all those same people but also joined by Seika’s husband, Brother, Sister-in-law, and their two kids.

いただきます! (Itadakimasu!, I’ll enjoy having this!/Bon Appétit!)

I’m not sure if my palette matured more this time, but the meats were more tender and less fatty than I remember. I was also at the younger generation table, so we had more red meats and less stomach pieces. That is also a factor. We ordered a lot of different cuts, which included my favorites, ツラミ (tsurami, cheek), and cartilage, and I also enjoyed the タン(tan, tongue).

Here’s the menu showing the different parts of the cow that are available.

Here’s the Google Translated version of the menu.

Cartilage, yum!

ごちそうさまでした! (Gochisousamadeshita! Thank you for the meal!)