For my final post of this trip, here are some other things I wanted to share about my visit to Japan that weren’t lengthy enough to warrant their own blog post by themselves. Seasonal foods I ate a lot of muscat grapes, walnuts, sweet potato, and みかん (mikan, mandarin orange).…

I am nowhere near fluent, but I am having fun learning the language. Here are words and phrases I commonly used on my trip. They are grouped by parts of speech but are otherwise listed in order of when I added them to my dictionary. I have grouped my dictionary…

I brought a full suitcase of souveniers and American snacks to share with Seika and her family. Some standout items were hot Giardiniera and dill pickles, Trader Joes bags, a Sun Day Red golf polo, fruit leather, Bourbon and American whisky, and Arnold Palmers. I brought them all to Seika,…

I have really enjoyed meeting so many of Seika’s family, and also I always love staying at Seika’s parent’s house. Hi Milky! (The family dog) At one point, Seika’s Grandma was staying with us, and also Seika’s brother’s family was all visiting, so it was a full house filled with…

Seika’s parents brought me to have Okonomiyaki at their friend’s restaurant. Her parents, Akiko and Yasushi, speak as much English as I speak Japanese. It seems we all have been practicing a little. We are all impressed! Lots of stumbling through conversation, pantomiming, smiling, and Google Translate sometimes. It is…

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.…

The Shinkansen, the Japanese high speed train, goes as fast as 200 mph (320 kmph). I was excited to travel between Tokyo and Osaka by Shinkansen! Seika got me my ticket that included reserved space for my large suitcase! ありがとう! (Arigatō!, Thank you!) She reserved it online and linked it…

Here I will tell you about some notable food and drink experiences I had in Tokyo. 和風イタリア料理 (Wafū Itaria ryōri, Japanese style Italian food) Seika and Takuro brought me to their favorite restaurant, Impronte. It is fancy Italian food with a bit of a Japanese twist on it. Similar to…

Kappabashi is the famous kitchen street where people, restaurant owners, and tourists all go to purchase quality and unique cooking and baking tools. The stores range from pots and pants, lunch box organizers, cookie cutters, knives, ceramic dishes, to realistic food recreations, refrigerators and menu signs. I love kitchen gadgets!…

Takuro’s parents live in the suburbs of Tokyo. We visited them and they treated us to a fancy tofu (豆腐) lunch. Takuro’s mom used to teach English to children. She was very excited to meet me, and I felt the same way. Her English is fantastic, and Takuro’s Dad’s English…

In the morning, we had a variety of pickles and other foods to go alongside our limitless refills of rice and miso. I liked some of the toppings more than others, but they were all pretty good. The top row of the food grid was the most sweet, and the…

Seika and Takuro rented a car and drove us to Hakone, it is a hot springs town with views of Mount Fuji. In Japan, they drive on the left side of the road. I would have been too nervous and disoriented to rent a car. On the way, we stopped…

Japan does America’s favorite past time better than America. I love baseball and enjoy watching the games and going to the stadiums, but a Japanese baseball game is a whole different level. Merchandise-wise, there are, of course, jerseys with the player’s names. But then there are also rally towels dedicated…

Seika and her friend Moe took me out to a fancy soba dinner. The menu was only in Japanese, and I trusted their order.  They ordered for the table and we had a variety of appetizers like chicken with wasabi, beef tendon, omelet, tempura, and sashimi, followed by soba. I…

I’ve been more intentional about travel lately. This time, I decided to prepare a bit more than I usually do. I have been studying Japanese for the past 6 months. I enrolled in the Japan America Society of Chicago classes and attended each week. The classes were virtually hosted and…