OK, now for one of our busy days…we were up a bit after 6, to make a start on the day. After a leisurely breakfast and relaxing chat, we started packing things, and I had a walk around the gardens. The rain had stopped and it was a bit warmer.
I drove us to the farmers market, and we said goodbye. Kaoru and I caught a bus to Nasushiobara station, so we could catch the Shinkansen back to Tokyo. We had a bit of time to kill, and saw some gaijin (westerners) so I went up and spoke to them, to ask what they were doing here. We don’t often see westerners in Nasu. They were Americans (Texan’s I think, from the way they said “Y’all” 🙂 ) and were here to do some hiking. Perfect weather and a lovely place for it! I also found a take-out cafe near the station.
The Shinkansen took us to Tokyo station, and we walked around to look for a place to have some lunch. Definitely not going here, if this is how the beers look….
We went to a fish restaurant and had some sushi, and relaxed for a while. We then caught the train back to Kozue and Kenichi’s house. Everybody was home, which meant a big welcome. Then Kenichi took me for a drive in his Mazda Roadster. Luckily the weather was perfect – not raining, but overcast, so not too hot. He took the roof off, which certainly made it easier for me to get down to it! Damn I’m getting old. We went to his local alcohol shop, which I had a good look around. I want to buy one of the big sake bottles but they are more than 2 litres, so I’ll have to do it when Kaoru and I are returning together. We stopped for a beer in the craft brewery next door, which Kenichi had never been in, and I enjoyed a Hakuba Hazy, which was delicious!
We went back to the house, and after a while Mio, Youichi and Arisa came round for a party. So we were celebrating Kaoru’s birthday and also Arisa’s graduation from high school. It was great having all of us together again – I think last time was probably June 2019 when I was jetlagged and a complete zombie after our Europe trip, and I had 24 hours in Tokyo as a layover.
I had brought some beers from Australia to enjoy with Kenichi and Youichi – even Mio joined us for a tasting! They weren’t used to the strong craft beers (we started with a 7% and then had a 9%) but enjoyed them.
We had Hiroshima-yaki for dinner – the Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki. Because Kenichi is from Kansai area, it is what he learnt to make. So he did the first one, and then Arisa made one, and then it was my turn. It’s a lot more involved than the Okonomiyaki we make at home, but enjoyable to do together.
Around 8.30, Yoneda’s caught a taxi home, but not before I got a photo of my 3 Japanese nieces together. Amazing how much they’ve grown up, from the young girls who used to laugh at the guy who spoke funny and they couldn’t understand anything that came out of my mouth (and that was before I had started drinking). Now I can have a conversation with each of them, and while they struggle with vocabulary at times, they certainly do a better job of English than I do of Japanese.
Kenichi and I had a few more drinks while Kaoru had a bath. Then I went in, and after a bit more chatting we called it a night.