By the time I got to Hokkaido I was looking forward to some pleasant times in Japan and I wasn’t disappointed.
From the moment I arrived at the station met by Yasu’s mum and dad, I knew that I had come home.
I received warm welcoming hugs from both mum and dad (they didn’t hug Yasu even though he is their son) and later we talked about the hugging thing and they agreed that it is not in their culture, but because I am from a different culture than theirs they don’t feel embarrassed hugging me like they would do hugging a Japanese person.
We had some supper from Seicomart, I had a sausage pan and a gogo tea, and Yasu had some onigiri, and a curry cup noodle. We can’t get curry cup noodle in Australia, and as it has been 5 years since our last visit to Japan, Yasu was craving it badly. It didn’t disappoint and was as good as he remembered.
During the week we were visited by and visited some of Yasu’s high school friends and their families. We also had bbq’s out the back in mum’s vege patch and I ate alot of mum’s home made tsukemono, which was yummy.
We also went walking alot, around the neighbourhood and over around the farming areas. We got a lot of exercise, and it was great to stretch our legs and enjoy nature and scenery. I find Hokkaido is alot more soothing for the soul than those built up city areas in Japan.
Although I had packed jumpers because I was expecting Hokkaido to be somewhat cool, I didn’t need them, it was hot and humid. I managed to get myself sunburnt one day at a bbq, but was able to sooth it by jumping in a special Tokachi event – herbal onsen at the local onsen, and boy did it go down a treat.
I enjoyed the 30 minutes or so walk up to the local supermarket every day to stock up on groceries and browse the aisles of delicious delights. Yasu found heaven in the seafood aisle, his beloved sanma and fish for his mum to make shiokara, which he had for breakfast every morning.
Yasu's breakfast made by mum
Shiokara made by mum
I also discovered that in east Tokachi, Nittoh is the cheap brand of teabags, the one everyone buys, but only the well off can afford the Lipton Yellow Label tea bags that come in at 238 yen for a pack of 25. I happily left mum with a box of yellow label tea just before we left as a special thank you to her for everything. She was really happy to get the tea bags, which shows that if you love someone and they love you, a small gesture or thought is what counts the most.
Mum, dad and sis also took us out to eat at a gourmet restaurant in Tokachi called Pinocchio. We all ordered something different and shared, it was divine.
Spinach Omrice at Pinocchio
Lasagne Pizza at Pinocchio
Japanese Hamburg at Pinocchio
Beef Stew at Pinocchio
Yasu and I also discovered a divine ice by Morinaga called Ren-nyu Milk Bar (condensed milk), which was icecream but with pockets of creamy Hokkaido condensed milk inside. Heaven. Luckily we were able to indulge on a regular basis over the week. Dad’s favourite is the ShiroKuma cup ice, with the fruit inside, which I like as well.
Hokkaido Rennyu Milk Bar
I found a plethora of unusual vending machines in Tokachi, which I will post about later.
We also had a late meet-up with Yasu’s friend who got married and was given a bottle of Tokachi wine from the area which dad and I hated but Yasu and mum loved.
Tokachi Sparkling Wine
Dad and I were pretty inseparable during the week and he kept saying I was Ichiban, which was cute. At one point he asked Yasu for an australian $50 note because he thought the fact it is plastic is unusual, but Yasu didn’t want to let go of $50 because money was pretty tight. So instead I gave him an aussie $5 note which he proudly displayed in the tv cabinet, and everyone who came over, he pointed it out to!
I really loved mum’s home cooking, inarizushi, tsukemono, winners, genghis khan, potato salad, pasta, vegetables with mayo sauce from her garden, the list goes on!! She really wanted to cook for us, and tried to feed us up as much as possible, which I appreciated, as I had been looking forward to some real food.
Mum's Inarizushi
Genghis Khan
Mum's home cooking
Mum's home cooking
Every day was full of fun and laughs, we were always laughing about something!! It was such a great family atmosphere. Sis came over alot too, with her boyfriend who we also get on with really well. It was a really close family of 6.
When the time came to leave, it was with sadness in our hearts, that this joyful week should come to an end. At the train station dad hugged me and suddenly burst into tears, then Yasu started crying and dad hugged us both tight. We didn’t want to let go. Finally dad got in his car and drove away but we heard later that he was so sad that he got lost on the way to work (despite having worked there for the last 10 years and taking the same route every day).
Mum and sis also gave us big hugs, even Yasu, and both burst into tears when the train came. Yasu was crying pretty hard, and we waved through the train window as we slowly took off. Another of Yasu’s friends and his mum stood out the front of their denki shop and waved goodbye to us as the train went past their shop, which I thought was very touching!
Yasu cried for another half an hour, and said he must be getting old as it was so easy for him to cry about leaving his family. I think that it was harder this time as our family is much more consolidated. As I had studied by myself this past 5 years combined with watching NHK every day, my Japanese had improved so much that when I got to Hokkaido I was pretty much fluent without knowing it. The week I spent in Hokkaido I was able to communicate with everyone fully, and read newspapers and magazine articles by myself to everyone’s amazement.
I think this involved me more as a family member. No one had to translate for me, so I could be more on the inner than the outer. I think this is the difference between now and 5 years ago. Another thing came out of it that my dad has a phone phobia, but now because of my fluency he asked if he could call me from Japan and chat with me on the phone!!
Yasu and I basically decided that 5 yearly visits are too far and few between and we will try to go to Hokkaido every 2nd year to visit. Otherwise it’s too hard emotionally, especially as mum and dad are getting older.
I will post in more detail about some of the things mentioned in this post, it’s a bit hard to condense a week of activity into one post.
