Spending time with my sister-in-law and her daughters

My hubby often goes on business trips abroad. Sometimes, during those days, I go and stay at our home in Ichinomiya City. He made an overseas travel in mid-September, and I stayed for a few days in Ichinomiya. On the night of 8th September, while preparing for his trip, we casually looked out of the window of our home in Yurihonjo City and saw a superb bright full moon in the sky. Later I realized that it was Tsukimi moon viewing day in Japan. It is also called the autumn harvest moon. According to Japanese mythology, the dark parts on the surface of the harvest moon resemble a rabbit pounding Mochi rice cakes. I have not been able to trace the rabbit yet. Probably with some help, I might.

Moon as seen from the window of our home

Hubby’s overseas travel was postponed by a couple of days. He left for business trip on 15th September, and I accompanied him up to Narita Airport. After seeing him off, I took a Shinkansen bullet from Tokyo Railway Station and reached Nagoya at about 6 pm. From there I took a local train and reached our home in Ichinomiya at 6.30 pm. I was rather tired due to all the travel that day but I searched for a pair of elderly couple dolls that we had purchased about five years ago. This is because 15th September was the ‘Respect for the Aged Day’ in Japan.

Hubby and I waiting at Narita Airport

Hubby at Narita Airport

Elderly couple dolls

On 16th September, I tended to our small garden located at the back of our home. We usually do not stay in Ichinomiya, so some of the plants we had planted a couple of months ago had dried up. But the plants of corn, eggplant, Shiso, and a few flowers were growing well. I removed two cherry tomato plants as they grew very rapidly and took up a lot of space. I worked in the garden for almost two hours, which was very relaxing.

Two corn plants

Shiso plant

An eggplant

Flowers

The garden after removing two cherry tomato plants

On 17th September, hubby’s sister and her two daughters visited my home in the evening. Nowadays I really look forward to meet my sister-in-law whenever I am in Ichinomiya. This is because I have only had Japanese acquaintances but no real friends in Japan. Being a foreigner, it is really hard for me to make Japanese real friends. This is probably due to the mistrust of foreigners prevalent in the Japanese society. Also Japanese people are busy and are unlikely to invest time for foreigners. My sister-in-law is the only real friend I have in Japan. Now she has become very close to me with whom I can talk about my real feelings in Honne without worrying about the norms and expectations of the Japanese society. Another reason of my liking her a lot is that she has absolutely no trace of Burikko behavior in her. The word Burikko literally translates to ‘pretend like a child’. I have never heard my sister-in-law speak with baby like high-pitched voice and behave in a certain manner which is supposed to be cute and attractive. I think Burikko is a part of Japanese culture, although I am not sure about it. In the past 17 years in Japan, I have come across a remarkably large number of adult women in their 20s to 60s who talk and behave to a certain degree in an infantile manner. It is supposed to be feminine and Kawaii and is apparently attractive to a large number of men. Although I can understand such type of behavior but find it very difficult to appreciate it and make friendship. So I feel extremely fortunate that my sister-in-law is not at all the Burikko type. Love you, Nori-chan. Also, my sister-in-law’s two daughters are really fun to be with. Both the girls are so well behaved and have impeccable manners. Full credit goes to my sister-in-law.

My sister-in-law

My sister-in-law and her family live nearby in Ichinomiya City itself. She visited my home with her daughters at about 5 pm. Sister-in-law presented me an interior photo frame that she made herself. It is so beautiful and gorgeous. 17th September was a school day, so the older daughter of my sister-in-law did some homework assigned to her by her school teacher that day. Afterwards she read a Manga storybook. The younger daughter played a chemistry related card game with me. It was actually fun to play the game. Sister-in-law and I chatted and gossiped about many things.

My sister-in-law presented me an interior photo frame

Younger niece playing with a globe and trying to locate the place where my hubby had gone for the business trip abroad

Younger niece playing a card game with me

Older niece doing her homework assignment

A little help from mother in doing the homework

Homework finished and now it is time to read a Manga storybook

We had dinner at about 7 pm. I made Japanese style curry-rice for dinner. As far as I remember, it was the first time I had cooked for children in my life. So I was a bit worried but my nieces told me that the curry tasted good and they seemed to enjoy the food. I was really relieved and so happy.

Curry-rice and salad for dinner

Nieces praying before having dinner

Younger niece trying some cheese over curry-rice

Almost finished dinner; happy girls

Sister-in-law having dinner

After dinner, my sister-in-law and I chatted for some more time. Later we all had watermelon, played a few more card games, and watched some television program. At 8.30 pm, both the nieces took bath at my home, and looked very relaxed afterwards. But after about half an hour or so, nieces became very sleepy due to a very hectic day. Soon it was time for my sister-in-law and nieces to leave. We all really had a nice time that evening.

My nieces and I having watermelon

Older niece having a slice of watermelon and reading a Manga storybook

Younger niece had five slices of watermelon and was very happy after successfully piling the rinds

Nieces relaxed and sleepy after having bath

On 18th September, I just relaxed at home and tended to the garden. On 19th September, hubby was to return to Japan. So that day I left my Ichinomiya home at about 12 noon, and took a Shinkansen bullet train to Tokyo. I saw Mount Fuji while passing through Shizuoka prefecture. It was the first time I saw Mount Fuji without any snow covering the top of the mountain. From Tokyo Railway Station I took another train and reached Narita Airport. I was in time to meet hubby at the arrival area of the airport. The same day we returned to Akita, and now we both are back to our usual routine. Our routine often involves watching movies on weekends at a theater in Akita City. On 21st September, hubby and I saw an English action movie named Non-Stop, which was nice.

Mount Fuji as seen from inside the Shinkansen train

Hubby (left) and his colleague at the arrival area in Narita Airport

Hubby having popcorn before the start of the movie at a theater in Akita City

Relatives

As I wrote in the previous two posts, on 12th August hubby and I visited Hikone Castle in Shiga prefecture. On 13th August we visited Tatsu-chan, hubby’s aunt, in Okazaki city of Aichi prefecture. The next day hubby went to play golf with his father, while I had a nice time with my sister-in-law and her kids. Today I will write about these two days.

Visit to Tatsu-chan’s home
Tatsu-chan (formally Tatsuko-san), my late mother-in-law's younger sister, has been a source of great influence and important fixture in my hubby and his sister’s life. Whenever we visit my father-in-law in Ichinomiya city, time permitting we try to meet Tatsu-chan also. Tatsu-chan is a smart and kind lady. She bears a striking resemblance to my late mother-in-law which makes me feel like meeting her more often. I had written a post about Tatsu-chan earlier which is posted here.

Tatsu-chan and her granddaughter

On 13th August, hubby and I had an early breakfast at Hotel Route Inn in Hikone, where we stayed the night before. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and hired a taxi to go to Hikone railway station. We then took a train to go to Maibara railway station in Shiga prefecture. At Maibara, we changed train and finally reached Okazaki railway station at about 12 noon, and waited outside the station for my sister-in-law and her family who were also going to meet Tatsu-chan. They travelled from Ichinomiya city to Okazaki by their car, and gave hubby and me a ride from the railway station to Tatsu-chan’s home. Eldest son of Tatsu-chan (my hubby’s cousin brother) lives with his family near Okazaki, and they also came home that day.

As always it was a pleasure to meet Tatsu-chan and other members of her family. After the initial greetings, we all had lunch as the kids were rather hungry. Tatsu-chan had prepared mouthwatering dishes like Japanese fried karaage chicken, shrimp tempura, nikujaga, miso-soup, rice, and salad. That day there were nine visitors to Tatsu-chan’s home, and it was impossible for all of us to sit at the dining table. So we formed two different groups and had lunch at different tables. Needless to say, all women sat together for lunch as we had a lot of catching up to do along with a lot of gossiping. It was really a nice relaxed lunch time for all of us. The food was so delicious that hubby and I both overate.

Lunch

Womenfolk having lunch

That day we met daughter of hubby’s cousin brother for the first time. She is one-year-old very cute baby. It felt so nice to coo, chatter, and hold the little bundle of joy. She observed new people like hubby and me with so much wonder and baby’s curiosity.

Me holding daughter of hubby’s cousin brother

Hubby (right) amazed at the smallness and softness of a baby’s hand

After lunch, kids of hubby’s sister as well as his cousin’s kid got very busy playing, drawing pictures and illustrations, listening to kid’s stories, and many more things. My hubby read a story to the elder daughter of his sister. It was fun to watch the kids play.

Kids busy playing

Hubby reading a story to his sister’s daughter

Hubby and his cousin both love boxing sport a lot. So they practiced boxing training for some time just for fun. It was nice to watch them practice boxing punches. However hubby’s sister was rather surprised as she had, somehow, never seen him practice boxing until that day. Of course, she knew about this love for the sport since his high-school days. Even now in Akita, hubby sometimes practices his punches by using me as boxing sandbag! I compiled a video of hubby and his cousin practicing boxing.

Hubby (right) practicing boxing with his cousin

Video of hubby and his cousin practicing boxing

Later hubby chatted with his cousins, Tatsu-chan and her husband about his experiences of several sightseeing trips to India. I had a nice time chatting with wife of hubby’s cousin. Our conversation was very funny as it was a mixture of Japanese and English language.

After some time, we gave gifts (temiyage in Japanese) to all relatives, which is a very important tradition in Japan. We gave cute pink and sky-blue frilly dresses to the girls. My sister-in-law’s four year old elder daughter was so happy and excited to get a pretty princess dress with lots of frills and laces that she wore it immediately. She looked so cute in the dress.

Older daughter of hubby’s sister very happy wearing a frilly princess dress

Soon it was time to go to Ichinomiya. We were in Tatsu-chan’s home until about 4.30 pm. Time passed so fast! Before leaving, we all took a photo together for the sake of remembrance.

Group photo

Hubby and I were going to stay at his jikka (ancestral home) in Ichinomiya city for two nights (13th and 14th August). My sister-in-law was kind enough to give us a ride by her car up to the jikka. We reached jikka at about 6.30 pm. Sister-in-law’s family was too tired and so they went back to their home, which is about 15 minutes car-drive from the jikka. At about 7 pm, my father-in-law, his wife, hubby, and I went to a nearby grilled meat restaurant (yakiniku-ya) for dinner. After returning from the dinner we retired for the day as it had been a long day for us.

A day with my sister-in-law and her kids
On 14th August, my hubby, father-in-law, and his wife got up at about 4.45 am, got ready, and left home at 5.30 am to go for playing golf. I preferred to stay at home and relax as I am not much interested in golf. I was going to meet my hubby’s sister later in the day. So I spent the entire morning lazing around. I read a few pages of a novel, drank several cups of tea, and watched television.

My sister-in-law and her family live nearby in Ichinomiya city itself. She came home with her kids at about 11.30 am. Nowadays, I really look forward to meet my sister-in-law. With time, she has become one of my very good friend with whom I can talk about my real feelings in ‘honne’ without worrying about the norms and expectations of the society. Another reason of my liking her a lot is that she has absolutely no trace of ‘burikko’ behavior in her. The word ‘burikko’ literally translates to ‘pretend like a child’. I have never heard my sister-in-law speak with baby like high-pitched voice and behave in a certain manner which is supposed to be cute and attractive. I think ‘burikko’ is a part of Japanese culture, although I am not sure about it. In the past 12 years in Japan, I came across a remarkably large number of adult women in their 20s, 30s, 40s and even 50s who talk and behave to a certain degree in an infantile manner. It is supposed to be feminine and kawaii and is apparently attractive to a large number of men. Although I can understand such type of behavior but find it very difficult to appreciate it and make friendship. So I feel extremely fortunate that my sister-in-law is not at all the ‘burikko’ type. Love you, Nori-chan.

My sister-in-law

My sister-in-law made cold somen noodles for lunch, which was ideal for the hot summer day. It was a simple but very delicious lunch. My nieces, sister-in-law, and I enjoyed our lunch and cold mugicha. After lunch, I played ‘hide and seek’ with my nieces for an hour or so. It was fun playing with them. However, I was very tired due continuous movement for almost an hour! Kids have a lot of energy. Seeing my tired condition, sister-in-law suggested that we play jankenpon (rock-paper-scissors), which did not require us to move around. Later kids started making a home using building blocks, while sister-in-law and I chatted and gossiped about many things. Afterwards, we took several photos of us for keep sake. It was so funny to see my two year old niece trying to imitate all the poses of the older niece while taking photos. Kids are so adorable and cute.

My nieces

Me and nieces

Younger niece trying to imitate all the poses of the older niece (click on the photo to enlarge)

At about 4.30 pm, hubby, father-in-law, and his wife returned back home after playing golf. Hubby played with his nieces for some time. At about 5 pm, my sister-in-law and her kids went back to their home. After half an hour or so, hubby, father-in-law, and his wife prayed at the family altar to welcome the soul of my late mother-in-law and all the ancestors, which is the purpose of Obon Buddhist event. My father-in-law offered some food items at the altar, lit incense sticks, and read some sutras. That night there was a fireworks display in the city, so father-in-law and his wife went to see and enjoy the festivities. Hubby and I had a quite dinner at home.

Hubby and nieces

Hubby and older niece

On 15th August, hubby and I visited my mother-in-law’s grave to offer our prayers. Later, we visited the hospital where hubby was born, and also visited the elementary, junior-high, and high schools where hubby studied and made a base for his future. It was a pleasure to see hubby take a trip down the memory lane. In the evening we returned back to Akita. I will write about this last day of our trip in the next post.

Golden week holidays - part 5

On May 02, after enjoying sightseeing in Azuchi town of Shiga prefecture, hubby and I went to my hubby’s ancestral home in Ichinomiya city of Aichi prefecture. The next two days hubby, father-in-law and his wife went for playing golf, while I had a nice time with my sister-in-law and her family. Hubby was kind enough to write about his experience of playing golf in the previous post. Today I will write about my stay in Ichinomiya on May 03-04.

On May 3rd, my hubby, father-in-law, and his wife got up at an unearthly hour of 4.00 am, got ready, and left home at about 4.30 am to go for playing golf. All of them really love the sport. However, I am not much interested in golf, and so I preferred to stay at home and relax. I was going to meet my sister-in-law later in the day. So I spent the entire morning lazing around. I read a few pages of a novel, drank several cups of tea, and watched television.

My sister-in-law and her family live nearby in Ichinomiya city itself. She came home with her kids at about 12 noon. It was fun playing with my nieces. They are so cute. Older niece made a home using building blocks. Kids are so intelligent and innovative. I did not even realize that it was supposed to be her home until she told me. Younger niece jumped and ran around the house for almost half an hour. I played with her and was too tired after 30 minutes of continuous movement! Kids have a lot of energy.

Older niece made a home using building blocks

Younger niece running around the house

While I played around with my nieces, my sister-in-law made okonomiyaki for lunch. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese pancake containing a variety of ingredients like flour batter, water (or dashi-stock), eggs, shredded cabbage, green onion, pork, bacon, squid, shrimp, and many more things. She used the ingredients I have mentioned here. It was a simple but very delicious lunch.

Sister-in-law making okonomiyaki for lunch

Okonomiyaki

All having lunch

After lunch and a bit of chatting with my sister-in-law, we all went to Omiya Shinmei shrine nearby. The shrine had a lot of trees, cool shade, and open space. So the kids could play around a lot. Older niece found a large black butterfly and ran about merrily trying to catch it. Younger niece is just 1.5 years old, but she usually wishes to do whatever her older sister does. However, startled by the unusually large black butterfly, she just froze in place. It was so funny to watch the surprised expression on her face. We relaxed in the shrine’s premises for an hour or so. After that we went to a convenience store and bought some cold drinks and snacks, and had them after returning home. After a whole afternoon and evening of excitement, the kids were rather tired and sleepy. So my sister-in-law and kids went back to their home at about 6 pm.

Omiya Shinmei shrine

Another building of Omiya Shinmei shrine

Nieces playing in the shrine premises

Younger niece surprised at seeing a large black butterfly (butterfly not in photo)

At about 7.30 pm, my hubby, father-in-law, and his wife returned back home after a long day of playing golf. They already had dinner on the way home. Father-in-law and his wife went to sleep within ten minutes of returning home. Hubby and I went to visit my mother-in-law’s grave to offer our prayers.

Hubby offering prayers at his mother's grave

Later we had dinner at a restaurant named Curry House CoCo Ichibanya. Hubby had already eaten dinner, but seeing the menu he had dinner once again! This restaurant served typical Japanese style curry. We ordered sausage curry and fully-ripened tomato and asari clam curry. The food was simple yet delicious.

Our dinner

We returned back home at about 9.30 pm. Hubby went to sleep and I watched television for some time. One of my favorite television drama (soap opera) was being aired and I enjoyed it very much. Later I read a few pages of a novel and fell asleep while reading it.

Again on May 4th, my hubby, father-in-law, and his wife left home at about 4.45 am to go for playing golf. I got up at 9 am and had several cups of tea. Later I read a few more pages of the novel and watched television until 11.30 am. At about 12 noon, my sister-in-law and her family came home to pick me up for lunch at a nearby restaurant. My sister-in-law’s husband also accompanied us. We had lunch at an Indian restaurant named ‘Bindi’, which served authentic Indian food with too many choices on the menu. So it was challenging to decide what to order off the menu as everything sounded good. Finally, we ended up ordering a lot of food. We all relished our lunch. All the food items were mild in spite of the fact that they were cooked with a lot of spices. That day both my nieces made their debut of eating Indian food. It was nice to see the happy faces of the kids eating Indian food.

My nieces and sister-in-law's hubby eating Indian food

I and sister-in-law eating Indian food

Younger niece very happy to eat Indian food

Older niece surpised but happy with the taste of Indian food

After lunch, we all went to a nearby park named Asano Park. This park was the site of an old royal palace that belonged to the feudal warlord Nagamasa Asano. The park was created in 1916 from the volunteer efforts of local residents. We all had a leisurely walk and chatted a lot in the park. There were more than 1000 azalea (tsutsuji in Japanese) shrubs with red, pink, and white blooms. All the azaleas were in full bloom, which made a wonderful sight. We took several photos of us near the fully bloomed azalea flowers for keepsake. We walked around for about thirty minutes and then sat on two cement park benches under a pergola. As soon as we sat there, we got a whiff of very lovely and superior fragrance. We all looked up and saw many white Chinese wisteria vines (wisteria sinensis Alba; shina-huji in Japanese) with spectacular hanging flowers in full bloom that gave off such lovely smell. Nearby was a small pond full of lotus plants and many blooming lotus flowers. The park was a perfect place to walk, sit, relax, and chitchat. At about 3.30 pm, we all left the park and went back home. It was hubby and my last day in Ichinomiya city and I was a bit sad to say bye to my sister-in-law and her kids.

Asano park

Younger niece in the park

White and pink azalea flowers

Pink azalea flowers

Sister-in-law with azalea flowers

I and azalea flowers

Hanging white Chinese wisteria flowers

Many lotus plants and flowers

Lotus flower

Hubby, father-in-law, and his wife finished playing golf much earlier as compared to the previous day, and they returned back home at about 4 pm. Hubby was too tired due to playing golf on two consecutive days. So he took rest for an hour. I packed our baggage. At about 5.15 pm, my father-in-law gave us a ride by his car to Komaki airport. Hubby and I dozed off on our flight back to Akita. On reaching Akita airport, we took a limousine bus bound for Akita railway station. We had our dinner at a restaurant named ‘Hanamaru udon’ at the station area, and then took a taxi to reach Akita seaport where we had parked our car for the onward journey on April 30. Finally, we reached back our home at about 10 pm. We really enjoyed the golden week holidays this year. Now our life has returned back to normal routine.

Hubby playing with Rubik's cube in the limousine bus bound for Akita railway station