At church on our first Sunday, we met many "foreigners" and local Japanese. One lady we met was Masumi.
When she and her husband started traveling internationally ten years ago, she became interested in learning English. She attended a language school to learn English from Japanese teachers, but she wanted to learn from native speakers. So they recommended going to an international church. That's how she ended up at Mustard Seed a couple years ago. The services are all bilingual, and there's an English conversation group before the service starts. She said she used to be shy and reserved but that being at church has completely changed her personality! Now she is outgoing and talkative. She continues to practice English during the week by watching YouTube videos. That first week, I got her contact information. Her daughter Mayu added WhatsApp to Masumi's phone so that she could communicate with me. They live further north on the same train line as us in a city called Itami.
I texted Masumi to ask if she'd like to meet us at the Itami station to show us around. I told her that instead of practicing English with YouTube videos, she could practice with an American family!
We met her that Tuesday -- she was right at the transit card gate. She took us down a shopping street and across a town plaza. We stopped at some castle ruins (only the foundation remains) and ended up at a large shopping mall called Aeon. We walked toward a game store. There were some new items but many secondhand, cheaper ones. I, of course, gravitated toward the book section. The boys were amazed at the Pokemon card section. You could buy single specific cards for 30 yen (about 20 cents) or a pack of 150 for 500 yen (about $3). The boys spent a while picking out some specific cards but also each bought a variety pack.
We then went to the Food Forest, a large food court. We had promised the boys that we would let them eat at the next McDonalds we found, so that's what they had. I followed Masumi to her restaurant of choice. I asked for her recommendation and thought I was getting the same thing as her, but I ended up with curry, rice, and tempura (various fried meat on skewers). Masumi also bought a set of 8 takoyaki (a ball-shaped snack with octopus inside). Carter loved them. Calvin was a little freaked out when he could see the suction cups of the octopus.
Finally, we ended up at the large grocery store. We wanted to check if there was a better cereal selection. We bought several kinds, including a type of chocolate cheerios that is the boys' new favorite. We also let each of the boys pick out a Coolish -- like an applesauce pouch but with ice cream. The most common are vanilla and chocolate, but different places have different flavors, and Calvin is determined to try all of them (he's also done the apple- and coffee-flavored ones). Masumi bought us a dorayaki to try. It looks like two small pancakes with a filling inside. The boys were excited to try it when they saw what looked like chocolate inside. But when they learned it was a sweet red bean paste, they preferred to stick with their Coolish.
As we were walking back, we noticed signs for the Halloween festival that weekend. So even though we went to Itami on Tuesday, we decided to come back on Saturday!
Again, Masumi met us at the station. We were running late because Chance was having one of his tantrum mornings of not wanting to go anywhere and kicking off his shoes and running the opposite way. At 1:00 in the plaza, there was a kendama presentation from a nearby elementary school. I had asked Masumi about kendama earlier in the week when I looked at the schedule, and she bought a kendama for each of our boys! We missed the actual presentation, but several of the club members were still around, and they were eager to show off their tricks. Picture one of those sticks with a cup on the top and a long string with a ball at the end that you try to land in the cup. Only this ball had a hole in it that you could land on a spike or on either side of the gavel spots. Unlike the cup and string, there were so many things you could do with it! Calvin was able to land about 8 tricks. I did the first 3.
There were also music performances -- an accordian duo and a party jug band (so fun!). We bought some snacks from the vendors, but Carter was hungry for more than a snack, so Masumi took him to get a hamburger. There was also a "Halloween tour" happening where kids in costumes would go to different businesses for candy. But unlike in America, you had to purchase a ticket in advance (they were all sold out when I checked), and you had to stay with your tour group as you walked around. The boys were all a little bummed not to get the mounds of candy they usually get at Halloween, but we did do a candy exchange earlier in the week with friends, and I surprised them with little treats throughout the days leading up to Halloween.
Next we went back to the mall for more Pokemon cards. I sat at the tables and chatted with Masumi. And then as it started to get dark, Masumi walked us across a bridge to the fireworks-viewing area along the river. And since she said she was "too old" for fireworks, she went on home. We were grateful to have a grandmotherly tour guide to show us around Itami!
One thing I may never get used to is the density of people. This was evident at the fireworks area. So.many.people! The fireworks started earlier than we're used to at 6:30 p.m. since the sun goes down at 5 p.m. We arrived about an hour early, but there was still a huge crowd to get across the street and across the pedestrian bridge. We didn't bring a mat to sit on, so we just sat in the dirt because the grass was too wet. We let the boys buy snacks with their own money. Carter, Calvin, Colson, and Chance all chose a "ringo ame" or "sweet apple." Kind of like a caramel apple but sugary red instead. Cooper said it was "too sugary", which is hard to believe, coming from him. He opted for a choco-banana.
When it was almost time to start, Chance had to go to the bathroom, so I took him to the long lines for the port-a-potties. What I didn't realize until it was our turn that these were port-a-squatty-potties. In other words, a hole in the ground that you squat over. I was glad I didn't have to go. I've done them a few times so far in Japan, but it's always an unpleasant surprise when I open the stall door to find one.
The fireworks show was supposed to last for 45 minutes. It was similar to ones we've seen before although a little sporadic -- sometimes a lot in a row, sometimes one every minute. Of the thousands of people who came, everyone either walked there or took a train, so we knew the trains would be extra crowded, so we decided to leave 15 minutes early to "beat the crowd." Ha! Others had the same idea. I've been in long traffic lines leaving an event, but I've never been packed like sardines moving en masse inches at a time, trying desperately not to get separated from my children. And meanwhile, Chance is still holding his sugar apple, and I'm just sure that someone got home that night wondering how that sticky red splotch on their sweatshirt got there. But we saw the rest of the fireworks from the bridge, and all seven of us made it back home after riding a few trains. A miracle! While Carter says he could spend a whole day at the game store hunting for Pokemon cards, Lucas says after two times in one week, he doesn't feel the need to return to Itami.
(the view from the bridge on our way to the train)
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