Family time continues 

11.01.2025

Mami is recovering better from the cold we have both had. I’m still not 100% but slowly getting there. We leave for Okinawa on Tuesday and I really want to be fit and healthy again by then. I’m hoping the warmer climate in Okinawa may also help speed up the recovery

I am currently sitting in Starbucks at the station, writing the start of today’s blog. We have been shopping at Sun Live, as it has a Kaldi store. Kaldi is a store which sells popular items from foreign countries and a lot of the bigger towns and cities in Japan have a Kaldi store. For instance, Kaldi sells Tim Tams and Vegemite from Australia. 

Today I was looking for salsa sauce and corn chips, as Nana is craving for Nachos. There are no jars of salsa sauce in the supermarkets and the corn chips are in a tiny packet with barely enough to feed a sparrow! I was lucky to find the chips at Kaldi, as someone had placed a big unpacked box of coffee beans in front of the chips, making them all but invisible. 

Avocados are really small here so I bought three of them for 750Y, roughly $7.50Au. to make Nana happy as Guacamole is one of her favourite things to eat. Yuri, like Nana, really likes Nachos so they are both looking forward to it.

Yuri has returned to her hometown to attend two special reunion events. The first is her high school reunion tonight, and the second is the Coming of Age Ceremony.

The Coming of Age Ceremony is a significant event celebrated throughout Japan, though the way it’s marked can vary by region. Typically, it involves speeches from local officials and greetings from those who have recently turned 20.

Coming of Age Day is a national holiday in Japan, held on the second Monday of January each year—in 2025, it falls on January 13. This day celebrates young people who have reached the age of 20, symbolizing their transition into adulthood.

As is tradition, girls wear kimonos for the occasion and the young men wear suits. Yuri will be following this custom, just like Nana and Mami did when they turned 20. We can’t wait to see Yuri dressed in her stunning kimono tomorrow!

Nana and Yuri were not home for dinner, as Yuri is catching up with friends and Nana is eating out and will drive Yuri home. 

The rest of the family had a simple meal together at home. I know that both Yuri and Nana will not be too late getting home as they know I am making nachos for supper. 

Yoshi is not a fan of Nachos so as soon as we finished our game of Qwirkle he headed upstairs to watch some TV. He was also tired from the strain of winning Qwirkle! The others all sat around the dining room table, waiting for me to finish making the nachos.. 

When I put out plates on the table with the nachos in the centre,  Nana, Yuri, Mami and Youko went for it and finished the plate in record time. It’s a dish that Nana misses when living in Japan even though she can get nachos in Osaka. All four enjoyed the meal, which is great. I feel happy about being able to make it with supplies of some things not really up to standard, especially the cheese.

The four of them are now just chatting at the dining room table and savouring the opportunity to talk face to face and enjoy each other’s company. Yoshi has just come downstairs and it is fun sitting back and watching the interaction between the 3 generations. You can see these moments are special, and greatly valued by all involved.