DAY 36.


Yuri’s special day

12.01.2025

Today Mami and I walked to You Me in Kudamatsu. It is only my second time to do this walk and Mami’s first time. We are now sitting in Hamamoto enjoying a coffee and a hot chocolate respectively. Our step counters are telling us we have done around 8000 steps which is a good start to the day.

It was an interesting walk and I will post a video of some of the walk as everything is so different to the streets in suburban Melbourne. The biggest difference is there is hardly any grid system. The roads here have to allow for the mountains, open drains, creeks and rivers and rice paddies. It’s so different seeing small and large rice paddies in the middle of suburbia and the mix of very new and, not old, but ancient houses. It makes the walk so interesting.

We also see a lot of birdlife. Today we saw a Kawasemi, kingfisher, which was a first for both Mami and me. We are both keen amateur bird watchers so it was quite a thrill. Unfortunately the shots we got before it flew away are a bit messy, so we will post a professional’s shot of this beautiful River Kingfisher. A magic moment indeed.

Nana has just arrived and we have seen some of the pictures of Yuri in her Kimono.
She looks really good but Mami thinks she would have looked even better if she hadn’t died her hair blonde. I’m staying right out of that discussion. We will, I think, get a chance to have our photos taken with Yuri on this very special milestone in her life.

Nana and Mami have gone to the eatery section as Nana’s default system is set on hungry. I have stayed in Hamamoto with a second coffee as I’m (a) not hungry at all, and (b) I’d prefer to write the blog than listen to screaming and crying babies in the food court.

After our daily grocery shopping, we headed home and waited for Yuri to come back so that we could have family photos. We posted some happy snaps, so see if you can see some resemblance in the Edamatsu family. It is great to be able to gather all together for a very special occasion.

Yoshi called a family meeting to celebrate Yuri turning 20 and continuing to grow as a person, and also to highlight how strong and supportive our family is. Rob and I felt that we hadn’t contributed enough to raising Yuri, but everyone emphasised that her year in Melbourne had a significant impact on her life, one that will continue to shape her future.

Yuri once again went off to another reunion, this time it is just with close friends. She certainly is very popular among her friends. She is apparently staying all night at a Karaoke booth. Something that Melbournians won’t do. The cost of karaoke in Japan can vary depending on the location, the type of karaoke room, and the time of day. It usually costs $6 for an hour, or some places have a special deal like $15 for 7 hours during the day time. Yuri went for an all-night session (typically from 11 PM to 5 AM) for $30 per person for karaoke with a soft drink included. Good luck with that, Yuri.

The rest of us oldies had Sukiyaki for dinner and played some games, and now I am totally ready for bed.