On Leaving.............and Returning

It's 3am and here I sit in a hotel in Westchester, waiting to return to a normal sleep cycle. The process will be slowed down by a child who has the unique talent of waking up just as I am about to fall asleep - desiring food, drink, cartoons or just a playmate until she tires again.

I am happy I have flown my last 13 hour flight for a long time. I was in heaven in the Stop n' Shop, being able to read all the labels - a quick trip for some staples ended up being close to an hour as I gazed at all of the products that have been introduced since I left. Being literate is a wonderful thing. We are busy house hunting - the decisions are endless. We can't wait to see our old friends - it has been way too long.

But there is sadness too. Prior to leaving Japan, we had to say goodbye to our friends there. While we intend to keep in touch, the reality is we will lose touch with some - and probably not the ones we wouldn't mind losing touch with. Rather, the ones that were meaningful in some way. I left the women who listened during the last few months of our wait for Ariana; waited impatiently for our return from China; commiserated over the misadventures of potty training; sympathizes over the effects of "one too many" at Karaoke. The friendship were made quickly - and deeply, and I will not see them for a long time. And that is sad.

On the other hand, I am learning to love the east coast all over again, warts and all. I witnessed my first verbal fight on the street today - a male pedestrian and a female driver going at it for all to hear. I will have to get used to the dirty and rumpled dollar bills while fondly remembering the perfectly clean and crisp yen notes in Japan. Where does all of the crumpled money go in Japan? Everyone here is much, much nicer than I remember - perhaps because we are spending most of our time outside NYC.

And English - all the time.

Never Give a Four Year Old a Finger Bowl

During an absolutely delicious and mostly well behaved dinner in the dining room of the grand Fujiya Hotel in Hakone, finger bowls appeared at the table and Ariana thought she would save time by taking two of them without spilling a drop. I think we have a type A multi-tasker on our hands.

As our time in Japan is coming to an end, we decided to finally take a trip to Hakone. Only about an hour and a half from Tokyo, it was one of those places that we kept thinking "we'll go one of these days", but only now had the motivation to go. Despite the raining weather, it was a beautiful trip. After checking in at the hotel, our first stop was the open air museum.

A collection of sculpture placed in a gorgeous park, even the rain couldn't dampen our enjoyment of it all.



And, in typical Japanese style, there was a full supply of umbrellas to borrow if you were lacking one.

With Ariana taking one of her several naps during the day, Baba san did the pushing as we visited a Toy Museum and yes, Ariana woke up just in time to see an amazing collection of old toys.

To see all of Hakone, one must take a train, a tram, a gondola and a boat - Ariana almost missed out on most of the gondola ride, but woke up in time to wave at the others passing in the opposite direction.

And our room - what can we say about the Fujiya Hotel - it was fantastic. Very rustic in an elegant way. They have several different wings with different style rooms - it opened in the late 1800's and has hosted people from all over the world. It is a definite must see if you ever get there.

This was our room, with a great view of the train that passes by. On a single track, it moves slowly enough for you to see the sites - though not into our room as it stops running before dark. I would say I can't wait to go back, but I know that won't be happening for a very long time. In any event, it was a memorable trip.

The Egg

The challenge: eating raw egg
The place: home of Mikoto, Hanako and Eri.
The Dish: sukiyaki, made the "western" style; not western as in American, but western as in western Japan, which is where he is from. As in most dishes, each region has it's own way of preparation. This is one of several "hotpot" Japanese dishes made on a heated surface right on the table. Sukiyaki involves thin slices of meat, tofu, vegetables and noodles in a mixture of brown sugar, sake and soy sauce . In between plucking pieces from the pan and putting them in your mouth, a brief dunk in a raw egg is suggested.


Mission: Accomplished, with some trepidation and thoughts of salmonella coursing through our veins. The thought of eating raw egg was slightly nauseating but, we finally decided, after seeing Eri, age 9, dipping away, that it couldn't be that bad. And it wasn't. It was really tasty and softening the rich taste of the sugar, sake and soy sauce.

Ariana of course did not participate, taking one look at the meal and stating "I don't like it" preferring to play with Eri's toys.