Our Weekend in Japan

So we went to Japan about three weekends ago now to visit Ken's family and show our support after the death of his Grandpa Masada. It was an incredibly special weekend and we had the most wonderful time with Ken's mom, grandma - "Guh-rand-ee-ma", aunt Ako and cousin Yukari. Most importantly we laughed and cried together, hugged, danced, ate and talked even though we don't share a common language. We also got to meet Ken's Great Uncle and Aunt Jack and Keiko and learned so much about the Masada/Marshall family history. It was a a short trip but was more rich than some extended stays can often be. Aside from all that we got sing karaoke with the family, eat blowfish shabu shabu, gyoza, and see a bit of Osaka.



For our first night in Japan we all went out to eat sushi at a restaraunt which had the sushi on a conveyor belt. The selections were endless, the rice was perfect, the fish pieces were huge and fresh and each piece costing about .50 cents... I was in heavennnnnn!!!! After that we all went to karaoke and I'm sorry to say we forgot to take pictures! I'll have to post some of me and Ken here in Busan soon though...



We got to look through Grandma's old pictures which were magnificent! Here is one of Grandma and Grandma as newly weds! They were a beautiful couple! I am so sad I never got to meet Grandpa. I am positive that I would have taken an instant liking to him. I absolutely adore Grandma and I am sure that Ken's grandpa was just as wonderful. (You can always click on the pictures on this blog to see them enlarged. )



For our first official day in Japan we went to meet Uncle jack and Keikoe, and then we went to ?Shinsaibashi? It was this long, exciting strip full of shops and restaurants and people! It was shoulder to shoulder packed with people!






For our final night in Japan we all ate blowfish Shabu Shabu together at Aunt Ako and Yukari's house. Apparently blowfish is considered a delicacy and it is generally very expensive. For all of us to eat blowfish out at a restaurant it would have cost around $300... We got an incredible deal however, and they actually found some at the store that was on sale because the store was about to close for a few days due to the holiday. All in all they got enough blowfish for all of us for about $50. It was delicious, meaty and tender with a very delicate flavor. And did you know that blowfish is actually poisonous? Only someone with a license can cut and prepare the fish and must carefully extract the poisonous gland. Every once in a while someone will die from improperly handled meat. I thought that was pretty interesting.



So our final night was a wonderful summation to a short and sweet trip. Also, later in the night Yukari's boyfriend, Mr. Fujimara came over and joined us as well. We all laughed a lot together and got pretty silly. At one point I even got Grandma to do an impression of Ken's funny dance moves! It was hilarious! As you can see... Yumi was very tired - still recovering from the jet lag, and fell asleep on the comfy sofa missing out on our little party!