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Originally uploaded by silverlantern

Jae and I had a different agenda from the rest of the group the next day. I had plans to visit my relatives for lunch at their home so we actually had to wake up earlier than everyone else. To make matters worse, I wasn’t on west coast time like everyone else, but infact was on east coast time still, and waking up was like being hit by a sledgehammer. Well, as I was on vacation, I guess it’s a fun type of hammer, like the ones I had as a kid that squeak. Anyhow, I was tired, but at the same time, IT’S OUR FIRST DAY IN JAPAN! So dang it, I’m going to wake up and drag my butt out of the door.

So we took the train out the nearest station near them, about a 15 minute ride and waited for my aunt to pick us up. We had a good 30 minutes to wait since we got there so early so we watched an anime episode on our portable hard drive. When my aunt and cousin arrived, I barely recognized my aunt but not my cousin. Last time I had seen her was when she was like 3 or 4.

As we walked to their place, we stopped by a nearby grocery store and picked up a few boxes of sushi for lunch. I vaguely recalled doing the same thing the last time I was here. Ah, how things don’t change sometimes.

Upon arrival we met our other cousin. I gave them their gifts, 2 boxes of Sees candies for the parents, a small Coach purse for the girl and a Calvin Kline messenger for the guy. The Coach purse earned squeals of joy, which dashed whatever sadness I felt at having to give away my first Coach purchase. I do have a wallet and a purse from Coach but they were received as gifts. Even though Coach, I suppose is on the lower end of the luxury purses, with bags that could be gotten in the low $100 range, I’ve never been able to bring myself to spend that kind of money on a bag. $50 is already pushing it… well, unless it’s a camera bag then $100+ is ok =P but it’s functional, got padding and all that jazz. Maybe someday…

We got a gift too, we received a candy plate as part of our belated wedding present.

We got a quick tour of their place, for Japan and so close to Tokyo, it was quite new and a really good size. 3 bedrooms, a living room, 1 1/2 bath, kitchen and another small room with tatami mats they called the Japanese room.

For lunch, along with the sushi, my aunt made typical Japanese oden which included daikon, eggs, various fish cakes, and the rather interesting devil’s tongue jelly. For dessert we had fruit. I was really surprised at how the fruit taste so strongly of the fruits they’re suppose to be.

When it comes to flavor, every time I eat fruites in an Asian country I feel that the fruits in the US pale in comparison. I think we’ve gotten so used to huge but bland strawberries, not so crisp apples, and other usually fragrant fruits in the US that we’ve accepted them to taste the way they do.

The strawberries, although small, packed a punch. It was like eating strawberry candy. The kiwis, just right, not too sweet, not too sour, just tangy enough. I know fruits can be expensive in Japan, but boy are they worth every cent. I’d go for 1 qt of small, bright red strawberries vs 1 case of huge, almost red, tasteless strawberries any day.

After lunch, we took the car out and checked out a village marketplace. There we saw a tv personality that was supposedly quite famous in Japan. Everyone around, including my cousins immediately pulled out their cell phones and started taking pictures. It’s funny how a national star sparks such excitement for the people living there and yet to someone from another place, that same celebrity is just a strangely dressed guy on the street.

Then, my aunt went home and we hung out with my cousins for the rest of the afternoon. At Ikebukuro, we browsed a few stores, went to a 6 floor Toyota showroom, went up to an observatory, stopped in at a cafe for cake and drinks, and then my younger cousin had to go home. After we parted ways, the three of us had a few hours to kill before meeting the rest of the group for dinner eat at a themed Ninja restaurant in Akasaka-mitsuke a bit south of us. I thought that the group’s plan was to check out Ginza that day which was east and that maybe if we go to Ginza, our walkie talkies would be able to reach them. And also, Jae would be able to see his other love, the GTR. Two birds with one stone.