BLONDE IN JAPAN

Just as a warning if you don't have at least a good 10 minutes to read, come back another day. This September I went to Japan after ten years and if you managed to go through even half of the 900 pictures I took, you would see how much of a blast I had.

Short backstory: My grandmother was born and raised in Aizuwakamatsu Japan, a beautiful little town surrounded by mountains and home to many rice farmers. She met my big blue eyed grandfather while he was stationed in Japan and they fell in love. After being stationed all over they ended up in Georgia, where they continued to raise their three kids: David, Susan (my momma), and Andy. Then I was born, all you need to know is yes I am green eyed, blonde haired, and just as much Japanese as my brother and cousins even though I don't look it. And it has given me my 'interesting fact' on the first day of class on many occasions.

ANYWHOOO

I started journaling my trip on the flight and continued to write down the day's events every night, thank tha lawd because that's how I am writing details now. After a long flight my uncles, mom, and I touched down at Narita Airport. I was building up the excitement for my first insta post when I arrived, but due to the misty weather I had to hold off and use my 'moshi moshi' pic for later on in the week. Sad, I know. We met family in Tokyo to eat dinner then quickly after were on a train to Sendai.

Days 1- 3

I was SO PUMPED for Sendai because I knew that there would be cousins around my age and I was hoping that they knew English, oh was I wrong. In my journal I kept a count on how many blondes I spotted and I was surprised that I saw one on the second full day running right past me. Best memory of Sendai was going to the sushi place right down the street where you just picked your sushi off a conveyor belt. Top sushi picks: yaki salmon, mushi ebi, and negi toro

The cousins and me infront of the Sendai Daikannon

Days 3- 9

The most built up part of the trip was going back to Aizu, where my grandmother was born, raised, and where she died. Pulling up and seeing the house again brought tears to my eyes. Suddenly, I was taken back to the last time I was in that house. The faintest memories of me playing Pokemon, riding on the back of electric bicycles, and the sound of Mimi's laugh all trickled back. Our family had the whole trip planned out for us, on the first full day we met up with Yuka and her family and went up to the hot springs to put our feet in the tubs- of course I wore jeans so tight they wouldn't go over my calves. Then we made our way up the mountain to a beautiful shrine and breathtaking views of the lake. Of course we were getting hungray so they took us to this little restaurant where they knew the owner and I chowed down on curry- my favorite.

The next day we went to paint pottery- I WAS SO PUMPEDD!!! My plate was of course the cutest with the typical Japanese princess. We actually just got in our pottery since they had to ship them to us- it was so exciting opening the package to see how good they turned out. Then we went to the gardens which I remembered from ten years prior. Surprisingly I made a little friend when I gave a kid some of the fish food I had for the koi. Let be for real you can't say no to an Asian child- they are just too cute. Day six was also Uncle Ds birthday, so of course we had to celebrate. It was also a local holiday that included a festival, parade, and even famous Japanese actress sightings. This day is where the majority of my pictures come from because I was too lazy to sort through all of the parade pictures. After the parade we went on the tour of the Tsurugajo castle, which was built in 1590 by the Gamo clan (your Japanese culture lesson for the day).

Tsurugajo Castle- This is probably the only time in my life where I look like a giant -thanks Uncle Andy for being on your knees.

The biggest miscommunication of the trip was concerning my grandmother's ashes. Long story short, if you see my face on Japan's Most Wanted I wouldn't be surprised. But in the end after eight years, Mimi was finally back with her family, even if it wasn't exactly by the rules. Below is the Sato tomb where Mimi and her relative's ashes are kept.

Sato family grave

Days 9-11

It was time to say goodbye again and head to Tokyo. Our last days in Tokyo were packed full of animal noises (kero kero), gift buying, and drinks all around. From being touristy and visiting Tokyo Tower to taking boat rides across town, being with family was the best part. On our last night we went to a Fogo de Chao like restaurant and had to be rolled out we were so full. We did have some well-known people at dinner to my surprise. Pretty cool we ate with an actress, professional fighter, and three models, which means I'm basically famous right?

Saying goodbye was always awful, and the hardest goodbye for me was Himawari. Himawari stayed with us the majority of the trip helping us get from place to place. Even though she wasn't fluent in English she definitely knew more compared to me with Japanese. She was always there when I attempted to ask how to say something and we have even continued keeping in touch via skype.

What I took from this trip...

-Family is what really matters. They constantly spoiled us with gifts and food, seriously they never stopped feeding us. I swear I gained at least five pounds while I was there. I even grew closer with my Uncle Andy, who would goof around with me and let me take funny pictures of him eating.

-FOOOD FOOD FOOD. If you know me I will eat anything you put in front of me. And Japanese food is one of my favorites, I could eat rice all day. Personally my favorite dishes other than sushi would be gyoza (Japanese dumplings), curry, and udon- of course. My mom loves udon so much they took us to a noodle restaurant twice in three days. You won't catch me complaining though.

-Even without speaking each other's languages- we got by. This was probably the hardest parts because it gets frustrating not being able to explain things. But when in doubt just use body language. Luckily, my Uncle D remembered some Japanese from the classes he took and could help us out. My go to word was dai jo bu, "I'm fine," I should've kept a tally on how many times a day I used it. But surprisingly by the end of the trip I could somewhat understand what they were saying even if I couldn't respond.

-Life is so beautiful. The world is so beautiful, especially on morning walks when you are surrounded by mountains. The colors were so vivid and the views were breathtaking. Being back there made me feel so grateful to come from such an amazing culture. I'm also thankful that I got the opportunity to go back as an adult because I didn't see the importance as much when I was younger. Everyone is so grateful and everything is based on family. I would not be surprised if I end up spending more time there in my future. I have also started teaching myself Japanese, so wish me luck!

My advice for anyone traveling to Japan:

1. Don't forget your English to Japanese dictionary- its a lot easier to find words this way. I tried to find the perfect app that has a translator that would work by just speaking into the phone, however there is a lot of flaws in the programing. First, most require you to have wifi to use all the features and second the translation can be so off. Even if you get an app I still suggest getting the dictionary you can find a cheap one on Amazon.

2. Try new things- I know they have some crazy food, but it's not going to kill you unless you are allergic of course. On this past trip I had some kind of animal heart, so now I know not to order it again.

3. But when in doubt- order curry, ramen, or udon. Not only are they all delicious they won't cost you that much. You can get curry less than 400 JYN.

4. Find a 100 Yen store- they are great for buying little gifts or just everyday essentials. Also, they have EVERYTHING from food to socks to toys. Every place we went we had to find one of these stores.

5. Learn a few basic words before going-

konnichiwa- hello

arigatiou gozaimasu (domo arigatou MR.Roboto)- thank you very much (very formal/polite, if you are around friends you can just say arigatiou)

ohayoo (sounds like ohio)- good morning

oishii- yummy/delicious

6. This is for the girls only- some of their toilets are literally just a hole in the ground, yes you read correctly. Usually there is both types of toilets, but when there isn't work on those thigh muscles and go ahead and pop a squat.

7. In the end just be as respectful as possible and don't forget your manners, this is really important in Japan.

Talk less, eat more, love even more.

xoxo,

chels

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from my trip: