Day 6 and 7 in Tama: Meet the Parents (and kids)

I have Internet again!!!!

Today, I woke up and really didn’t have any idea what was ahead for me. The only thing I was picked up by my host family at 10:00 a.m. and my adventure began. They promptly picked me up at 10:00 a.m. and we drove towards their house. My host family has a total of 5 members. I did not write down their names in English so I am waiting confirmation via email. I want to keep the blog updated so I have decided to send it out without their names for now:

The father is a veteran teacher at a middle school near his house.
The mother takes care of the family, is an awesome cook, and travels.
Daughter #1 is 26 years old and a pediatric nurse that works the night shift.
The son is 23 years old and a “freshman” elementary education teacher that loves basketball.
Daughter #2 is 21 years old and a university student that will be taking courses and living in France for a year.

As we drove I noticed their automobile and the never-ending city of Tama. Their automobile was a hybrid similar to the Toyota Prius. Many, if not all, of the cars have similar features, but different names. The interesting features I enjoyed were the built-in television that picked up 6 channels via satellite. The video for the television only worked when the car was stopped. It was still possible to listen, but for safety reasons we could not watch. In addition to the great mileage, the car had a rear camera and used a program that made it really easy to back in your car. The drive took about 30 to 40 minutes and it was interesting to see how far the city extended.

We arrived and I was very impressed by the entrance to the house. The beautiful stone wall you will see in the pictures was made from father’s father. He has now passed on, but his hard-working spirit is reflected in the beauty of the wall. The house was very nice with plenty of garage and storage space. Their home was an old farmhouse that was passed down from father's parents. They renovated the inside and built an additional space for their son to live in. They owned a descent amount of land because father’s father needed land to farm (e.g. cattle, chickens, hogs, and rice) when he was alive. The land they have can only be used for farming so the parents cannot build for their family to live there. My home stay family no longer farms, but they did keep their old house and used it as a rental property.

I entered the house and was immediately greeted by mother. I took off my shoes and put on my slippers as I stepped up to the hallway. There were many beautiful puzzles that had been completed and put into frames and used as artwork throughout the entry hallway. The house was very nice sized with three bedrooms, two toilets, one bathing room, one kitchen with a built-in dining room, a living room, and then a room with tatami mats used for entertaining and also as a sleeping room for the parents. The thin doors could be removed or slid open to change the room configurations. Whenever we entered this room we removed our slippers, sat on the ground, had tea and a snack, and had a chance to get to know each other. As I looked around and continued to talk with them I began to realize that this family was very special. They had welcomed many people from around the world into their house and they had traveled to many places. This is not your typical family that joins a tour bus so they can get off the bus to snap a few photos, but rather they look to make connections with people. If they are traveling to a different country and meet someone interesting they have no problem taking time to eat with them and exchange emails so they can continue to communicate. By do this they have brought many people into their home to experience Japan. As a result they have many destinations they have traveled to and are planning to travel to in the future. I am convinced that my family will be traveling to Japan in the next few years to visit them and then returning the favor by having them come to Minnesota. I admire them for what they have done and believe that they really want these relationships to bring peace and understanding to the world.

Upon finishing our introduction, we drove about 45 minutes and dropped of their daughter at her apartment that was next to the hospital. Before we arrived at her apartment we went to a 100 Yen sushi restaurant that I loved! Small plates of food would continually move past us on a conveyor belt. We would take food off the conveyor belt, eat it, and then slide the plate into a slot where it would be counted towards your bill. IF YOU TRAVEL TO JAPAN FIND THIS TYPE OF PLACE AND TRY DIFFERENT FOOD FOR CHEAP!!!!

Next, we visited the Edo-Tokyo Open-air Architectural Museum. The museum has relocated, reconstructed, preserved, and exhibited historical buildings of great cultural value. These were definitely rich housed during the periods they were built. Maid quarters, size of house, and western influence were hints of modern houses in a time period when resources were scarce for most people. The most interesting building was the House of the Leader of the Hachioji Guards because I enjoyed the story behind it. A Thousand Samurai Warriors were deployed here during the Edo period (1603-1867) to defend Tokugawa Shogunate Family. My host regarded the Samurai of this period as the equivalent of Superman. The Samurai lived in farmhouses and farmed the land, but as trouble would appear they transform into the mighty Samurai to defend the country. The other place I enjoyed was the public bathhouse “kodakara-yu.” Men, women, and children used to take baths 3-4 days a week in the public bathhouse. Originally, they would bath together, but eventually Western influence convinced them that this was wrong and that they should put a wall between males and females. As you entered the bathhouse you paid and then would use soap and water to clean yourself before entering the actually bath. You would rinse yourself clean and then enter the hot bathwater. This tradition continues today in many homes and is quite refreshing. Again, remember to wear the bathing slippers!

After the museum we headed home and had a wonderful dinner prepared by mother. There was plenty of variety and everything was very tasty. After dinner we took some time to speak the universal language of Wii. I thought this was fitting considering this is the official home place of the game system. We played Wii Fit and then Wii Sports. After playing Wii we headed to the restaurant daugher #2 works at. We had several beverages and a plate of peas in the pod that were very tasty. The restaurant is not too far away so daughter #2 rides her bike home. If you look closely at some of the bikes in Japan you will notice that they have small battery packs that help assist the biker so they can ride up hills easier and ride for longer. We returned home, looked at a few more photos, and I went to bed.

I woke up and had another great meal for breakfast and then we walked to the track and field to watch some of father's students compete. There was a really nice track and field, baseball fields, tennis courts, and more. It was a very active place with many hills and green space. After watching for a while we walked home and went to visit mother’s mother. If the day is right you can actually see Mt. Fuji from her patio. Their grandmother lives above her two sons workplace and does the accounting for them. She is a very vibrant woman that has many artistic talents that she loves to share with people. We went to lunch and had many wonderful things to eat. Throughout these times we had plenty of time discuss various topics regarding our cultures. It was very nice to have the opportunity to meet them so we could share our experiences and exchange emails to keep in touch. I couldn’t have imagined a better 29 hours than the ones that were shared with my host family—If you are reading this I would like to say “doomo arigatoo.” Enjoy the photos!