Every trip to Japan, Aya’s family usually has some sort of reunion. I guess it’s pretty rare for families to stay in touch as much as Aya’s family does, and it’s really cool that they use our “home coming” as an excuse to get together. Since they are all spread out around Japan, the reunion location is usually somewhere in the Tokyo area. Aya has a lot of aunts and uncles, and tons of cousins.  Most of her cousins are now married with kids. They all have a great sense of humor and love to have fun. So combine that with some good food, a few drinks, and one guy who can’t speak Japanese…it makes for a great time.
SUPERMARKET NIGHTS
Aya’s parents literally live right across the street from a pretty big super market. So close her mom calls it her refrigerator. I call it the Kroger, even though it’s more like a two story Meijer. But since we were limited in what we could do this trip, we started ‘hanging out’there after we put Ellie down. At first, it seemed like any other grocery store but once you started roaming the aisles, there were lots of fun things to look at.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Soon after we arrived in Japan, I learned of the Mister Donut point card and the merchandise you could get with with it. And for only 150 points, I could get an official Mister Donut coffee mug. The kind they actually use at the store! I made Aya ask if we could just buy one, but they said no. Politely of course. So, I set out on a mission to eat as many donuts as it took to reach my goal. And eat donuts I did. I love their custard and creme donuts here. But I even tried the soy sauce flavor donut to make me feel like I would actually deserve the mug. I’m happy to say after many donuts and coffee consumed, I did it!
MY KUKI FRIENDS: PART TWO
Knowing what happened after the last time I met my friends, the pressure was on. Aya’s parents had moved away from Kuki since then, and what made this visit a little more stressful is that I couldn’t walk home after going to the bar. I had to take the train back home an hour away. So the trick would be to not miss the last train for the night. If I missed the last train for the night, well, let’s just say that wouldn’t be a good thing. Aya’s mom gave me a curfew of 12:30am and said if I missed it, she wouldn’t let me in, and Aya wouldn’t be allowed to let me in either. She was joking of course… I think.
MY KUKI FRIENDS: PART ONE
Every trip to Japan we take, I always try to give Aya some time with just her parents where she doesn’t have to worry about translating things to me. Where they can all speak openly and freely without me dragging the conversation down to a third grade level. “What is that? How do you spell that? Where does that come from? What’s your favorite Japanese fruit?” So after a few trips to Japan I felt confident to go out to dinner by myself to give them some space. Each trip, I try to push the boundaries of my comfort level and that’s how I met my friends. My friends from Kuki, Japan.