Mothers day in Aomori

22nd March 2009 was Mothers day in England so Yuuri and I had decided to take my parents out. We sent them a brochure of Aomori previously and my parents were interested in visiting the southern city of Aomori prefecture called Hachinohe.

(Japan is split into "prefectures" which are similar to American states in the sense they are huge areas of Japan that were once parts of different kingdoms. I live in Aomori prefecture and the capital city is Aomori city which is in in the northern bay)

We took the express train down to Hachinohe city and went around the fish market.

From Dads Pictures

And my mum bought some fresh fish which we intended to cook and eat in the fish market but it was too crowded. So we decided to try one of the restaraunts where dad and I had ramen.

From Mothers day 2009

Ramen is kind of noodles in a fish based soup, my mum had tempura which is fried shrimp in batter. Very Japanese!

After we were full we headed over to a shrine. Everyone who visits Japan should visit a shrine, they are free and very beautiful places.

From Mothers day 2009

By now it was time to head back so we got the train and headed to Misawa, a town between Aomori and Hachinohe. I wanted to take my parents to the hotspring (onsen) there and Yuuri had arranged for us to see a show based on the Nebuta/Neputa festivals.

Hotsprings in Japan are usually natural and many people go to relax. I went in with my dad and Yuuri took my mum in. It's always intimidating because you have to get naked and take only a towel in. Once in the hotspring room you can take a shower and clean yourself before getting into the bath. We tried the cooler bath which was about 39C and then went in the sauna.

This hotspring also had an outdoor section which was really nice in contrast to the cold weather. It even started to rain a little bit and although you were hot all over you could feel little bits of cold droplets hitting you. It was nice and relaxing.

We went on to have a meal and watch a show about the festivals in Aomori including Nebuta and Neputa. The served Japanese steamed food.

From Mothers day 2009

This was a little confusing at first.

From Mothers day 2009

But we figured it out!

We could eat as the show went on. They showed music and singing from the festivals and even asked us to join in, which can only lead to bad things!!!




As you can see from the video, dad even took part, merrily jumping along to Aomori cities most famous festival.

From Mothers day 2009

That was before he pulled a tendon in his knee from jumping. For the remainder of the day he could hardly walk. We still watched the rest of the show and mum, Yuuri and I took part. This was mine and Yuuri's present to my parents for mothers day.

After that we caught a shamisen show downstairs. The shaimsen is a three stringed guitar that Japanese people play.

From Mothers day 2009

By the end we were all tired and my dad was in pain. We got home just before midnight and I think we all slept well!

All singing and dancing - parents have a a bash at karaoke

One thing everyone always says when you go to Japan is try Karaoke. So they were really keen to see it but not so forthcoming to try it. So one night I asked them to come drinking with me and I took them to a nice bar.

The original plan was to go out with the Aeon staff but they had to cancel. Yoko had a cold, Megumi had hay fever and Mifuyu was still ill from being pregnant. So we went out with Yuuri and had a really nice time drinking. After I recommended karaoke and we got a taxi to place that had private karaoke booths (which are very comon in Japan).

You get a private room, some mics, a TV and a phone. You sing songs and you can order drinks over the phone. Usually you pay for the room for an hour or however long you want and drinks and food are included.

We settled down in a booth, dimmed the lights and got some drinks. I quickly set up a song and soon enough we were away. This has to be a rare sight for me so I made sure I got it on camera albeit I wish I hadn't got so much audio footage!!!



You can also check out some stills here.

Parents Karaoke

My parents and Yuuri

On April 4th 2009 it had been a year since I first landed on Japanese soil. A few weeks earlier my parents came to visit me in Aomori and I got to take them out for Mothers day and celebrate my 23rd birthday.

Due to my working schedule I could only get 3 days off, the rest of the time I spent with them was late at night. My fiancée Yuuri was able to take some time off to spend with them and was first to meet them at the train station and make sure they got to the hotel. I was able to take a break soon after their arrival and we all went to Coco Ichiban for some curry. It was good to see them, they both looked very well and pleased to be in Japan. This was their first meeting of Yuuri too and I was glad to see them getting on so well.

I was worried what they may have thought of Yuuri. I know she is a wonderful person but my parents might judge her worthiness to be with their son (as all parents natrually do). I also thought Yuuri might judge my parents attitude and make comparisons with mine. They are from very different backgrounds with very little experience of each others cultures. Even now, for me, it's very hard to deal with some Japanese customs and understand why they exist.

I knew my dad would try and be very charismatic and crack a few jokes and my mum would be very friendly and open but both wouldn't know how far they could go or how it would be perseved. Luckily Yuuri is a very friendly person who loves people and has an ability to warm the mood.

Here my dad took many pictures of his journey with Yuuri and the family.

Dads Pictures

After meeting my parents I showed them round my apartment and we had a few drinks together. I took them to Aspam and we could see from the top all over Aomori. They liked the town, it was much busier than they expected with a sea of cafes and restaurants as well as multiple department stores.

Later that night came the big even of my family meeting Yuuri's family. Yuuri's family don't speak much English and they are typical Japanese. I say typical Japanese because I think Japanese people who study English have an interest in western life style and have an idea of what to expect but most other Japanese people have no need to do this.

We sat at a long table, I was centre and to my left was my dad and to my right was my mum. Opposite me was Yuuri in her kimono, opposite my dad was Yuuri's dad and opposite my mum was Yuuri's mum, at the end sat Yuuri's younger sister. We ate Japanese food in a very traditonal Japanese restaurant in a private room. My dad was very nervous, carefully watching other people before he attempted to try something. My mum was a bit worried about the food, especially regarding the raw fish. Both of them talked through me when they wanted to ask something to Yuuri's family but they didnt know how to ask.

(This is what I call translating English to English which I seem to do a lot in Japan but more on that another time)

We talked a little, showed some photos and had a fun and enjoyable evening. We were all very grateful to Yuuri's parents for meeting with us and we exchanged some gifts. Then we took the photos.

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From Engaged

Yuuri's family

From Engaged

This is my favourite because you can see Yuuri's father put his arm round me which is not usual in a culture that don't touch. Yuuri's father is said to be very strict but to me he has been very welcoming and cooperative, for what must be very difficult for him.

From Engaged

Yuuri and my family

From Engaged

The whole family

From Engaged

Yuuri and me.

I'll leave the rest of what happened to my next post.