The whole world right now is full of uncertainty due to COVID-19 a.k.a. the coronavirus. We have been prepared and dealing with inconveniences of the virus for roughly two months, but many people are just starting to feel its impact. We missed traveling to Vietnam and Hong Kong due to the virus and our Japan itinerary was significantly altered as well. Schools across Japan closed as well as many places where people gather.

A few days after we went, Universal Studios closed as well as almost every other kid-friendly place including the aquarium, zoo, Tokyo Disney, movie theaters, and the science museum. We even tried to book an okonomiyaki cooking class that they canceled out of fear. Many of our activities had to switch to outdoor areas with lots of space like parks, shopping, or food.

Our family loves baseball, and one of the things we wanted to do the most was to see a game in Japan. We had planned on going to two spring training games to see both of Osaka’s teams play. Unfortunately, the Japanese baseball league decided to ban fans from all preseason games. This meant there would be no baseball for us this time around. Tom was heartbroken because seeing a game in Japan was extremely high on his bucket list.

So far we have been lucky, cautious, and healthy. We have taken measures to try and keep ourselves safe. Many people are wondering about the future of international travel, and we hope that it remains an option for many years into the future. We hope that everyone stays safe and healthy during this trying time.

Swimming

Japan is a city full of traditions, customs, and rules. Sometimes it can be hard to understand them and to make sure you are not being disrespectful.

One example was when we took our kids swimming at an indoor public pool.  We have done this in many other countries. This time, however, we were told on numerous occasions that we were doing something wrong. We couldn’t pay at the counter but had to buy separate tickets from a vending machine, including tickets to rent swim caps. Chelsea had planned on not swimming but wanted to sit by the pool and watch. The staff would only let her sit in an upstairs viewing room. We decided she should come swim and they admonished her for wearing her sandals into the pool area, wearing her waterproof Fitbit, and finally for trying to swim with Mason in the lap pool.

We don’t have any photos of the pool since you can’t bring phones in either. These were small things but the one that really bothered us happened in the locker room. Tom didn’t realize you couldn’t wear shoes in the locker room and had put them in his locker before going swimming. Afterward while helping get the kids dressed, someone smeared what looked something like black shoe polish all over the front of one of his shoes. He didn’t notice until he went to put them on and got it all over his hands and socks. A guy then told him next time to leave his shoes outside. Needless to say, it upset and embarrassed Tom.

A few of the things we love about Japan are how orderly things are and how they look after people with disabilities. Blindness for example. On the sidewalk there are textures so someone can follow a path and know when there is an intersection ahead, there is braille on all the handrails, and at a train station, there is a beeping noise that would lead someone to the exit.

Origami, the art of paper folding, was another one of our favorite things. On several occasions, strangers stopped us to give our kids an origami Crane. We even learned to make a few different things ourselves.

Sewer Drain Covers

One of the things we loved about Japan were their sewer drain covers. It turns out that most cities in Japan have specially designed covers that represent their cities. Here are a few of our favorites.

Universal Studios

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios had a special winter nighttime light show at the castle that was ending in a few days. Reading about it, it sounded like we’d be remiss if we didn’t bring the kids.

To get to Universal Studios we had to take three different trains. We had decided to go early in the afternoon to allow the boys to make it till the evening light show at the Harry Potter castle. It was a cold and windy day but we made the most of it. The boys loved going on the Spiderman ride, Minions ride and the Harry Potter rollercoaster. The highlight was definitely spending time in the Harry Potter area. How can you pass up a chance to try Butterbeer? It was delicious, and we even found a recipe to try when we get home. We had a great dinner in the dining hall and then checked out wands at Ollivanders.

The actual winter light show projected on Hogwarts lasted about 5 minutes but it was really cool to see. Mason loved the bouncing snowmen, and Cooper loved the music. We stopped to see Hogwarts Express before heading out. On our way out, the roads were blocked off due to the most amazing parade with floats from the Minions, Transformers and Jurassic Park amongst others.

We stopped in really quickly at the bar Mr. Kanso on our walk back home from the train. We had told them we would bring the kids by to meet them. We just said a quick hello and they said we should bring them back tomorrow. The next night we took the boys back to the bar. Our server brought over some Origami and taught them how to make a person. We have loved getting to know the people at Mr. Kanso a little.

Japanese Tea Ceremony

On the train to the Bamboo Forest, we met Masuko. She started talking to Chelsea and Mason. We told her about our travels, and she invited us to be her guests at a Japanese tea ceremony that she was on her way to. Without hesitation, we said, “yes,” and got off the train with her. We strolled near the Shinsen-en Garden, where the boys fed bread to the fish like the locals. Masuko shared about her Buddhist religion, her job as a government teacher, and the Japanese architecture.

We continued on to the home of the Tea Master. We entered the house, removed our shoes, sanitized our hands, and after some brief introductions, found our way to the tea room. The house was traditional with tatami mat rooms and shoji doors (lattice wooden frames with thick paper that slide open).

As we knelt 16 lines back on the mat (none of us lasted the whole time in the traditional position), we bowed to the guests and host. Then they taught us all about the scroll hanging on the wall. The kanji told of a warm wind that changed the leaves of the tree. Next, was the sweets. Because it was almost the day of Hinamatsuri, also called Doll’s Day or Girls’ Day, we got to see the dolls and get a special treat Hishi mochi, a rhombus shape sweet formed from three layers of red (pink), white, and green, from top to bottom.

We saw the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha (抹茶), powdered green tea. They hung the kettle on a chain from the ceiling over a small charcoal pit. Upon receiving our tea we were to bow and turn our cup twice, clockwise. The tea was more bitter than we were used to, but most of us drank it all up, even saving a customary loud slurp for the final sip.

Then when it was over Masuko gave a teary speech about how she admired us and for not giving in to the Coronavirus hysteria. She said we were brave and were to be honored and welcomed in their city. Although we only spent a few hours with Masuko and her friends, they created a very special day that we will never forget. The people of Japan have been some of the nicest we have met anywhere in the world.

Bamboo Forest

After our little detour, we made it to the entrance of the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. We grabbed a few different street foods before making our way through the forest. It was an incredibly beautiful area, and pretty spectacular to be surrounded by green bamboo trees as far as we could see. Some of the old Japanese houses in the area epitomized what you would think they should look like. With the tiled roofs, wood siding and thin sliding doors.

On the train, Masuko told us about a super cool train museum a few stops from the bamboo forest. With the train museum only going to be open for two more hours, we decided to go and make the most of it. Upon arrival, we read a sign outside the building that said due to the coronavirus they closed for the next two weeks. It was a bummer because from the outside it looked really neat. Both kids love trains. The public rail system is a thing of beauty here. We will have to return to Japan someday to do the thing that we’ve missed.

Birthday Celebration

With Cooper’s 9th birthday, it marked our family’s fourth and final birthday along the road. Both Chelsea and Mason had birthdays in Peru, Tom’s was in New Zealand, and now Cooper’s in Japan. The night before Cooper picked out a new toy train at the Shin-Osaka train station for his present. We also ordered him a strawberry cake at the local bakery down the street and got some balloons at the store. For the big day, Cooper chose to play at the park, walk to the bakery to pick up his cake which he was so excited for and eat Ramen at Tiger and Dragon. It was a beautiful sunny day, a great way to spend a birthday with such an awesome kiddo.

Kuromon Market

What do you do when most everything is closed? Well, we chose to safely support some local businesses by visiting the market. Covered pedestrian alleyways house small food or souvenir shops. Although we decided on some familiar things like dried fruit, strawberries, noodles and the now-familiar pork wrapped rice balls on a stick, we also tried some unusual dishes. Tom bravely tried pufferfish, which if prepared incorrectly can be poisonous. Chelsea refused and wouldn’t let the boys try it either saying that she couldn’t trust the chefs, but that Tom was an adult so he could make his own choice. Luckily Tom survived!

Kushikatsu Daruma

We had an awesome Kushikatsu dinner at Kushikatsu Daruma in the Shin-Osaka train station. Kushikatsu is meat, seafood, vegetables, cheese and anything else you can think of battered in panko-breadcrumbs and then fried. It is served on a bamboo skewer with a side of tonkatsu sauce to dip them in. There is no double-dipping! You could only order 8 items on the menu at a time and you paid per skewer. We tried several kinds like shrimp, pork cutlet, steak filet, chicken meatballs, and garlic chicken skewers. We also tried fried cheese, and mushrooms as well as sides of kimchee and edamame. A model bullet train delivered our food each time which the boys went crazy for. It turned out to be one of the favorite meals in Japan. We wish there was one in Minnesota, but probably best that we don’t.

Nara, Japan

Nara is famous for a few reasons. It was the capital of Japan and where the emperor lived from 710-781 CE. There are many famous Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, museums, and gardens. But what Nara is most famous for is its deer that roam freely around the city. They can be found mostly near Nara Park. They are not afraid of humans and are often searching to be fed biscuits that you can buy for 200 yen (about 2 US Dollars).

We were not sure exactly what to expect, but we have been lucky to encounter lots of wildlife on our trip this far, so we took the hour and a half journey. After two trains and a bus, we started seeing the deer. They were everywhere! In the park, in the streets, and crossing at the pedestrian crossing signals with the people. We ate a quick lunch and fed some salad to the deer. Then we walked around the park.

We paid to enter the Todai-Ji Buddhist temple.  The reconstructed wooden building was originally built in the 700s and holds the largest bronze Buddha in Japan. The boys favorite part was a small square hole in the base of one of the temple’s great wooden pillars. People call this magic hole “Buddha’s nostril,” because it is said to be the same size as that of the Buddha. Many say it will grant enlightenment in the next life to anyone who can fit through it. I guess the kids will have a nice next life.

We ended our outing with some Sakura (cherry blossom) ice cream and some shopping in the small gift shops.

Dotombori

Dotombori is a very popular Times Square like area in Osaka, Japan. There are giant electronic signs that line both sides of the Dotombori canal. The area is filled with all kinds of restaurants, street food vendors, tourist shops and night clubs. It’s definitely a place that is worth checking out if you have time, although it was extremely busy. We decided to take a quick 20-minute canal boat cruise. It was fun to see all of the bridges and to check out the area.

After the boat ride, we grabbed a quick snack at a place called Pink Kawaii. Kawaii in Japanese refers to being cute or adorable. It has become a huge part of pop culture in Japan. Pink Kawaii was over the top cute with pop music blasting when we walked in. The servers were all dressed in outrageous outfits with fun hairdos. We got an order of french fries that came with a rainbow of different sauces from red ketchup to a purple plum sauce. They were all very good. We even had one of our photos printed on a sugar cookie. The boys thought it was funny to bite their own heads off.

Feeling way more adorable we walked around for a while in search of more food. We settled on Ichiran Ramen for dinner. When you walk in there is a machine with the menu on it. You choose the food you want, pay and then get tickets. From there, the host ushered us into a little room that looked like several voting booths. We each got our own booth that had a sliding door in it. They pulled up our doors to take our tickets and then brought our food shortly after before closing the doors again. The Ramen was amazing and made us all very happy. It was a very fun night!

Running out of things to do with all the closures, we set out in search of the illusive Kitkat store to check out some of the 200+ varieties that Japan has to offer. We had read reviews that it was a very hard place to find and that held true. We were about to give up when we finally happened upon the hotel it was supposed a floor beneath. To our dismay, even the Kitkat store had succumbed to Coronavirus hysteria and had shuttered its doors. We did find a store called Don Quixote that had quite a selection. There we ended up buying a few different kinds of KitKat bars and several kinds of Pocky, so it all worked out.

We also returned to the Osaka Castle area where we had gone earlier in the month with the Grandmas to see the beautiful plum blossoms and to tour the castle. Of course, the castle was now closed and only a few blossoms remained, but we still had a fun time taking the shuttle train and walking around. There were hardly any people around as opposed to the first time we went when it. We walked right into a Ramen shop that you would normally have to wait in a line out the door. We also tried some sweet Japanese crepes that we had heard so much about. They are similar to French crepes except for workers stuff the toppings inside and roll them up. Then you eat them out of a paper cone.

We spent our last few days, hanging out around our neighborhood. We played at the park across the street, baseball in the field behind us, and walked down by the river. On our last night, we had ramen one more time at Tiger and Dragon. Chelsea gave the two women that run the place one of our cards and typed a translated message thanking them for their wonderful food. They in return gave our kids more candy than they got for Halloween! And they are now following us on Instagram.

We then stopped by Mr. Kanso to say goodbye. It was sad to think we were leaving the next day and would not be back. The waitress made some more Origami for the kids.

Japanese souffle pancakes

Think of combining a pancake with a souffle. That is the Japanese pancake. We traveled to a popular place called Happy Pancake to experience this delicious creation. These shops are often filled with people and lines out the door, but we had no issue getting in. The English menu helped us decide on the original, banana/chocolate, and fresh fruit. These pancakes are out of this world! 

Tokyo, Japan

Across the land of the rising sun, we sped on route to Tokyo via the bullet train. It only took us 2.5 hours from Osaka to complete the trip. We had hoped to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji out the window of the train, but it ended up too rainy and cloudy. We had shipped our two large bags and Chelsea’s backpack full of school books to Tokyo the previous day thanks to “Ta-q-bin”. We hesitantly dropped our bags at the local 7-Eleven and filled out some paperwork. The convenience store clerk spoke very little English, so we put our odds of seeing our bags again at around 50%.

After arriving at Tokyo station, we took another train 12 stops to our final destination near The Uneo area. Walking into the lobby of our hotel, our bags were sitting there waiting for us. What a relief! Our hoetlnin Tokyo was tiny, super tiny. Many people are preparing for the 2020 Olympic Games that are planned for July, but realistically it is looking more and more like they may be postponed or canceled because of the worldwide pandemic.

We arrived to rain which turned into a cold-wet snow, our only snowy day in almost a year. Mason wanted us to buy a shovel, but we convinced him that there would not be enough on the ground to play with a snow shovel. Instead, we just stood outside with our mouths open wide and tried to catch wet snowflakes.

Tokyo Tower

One of the only attractions that was open in Tokyo while we were there was the Tokyo Tower. Built in 1958 as a post-war symbol of recovery, this red and white tower resembles the Eiffel Tower and stands just 13 meters taller. We decided to go to the top and the observation deck in the middle. In order to do so, we had our temperature taken. Then we were given a headset which narrated information in English. From the top deck of the Tokyo Tower, we had an awesome view of the city where we could see The Rainbow Bridge, the outline of cloud-covered Mount Fuji, and The Skytree. The boys loved the glass floor panel that their mother didn’t like walking over. It was a fun way to spend the morning.

Imperial Palace

We took a train a few stops to the Imperial Palace, the primary residence of the Emperor of Japan. The size of the property is immense. We walked around for quite a while but only saw a tiny section of the grounds.

Uneo Park

Uneo Park was located near our hotel. We chose that location because we knew that we could easily get on a sky express train to Narita Airport. The Uneo area was busy, but the park offered some nice space. Shinobazu Pond was filled with paddleboats and rowboats. On this particular Sunday afternoon, there were plenty of people out enjoying the mild weather. Many people waved as we sat and watched. We walked around and got some food from the local vendors and took some photos of the few blooming cherry trees around the park.

Sumida Park

On our last day in Tokyo and Japan for that matter, we took a train to Sumida Park to get a good view of the Tokyo Skytree since we could not go up it. The Skytree was very impressive and is the second tallest structure in the world. Our plan was to go up Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, later that week. Instead, we had a nice walk around the park and were blessed with a few more blossoming Cherry Trees. On the other side of the river but still, in Sumida Park, we found a playground and Ninja Warrior style course that Mason had a blast trying out. It was a nice end to a wonderful month in Japan.

Sayonara Japan

Our departure from Japan was a rather surreal event, the train to the airport was virtually empty. There were about 12 Delta staff members just waiting for us to come to their kiosk to check-in. There were no lines to drop our bags, no lines through security either. The boarding area was quiet. A couple of gift shops remained open, but the only restaurant serving food was the McDonalds. Near the gate, everyone tried to sit at least 6 feet apart from each other.

The flight was not busy. We were able to spread out a little. Mason had two seats to sleep and Cooper had two seats plus his legs on Chelsea’s lap. Delta fed us well and the boys got about 4 or 5 hours of sleep. After seeing images of jam-packed immigration and customs lines at the international terminal in Chicago, we were nervous to see what awaited us in Honolulu, Hawaii. Luckily, it was a breeze to get through.

Aloha Hawaii

We spent our first night in Hawaii in a Marriot Hotel and then moved to our long-term condo the next day. It is beautiful, overlooking the harbor. This place was chosen because we thought that we might have visitors including our moms, Tom’s sister, brother-in-law, and Chelsea’s sister. Now that isn’t possible.

Moving Foward

We still are debating about what is best to do next, and when we should try to travel again. Right now, there are so many unknowns in the world. We feel like we are in a safe place right now, in the U.S., where getting our prescription medication and health care (if needed) is easier. We are closer to family and friends, but not too close as to spread anything if we get ill. Our time here is unknown. We don’t know when it will be safer to fly, what will happen to the stock market, or if domestic air travel will be shut down. With the cancelation of our plans in Europe, we will use some of our saved funds here.

In many ways, we will be moving to in many ways a less interesting time for our blogging. Our day-to-day work will be confined to our small condo. We will not have exciting adventures and new sites to explore. It will be much the same. There is also so much going on around the world so quickly with regards to Covid-19. Here is a quote from Paulo Cohelo’s book that resonated with us.

“Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.”― Paulo Coelho

This just feels like a time of nothing happening and everything happening at once. Somehow “nothing” and “everything” are happening at the same time and it truly does test our will as a human race. As we hunker down in place, we also want to extend a huge, heartfelt thank you to all of the health care workers, shop owners, pharmacy staff, and others that are working so hard every day. We are thinking about you and love you. You are our heroes.

This too shall pass.