This trip actually went really quickly, in fact, it went right by me. When I arrived in Jakarta, I felt that things are just crawling by. Had a great time(surprisingly...) with my parents, playing golf, going out to eat and just spend some time at the hotel(YES, they live in a hotel!).
Well, when my mother and I got to Japan... Well, that's when the trip went to warp speed.
So, I was looking forward to this trip to Japan, visit my relatives and also to reconnect with some of my classmates from Guam that I have not seen for over a decade. Oh and to meet up with two of my friends from San Francisco who are in Tokyo to do some opera stuff. But the biggest part that I was worried about was that I am to share a room with my mother...
But, actually as soon as we arrived, we had so many things to do. We barely had the time to breathe. The funny part was that we didn't do anything out of ordinary. All we did was to have lunch or dinner meeting up with my mother's friends, or I go out to meet up with my friends, we had our family business to deal with for a day so we spent the whole day with our relatives. Yet the eight days just blew right by us. My mother and I looked at each other the day we left for a hotel closer to the airport saying, "that was entirely too busy for eight days in Japan, we should have stayed longer..."
Which was true.
I have never had a lot of fun spending time in Japan. I never felt like I belong there. Not much has changed, I still feel a bit odd being in Japan. As if I am seeing it through the eyes of an outsider. I am technically a foreigner. Have not lived in Japan for almost 18 years. Yet, for this trip, I got to hang out and go have fun with people my age, my classmates from the past.
By the way, I did meet up with my friends from the past and we had a great time. It's funny, there were four classmates of mine that showed up to have dinner together. All of them, I have neither seen nor heard from in the last 15 years!!! Yet, we all sit together catching up on what has been happening with each one of us. All of them have very nice jobs in Japan getting great pay(well, it's pretty easy to say that they get A LOT MORE than I do-Yes, that's what I get for being a singer). Two of them got married and one of them have a child, this would be one of the married one... In fact, the one with a kid happens to be a buddy of mine back in a day in Guam. As we remember our time in Guam, we realized that we were pretty close. He told me that I actually shed some tears when he and the family were moving back to Japan. Now, he is proudly married with a son. I even got to meet them and hang out for a day. Here is the picture of my buddy Yudai and his son, Taiga(who is obviously not happy... He was sleeping in my arms earlier)
It was too bad that I couldn't be there much longer to hang out with my new-found old friends. But with a promise of returning to Japan to have another reunion, I bid them a fond farewell.
Other than that, I actually sang for a dinner show. There is this A Cappella group consists of five Japanese gentlemen singing "Enka" which is a Japanese oldies style music. My parents grew up with it. It's kind of like country music in US, not the style of music, by comparison. Anyhow, this group came to a dinner show that I did a year ago. Now they have a regular spot at the hotel we are staying every month and to celebrate/thank them, my mother decided that I should sing couple arias. So I called up my pianist and she obliged to my last minute request with no pay but only with free dinner.
The evening went very well. I am actually a fan of a Cappella music, for I am experienced with an a cappella group thanks to my high school life in Kent, CT. This group was excellent! In fact two of my friends from San Fransisco came to the show to see me were so impressed with what they did. They were also stunned because they have never heard of this music so it was new to begin with.
The customers were surprised that they not only heard the "Enka" music but some opera as well that evening. All in all, it was an interesting but fun filled evening. I wish this group good luck in their future.
That pretty much sums up my stay in Japan. Lots of eating, some shopping, more eating, visiting friends, but the real reason I went was to visit my grand mother's grave for her one year death anniversary. This was nice. I got to give my prayers, pay my respect and my good bye to my grand mother.
With that said, my long-winded blog comes to a close. Until next time.
