Kazoku (Family)

Back from Yokohama and what a nice trip it was! First let me introduce my family to you. From left to right; me, my great aunt Masako, Masako's daughter (2nd cousin) Yukari, Kiyoko's daugher (2nd cousin) Youko, tomodachi Ai, and my great aunt Kiyoko. There are more relatives here, but these are the ones that came to meet me. It was a girls day out. Click here for more photos. Overall the weekend was wonderful. I took the shinkansen (bullet train) to Yokohama. It was so quick and totally worth the money. I left after work and got there by 9:30 in the evening. I couldn't believe it. Anyway I stayed with Ai, my friend. She looks fabulous. For those of you that know her, she is still so very sweet and kind. She cut her hair short though. I love it that way, it flatters her face more. She was kind enough to host me for the weekend. She also served as a translator for me and my family. Meeting them was surreal and I'll never forget it. I was very nervous the entire week leading up to the meeting. I wanted them to like me. I know that we are family, but since I've never met them, making a good first impression meant a lot to me. We met at the Sheraton in Yokohama. As soon as I saw Masako, I began to cry and couldn't stop. She looks like my grandmother and I miss her a lot. Ai had to immediately make some small talk b/c I just couldn't say anything and stop crying. Probably a funny scene for the posh lobby of the Sheraton. Also a very interesting first impression. We then had cake and coffee. We exchanged omiyage and caught up. We then went on a breif shoe shopping excursion followed by an elaborate and traditional chinese meal. It was expensive and had multiple courses. I tried food that I've never seen or heard of. Ai kept asking me if I wanted to know what I was eating. I took that as a sign and said no, tell me later. I didn't want to not try anything and offend my family. Ended up eating jellyfish, shark fin soup, some fried small whole fish, and a weird crustacian creature that Ai wouldn't even eat. It all tasted good though. In the end, my kazoku seemed really excited to meet me and a few also shed some tears as we boarded the train to leave. I hope to see them again. Maybe I'll make another trip around Christmas time. It's nice that I was also able to visit Ai. She's a wonderful girl and I'm glad that we are friends.