We were all exhausted from our Tokyo trip, so Mom let us sleep in (YES!). Our friend, Miho, picked Mom up at our apartment, and they went on a girls trip to Costco. Mom was on a search for souvenirs for our friends.They were gone for a loooooooooong time. I loved this party platter picture that Mom sent.
(Note: This is a panoramic picture, so the shelf is not actually wavy, it just shows up that way when multiple images were stitched together)
Many stores in Japan have a second floor, either for more shopping, or for a car garage.
“But how do I get my shopping cart up to my car?” You may ask. “Do they have super large elevators?”
They have escalators. Special escalators. These escalators are ridged, and the wheels on the carts are too. I am not sure how it works exactly, maybe one of you can enlighten me, but the ridges catch on each other some how, and up you go!
While they were out, us kids cleaned the house, because, you know, we are amazing. Almost as soon as Mom got home, Hiromi, our other dear friend, picked us up. She works at a HUGE store, and she wanted to show it to us. They had everything, including a pet store! Unfortunately we weren’t supposed to take pictures in the store (a rule in many stores in Japan). The pet store was the best part. They had African grey parrots, hedgehogs (so cute!), and a barn owl! Apparently it isn’t the least bit illegal to have a barn owl as a pet, and Hiromi was shocked when we told her that it was illegal (without a license) to have a barn owl as a pet in the United States. We tried saying things (hello, etc.) to the parrots, but they just ignored us, until one said,
“Ohayo gozaimasu!”
Ha! Of course they weren’t responding to us. They didn’t understand English, these were Japanese speaking birds!
Since this was most likely the last time we would see Hiromi, this trip, we decided to invite her out to dinner. We wanted to go to Kyu Fun, the restaurant under our apartment, one last time. When we got there, however, they said that a big party had reserved that night, and there wasn’t enough room for our party of six. Fortunately, we had Hiromi, and she told us that the restaurant offered take out. Yay! We ordered, and they even gave us room service! The server told us to wait in our apartment, and he would bring up our food. It was great! To clarify, he didn’t bring up the food in Styrofoam containers. Oh no, he brought them up on real dishes, displayed beautifully, and spaced out course by course. When we were done eating, he told us to leave the dishes outside the apartment door, and he would pick them up. If any of you ever come to Japan, you should definitely try out Kyu Fun.
Hiromi and my parents talked for a long time, particularly about missions. Hiromi loved to hear about our past mission trips. Both Hiromi and my parents were able to encourage each other. She told us that she would always be praying for us, and we told her we would be praying for her and her family.
Hannah
Yes we were gone for a looooong time and we were mostly just chatting hehe ;p
Mom was telling us some of things that you guys were talking about, regarding differences between the United States and Japan. So interesting! 😀