うれしい

June, 10th

I met my friend Kosuke at Jiyugaoka station and we used his net pass to take a bus to his house which was about 10 minutes away by bus. We walked from the bus stop to his house with me following in a very tired state after traversing all Japan had to throw at me. I saw a woman up ahead who was waving at us and she turned out to be his mother, Natsuko. His grandmother (obaasan) , Hatsuko was also waiting outside for out arrival. After being greeted by Natsuko and Hatsuko respectively in the most welcoming manor I could ask for we went inside to set down my luggage. After getting in the door I took my shoes off and was introduced to his grandfather (ojiisan), Takahashi san. First thing he said to me was "You are welcome in my home" I very much appreciated hearing that especially from the eldest in the family. It really hit me while carrying my huge check in bag up the stairs how little space there is in Tokyo. Once I set everything down I met the 2nd to last member of the family, Sakiko, Kosuke's sister. Sakiko went to Australia when she was 16 or 17, I never found out which and learned quite a bit of english. It was comforting to know that I had a translator for my first few days. For the next few hours I sat at their table snacking a bit, talking with Sakiko and showing some of my photography. After dinner Kosuke and I went down to the convenient store to get some ice cream and Yokan! When we got back I met Kosuke's dad (Otosan), Isao san. He was just as nice as everyone else in the family except he seemed kind of tired from work that night so we didn't talk too much. Kosuke and I watched Japan play someone in a soccer match I wasn't able to figure out their opponents name. We also watched the Yomiuri Giants play the Softbank Hawks in a game of Yakyu (Baseball).

To mention a little bit more about Kosuke's family, Takahashi san was an English teacher for about 40 years. Hatsuko san teaches art in Ginza from what I understand. Natsuko san works at a bakery and delivers newspapers part time. Isao san works at a home for the elderly. Sakiko works for Olympus which is super cool, I didn't expect I would meet anyone who worked for a camera company while I was in Japan let alone my friends sister. Kosuke goes to NUBS, Nippon University of Bioresearch and something else with an S.