Cliff and I planned to fly to New York City to attend my grandson, Noakai Aronesty’s graduation from Stuyvesant High School. It was scheduled for Wednesday, June 22, 2022 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, Queens. Cliff found a flight for us on Sunday June 19, which happened to be on Father’s Day. We got up very early to catch a morning flight to San Francisco, connecting to Newark, NJ. We arrived in New York on Monday morning. My daughter Yvette with husband Erik and 2 kids live in Battery Park City, across the West highway from the 9-11 Memorial and next to the Hudson River. They have a lovely view of New Jersey across the Hudson.
The first day, I was exhausted with jet lag and while Cliff went for a walk around the neighborhood, Yvette and I got a spa treatment near home and I took a nap after that. Noakai was at camp so we stayed in his bedroom. That evening, we took a leisurely walk along the Hudson south to the Wall Street area where we met Erik for wonderful taco and margarita dinner at Tacombi. On our walk back home, we enjoyed the sunset on the Hudson river.
The second day, Yvette, Cliff and I took a bus to Chinatown, where we walked around & bought some fresh fruit from the street vendors. We went for foot massage and Yvette and I got body massages. Yvette went home while Cliff and I had a dim sum lunch. When we got home, Noakai had returned from camp for his graduation the next day. Cliff took photos of Noakai and friends in front of his Stuyvesant building. Everyone left, and Cliff and I stopped for dinner at Seamore on the walk home. We moved over to a hotel for 2 nights while Noakai is home for his graduation.
On graduation day, we took a cab back to their house and Yvette had delicious smoked salmon breakfast all prepared. We packed up all the leis, some snacks and drinks and hired a car to take us to Queens for the Commencement. When we got there, my shoes broke apart, we threw them in the trash and I walked barefoot to the stadium. We met up with Erik’s Philadelphia family. We all went into the stadium and found our seats next to the family of Tomas, Noakai’s best friend. Tomas’s mom, Michelle, had a spare pair of shoes to lend me. Wah-la! what a miracle! The speeches and the recognizing of each of the 800 graduates took 4 hours long. We met at the fountain out front and Cliff took photos of everyone. I had leis for Noakai, Tomas, Michelle, Yvette and Marlowe. It was a festive and happy time together. Then we hired a car to take us to family dinner at House of Joy in Chinatown. Our group of 15 people had so much fun and ate a lot of delicious Chinese food. I gave massages all around. We took a cab back to our hotel.
The next morning the family met for breakfast at Hudson Eats, a food court next to their apartment. But Cliff and I overslept and missed saying goodbye to Noakai, who went back to camp in NH where he is a camp counselor. We walked to Hudson Yards and went up 100 stories to The Edge, where they built a triangular viewing spot over the city. You have a bird’s eye view of Manhattan from Central Park down to Battery Park and views of the East River and the Hudson River. Then we went down to experience The Vessel. We checked out of our hotel and returned to Yvette’s apartment where we stayed in Noakai’s room. That evening we took 8yo on an East Village crawl. First to Veselka, a Ukrainian restaurant famous for pierogis. Then to Cafe Mogador, for middle eastern fare. She entertained us with games and she gave her thumbs up for each dinner item we tried. She was our official food critic! We had a lovely time with her. We didn’t have time for a 3rd place… we took her home because she had school the next day.
The next morning we got up in the wee hours to take the PATH back to Newark for our early morning flight to SFO. We connected to our flight home. We had a short but wonderful trip to enjoy family time in NYC.
My nephew Kazu Hernandez reserved Kilauea Military Camp for 7 of us: Claudine & Chloe, Cliff & I and Kazu’s 2 younger daughters, Ailah & Aulia for Veteran’s Day weekend.
We left on the morning flight to Hilo and headed directly to Ken’s Pancake House for breakfast. We did some shopping in Hilo at 2 Ladies Kitchen for mochi and Sig Zane for some designer clothing. We shopped for our provisions at KTA and met cousin Elvis Kimura, who works there. We drove to Pahoa town and I was amazed at all the changes there. We drove to Volcano National Park and checked in at KMC. We found out that our 4-bedroom cottage had no kitchen, so we couldn’t cook spaghetti, ramen and other planned meals. We ate dinner at the bowling alley.
That evening we drove a short way to a parking lot at Devastation Trail and walked a mile on a paved road and a short way on a dirt path to the lookout area. We had an amazing view of the eruption from the lookout point. The moon and stars were shining and the red/orange lava was spewing. We got there around 9:30 pm and there were several people at the lookout, but we had no trouble getting a good view and taking photos there. Cliff was especially enjoying photographing his first in-person view of an eruption.
The next day was Friday and we decided to drive around the south point of the island to Kona. Our first stop was at Punaluu beach where we saw one sea turtle in the shallows. We stopped at the famous Punaluu Bakery and bought all kinds of goodies there to snack on. Onward to Captain Cook, Kona where we had lunch at the Manago Hotel, famous for their pork chops. Right next door we shopped at Kona Chips. We visited my cousins Brian and Winifred Kimura at H Kimura fabric shop in Kainaliu. Also visited cousin Rene at the Y Kimura lauhala shop in Holualoa. I have tons of Kimura cousins in Kona, which is where my Dad was born and raised. We drove to Hapuna beach to enjoy the Kona sunset, and we weren’t disappointed! We drove to Kamuela for dinner and found delicious Chinese food at Jade Palace. We drove back to KMC via the Saddle Road or Daniel K Inouye highway. That night we all went to sleep except for Cliff, who went by himself at midnight for another photo shoot of the eruption.
Saturday was a rainy day, so everyone stayed in to rest while Cliff and I drove to Hilo to purchase mochi from 2 Ladies Kitchen (Closed on Sundays) to take home on Sunday. I stood in a long line and waited a total of an hour before I got my orders of mochi. While we were gone, Kazu found a grill to make burgers for lunch. That evening, he made steaks on the grill. After dinner, we played games like charades and jun ken po.
Sunday we packed up, checked out and filled gas. Then we drove to Kalapana to visit my friends David Jones and Robert LaMont who have a lovely vacation home there. We drove to Hilo, shopped at Big Island Candies and returned our rental car and flew back to Honolulu. We had a most enjoyable and fun time together on the Big Island!
Cliff wanted to see an exhibit by Yayoi Kusama in NY Botanical Garden. It was on for several months and ended in October. But circumstances with his rental units, prevented him from traveling in September and October. He encouraged me to go by myself, so I could visit my daughter in NYC. I decided to visit Marcus Dowty and Linda Burgher in Kansas City on my way home from New York. It was my first time traveling alone on standby. Cliff chose flights for me that had ample open seats, so I didn’t have any problems getting on the flights. My first flight was a 10-hr non-stop to Newark. Luckily, I had a whole row to myself near the back of the plane, so I could sleep. On Friday evening, Erik and Yvette left for a romantic weekend getaway in the Catskills. I took the 2 kids on an East Village Crawl. We ate small bites at 4 different restaurants, including Moroccan & Japanese. On Saturday, I taught them how to sew by hand with a needle and thread. They sewed their journals to bind them and wrote in their journals. After lunch Noakai had to leave for a track meet and Marlowe and I had the whole afternoon to ourselves. She showed me how to make bracelets with colorful rubber bands. We got dressed and took a Lyft car to the theater to see Lion King. That evening after Noakai returned from his track meet, we ordered take-out for dinner and watched Avatar for movie night. The family Sunday morning routine is to take the PATH train to NJ across the Hudson River and have a wonderful Indian brunch at Sapthagiri. That afternoon, Noakai had to study and I took Marlowe to a Halloween party sponsored by their building. Later, Erik and Yvette came home & we had pizza rolls for dinner. Monday, Erik went to work & both kids went to school. Yvette and I had time to pamper ourselves by going to Chinatown for massages followed by lunch. My last day in NY, Yvette & I met her friends Anisha & Tara for tea next door at the Winter Garden. Wednesday morning I took the PATH to Newark and a Lyft to the airport to catch my flight to Kansas City to visit my friends, Marcus & Linda. It was rainy in Kansas City. The next day, they took me to the Johnson County Museum. That evening Linda and I had dinner with my other KC friends, Anna & Lynn. Friday was still rainy, so we went to 2 art museums. I loved both the Kemper & the Nelson Atkins museums. I learned the history of the N-A: Mary Atkins donated money to build an art museum and William Nelson donated money to purchase art from all over the world. The result is that N-A Museum has one of the most extensive Asian art in the country. That evening, after we enjoyed famous KC BBQ dinner at home, Marcus & Linda took me to the lovely KC Concert Hall for an amazing Symphony Concert featuring a gifted young violinist. The sun finally came out on my last day there and we drove to some lovely parks in the neighborhood: Parkville, Kaw Point & Wyandotte Co Lake. We hunted fall colors & found a few trees here and there, but they said in a week, everything will be in full color, so I missed the full glory of fall colors by a week. I am so fortunate to travel on standby thanks to Cliff’s generosity.
Cliff and I went on our first trip together on standby. He worked for United Airlines for 43 years starting part-time during college and retired in 2015. His last job was in Operations. Before we fly, he checks which flights have many open seats for us to have a better chance of getting on. All his adult life, he has flown standby and before covid, he traveled about 17 times a year, sometimes going to Japan twice a month. This was my first time flying standby, so I learned not to expect anything but to make it on the flights we chose.
Due to the pandemic, my daughter Yvette and her family, who live in NYC, had not traveled for almost 2 years. They decided to visit her hubby Erik’s parents in Manhattan Beach in LA for a few weeks in August. I asked Cliff if we could visit her while they were in LA. He agreed and we made plans to go. We rented a car from Turo and found a motel in Manhattan Beach. We also made plans to fly from LA to Denver to visit my sister Christine in Boulder.
We took a red-eye flight to LA and our friend, Elbert picked us up with his fancy Tesla and took us to breakfast in El Segundo. He dropped us off at the Aronesty’s home in Manhattan Beach and we got to see Yvette, Erik, Noakai & Marlowe along with Joe & Diane Aronesty, Erik’s parents. That night our whole gang went to FishBar for dinner.
The next day, Cliff drove me around LA to show me his old stomping grounds of when he lived in LA from the mid-seventies to mid-eighties. We drove to his friend Beverly McAllister’s home for Mexican lunch in her back yard. She is a wonderful gardener and a baker of cookies. She sent some cookies home with us. We had pizza & kale salad for take-out dinner at the Aronesty’s. The next day we all went to breakfast at Two Guns, where we sat outside to eat. We took the kids to Seaside Lagoon at Redondo Beach where they swam. We walked to the Manhattan Beach pier and checked out the small aquarium at the end of the pier. For dinner, Cliff and I took Noakai to Sushi Bei, which was Cliff’s hangout when he lived in LA.
Erik took us to the airport & we flew to Denver and took a bus from DIA to Boulder and Chris picked us up at the bus terminal. Chris cooked dinner for us and Desmonne, Brian & Coen joined us.
Chris drove us to Westminster Denver to take Shirley Stokoe for lunch at Cava where we enjoyed Mediterranean bowls. Back in Boulder, we shopped at Trader Joe’s. We met Tom & Tyke Wortman, who drove in from Ft Collins for dinner at Chez Thuy. After dinner, Chris drove us up to Flagstaff for the view of Boulder from the mountain.
The next day, Chris drove us to Red Rock. We hung out at the amphitheater and had lunch at Golden Diner. Back at home, we walked down to Boulder Creek from their house and watched all the picnickers and swimmers floating downriver. That evening, Chris cooked a delicious dinner and Desmonne, Brian & Coen joined us before we left the next morning.
On our non-stop flight back home to Honolulu, we were lucky to be upgraded to Polaris first class seats! Yay! It was a wonderful trip and I was glad that Cliff got to meet my mainland families and they all got to meet him.
Hopefully we are slowly coming out of pandemic mode, so we can return to traveling, sporting events, concerts and partying with family & friends.
My daughter’s family: Yvette, Erik, Noakai & Marlowe returned home to Battery Park City in early September after spending almost 2 years in Margate City, NJ during the pandemic. Marlowe is in second grade at Battery Park City public school and Noakai is a senior at Stuyvesant High School nearby.
My son’s family: Ryan is an instructor at Shipfitter Shop 11, Pearl Harbor Shipyard. Kara teaches kindergarten at Holomua in Ewa Beach. Jensen is a Junior at UH West Oahu. Madisen is a senior & varsity cheerleader at Moanalua HS. Allysen is a 6th grader at Salt Lake Elementary and is in club Cheer.
My brother Bruce Kimura and I used to go dancing before covid and now we occasionally have dinner together. He loves to sing karaoke. He is retired but still does small jobs for friends and family. He helps me around my condo whenever I need odd jobs done. We are each other’s airport shuttle. His baby is Sweetie, a lovable Yorkie.
My sister Christine lives in Boulder, CO with her hubby Phil Shull. Her daughter Desmonne lives nearby with her hubby Brian Bennett and their son Coen, who is now 5 years old and in kindergarten. They usually come to Hawaii in February, during their winter to warm up at our beaches.
My nephew Kazu Hernandez, who is a doctor at Schofield, reserved KMC (Kilauea Military Camp) for the Veteran’s Day weekend for Cliff & I, my niece Claudine with her daughter Chloe, and his two younger daughters, Ailah and Aulia. We took a day trip around the island to Punaluu, Kona, Hapuna beach and Kamuela. We also visited Pahoa, Kalapana and Hilo. During the summers we go tent camping at various beach campgrounds around Oahu with Claudine and Kazu & their kids, along with Madi &Ally. Last year, we camped at Malaekahana and this summer we camped at Bellows.
Grandma Lari’s Camps: Three times a year, I invite 7 kids to sleep in my condo for 5 days-during spring break, summer break and winter break, starting in 2020 & continuing in 2021. They love to come to play, swim, and have fun together. I taught them how to sew in March of 2020, and now they come with sewing projects of their own. Most of them already know how to cook breakfast and dinner, so they can prepare meals while they are here. They love to bake cookies, swim in my condo pool, take bus rides around town, play in Makiki District Park nearby, play board games, create skits & plays, play scavenger hunt, card games and more. We usually have a movie night with popcorn and Grandma chooses the movie. They love Uncle Cliff’s Instant Pot spaghetti, so they request it each time they come.
This year for Thanksgiving lunch, I ordered a delicious meal from LCC (Leeward Community College) culinary school. Cliff’s family came to enjoy Thanksgiving with us at his home in Kapahulu. Cliff’s son Jordan with Easton (5), daughter Dayna with her hubby Cayce and sister Liane with hubby Paul came for turkey lunch. (sorry, but I forgot to take a photo of Cliff’s family) We ate another turkey dinner at Ryan & Kara’s home in Salt Lake with Kara’s sister, Kandyce and her family.
On Fridays & Sundays I go to Tsutomu Nakao’s Dragon Beat Taiko classes at Jodo Mission. His classes are so much fun! Saturday mornings I go to the Kakaako Farmers Market on Ward and Ala Moana Blvd. Later in the morning I walk with neighbors to Sandra’s condo’s heated pool at the top of Wilder Ave, where we swim & do water exercise-sometimes we do more chatting then exercising!
Cliff Kimura and I met on Match.com in September 2020 and celebrated our One Year Anniversary this September. Yanagi Sushi was Cliff’s hangout late at night while he was working swing shift at United Airlines Operations office. He was a late night regular there for years and now we go there every Saturday night. In May his St Louis class of ’71 celebrated their 50th Class Reunion. We go to art museums, galleries, to the beach, dinners, enjoy wine (beer & sake too), watch movies & enjoy sunsets. Cliff enjoys his photography hobby and goes out often for various photo shoots throughout the year, which include Astro Photography, surfers, Raptor planes, sunsets, sports and more. When he is not taking photos, he is editing them on his computer and sharing them on Flickr and on his WordPress blog.
We traveled standby on United Airlines together for the first time in August. We went to LA for 3 days & flew to Denver for 3 days. In October, he couldn’t travel, so I went by myself on standby to New York to visit Yvette and her family for a week. On the way home, I visited Marcus and Linda in Kansas City, MO for a few days. We can’t wait to travel to Japan & hope to enjoy many future trips together.
May the holidays and the New Year bring you much peace, health & happiness.
Traveling & Making Connections
Over the past six months, I have been traveling domestically to visit friends and relatives. By staying with them or sharing a meal, I re-connect with loved ones near and far. Before I leave, I make arrangements to visit with different friends and relatives, asking if I could stay with them for a night or two. Then I rent a car and drive from house to house, just spending quality time with them. I don’t want them to go out of their way to entertain me or take me site-seeing in their area. I tell them that I just want to hang out with them in their daily life: chores, errands, soccer games or whatever they are doing, I would just go along with them.
Last October, 2018 I flew to the Bay area, because Hawaiian Airlines had a sale. I visited with Paul and Sigi in Point Richmond and went to a Halloween party with them. Then to Vacaville to stay with the Golden family, who were renovating their house. On to Lafayette to stay with Lovelle, my taiko friend and lastly to Monterrey to stay with my Pahoa HS classmate, Daniel and his wife Toki. (Sad note: I am so glad I spent time with them, because Daniel just died recently.)
Sigi and me at Halloween party
Sigi and Paul in Richmond Point party
Diane & Bronce in their unfinished kitchen in Vacaville
Chad and Cody at home
Lorin, Phil and Lovelle in Lafayette. Lorin and Lovelle are taiko friends.
Toki and Daniel in Monterrey. Daniel just died in May 2019.
In November 2018, I made a last-minute trip to LA, when I learned that Yvette and family would be in Manhattan Beach visiting Joe and Diane Aronesty for Thanksgiving. So I booked a flight and stayed with the Aronesty’s. We got to have dinner with Norway trip friends, Patti and Shunji, who live in Torrance. We also spent a day with Erik’s relatives from San Diego and New Mexico, going bowling and having fun with them. Mostly, we just went to the beach every day.
Diane, Yvette and Marlowe in Manhattan Beach
Thai dinner with Shunji and Patti and the Aronesty family
In January 2019 I flew to Long Beach airport, a new route for Hawaiian Airlines. Patti & Shunji picked me up and took me home to Torrance, where I stayed for 2 days. Then they kindly and generously loan me their car and I drove to Culver City to visit my cousin Ann and her family there! It was my first visit with Annie and her family and I had a blast getting to know her and her kids and grandkids! Then I drove to northern LA, near Glendale, where my childhood friends, Bev and Ethel Jane (AKA Ettie) live. I then drove to Fountain Valley to visit my former student, Richard & Debbi Ross and then to Nancy Bauer’s home in Fullerton. (I forgot to take a photo of the two of us.) She had just lost her husband, Jim, and we shared experiences. I ended up back in Torrance staying with Roger’s high school classmates, Reto and Nani. The next day they dropped me off at Long Beach airport.
Shunji, Patti, me, Sharon and Wenshing having dinner. We met on a tour of Norway in August 2019.
Cousin Annie and hubby Trace in Culver City
Downtown LA with Annie
Bev Nii in LA
Ettie Nii in LA
Debbi and Richard in Fountain Valley
Nancy w/Jim before he passed.
Nani & Reto in Torrance
In March, I flew to Seattle and first stayed with Phil & Jane in Renton. They are Pearl City HS classmates of Yvette. Then on to my cousin’s daughter, Elda in Bellevue. Then I drove to Federal Way to stay with 2 young doctors, Eve and Jenn, who took me to a friend’s birthday party in Bremerton, and to get a Korean massage the next day. I had lunch with Brett Hudner and his girlfriend Lauren. The next day, I met Wendy & Bridgett for lunch in downtown Seattle. Lastly, I stayed with TJ and Pam Bauer who live in a lovely home on Lake Tapps.
Phil & Jane Pearl City HS class of ’84 now live in Renton
Elda in Bellevue
Jennifer me and Eve on ferry to Bremerton
Lauren and Brett at Korean lunch
Wendy & Bridgett used to work for Symetra, now at Strategic Planning Partners in downtown Seattle
Pam and me in their living room. Zander is photo bombing behind me
TJ & me before he left on a business trip.
In April, I flew to NYC to visit with YENM (Yvette, Erik, Noakai, Marlowe). We celebrated Marlowe’s 5th birthday at a bowling alley party. I took a bus trip to Laurel, MD to visit cousin Gary & Sally. Every visit they have their kids and grandkids come for dinner. Then to Severn, MD to visit Sharmaine, David, Colin and Addison. (I forgot to take a photo of the Hornsby family!) Sharmaine is my cousin Brian Kimura’s daughter. I returned to NY and spent another weekend with YENM, going to another birthday party, this time at a Karaoke room in Korea town. Then I stayed with Shari Tamashiro in a nearby hotel. We spent 4 days eating our way around the city, going to art museums, getting massages and seeing 4 broadway shows.
Date with Marlowe to see broadway show.
Marlowe’s bowling birthday party
Matt & Audrey w/Layla, Grandma Sally, w/Quinn sleeping in front, Billy and Kat w/Lily and Grandpa Gary on far right. In Laurel, MD.
Hornsby’s new home in Severn
Sharmaine waiting for bulbs to bloom in spring
East Village crawl: we went to 3 restaurants! Noakai, Marlowe and Grandma Lari
Shari and I enjoying omakase dinner at Tori Shin.
Shari and I at Whitney Museum
We loved the flower show at Macy’s
In June, I flew to Denver to visit my sister Christine and her family in Boulder. The first night, I stayed in Fort Collins with the Wortmans. They always invite their kids to come to dinner whenever I visit and I have watched their grandkids, Marshall and Audrey, grow up through the years. Chris and I flew to Omaha for a 3-day visit with Kaitlin, Shaun, Kaia(3) and Liam(1). Kaitlin is cousin Brian’s youngest daughter, sister of Sharmaine in MD. It was my first time to Omaha, and Kaitlin with her 2 kids, took us to Old Market with cobblestone streets, to the fabulous zoo, to Lauritzen Garden, to Bob Bridge, and more. Back in Boulder, we visited Brian and Desmonne and played with Coen(2), went to the Farmer’s Market, visited Shirley Stokoe in Denver, had dinner at Riffs with Leslie-taiko friend from Denver(no photo), and I helped Chris cook Father’s Day dinner.
Tom and Tyke Wortman, Fort Collins
Audrey, Marshall, Brian and Lori-daughter of Tom and Tyke
Kaia, Kaitlin and Liam at the museum in Omaha
Chris and I on the Bob Bridge over the Missouri River on the state line.
Playing with Coen in his ball pit.
Grandma Chris with Coen
Fathers Day: Phil, Des w/Coen, me, Chris and Brian
We planned a pilgrimage to our family’s roots in Japan. My mother’s Hokada family came from Kumamoto on the southern island of Kyushu. My father’s Kimura family came from Oshima Island, Iwakuni in Yamaguchi prefecture. So Fred, Fumiko and Maya Hokada went to Kumamoto with us. Our cousin, Elvis Kimura, who lives in Hilo, went with us to Oshima Island. Kazu flew with Ailah and Aulia to Osaka and took the shinkansen to Kumamoto. Christine, Bruce and I met in Tokyo and flew to Kumamoto from Haneda.
Bruce and Chris did not like this hostel
Before flying to Kumamoto, we had dinner with Yumi, Asako and Koji. Yuba is liquid tofu and you eat the cooled “skin”.
My second cousin, Hiroshi Hokada took us to Kumamoto Castle, where we got to see some of the damage from the 2016 earthquake. They were having a festival at the castle, so we enjoyed entertainment with a picnic lunch and the kids got to play all kinds of games.
When we returned to their home in the late afternoon, we walked over to the Hokada grave site. When Chris, Bruce and I scattered our parents’ ashes it was an emotional experience to take Mom back to her ancestral roots. Cousin Fred’s wife, Fumiko comes from Nagoya, so she translated all of our conversations with our Japanese relatives throughout our visit. While we were at Osaka Castle, the ladies at home prepared a huge feast for dinner all spread out on a long table. All of us had a wonderful time getting to know each other and meeting all the relatives.
What a feast!
The next day, Hiroshi took us to Mount Aso National Park and we visited 3 active volcanic craters. Then we went to Takachiho Gorge, where we walked in the gorge and enjoyed the scenery and waterfalls there.
The next morning, we visited Suizenji Park, with miniature versions of the major sites in Japan, from Mt Fuji to Fushimi Inari Shrine. Then we drove to Nabegataki Falls, where we could walk behind the falls to the other side.
We stayed overnight at Ryokan Yamanoyu in Kurokawa Onsen village with Hiroshi and Takako, who left for home the next day. The next day, we did the “Onsen Hop”. Wepaid 1300 yen to visit 3 out of 25 onsens in Kurokawa, walking from one to the next. Then we drove to Yufuin, another onsen town. We stayed overnight, but didn’t get to see much of this town because we had a long drive to Iwakuni-Oshima Island to visit our Kimura relatives.
When we arrived at Oshima Island, Hitoshi Okabatake was waiting for us with Tony, a translator, that stayed with us the entire visit so we could communicate with our relatives. We visited the Kimura grave, and scattered our parents ashes there. The Okabatake family took us to a fine dinner at a restaurant and the next morning, we picked tangerines at their orange grove.
After they served us a delicious home-cooked lunch, we drove to Iwakuni airport and flew back to Tokyo.
Chris & I bought new eyeglasses for $60 made in 30m minutes, including eye exam.
Before Bruce left for home.
Lari’s Top Ten:
10 Buying new glasses for cheap in Tokyo from Zoff & JINS
9 Kumamoto Castle
8 Yufuin onsen village shops
7 Meeting and “chatting” with Japan relatives. In Kumamoto, we had Fumiko to translate, and in Oshima, we had a professional translator, Tony, with us the entire visit with Okabatake’s
6 Scattering Sue/Kongo’s ashes at Hokada/Kimura graves
5 Nabegataki Falls -walking behind it!
4 Being with cousins and family traveling together
3 Takachiho Gorge
2 Delicious home-cooked lunch at Okabatake’s and home-cooked dinner at Hokada’s
1 Kurokawa Onsen Hopping
Fred’s Top Ten:
10. Convincing Lari to study conversational Japanese?
9. Witnessing Christine scatter the ashes of Uncle Kongo and Aunty Sue at the Hokada grave in Kumamoto.
8. Hotel Breakfast buffet with the Kimura’s 3x
7. Spotting Mt. Aso from the propeller airplane on the way to Kumamoto and the scary landing at Kumamoto Airport.
6. The clouds and the mountains of Kumamoto reminded me of Hawaii.
5. Maya tricked me. She took a nice photo of Kumamoto Castle but it was actually a picture of a picture of the Castle. I didn’t even notice that it was taken before the earthquake!
4. Aulia correcting me saying “I’m not Ailah, I’m Aulia!”
3. The 800 year old tree at Takachiho Jinja.
2. Buying some Kumamoto rice for Mochi Tsuki.
1. Visiting the Hokada home. They were so good to us. It was just like visiting our aunties, uncles, and cousins here at home.
Fumiko’s Top Ten:
10. Okonomiyaki Place.
9.Local super market.
8. Souvenir shops
7. Propeller airplane to Kumamoto.
6. Hotel breakfast buffet.
5. Kumamoto Castle.
4. Mt. Aso.
3. Takachiho Gorge.
2. Hokada ancestors’ Graveyard.
1.Dinner @Hokada San’s House.
Maya’s Top Ten:
10. Hotel breakfast buffet.
9. Singing in the car.
8. Free hotel smart phone.
7. Propeller airplane to Kumamoto.
6. Okonomiyaki Place.
5. Kumamoto Castle.
4. Graveyard.
3. Hokada San’s House.
2. Mt. Aso.
1. Takachiho Gorge.
Christine’s Top Ten:
10 Takachiho Gorge
9 YufuIn shopping area
8 Sleeping & playing with Ailah and Aulia
7 Freddie & Fumiko, Elvis, Kazu & Bruce’s company
6 Lunch at Otabatake’s
5 Oshima (Yashiro) Island narrow streets
4 sunrise at Sunshine Sazanseto Hotel
3 Onsen Hopping
2 IchiRan (Saimin) Ramen
1 Scattering Mom and Dad’s ashes
Bruce’s Top Ten:
10 Picking Mikan at Okabatake
9. Sunrise at Sunshine Sazanseto Hotel
8. Mount Aso
7. Suizenji Esuko Park
6. Kumanoto Castle
5. Toto and other Japanese toilets
4. Kimura Grave
3. Hokada Grave
2. Lunch at Okabatake’s
1. Dinner at Hokada’s
Elvis’s Top Ten:
10 Suizenji Jojuen Garden
9 Yufuin Street shopping
8 Eating Soba in Oguni
7 Visited Kimura Grave
6 Riding Shikansen
5 Picking Mikan at Okabatake’s
4 Museum of Emmigration
3 Dinner at Ryokan Yamanoyu -Family and food (especially the horse meat)
2 Kurokawa Onsens (3 extra ones)
1 Oshima family Dinner: cousins and food (sashimi was fantastic)
Kazu’s Top Ten:
Ailah’s Top Ten:
10 Going on long train rides while playing games (w/ daddy & Aulia)
9 Eating & drinking sweets (a lot)
8 Playing w/Maya(in the car)
7 Seeing and feeding the koi fish
6 Seeing waterfalls -fav.-nabegataki
5 Going to many Onsens -fav.-okunoyu
4 Staying @neat hotels -fav.-Yamanoyu
3 Going shopping -fav-Daiso
2 Sagamihara-favorite -seeing Mia
1 Kumamoto -favorite-seeing my family
Aulia’s Top Ten:
10 eating sushi (it tastes good)
9 going to Kumamoto zoo (seeing the giraffe)
8 seeing coyfish(taking pictures of them)
7 going to see Nabegataki water fall
6 going to the Takachiho gorge (seeing the nice green water)
5 going to the Okunoyu onsen (going in a lot of pools)
My sister Christine is a new grandma, so I had to visit them in Boulder to see this golden child. Brian and Desmonne Bennett named their son Coen who was born in Dec 2016. So he wasn’t a year old when I first saw him. I took the bus from Denver Airport to Boulder, where Desmonne picked me up. It was very cheap and an easy one-hour ride. I stayed with Desmonne and Brian because Christine and Phil had not returned from their trip to Italy. First things first: I had to eat at Riff’s. The next day, I drove to Westminster to visit Shirley at home. We had a lovely visit before I drove back to Boulder. Christine’s 2 besties, Debra and Leslyn came over for dinner. We had a great time chatting. And of course, Coen was the center of attention!
Grandma Lari meets Coen for the first time!
The Bennetts at their Pearl Street front door.
Debra, Brian and Leslyn: 2 Aunties visit!
On Thursday, I drove to Fort Collins to visit Lynda at her friend’s home and we had breakfast and caught up with each other. Then I drove to Wortman’s and stayed with Tom and Tyke. Their daughter, Lori and her family all came for dinner. We had Tom’s famous meat loaf and Tyke made baked butternut squash –yummers!
Brian and Tom in back. Lori, Tyke and Lari in the middle Audrey and Marshall in front
I visited Robbie Stokoe at his bioengineering lab.
After breakfast on Friday, Tyke and I took their dog Kennadie to the Vet hospital to be checked. Then I drove over to visit Robby Stokoe at his bioengineering lab at CSU. Shirley’s grandson is a grad student there! I knew him since he was a baby! Then I drove back to Boulder.
Coen in Roger’s silk kimono
The whole gang at the Boulder Farmer’s Market on Saturday: Lari, Brian, Desmonne w/Coen, Christine and Phil.
On Saturday, Chris and Phil picked me up and we went to the Boulder Farmer’s Market. Desmonne, Brian walked over with Coen in his stroller. We relaxed in the afternoon. The next day, we had lunch at Riffs then we went shopping.
Monday morning, I caught the bus to Denver Airport to go home.
lariyasui 