What a YEAR

Today is March 28, 2023

It has officially been ONE year since we moved to Japan. And boy was it a crazy year to say the least. Here are some highlights of the time here that I found worthy of remembering.

We left Hawaii on March 27, 2022, our family said saw us off at Hilo, International Airport and we headed to Oahu! We had a 4 hours layover there and spent our time walking around, eating Starbucks and letting the dogs walk in the grass. Our flight was to leave Hawaii at 1:55PM. Boarding was fairly easy and we were able to get our own row each, due to the lack of tourism at the time. The plan was barely occupied. The flight over was great, the flight attendants helped us, talked and took really good care of Sandee and Coal. It was a flight that i’d probably never experience again since tourism has restarted.

Upon arrival it was a different story. It was at the peak of Covid-19 restrictions and protocols so there was a Red, Yellow and Green tiered system. We had done the paperwork for Green so we were SUPPOSED to pass through it all but with a turn of unlucky fortune we ended up having to process through red, as did everyone else.

After about 3 hours or even four and about 10 miles of walking we finally got to our friend, Mayukos car. Tired but ready to start our new journey.
The drive from Narita to Saitama (Tokigawa-machi) was going to take us about 4 hours. So she tuned in her favorite playlist and my brother was able to catch her up on all the details.

I’ll forever remember the moment we pulled into our driveway. The low glow of our porch light, as a welcoming sign. Opening the door for the first time, the smell of Lavender was pretty strong, the house so empty but so clean.

We quickly inventoried what we had, took the dogs to relieve themselves and headed out to dinner. It was about 9:30PM by this time and we had found a All you can eat place that Mayuko wanted to try.

Getting home from dinner we quickly realized that I had forgotten or mistakenly ordered the wrong type of blankets. Basically I ordered sheets. So we tried to head to Don Quijote but the stores around us were under renovations so their stock was incredibly limited. That night, we slept cold.

Fast forward a few months, we had been walking to and from the station in Tokigawa, which was fine but quickly realized that living in such a rural area and with the agenda we had, we would need a car. So the hunt began! That’s when we found Eggy! A 2006 Honda LIFE that is basically the size of a golf cart. We got it on the cheap but of course with some things you buy “on the cheap” it had its problems. We ended up having to get it fixed about a week later, causing us one day to walk about 5 hours away from home.

Shortly after getting our car we met a local couple that had been living in Tokigawa since 2018. They were our neighbors, farmers with two children. They were a couple, the wife originating from Tokyo and husband from India. With luck having our side they spoke English and well. We quickly became close to this couple and they started giving us fresh vegetables and amazing Indian food almost daily.

Through the meeting of these people we slowly grew our network of friends. We started having gatherings and helped one another around the town and their homes. They also all loved our dogs which made things so much easier.

Then chaos, it seemed as so that life was getting on track and that the goals we had set were in our future. Then one night, immediately before our parents came to visit, a massive rain storm hit Tokigawa-machi and through this our home was destroyed in a flood. My brother and I were stuck inside the home and it was something i’ll never forget, as we are lucky to be alive. But it was an event that pushed us back yet perhaps in some ways put us on a new path and course.

Calling our mom at 4:00AM, Hawaii time was hard. To tell her that the place she was about to stay at was no longer there…. She of course did the motherly thing and said who cares i’m coming to be with you two. And so they did.

Our friends (the neighbors) insisted we continue with the plans our parents had made. So with their help we ended up traveling to Kyoto, Tokyo and Nara. It was an amazing family trip and maybe something we really needed but never knew.

After the dust settled and we came back to reality, our parents helped us setup our temporary home in Bessho (a smaller area of Tokigawa-machi). They were able to spend about two weeks with us here before going back to Hawaii. This goodbye was a little harder as we had dealt with so much loss, seeing them leave was difficult.

A few weeks and perhaps months passed as we tried to gather our life back to normal. We finally had decided that we’d be moving to Hokkaido but it was a few weeks away. Through this time we enjoyed the company of friends and actually ended up catching Covid-19.

About a week before our official move date our items were shipped and we had made the decision to drive from Tokigawa-machi to Hokkaido. From our town it was a 23 hour drive. My brother did most of the driving, which I am so thankful for.

Arriving in Hokkaido, via ferry was like a scene from a movie, a fresh start. The sun was breaking over Mt. Hakodate and the warm breeze hit so nicely. It was like our life here was starting off new, fresh, warm and embracing.

Moving into our new home had its own set of challenges but we slowly and surly did. Then our mom visited us with our cousin in November to celebrate Thanksgiving. It was nice to have our home filled with lots of love and laughter. It really made home, home.

We went through the holidays celebrating Christmas and New Years with our cousin who lives in Sapporo and of course our dogs. I forgot to mention that through all of this, our doggos had puppies, 10 to be exact. So now we have 8 puppies living with us.

After the holidays passed we had a set of visitors come, first our brother, then a friend and lastly another friend who stayed with us for about a month. With all the visitors and sightseeing we neglected the fact that the year mark was approaching so fast. And so that bring us here today.

To honor the events, chaotic, eventful, joyful, etc of our first year in Japan. It has been interesting to say the least. But in the end, has made us stronger, appreciate one another so much more and the people in our lives. Change is hard for anyone, and the amount of change we experienced through this year has been staggering. But I think, I wouldnt change it for the world.

So this has been a very short, cut up story of our first year in Japan.

I hope you all enjoyed, and see you in the next one!