Saturday morning started very early, as both boys participate in Cross Country this year. The meets are at 9 AM at Tama Hills, which is a two hour drive away. The buses for the boys leave from their schools at 6 AM!! Getting up earlier on Saturday than on a weekday takes dedication. I speak from the experience of having done it two weeks in a row now.
The bad news is we have to get up really early on Saturdays. The good news abounds: Silas and Jud are outside running instead of watching TV, they are participating in a team sport, they are making good friends on their teams, they enjoy the bus rides to and from Tama Hills, and Tama Hills itself is beautiful. It's a US Air Force Recreation Base, nestled in the hills to the west of Tokyo. Think cabins, campgrounds, thick woods, gravel roads... Rustic, woodsy, makes me want to sleep outside and cook a meal over the fire.
Saturday morning found us, once again, at Tama Hills, watching Silas and Jud run a nearly 5K course through the hilly woods. They barely talk to us, they are so busy hanging out with their team friends, warming up, then cooling down, but mostly just hanging out with their friends. :-) This was Jud's first race, and he did it right. Kept a steady pace, encouraged his teammates to not give up on what is known as "killer hill". Then he sprinted to the finish, passing two kids (from other teams) ahead of him. By no means was he first, but he did very well for his first ever cross country meet. Silas also did very well. He made the Varsity team, a source of pride for a ninth grader and first time cross country runner. Saturday was his second meet, and he shaved thirty seconds off his time from last week. Run, Silas, run!
The picture below is the start of the middle school race. It's like playing Where's Waldo, looking for Jud. You can only see the side of his hip and the top of his very white leg. He's wearing green, is in the middle of the picture, on the far side of the pack, and you can see his black underwear showing below the bottom of the hem of his shorts.
How do I know it's him? I'm his mom. I know.
Here comes Jud (in green), final push, the finish line is in sight! It's right after that yellow cone on the left of the picture. He ended up beating the kid next to him and tying the kid in red.
Silas, far right, passing kids on the downhill.
Silas wanted to catch that kid so bad. He came close!
Google Maps has become my best traveling tool. I put in the destination, select the public transportation option, and it gives me all the details I need to get there using the trains. It gives me departure times right down to the minute, and even shows the rail lines in their correct color, so I know exactly what train I am looking for.
Japan's trains are legendary. They are always on time, usually quiet enough to hear a pin drop, and are smooth enough that those prone to motion sickness feel fine when riding them. We rode three trains to get from Tama Hills into the neighborhood of Tokyo where we had rented an Airbnb apartment for the evening. It took about an hour and twenty minutes, and it was so smooth and peaceful that both Jud and I dozed off.
When we got off the final train ride, we still had a couple hours to kill before we could go to the apartment and drop off our backpacks. We walked through a very crowded market, just taking it all in. Japan is not very diverse, but you do see tourists here and there. The one area where you will find a lot of diversity is in the food. When we lived in southern Italy, you could really only get Italian food. No complaints there, as it was beyond delicious. An occasional burger or bratwurst would have been appreciated now and then, though. In Japan, as far as we have experienced (really only Yokosuka, Kamakura, and Tokyo), there is a rich diversity in food options: Indian, Chinese, Thai, American, French, Italian, German... Of course, you will eat the best ramen, sushi, and tempura of your life here, but I have to admit that the pizza we had a few weeks ago was the best I have eaten since living in Italy.
Back to the adventure, we found a food vendor that was making something that smelled really good. I looked at it, and it looked like doughy chicken meatballs. Everyone was really hungry, so we got 8 of them. Turns out, they were dough balls with an octopus chunk in the middle! Silas told me that it was clearly written on the sign, in English, but I was too focused on the food to be bothered reading a sign. Still hungry after our octopus dough balls, the very next stand was a Turkish place. Jud ate two lamb kabobs, Silas wolfed down a mixed meat gyro sandwich, and I ate two scrumptious falafel bites. Ryan wanted to hold out for something else more "Japanese", so we moved on.
The crowded market area.
We found an enormous park, which was the reason Ryan chose this neighborhood for our first overnight. It was like Central Park in Tokyo: lakes, paths, fountains, lots of enormous trees, statues (including one of a samurai walking his dog), museums, many temples (both Shinto and Buddhist), and even a baseball field. We only made it to the bench just inside the entrance before our feet demanded we sit and rest. We rested for a little while, grew bored, and decided to find a coffee shop to while away the remaining hour before we could go to the apartment and drop off the bags.
It turns out that coffee shops in Tokyo at 3 PM are a real hot spot... We went into at least four that were completely full, not a table or chair in sight. Getting desperate, we walked into a Starbucks and decided to at least get a iced coffee for the big boy, who had not yet had anything after his octopus bites. I do not like being an American in Starbucks in a foreign land... It just feels... annoying. Like I've traveled across the Pacific only to find the nearest piece of Americana. But, alas, there we were, in line at Starbucks. Sometimes you just have to go with what is in front of you. (On other occasions, when feeling very homesick, I have sought out Starbucks just to feel that little piece of Americana.)
We ordered, and I noticed several people coming down from the upstairs seating area. I went up there with Judson, and found a tiny little table, barely large enough to hold four coffee cups, but it was placed at the end of a row of tables, sort of in the middle of the room, so we could pull up chairs around it and all fit, even with our bags. I sat down, and sent Jud to collect Ryan and Silas. Yes, there we were, Americans sitting basically in the middle of the room, with our large backpacks stuffed at our feet, sipping our American coffee beverages and eating our American pastries. Going with he flow, as the place was jam packed with Japanese who also seemed to like Starbucks!
After we finished eating/drinking, I broke out the deck of cards that has followed us around the world in my purse. This decks of cards has followed us around the world, been witness to many rounds of various games with beloved family and dear friends. First round was Old Maid. Second round was BackJack. Third round was 31. We were exceptionally quiet by our standards, but probably the Japanese thought we were a bit rowdy. :-) For a girl who grew up shrieking "MAKE SOME NOISE!!!", I've come a long way, baby.
4 PM rolled around, and we walked the final block to the apartment. The owner of the apartment had e-mailed us a guide with explicit directions on how to find the apartment, how to get in, how to use the AC, etc. It was thorough and perfect. The key was exactly where it was supposed to be, the AC was turned on full tilt, and we had a nice hour of surfing free wifi, with our feet up, sitting on tiny little Japanese couches about 18 inches off the ground.
We found what looked to be a good Ramen restaurant online and decided to give it a try. It was in the middle of the electronics district of Tokyo. Think stores selling all sorts of gadgets and gizmos. Bright lights, people dressed up as video game characters, etc. Just walking to the restaurant was awesome, an adventure in itself. We loved it. The sun had set, the streets were getting lively, and it was perfect for people watching.
We found the little Ramen restaurant, which turned out to be a tiny hole in the wall. It was a counter with maybe ten stools, and two tiny tables, holding two people each. They managed to fit the four of us in next to each other at the counter and we ordered our Ramen. It was AMAZING: a steaming bowl of noodles with homemade broth and bits of slow cooked pork. Silas ordered a hard boiled egg with his, right in the soup. In Japan slurping is considered good manners, a way of showing the cook that you like what he/she prepared. I slurped like nobody's business. If I wasn't sure what to do, or how to do it, I subtly watched the Japanese guy next to me, and followed suit. It wasn't hard to figure out how to eat ramen with chopsticks and a giant spoon. It was so good, honestly the best ramen I have ever had in my life.
Counter seats at the World's Best Ramen Restaurant. Check out the hard boiled egg perched in Silas's chopsticks.
Outside the restaurant, bellies full.
We then caught the tail end of a baseball game at the recreation field in the park. We walked along one of the lakes, enjoying the calm and serenity of the morning. We watched a group of seventy year old Japanese guys doing their morning exercises, including some gymnastics that would throw my back out in an instant. There were a few women doing yoga nearby. Just another Sunday morning in Tokyo.
The crowded market from the day before,
now deserted at 8 AM on Sunday.
Our selfie game is not strong, as illustrated by the following three pictures:
Here we are in front of the statue
of the Samurai walking his dog.
This one just makes me laugh. My head is
literally squished between Silas and Ryan.
Everyone looks fine here, except for my electrified hair (due to my head being squished).
Silas deep in thought.
Passing through the Torii gates.
Watching baseball. These guys were all over 40,
throwing strikes like you would not believe.
Back to the apartment, back to the train station, back home. Already I'm hoping to plan another overnight somewhere else... I love Japan.
