FAREWELL TO JAPAN

 April 1, 2024 – Part 1

I didn’t sleep very well. I was concerned about our transport to the airport arriving on time to give us some breathing space before our flight. Now that the celebration was over, my mind was going a mile a minute thinking about everything I had to get done as soon as we got home.

We got up and went down to breakfast. Then, I worked on my blog and Larry read until it was time to check out.

We left the bags with the bellman and headed out for a last walk at CityWalk.

But first, we said goodbye to the minions. The whole hotel has been re-themed with them, and the employees’ costumes are also minion-themed.

With the minions at the Universal Port Hotel

We enjoyed being in the area one last time. People were headed toward the park, and others were exploring the shops and restaurants at CityWalk.

Since it was close to noon, and since our plane wouldn’t leave for several hours, we decided to get a light lunch. McDonalds was right there, so we went in. A lovely young man was talking orders—and he spoke perfect English.

I ordered a six-piece McNugget “set-o” (the same as our combo). He informed me I could only get the six-piece as a Happy Meal.

“Sounds perfect to me.”

Larry ordered the same.

After getting our drink orders, he asked what toy we wanted. We both declined.

We found a two-person table and took our time enjoying our lunch.

We still had about an hour before our airport transport was scheduled to arrive, and it was cold out, so we stopped by Starbucks for coffee. We sipped our drinks while we people-watched. It was still a thrill to see people emerge from the train station excited about going to the park. This reaction was what we had hoped for when we were working there. And, here it still was twenty-three years later.

With about twenty minutes left until our ride was to arrive, we returned to the hotel and reclaimed our bags. We waited inside until Larry received a text that our ride was on the way.

After a short wait in front of the hotel, our van arrived.

The ride to the airport was without issue as was check-in. We checked our large bag and got our boarding passes. Then we headed to the departure gate.

Larry rushed through the airport. I had a hard time keeping up with him. Of course, our gate was a LONG way from the entrance. We had to walk through all the Duty-Free shops and food areas to get to another section. Then we had to take a train to yet another area to find our gate. (Kansai is now about twice the size it used to be.)

We finally arrived—and there was no one there. I finally asked Larry why he had been in such a hurry. He said he thought we were too late to make the plane. Times for all transportation in Japan are on 24-hour clocks, but we had entered the time on our calendar in 12-hour time. Larry had misread the departure time. We arrived at the gate well over an hour before boarding.

I found a seat, and Larry took our empty water bottles to refill them.

Little-by-little others began to arrive. Then the crew drifted in. As each group appeared, they turned to the waiting passengers and bowed. Gotta love the Japanese.

Finally, it was time for our group to board.

Everything went smoothly. We got settled in and blew up our travel pillows. I remained optimistic that I might get some sleep during the flight, even though I almost never do.

After we were airborne, we were served beverages. Then they served dinner: either chicken or pork bowls. I chose pork, and Larry had the chicken. They were accompanied by the usual assortment of small side dishes. The food was okay, but it didn’t begin to compare with the meal we received on the trip to Japan. I ate some, and Larry finished the rest.

I closed my eyes and tried to rest, but I couldn’t sleep. I decided to watch a couple of movies. I saw Wish. It was disappointing, and I could understand why it wasn’t considered one of Disney’s best. Then I watched Anyone But You. Kind of a dud as well.

I turned off the entertainment and closed my eyes. I still didn’t sleep, but rested a bit.

 April 1, 2024 – Part 2

Even though we left Japan in the evening of April 1, we arrived in LA about noon--on April 1. We had recovered the day we had lost on the way over.

Fortunately, this flight was much shorter than the one to Japan. (The flight to Japan was about thirteen hours. The one back was about nine-and-a-half.) About an hour before we landed, lunch was served: a kind of taco salad with several small dish accompaniments. As usual, I ate the entrée and left most of the rest. Larry ate his and then picked at the things he wanted from my tray.

We left the plane and went through customs. The process was much more streamlined than it was the last time we arrived at LAX. Everything went pretty quickly.

We finally got out of the airport and called our driver, Danny. We told him where we were waiting, and he arrived before long. We are so blessed to have found him!

After an uneventful drive, we arrived home in the afternoon.

We took all the dirty clothes to the laundry room and started the washer. Then we began to unpack.

We weren’t hungry, so we skipped dinner. Good thing since we had no food in the house.

Since we were tired, we decided to get to bed early. We still had a lot to do for the week!

AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER

 

March 31, 2024 – Part 2

We walked the two or three blocks back to our hotel following a great reunion party. We had to stop at a signal before crossing the street, and two American guys on bicycles crossed the other direction and passed us. The signal changed, and we crossed.

As we reached the opposite corner, the bicyclists came back and stopped next to us.

One of the fellows looked at Larry. “I noticed your name on your jacket and wondered if you are the Larry Collins who wrote the book 31 Months in Japan.” (We were wearing our USJ team jackets with our names both in English and Japanese.)

This was curious because 1) I couldn’t figure out how he could have made out Larry’s name on his jacket as they rode by and 2) Obviously, he knew the name of the book. (People often get it incorrect. They get the number wrong or they change “months” to “weeks” or “days.”)

Of course, we confessed to being the authors.

“We really loved your book. We’re working on the project now, and all the challenges you wrote about, we’re still dealing with.”

“Yeah, the book has been a real help,” the second guy added. “We even gave a copy to our boss, Molly Murphy.” (I didn’t recognize the name, but I looked her up and discovered she is the president of Universal Creative out of Orlando, Florida.)

Turns out, they were returning to the park after a meal just at the same time we were headed back to the hotel. Two minutes earlier or later, and we would have missed them altogether.

They asked us about some of the people in the book, correctly identifying “Jurassic Mark,” with whom they had worked, and guessing at a few others. We asked if they were working with our friend, Tommy. We had just seen him at the reunion party. They were all on the current project.

We spent a couple of minutes answering questions and sharing some items not included in the book.

They had to get back to work, and it was getting cold outside. We shook hands and thanked them for stopping. The first guy said his name was Tom. I didn’t catch the name of the other one. As they rode off, I thought of all the times we had ridden our bikes around the park during construction, including on this same street. Of course, it wasn’t actually a paved road then.

To me, it felt like an echo from twenty-three years before. We still felt connected to this place where we had spent so much time.

This conversation emphasized the need to publish the Japanese translation. Our book was still relevant, if only to those still updating the park. From time to time, we’ve heard from those who are visiting Japan or who have gone there to teach English how valuable the book had been for them.

We first published it in 2005, and every year we still sell some. It is on Amazon, Walmart, Barnes & Noble and other online retailers. We also sell them on our website: http://www.lornalarry.com.

The next day, we confirmed the names of the both fellows with Tommy (Tom Fitz and Josh McMurray). I hope we can contact them again.

Once back in the hotel, we decided to stop at the little snack shop on the ground floor for dessert. By the time we had stopped socializing long enough to eat, the desserts were gone. This little shop had several ice cream choices. So we each got one and enjoyed our sweets.

Then we returned to our room to finish re-packing for the next day.

We went to bed, hoping we would get a good night’s sleep.

EASTER IN JAPAN

 March 31, 2024    

Easter Sunday started very early. We heard a noise at 2:45 a.m. It took a minute to figure out it had come from our phones and another minute to get to them across the room. We finally realized the sound came from our Ring doorbell. Larry tried to use the talk feature, but it was already too late.

We looked at the video and realized it was our postal clerk delivering mail to our front door. She wore her rain outfit. (She had brought it to our door because it was raining pretty hard.)

Once we were awake, we had a hard time getting back to sleep. We were still overtired from the day before and excited about the afternoon.

We eventually got up, showered, and got ready.

Today was the reunion party for the USJ Construction Team. We’d have liked to have gone to our church in Kobe, but we didn’t have enough time before the party. We were excited to see everyone again.

We went to breakfast a little later than usual, and we took our time eating.

As we passed through the hotel lobby, we stopped by the minions to take pictures.

Then we returned to our room and repacked most of our stuff since we were leaving the next day. Our dirty clothes went into the checked bag, and the clean ones went into our carry-on bags. We had received quite a few gifts from friends, and they had to be fitted in.

Terri had asked us to bring copies of our book, 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park, because some of the contractors wanted them. So, we put them in a bag along with the other items we needed to take with us to the banquet (omiage, etc,).

Then we headed to the hotel where the banquet would be held.

One of the first people I saw was Dote-san. We were really happy to see each other!

Dote-san and me

We spent quite a while catching up with friends.

Miho, Dote-san, Yuki, Lorna, Chie, Larry, Richard (Chie’s husband)

Hatanaka-san and Bob Murphy

Hunvey Chen, Christiane Sentianin, Tommy Garcia, Mark Adams

Noriko and Maki

USI Team: Back: Bob Murphy, Mark Adams, Larry Collins, Tommy Garcia, Setsuko
Front: Hunvey Chen, Terri Igarashi, Christiane Sentianin, Lorna, Tomoko, Chie

Opening the sake barrel: Ritzuko, Terri, Tomoko

These were the sake cups we were each given as mementos of the event.

Hunvey, Christiane, Tomoko, Terri

USI Team: Christiane, Mark Adams, Hunvey, Bob Murphy, Lorna, Larry, Yuki

Terri and Larry

We were served a terrific buffet meal with lots of choices to please everyone. Sake, beer, and other beverages were available. Non-alcoholic choices were also offered.

And there were games…

Lots of socializing.

Lorna, Chie, Christiane, Larry

While we were all there, we took a “class photo” of everyone.

What a great event! And we sold six books. We could have sold more if we’d had them.

We received a wonderful gift. Yuko Yamashita, the wife of one of the contractor employees, gave us a CD with our book, 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park, translated into Japanese! I have always wanted to have it available in that language so all our friends could read it. Now I have to figure out how to format it.

BACK TO THE PARK

 March 30, 2024

Although we were still tired after our big adventure the day before, we were excited about seeing “our” park again. We had already noticed from our room how much bigger USJ had grown since it was built. We also knew ET, Back to the Future, Backdraft, Terminator-2, Western Stunt Show, Animal Actors, and other original attractions were long gone. ET was replaced by Spiderman, and it, too, closed the week before we arrived.

We had been in touch with Christiane Sentianin, the Area 3 admin in Hollywood, prior to our trip. She and Hunvey Chen had planned to visit the park on the 30^th. They told us what tickets to get. Yuki Nakamura and Mark Adams and his wife also planned on going the same day. We had bought our tickets and express passes for the same date and time as they had before we left home.

We went down to breakfast early, but not quite as early as the day before. Everything seemed to be back to normal. Regular length lines. No overflow restaurant. A full selection of items.

We knew the park would open at eight a.m. I had texted Christiane to see when they would get to the park. She said they planned to arrive about nine.

We returned to our room and got ready to go. We decided to go early in case there were any issues with our tickets. Fortunately, there were none. We carried our express passes for the most popular attractions. Our first scheduled ride was Mario Cart at 11:30, so we had lots of time.

We entered the park about eight-fifteen and found a table outside Boulangère on Hollywood Boulevard. From there, we could look down the street toward the entrance.

Christiane texted a couple of times to let us know where they were. Before long, I looked up and saw her running around the corner with her arms outstretched. Hunvey and Yuki were not far behind her. We hadn’t seen her in person since our last morning at USJ 2001 when we ate breakfast with her. (We have stayed in touch through email and Facebook.)

Christiane, Larry, Yuki, Lorna, Hunvey

Our next objective was to find our names on the windows in the park. With the replacement of some of the areas and attractions, several of our friends lost theirs, but all of ours are still there.

Larry is on the 2^nd floor, second from right (Bail Bondsman). I am diagonally above him (Tailor).

Christiane is on the yellow sign.

Yuki’s window is the one on the left.

Hunvey is on the window.

We then walked around the lagoon past Mel’s Drive-in. The vintage cars are still there, but we weren’t sure they were the same ones Cathy arranged for in 2001.

Next, we went on the JAWS ride. Since we had the express passes, we bypassed the long regular lines and got on the ride in just a few minutes. We checked to be sure Larry’s footprints were still on the beach. They are.

The sharks seemed to be missing their skins. They now look like painted metal. Not quite the same effect as the original, but they all were working.

We stopped at the restrooms opposite the ride and SURPRISE! When we built the park. 75% of the toilets were Japanese style (squat type) even though originally they were supposed to be 75% American. (Many discussions occurred about the type, but the Japanese ones took up less room and were cheaper.) Today, ALL of the toilets are American-style! In fact, every one we saw in the park was.

We went to Jurassic Park, but the ride was closed for refurbishment. However, there is a new rollercoaster next to it called The Flying Dragon. You hang on this one with your legs dangling, and it carries riders upside down, sideways, and facing the ground. Larry and I decided we didn’t really want to try it, but the other three did. I guess they enjoyed it, but as we watched it, I was glad we had passed.

It was getting close to the time for our scheduled ride on Mario Cart, so we headed in that direction. There, we met Mark Adams and his wife.

Lorna, Larry, Christiane, Yuki, Hunvey, Mark. Jessica

It was getting hot, and the access to the Mario ride was insane! We all agreed that it never would have been allowed in the US. To get to the start of the ride, we had to climb up and down about nine flights of stairs. By the time we reached the final queue, my knees were hurting. They handed each of us a headpiece—a heavy one. It was adjustable, but it slipped on my hair, sliding forward over my eyes or falling backward. (I never did get it to fit correctly.) When we finally reached the ride vehicles, they handed each of us a viewer glass that hooked onto the head piece, making it even heavier and more inclined to slip around.

Since I had absolutely no idea how the game was supposed to be played, I couldn’t figure out what to do, and I couldn’t see correctly through the view screen anyway.

I hated every minute. (The day before, we had been told by a kid that it was his favorite ride, and I could understand how it might be if the headset fit and worked and you knew how to play. But nothing worked for me.)

When we got out, Larry spotted an elevator, so we took it to get back down to the exit, where we met the rest of the gang.

We decided to go on Yoshi’s Adventure while we were there. It reminded me of the beginning of the Alice in Wonderland at Disneyland. Halfway through, I said to Larry, “What if they created a ride that did absolutely nothing?” By the end of the ride, we discovered that they had! It might have been fun for a child under four-years-old, but for anyone older than five, it was truly boring.

By this time (after 1:00 p.m.) we were hungry. We still had a wait before we could go on the Harry Potter ride, so we went back to the Discovery Restaurant in the JP area for lunch. Jessica and I held down a large table while the others got food. It was surprisingly good, and we enjoyed it very much.

We went back over to Harry Potter. We still had about half an hour to wait, so we found some shade and sat down.

Finally, our scheduled time arrived, and we entered the queue. This one was fine, and we got on the ride vehicle. I loved it! We had gone on the one in Hollywood once, but it had stopped soon after we got on. They started it again after about an hour, but they ran the ride with the work lights on, so we couldn’t see the film and missed all the effects. However, Larry enjoyed seeing how all the mechanical devices worked. This time, we got the full story and enjoyed the ride.

After our very long day the day before, we were getting tired. We decided to go back to the hotel since it was late afternoon. The rest of our group decided to stay for a while longer.

We were still impressed with how terrific “our” park was, and we remained proud of our part in creating it.

When we got back to the hotel, we rested. We didn’t want to go anywhere for dinner, so we ate granola bars and had tea. Just what we needed.

We went to bed early anticipating a busy day on Sunday.

MEETING OUR “DAUGHTER”

March 29, 2024 – Part 2

We tried to rest a bit after our busy morning. Larry read, and I wrote my blog.

Our #3 Japanese daughter, Yuko, had made reservations at the Hard Rock Café for dinner at 7:00 p.m. We weren’t sure whether she would come to our hotel or meet us at the Hard Rock Café. We waited at the hotel until 6:45, and then we walked over to the restaurant. We had to hunt a bit. The actual restaurant is on the 3^rd floor, but we found it eventually. Yuko was there to greet us.

We had last seen her several years ago when a business trip brought her to L.A. We’d picked her up in town and brought her down to our house where she spent the night before we had to take her back.

This time we only had a couple of hours, so we wanted to make the most of them!

I had forgotten how noisy the Hard Rock was, or maybe it just seemed noisier because of my deafness. (The hearing aids magnify the sound, but it all runs together in a confused mess.)

We ordered and then caught up. We gave her the photos and note the Larsons had sent with us and talked about how they were doing. Then we caught up on our lives and Kim’s.

She had brought gifts for us: handmade soap from her mother and chocolates. Our bags were beginning to fill up with gifts! (Misayo gave us two bags of food and a beautiful scarf.)

What a joy to spend time with this special young lady. We had lots to talk about as we ate. We asked when she might be able to visit us again in California.

Right now, the exchange rate is not favorable for the Japanese. (This worked to our advantage, but the rate needs to improve before they will be able to spend freely again.)

Also, Yuko feels that her mother needs her to be near to take care of her. She also feels she has reached the maximum position in her company and it may be time for her to leave. So, her life is in flux at the moment.

We finished our meals, and the noise seemed to be getting louder. We decided to go to a nearby coffee shop for after-dinner coffee where we could talk.

Yuko, me, Larry (I look really tired. I was!)

We spent a bit of time talking until we noticed they were getting ready to close and we were the only ones remaining.

Yuko had to get back to Shin Osaka where she was spending the night before returning to Chiba the next morning.

As usual, the farewells were hard and accompanied by tears, at least on my part and Yuko’s as well. But we hope to see her again in California before too very long.

OUR JOURNEY “HOME”

 

March 29, 2024

Larry had set the alarm for 6:00, but we didn’t need it. In fact, neither of us slept much. We admitted we felt a bit anxious about making the train trip to Takarazuka, where we had lived while in Japan.

The sweet young lady had outlined an itinerary that required changing from the JR to the Hankyu line. It only allowed ten minutes to get from the JR Osaka Station to the Umeda (Hankyu) Station. I couldn’t remember much about the route, and Larry was afraid ten minutes wouldn’t be log enough to get there. He was also a bit concerned about the cash. I told him I had quite a bit of change, so we should be okay—at least on the first leg to Osaka. And we had a few small bills.

Since we couldn’t sleep anyway, Larry decided to get up at 5:30 and shower. I followed closely behind. We left the room at 6:30, when they begin serving breakfast downstairs.

We wondered where all the people had come from. The line for breakfast was jammed. And it didn’t appear to be moving. When we peeked inside, most of the tables seemed to be occupied.

Finally, they began to allow more people into the dining room. We were directed to another line toward another restaurant. We were assured the food would be “similar.”

We had learned about “similar” food when we were working at the jobsite and were introduced to “hamburger-be-similar.” (Not really hamburger and certainly not similar to what we considered a hamburger.)

However, since the main line wasn’t moving very fast, and we needed to catch an early train, we decided to accept the offer.

They clearly provided some of the same items offered in the larger restaurant, but several of my favorites were missing (like tomato juice and some of the fruit for the yogurt). Still, we were able to get a nice variety.

We would be visiting my dear friend, Misayo-san and her daughter, Kazue. Misayo is a terrific cook and had said she would fix us lunch. I knew there would be a variety of food offered, and it all would be delicious. So, I wasn’t worried about going hungry!

We returned to our room and got our “stuff” together for the day. Then we headed out on our “big adventure” for the trip.

We got to the station about half-an-hour ahead of our proposed schedule. We’d both rather be early than late.

We got our tickets to Osaka Station and found the train. All the signs said “Nishikujo.” It’s been so long we were afraid it might not be the right train, even though the platform sign said “to Osaka.”

A nice Australian family was waiting with us. We asked them, and they said it was the right train, and we had to change trains in Nishikujo. Whew!

After we all boarded, we discovered they had spent the previous day at USJ. The son loved Mario Kart and waxed poetic about how much fun it was. We knew we had express tickets for the ride and for Harry Potter, so we were looking forward to it.

We made our change without incident and got off in Osaka Station. We saw the JR line to Takarazuka and thought about taking it, but then we saw the signs for the Hankyu line. We decided to be safe and followed the young lady’s instructions. After all, she hadn’t steered us wrong—yet.

Made our way up a flight of stairs and outside. Up still more wet stairs to street level, and then over to the station. Then down more stairs into the bowels of the station. We located the ticket area and purchased our tickets to Takarazuka. As we were walking toward the tracks, I suddenly discovered I didn’t have my purse with me.

I went into total panic mode. This is NOT typical for me, but I had been under a great deal of strain before we left trying to make all the arrangements for Larry’s birthday party and Kae’s memorial service. Then we’d rushed to get to the plane, meet our transfer to the hotel, etc. once we got here. And I was already intimidated about taking this train trip.

Realistically, I knew I would get it back. This is Japan, after all. But I couldn’t remember where I saw it last. Was it on the JR train? In the JR Osaka Station? Had I dropped it somewhere along the way? I’d had my coin purse in my pocket when I took it out to pay for our last tickets. Where was it? And even if they found it, how would they be able to find me?

Thank God, Larry kept his cool. He kept saying, “It will be okay.”

We looked around for someone “official” to help. No sign of anyone. We finally saw a clerk at the Lawson Store. By now I was sobbing. I tried to explain what had happened.

The poor man answered, “Sorry. No English.”

I asked if there was anyone who could help.

He seemed to understand and pointed up the corridor. “Information.”

I saw nothing, but Larry took my hand and led me in the direction the clerk had pointed. Near the other end, I saw a sign with a blue “i” on it. Larry led me that way. I still didn’t see any official-looking people, but Larry had spotted a glass-enclosed booth around the corner.

We entered. The near clerk was helping someone else, but a dear young man motioned for us to come to the far end of the counter.

I was still crying when we approached—and I spotted my coin purse! He had been counting the money in it. (We assumed he was making an inventory of everything in the bag.) I then spotted my card case. It held my driver’s license, medical cards, and two credit cards. Miracle of miracles, my bag had already been turned in!

Of course, my tears increased. I pointed. “That’s mine.”

The young man, who spoke and understood English, just grinned and nodded. “Yes.”

He put the coins back in the coin purse and put it and the card case back in my bag.

He handed me a claim ticket to fill out with my name, location where we were staying, and phone number. I completed and signed it, and he handed my bag back to me with everything intact. (I would have expected nothing less in Japan.)

I thanked him profusely with many low bows. He just smiled.

Crisis averted.

Once I could breathe again, we made our way to the platform for Takarazuka and boarded the train. It was an “Express” meaning the train route ended in Takarazuka before it returned to Osaka. This did not mean it didn’t make a dozen or more stops on the way.

We arrived in Takarazuka about 9:30—half-an-hour early. The station had been completely transformed and enlarged since our last visit.

Hankyu Takarazuka Station

We both used the restrooms and were surprised to find that the new ones were 100% western style and very modern. A great change from the old ones!

We had to go up some stairs to reach the pedestrian bridge across the highway to get to the JR station. Since our last trip, it has been completely refurbished—including the addition of elevators at each end.

At the other side, we had to go back down to street level and tried the elevator. It worked very well.

When we left in 2001, fewer than 2% of all train stations had handicapped access. Today, that has all changed.

On the train to Takarazuka was a young man in a power wheelchair. When we reached his stop, the doors opened, and a train attendant put a ramp in place. The man in the chair rolled easily onto the platform. The ramp was removed, and the doors closed. Easy and quick.

We had also noticed many more wheelchairs on the streets and in our hotel.

Each time I saw one, I felt very proud. Because of our requirement for handicapped access in the park, our Japanese contractors became much more aware of the requirements. On this trip, we saw the results we helped facilitate. We felt very proud.

JR Takarazuka Station with Pedestrian Bridge

When we reached the street, we found a loading area and took seats on the low wall nearby. About five minutes later, a red car drove up. Kazue jumped out and greeted us. (They were early, too.)

Her friend, Takehiro Shigematsu, was driving. We had met him when we were here in 2011, and he has been a Facebook friend ever since. We are very fond of him. I told him we’re keeping him.

We drove up to Misayo’s home. When we entered, she emerged from the kitchen, just as she had in 2011. We both hugged and cried once again.

Years ago, she said we had made a heart-connection when we first met. It is still there.

We sat down, and she gave us tea. Another familiar part of our relationship.

We took her a small plate hand-painted with “Dana Point, California” and a scene of clouds and a seagull. It was a reminder of her promise to come to visit us in California. We would also love to have Kazue come back, and Takehiro is also invited.

We began a lovely meal, during which we reminisced and shared treasured memories.

Since our last visit, Misayo-san’s mother, Kuniko, has passed away. We loved this dear lady who opened her home to us and welcomed us as her own children. We had hoped to see her again sometime.

Misayo prepared sukiyaki, just as she had the very first time we ate at her home in April of 1999 when Kim and my mother arrived for a visit. The Sakura tree outside of her window had been illuminated and in bloom. We’d enjoyed it as Kazue played spring music: “Fantasia on Sakura” and “Rustle of Spring.” This last one made me cry because, at the time, my mother could no longer play the piano, but when I was growing up, it was a song she played often. Kazue renamed the piece “Vera’s Song” in honor of my mother.

While we lived in Japan, I found a favorite song: “Le Rhone” by Katzuhisa Hattori. Kazue learned it and always plays it for me.

During our visit, she repeated the same three beloved songs. “Vera’s Song” made me cry again since my mother is no longer with us, but it reminds me of her.

Just as we always have, we loved sharing our fond memories and laughing over wonderful times.

Larry, Misayo, me, Kazue, and Takehiro

After lunch, Takehiro drove us past our old building. What a surprise! We used to live in the building highest on the mountain, but today, about five more buildings have sprung up around it. It is still there and as lovely as ever, but it is no longer isolated.

We next stopped at Koyoshikojin Temple. We had taken Mom and Kim there when they visited, and we made several other visits during out time in Takarazuka. On our first visit, the Sakura trees had been in full bloom. They were supposed to have been in bloom this time as well, but the weather had been too cold.

We observed the usual rituals: hand washing and bowing as well as tossing a coin and ringing the bell. Everything seemed familiar and yet not quite the same.

As we walked around the shrine, I finally spotted a Sakura tree in full bloom farther up the hill. It was the only one we saw, but it reminded us of how lovely the trees are.

We continued back down the hill toward town. We recognized few places. Only one or two of those we had known remained.

When we stopped at the Hankyu Station, we realized just how large it had become. The department store portion is about four times as large as it was the last time. The JR station had been replaced in 2011 when we were here, but the old Hankyu station had been the same. Now both are rebuilt and much more modern.

As we walked around, Misayo was busy shopping. Kazue also bought a few things. Misayo wanted to buy a bunch of treats for Larry’s birthday party next week. We tried to discourage her, but she still insisted on getting some sweets for us to share with our guests. We told her we had no room in our suitcases, but she would not be thwarted. (She is a true force of nature when she is determined to do something!)

Although we were prepared to take the train back to our hotel, Misayo insisted on Takehiro driving us all the way back. He is such a sweet young man. We feel honored to know him.

After more tearful farewells, we waved good-bye as they drove off.

But our day wasn’t over yet!

Although we were tired, we were to meet our Japanese daughter, Yuko for dinner at the Hard Rock Café. We needed a nap!

FIRST DAY IN TOWN

 March 27, 2024

We slept pretty well, but we woke at around 4:00 a.m. The time change caused us to be early for Osaka time.

We checked out the TV selections. No English stations, but they did have BBC. It was overdubbed in Japanese, but we could read the crawls and headlines. It was actually nice to be able to avoid some of the hyper coverage in the US right now.

I had added breakfast each day when I booked the room. Larry likes being able to start the day with a leisurely meal. We then usually snack for the rest of the day.

Breakfast is served between 6:30 and 10:30 a.m.

After a shower and dressing, we went down to eat.

The buffet room is on the second floor. Since our last trip, the hotel has been re-themed with the Minions. This was a great decision. The last time we were here, this was the upscale, elegant hotel. Now, it is filled with families, most with small children.

When we arrived in Osaka in 1998, only one of our daughters, Yasuko, was married. She and Toshihiro had a two-year-old son, Daisuke. Toshi was one of the few fathers we saw who actually helped take care of his child. At that time, mothers alone cared for the children while fathers went out to work.

Now, many fathers share the duties.

In 2011, on our ten-year anniversary of park opening trip, we saw lots of mothers and small children, but not so many fathers. Today, much has changed, and I think for the better.

Breakfast is a multi-station buffet. (It was much like the hotels we had enjoyed in England, Scotland, and Ireland on our last trip.) There are American choices as well as more traditional Japanese breakfast foods. One station had Chinese and Korean items as well.

We were both delighted to find two cappuccino machines. The hotel got extra points for those!

I stuck with “safe” items like scrambled eggs, croissant, yogurt, and fruit. Larry was far more adventurous. He was in heaven, and so was I. We each had the kind of meal we enjoy!

We returned to our room to brush our teeth and get ready to explore the area. Since it had been thirteen years, the City Walk area had changed a lot!

First, they have built several large new hotels. When we finished the park, there were only three, and we are staying in one of them. Now there are several others.

The most impressive one was this Art Deco one across from the park entrance, The Park Front Hotel.

USJ Entrance

I looked up the website for the hotel. All beds in this one are twins. Some of the rooms have spectacular views, and they are well-equipped to handle family groups. The architecture is gorgeous.

Everywhere here we see Mario items. All the kids (young and old) are running around sporting Mario hats (except those wearing Harry Potter wizard robes).

I thought about how much our Kae would have loved the Mario hats. She loved anything silly and funny. I look around, and I see her everywhere. Many of the young girls resemble her (although none are as beautiful as she was). But then, I am biased. This morning, I spotted the chef in the restaurant at a distance—just the white coat and hat. For a second it looked like Kae in her Cordon Bleu chef’s coat and toque. The last time we were here, Kae and Toshi joined us for a few days. We will see Toshi next week, and I miss Kae terribly.

We walked around City Walk and looked into some stores. It was quite cold, so we stopped for coffee and to warm up a bit. Then we returned to the hotel.

Shortly after we returned, the housekeeping staff arrived to clean. We read and answered email while they worked.

We made a second trip out later on, just for a walk. Everything seems so familiar yet strange. They have added a lot to City Walk, and some places have changed. It resembles City Walk in Hollywood.

Back in our room, we made cups of tea and ate granola bars.

Larry lay down and was asleep by 4:00 p.m. I gave up by 5:30. We’ll see how tomorrow goes. No agenda.

ON OUR WAY

After a while, we were offered lunch. We could choose from sukiyaki (beef with scrambled eggs and peas over steamed rice) or teriyaki salmon (with mashed potatoes, broccoli and carrots). I usually don’t eat beef or salmon, but the mashed potatoes and veggies sounded good. I figured Larry would eat the salmon. He suggested we each order a different entrée. I could eat the parts I wanted, and he would finish everything else.

Oh, my goodness. What a terrific and abundant meal!

I had the salmon. I tried a taste and had to reassess my previous dislike of it. With the teriyaki sauce, it was delicious! The potatoes and veggies were every bit as good as I had anticipated. Larry enjoyed his meal as well. (I saved more than half of the salmon for him since I knew he would love it. He did.)

In addition to the entrée, both meals were accompanied by a tiny green salad with fat-free Italian dressing, and a separate cup with a one-inch cube each of watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, and honeydew melon. In, addition we each had a small serving of soba noodles with Jell-o and other strange bits. (It reminded me of some of the items on the “salad bar” at the jobsite.) Finally, there was a small container with salami and potato salad.)

I ate my green salad and about half the entrée. I also received a lovely roll. I ate half of it and gave Larry the remainder. He ate all the rest of my sides as well as his own. (He loves all kinds of Japanese food. I am much pickier!)

At the end of the meal, the cabin staff circulated with small containers of vanilla ice cream. A sweet ending to an impressive meal.

After lunch, I began to watch movies. The first was Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. I couldn’t decide whether or not I actually liked it, but the acting was terrific. The plot was very confusing, and some of the characters actually had several different personas. I was glad I had watched it on the plane and not in the theater. Later in the flight, Larry watched it, too. I think he liked it better than I did, but he agreed with my assessment of the acting.

Next, I watched another film I had meant to see some time ago, The Fault in Our Stars. Loved this bittersweet story.

I followed it up with Sweet November, an even older film. This one, I hated. The acting was okay, but the story was stupid and the characters’ motivations and chemistry were lacking.

I ended up switching from Disney music to the flight route for the remainder of the trip.

About an hour before landing, we were served dinner: pizza, another mini salad, and fruit yogurt. I ate the piece of pizza and about half the yogurt. I skipped this salad. Good but too much food.

7:00 p.m. March 26, 2024

We landed about an hour late. Turbulence had slowed us down and caused us to swing away from a direct approach from the south to an arc allowing us to reach the airport from the west.

Disembarking took a while, as did customs. However, they have streamlined the process since we were last at Kansai International. Of course, it has been thirteen years!

Larry slept for a while through the flight, but I was unable to do so. (I have rarely been able to sleep on a plane.)

Once in the arrival lobby, we were supposed to be met by a transport company to take us to the hotel. Larry had made arrangements before we left home. No sign with our name on it.

Fortunately, they called him to make sure our driver had arrived. He hadn’t. But at least they knew where we were.

By this time, I was getting punchy. So, I sat with the luggage while Larry set out to locate the driver. It only took a few minutes, but I had hit the wall.

I managed to follow them to the familiar parking structure (not everything is different) and poured myself into the van. (I’m getting too old for those long flights!)

After a nice half-hour-long drive, during which I recognized very little in the way of familiar places, we arrived at the hotel at about 8:30 p.m., a day later than we had left California because of the international dateline. (We’ll catch up when we return home.)

Hotel Universal Port

They were ready for us and had our room—with a king-size bed—waiting.

We are on the 13^th floor with a great view of the park entrance. This room seems smaller than the one we had last time, but it is non-smoking and very nice.

We didn’t take long to drop our luggage and get to bed, exhausted from the flight and busy day.

We’ll check out the area tomorrow. Fortunately, we have a couple of days at the beginning of the trip without planned activities since the end will be packed.