March 29, 2026
After breakfast, I prepared the gifts we were to take with
us today and caught up on some email and other correspondence.
Yuko is the Japanese daughter we share with the Larsons. We
had her for the first two weeks of her stay, and then she moved in with them.
At the time, their daughters were close to her age, and we felt she would have
a better time in a household with other young people. We were working
full-time, so we only saw her in the mornings and evenings. However, we didn’t
count on falling in love with her.
We became close quickly and have remained so ever since.
When we lived in Japan, she visited us several times. Once she brought a couple
of the other students who had been in her group in California with her. They
usually spent a night with us.
She worked for Dolby for a time and came to California a few
times for business. We picked her up each time and brought her home for a day
or two.
She has always come to see us on each of our trips back to Osaka,
even though she lives in Tokyo. And we always enjoy spending time with her.
Tomohito lived with our friends, Bob and Bernie Schweck, while
he was in California. We saw him when we lived in Japan, and he lives near
Yuko. She said she would come to Osaka to visit and bring him with her for this
trip.
She suggested we meet at Umeda Station. We knew
this would be a nightmare. When we lived in Japan, it was an enormous maze of
several stories, both above and below ground. Trying to meet someone there
would have been all but impossible. Fortunately, she talked to a friend of hers
who suggested Taking a cab. So, we took their advice.
She selected Grigliato
CUÓCA, an Italian restaurant in the Hankyu Hotel, right across the street
from the station. I checked their lunch menu, and it sounded delicious,The cab
was a great decision. The driver dropped us off at the hotel entrance. We went
up to the 9th floor, entered the restaurant lobby, and found Yuko
and Tomohito right away. Why they never change, I have no idea, but we were
glad to have recognized them instantly.
We were seated and made our luncheon selections. (You can see
the lunch menu on their website.)
First, we were served an assortment of small portions five
appetizers. Larry was in heaven! I ate a couple of mine, and then he finished
my plate.
Then, we selected our pasta or risotto dish: Penne
carbonara, Spaghetti with mackerel, Tagliolini with shrimp, or Saffron risotto with
foie gras. I picked the carbonara, and it was delicious! Larry picked the risotto,
and he thoroughly enjoyed it.
Finally, we had our choice of seven desserts: Strawberry
mousse, Tiramisù, Panna cotta with sweetened condensed milk, Tea jelly, The day's
ice cream, Fruits Pie [sic] Cherry-blossom flavored Mont blanc! We could select
from a dessert bar, and we could go back if we chose to! (Yuka knows her dad
very well!)
We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and catching up with both of
them.
Larry, me, Tomohito, and Yuko
Note the dessert selections!
We gave them our gifts, and they liked them. They had also
brought gifts. Yuko had hot facial masks for Bob, Anne and Paul, and for us.
She suggested we use one of ours before boarding the plane. (These must be popular
in Japan right now because we had them in our room at the hotel along with the
other toiletries.)
Tomohito brought fans and a beautiful firoshiki (Japanese
wrapping cloth).
Anne and Paul had sent a note for Yuko, and Bob had done the
same for Tomohito.
We lingered as long as we could, but we figured they would
need the table, so we left. We said our good-byes in the lobby before we
selected a taxi from the taxi rank just outside.
Our driver thought he was Super Mario. He gunned the motor
and shouted, “Go! Go! Go!,” every time there was a straight section of road in
front of him. Then he laughed. He spoke little Japanese, but he knew we were connected
to Universal Studios Japan. Through broken English, we discovered he actually
saw himself as Luigi, not Mario.
We made it back in one piece. The taxi rides cost us very
little more than the train would have, and they saved us a great deal of time
and frustration! (Note to self: when in doubt, take the easiest route!)
We rested a bit and then went out to walk around CityWalk
for a while. We went into the USJ Studio Store and checked out the merchandise,
but we didn’t buy anything―yet.
Returned to our room, watched a little TV (not much choice,
though), and went to bed.
Another great day with people we love!
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