2007 Japan
Not every grandmother would ask her 9-year-old grandson to accompany her halfway around the globe to Japan on whim. Well this little weeaboo could not have asked for a more enticing experience with his Super Grandma. To prepare I read up on ninjas and samurai because obviously those are the most important reasons to visit Japan. At least our general excuse of escorting ____?_____ to her grandson’s 2nd birthday holds up slightly better.
Armed with a single phrasebook and a 5th grade reading level we meandered our way around Tokyo, desperately searching for McDonald’s as my diet on the trip consisted of chicken nuggets, steamed rice, and ice cream (absolutely shameful to the 23-year-old writing this). We got lost more than once, proving just how useless we all were before the invention of smartphones, but luckily we were able form some kind of communication with a group high school boys on bicycles using the phrasebook and were able to catch the a viewing of Sam Raimi’s 3rd Spiderman film. It was VERY important to see it in Japan. For some reason…
After also making sure to check out Beverly Hill’s Chihuahua, we did make it out to a number of shrines and temples, see the cherry blossoms bloom, and made our own paper. Most incredibly, we spent a weekend at a family reunion where they made me feel like the most special and included gaikokujin in the world even though I was in no way related to the family. They let me hold a real family sword and march in the parade with a drum and everything. The hospitality was quite amazing and I will forever honor those people and those memories.
One of the cooler things we did was stay in a traditional Japanese Inn near Mt. Fuji complete with a personal garden and onsen that I did not know how to properly operate and began filling after I had already washed myself. It was quite nice 2 hours later.
However, the most impactful experience we had on our journey was visiting Hiroshima and the Peace Memorial Museum. Even as child the weight of that place was intense. I vividly remember the scale model of the demolished city, the Human Shadow Etched In Stone exhibit, and having to leave immediately after 2 seconds in the room about the human aftermath of the bomb which featured disturbingly realistic mannequins depicting the horrific effect it had on the people who survived. While I can certainly remember many other wonderful parts of this trip, I will never forget how I felt in that museum.
This was the trip that started it all. I do not think I would be the nomad I am today at all had Super Grandma not thought it would be a good idea to take a 9-year-old to Japan with her for 3 weeks. Thank you Grandma, for setting me on the path I am today.
- Riley