It's been a while! Sorry for the break, but our last few days in Japan were so packed with friends and family that it was all we could do to finish packing in time to catch our flight home, which is where we are now.
Picking up where I left off, though, Sumie, Mimi, and I had braved insanely narrow and snowy streets, in a Toyota Vitz no less, to reach our onsen, or Japanese hot springs. This would be our base of operations between visits to Sumie's grandmother (Obachan), who would turn 103 years old during our visit. The journey to the onsen had been a harrowing one, but the end result was worth it. Here's the view from our room.
Mimi approved. She wanted to put on her new galoshes (which she insisted on wearing everywhere) and explore outside.
I had other ideas. Upon stepping into my room I found my left knee was in agony. Strange, that, given the car was an automatic. Luckily, the hot springs worked the tension right out. Of course, before going down to soak, I had to don my yukata. One must try to be native, even if one looks ridiculously out of place!
Each morning and evening we'd meet Sumie's aunt and uncle, as well as two of their friends staying at the onsen, for breakfast or dinner. Here's Sumie, Mimi, and Reiko-obasan.
The food, traditional Japanese fare, was fantastic. And Mimi really began to embrace the cuisine of her second homeland. Here's what's left of a grilled fish she had. Fish heads, fish heads, yum!
Mimi even used the fish skewer to get the most out of every bite. She doesn't always have the best appetite, but she can be quite the industrious little girl when she finds something tasty.
Despite the pleasures of soaking and eating, that was not why we'd braved the snow and come so far north. We were in Yamagata to visit Sumie's grandmother and to introduce her to Mimi. Obachan was staying in a wonderful rest home about 20 kilometers or so from the onsen. Thanks to the rental car, we were able to visit with Obachan three times during our two night stay. Here's Sumie and Mimi outside Obachan's place. You can see that Mimi's still infatuated with her boots.
Obachan sleeps most of the day now, and her memory isn't what it used to be, but she still looks wonderful and her spirit, that dynamic personality which has brought her through 103 years, still shines through. At first, Obachan simply enjoyed a few strokes of her hair from Sumie.
But before too long she turned to meet her great granddaughter...
....opened her eyes, and smiled. It was such a wonderful moment. Three women spanning four generations of family. All together. All smiling. Mimi was so taken with the moment that she even came out with a new word: Obachan!
There were many highlights during our Japan trip, but our time with Obachan, despite being brief, was assuredly the most memorable. Neither Obachan nor Mimi will remember these meetings, I'm sure, but that's really beside the point. Someday, when Mimi sees these pictures, she'll ask us, "Who's that?" And that's when we'll get to share our adventures in Yamagata and, most importantly, the life of the very special woman who was the reason for our visit.
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