1
TO OBAACHAN’S HOUSE WE GO!
The Tokyo train station was big. Very big! I followed Mom and Dad while dragging my suitcase behind me.
I, Jasmine Toguchi, was on the adventure of my life. I flew on a plane with my family all the way from our home in Los Angeles to Japan for a vacation. We spent two days in Tokyo doing fun things and eating yummy food. The best part so far was that my sister, Sophie, was mostly being nice to me. Normally Sophie, who is two years older than me, is bossy and doesn’t like to hang out together. But now it seemed she liked spending time with me. It was as if Japan was magical and made wonderful things happen!
Today we were leaving Tokyo to go to Hiroshima to visit Obaachan. Usually we only see our grandma in January when she comes to our house for New Year’s and stays for a whole month. This will be the first time we are visiting her! We walked and walked (there is a lot of walking to do in Japan) until at last we made it to our gate on the train platform.
“Did you know the Shinkansen is super-fast?” Sophie said in her teacher voice. It used to bother me. But now that Sophie was nicer to me, I liked learning from her. “Some people call it the bullet train.”
“How fast does it go?” I asked.
“Fast,” Sophie said.
Just as I was about to say that wasn’t a good answer, our train pulled in. I couldn’t wait to board. I wanted to go super-fast! I followed Mom and Dad and Sophie onto the train, and we found our seats. Dad moved the backs of the seats so that we could all face one another. Sophie let me have the window seat. This made me happy. Not only was I having a great adventure like I wanted, but Sophie and I were finally friends. Everything was perfect!
I hugged Fred Just Fred and stared out the window. Fred Just Fred is my second-favorite stuffed flamingo. My first favorite is Felicia, but Mom wouldn’t let me bring her because she is just as tall as I am. I could see now that it would have been hard to carry her around. Like I said, we do a lot of walking in Japan.
The train pulled out of the station. We passed tall silver buildings and streets full of cars and more buildings. It seemed like we would never leave Tokyo. I waited and watched and waited and watched. After a long while there were fewer buildings and more open spaces.
“We’re going fast!” I said as the train picked up speed. “But it doesn’t feel like it.” The train was smooth and quiet.
“What are we going to do at Obaachan’s?” I asked once the train was racing along outside of Tokyo. Fields and little houses flew by in a blur.
Mom looked up from her book and smiled. “We have some fun plans,” she said. “But I think you will both enjoy spending time with Akari.”
“Who is that?” Sophie asked.
“She is my cousin’s daughter,” Mom said. “She’s a year older than Sophie and speaks English. Her father speaks both Japanese and English, so Akari has grown up speaking both languages.”
“Awesome!” Sophie said.
“What is she like?” I asked. I hoped she enjoyed adventures, too.
“I haven’t seen her since she was a baby,” Mom said. “You’ll have to tell me what she’s like once you get to know each other.”
This was super-great! I couldn’t wait to get to Obaachan’s, make a new friend, and have more adventures in Hiroshima!
“Are we there yet?” I asked Dad.
He smiled. “Maybe you and Sophie can play cards.”
After three rounds of Uno, it was time to eat lunch. Mom had picked up bento boxes at the station before we got on the train. She got me a delicious tonkatsu sandwich. I had only had the fried pork cutlet with the yummy thick sauce on a plate at dinner. I wondered if I could put other dinner foods between bread to make lunch sandwiches. Like spaghetti!
Sophie and I played cards some more and then had reading time. Just when I thought we’d never get there, our train finally arrived in Hiroshima.
We took a taxi from the train station to Obaachan’s house. As soon as the taxi stopped, Sophie and I piled out and gazed at the front of a little shop.
Wait a minute …
2
A JAPANESE HOME
“Obaachan lives in a shop!” I exclaimed. This was the coolest thing ever!
Obaachan stepped out of the store. She wore a gray dress with pretty blue flowers. Mom shouted, “Mama!” and ran to her.
My heart fluttered like a butterfly. I was so excited to see Obaachan! My feet acted before my brain. I ran to my grandma as soon as she was finished hugging Mom. I threw my arms around Obaachan and pressed my face against her. She smelled like trees. It was like taking a deep breath of fresh air. I felt safe and happy and warm.
“Misa-chan, welcome,” Obaachan said, calling me by my Japanese middle name.
“My turn!” Sophie gently pushed me aside and hugged Obaachan.
“Hina-chan, yoku kitane.”
Sophie had spent all summer studying Japanese. She and Obaachan had extra video calls where they spoke half the time in Japanese to help Sophie practice and the other half in English to help Obaachan practice. I thought about learning Japanese for the extra time with Obaachan, but then playing with my friends kept me too busy.
Dad bowed to Obaachan and she bowed to Dad.
“Come in,” she said, and led the way into the shop.
There was a counter and a cash register by the front as we walked in. The store wasn’t that big. There were three aisles full of cans and bottles. Along the back were doors that opened to refrigerated things. Would we eat by the shelves? Sleep in the aisles? Would Fred Just Fred keep watch by the cash register?
“Where do we sleep?” I asked, peering down an aisle.
“In the house, silly,” Sophie said.
Normally Sophie would have said that in a mean voice. But when we were in Tokyo, I worked hard to be kind to Sophie. I even gave her a special present, and she ended up being nicer to me.
I wandered the three aisles of the little shop, looking at bottles of sauces, drinks, and canned foods. The words were in Japanese, but I used my super-sleuth skills. Most of the cans had pictures, so I recognized vegetables and fruits. Then something caught my attention.
“Sophie, look at this!” I shouted.
Sophie actually listened to me and hurried over to the big white freezer case.
“Ice cream?” she asked.
I slid open the top and we peered inside. “Ice cream!” I cheered.
But they didn’t look like the ice cream bars we had at home.
“Ah-zoo-kee,” Sophie said, sounding out the Japanese letters on a box. “Azuki! Jasmine, this ice cream is red bean.”
“Would you girls like to try one?” Mom asked, walking over to us.
“Hai!” Sophie and I said yes at the same time.
“Dad and I will get the suitcases to our room,” Mom said. “Do not leave the shop. If a customer comes in, call for Obaachan. She will be in the kitchen on the other side of the door.”
Not only did we get to eat ice cream before dinner, but we got to watch the store all by ourselves. Best day ever!
Sophie and I unwrapped our bars.
“Wowee zowee! It’s purple!” I waved the ice cream in the air.
Sophie laughed. “Yes, I know, it’s your favorite color.”
I bit into the cold ice cream bar. It was icy and sweet. And chewy. There were red beans in the ice cream. Delicious!
While we ate, I kept an eye on the shop. I hoped we would get a customer. But by the time we finished eating, not one shopper had stopped in.
Mom came to get us. “Obaachan wants to show you around the house.”
You didn’t have to ask me twice. I wiped my mouth with my hand and wiped my hand on my shorts. Sophie wrinkled her nose but didn’t say anything. We walked over to the side of the shop where Dad was waiting on a raised platform.
“Take your shoes off here,” he said. “And then you can come in.”
Dad slid open a frosted glass door. We stepped into a kitchen.
“It’s like Obaachan’s house is part of the shop,” I said. “That’s so cool!”
The kitchen looked like any other kitchen. It was not very interesting.
Obaachan smiled at us. “I am so happy my granddaughters are here in my home,” she said.
“Ureshii desu,” Sophie said. She turned to me. “I said I am happy.”
“Me too. I’m happy, too,” I said.
“Your nihongo is getting very good,” Obaachan said to Sophie.
Walnuts! I wish I had studied Japanese. I wanted Obaachan to say nice things to me, too.
“Come,” she said in English at least. “Let me show you where you will sleep.”
We followed her up the stairs and down a hallway. At the end of the hall, Obaachan slid open a door. The doors did not open in or out like at our house. Here, the doors reminded me of my best friend Linnie Green’s sliding door that led to her backyard. But the doors in Obaachan’s house were on the inside and looked like they were covered with paper. This door had paintings of maple leaves on it. So pretty! Maybe when I got home, I could paint a flamingo on my bedroom door.
“This is where your family will sleep,” Obaachan said, leading us into the room.
It had tatami floors just like in the pictures Mom showed us before we left for Japan. They looked like straw mats. The only things in the room were our suitcases and a standing fan.
“Where are the beds?” I asked.
“Remember,” Sophie said, using her teacher voice. “We are going to sleep on the floor.”
“Oh yeah!” Mom told us about that. We will sleep on futons. In Japan, futons are not like the kind we have. In America, ours are more like a foldout couch than a sleeping mat.
Obaachan slid open another door, this time to a closet with shelves. She put a flannel sheet on the floor. Then she pulled out a colorful mattress. Obaachan unfolded the mattress and set it on the floor. We helped her put a sheet on it and tucked it under the mattress part.
“It is hot in the summer, so instead of a blanket or quilt, you will use this.” Obaachan unfolded a towel the size of a blanket.
I loved the beds in Japan! The pillows felt like they had dried beans in them. Sophie and I helped Obaachan set up the rest of the futons. One for Dad, one for Mom, one for Sophie, and one for me. I made sure I got the light purple towel-blanket. We would all be sleeping in one room on the floor. Just like a slumber party! For the first time ever, I couldn’t wait for bedtime.
Jasmine’s Journal
Dear Linnie,
Guess what? Obaachan’s house is super-cool. We get to eat on the floor! We sit on special pillows called zabuton. The table is really low. It’s kind of like having a picnic in the house.
Even bath time is an adventure here. Remember how Ms. Sanchez taught us how to make lists in third grade? I am going to make a list now on how to take a bath in Obaachan’s home.
1. Take off your clothes in a little room next to the bathtub room. Fold your clothes neatly (says Mom).
2. The tub is deep with a cover over it. Fold the cover back. The water in the tub is super-hot, so it’s all steamy when you open the cover.
3. Scoop out water with a plastic bowl. Obaachan’s bowl is light blue with cute puppies on it. You can mix cold water into the hot water in your bowl. But do not put the cold water into the big tub (says Mom).
4. Splash yourself with the water. Mom said only till you are wet all over, but I liked splashing myself, so I did it a LOT. You can splash as much as you want because the floor is made of tile and has a big drain! If you want, you can sit on a low plastic stool. Sometimes I got tired of standing.
5. Scrub yourself with soap and a towel.
6. Scoop water out of the tub again and rinse off all the soap.
7. You can soak in the hot tub after. It was too hot for me (and kind of deep), so I did not do that part. But the grown-ups made a big deal about how good it felt.
8. Go out to the little room and dry off with a fluffy towel.
9. Put on your pj’s if it’s nighttime and your regular clothes if it’s daytime. (Mom always makes me take a bath at night though.)
Linnie, it was so much fun! I wish our bath was like that at home. I think Mom saw what I was thinking and she told me not to try this when we got back to Los Angeles. Walnuts!
Copyright © 2023 by Debbi Michiko Florence
Copyright © 2023 by Elizabet Vuković
