1
Winning a Prize
“Ow! Your bony elbow is in my side,” my big sister, Sophie, said to me.
“Well, your knee is jabbing me,” I said.
I, Jasmine Toguchi, was having a super summer vacation with my family traveling in Japan! But right now was probably not the best part. I was smooshed in a minivan taxi with Obaachan, Dad, Mom, and Sophie, plus all our suitcases. We had just arrived in Kyoto by train and now were taking a taxi to our hotel.
“Girls,” Mom said. She was squished next to me. “Please don’t complain. We’re almost there.”
Mom’s shoulder was shoved against my head, but I did not say anything because I didn’t want her to be annoyed. Usually when Mom or Dad say “almost there,” it still takes forever, but for once Mom was right. The taxi pulled up to a hotel and stopped.
“Quit pushing,” Sophie said as she climbed out of the minivan.
“I’m not! Mom’s pushing me,” I said.
“Girls!” Mom said, while nudging (pushing) me out of the car.
We tumbled out of the taxi, gathered our suitcases, and made our way into the hotel. It was cool and quiet in the lobby. There were big windows everywhere. Through the glass, I saw tall bamboo and lots of green leafy plants. It was almost like being outside still. And the best thing was, I was not smashed in the back seat of a car with my family anymore.
I hopped and jumped, excited to finally be at our hotel.
“I’m glad we’re out of that taxi,” Sophie said to me, stretching her arms.
“And we have three more days of vacation left,” I said.
She smiled. “We’re going to have a blast here.”
Spending time with Sophie has been super-great! Before we came on vacation, we were not getting along because she was not very nice to me. Now we were friends and having fun together.
While Mom and Dad checked us into the hotel, Sophie and I followed Obaachan to a sitting area. There was a vending machine! I loved how many vending machines there were in Japan. You could buy drinks, candy, toys, and more. This one was the small kind like we had back home, where you put in a coin and spin the dial and get a mystery toy in a plastic ball.
“Would you like to get something?” Obaachan asked with a twinkle in her eye. She knew we would say hai! She gave us each a coin. The money in Japan is called yen. I learned that when we were in Tokyo.
“Who gets to go first?” I asked.
“Jan ken pon,” Sophie said.
Whenever we played rock paper scissors, Sophie usually won. It was not very fun for me. We faced each other with one fist forward.
“Jan, ken, pon,” we both said, shaking our fists. On pon, I kept my fist closed and Sophie opened hers. She cheered as she covered my fist with her hand. “Paper beats rock. I win!”
Sophie put her yen in the machine and spun the dial. She opened the plastic ball, and inside was a cute key chain in the shape of sushi. I wanted one of those, too!
I spun the dial and pulled out a bright-pink ball. I was excited to see what I got. But instead of a cute key chain or toy, inside was a folded piece of paper. I opened it, and on it was Japanese writing. This was not a good prize at all! It was not fair that Sophie got a fun toy and I got paper.
“Oh. This is unusual,” Obaachan said, looking at my paper. “It’s a fortune.”
I peered at the writing. “It is?” That sounded interesting.
“What does it say?” I asked Obaachan.
“It says daikichi. It means a great blessing is coming your way,” she said. “Something very good.”
Wowee zowee! I wondered what it could be. A special present? A delicious treat? Whatever it was, it would be a good surprise!
Dad walked over to us and held up two key cards. “We have rooms next to each other,” he said. “One of you will stay with Obaachan.”
Text copyright © 2023 by Debbi Michiko Florence.
