Woke early to ready ourselves for a journey east. Breakfasted in our room on pastries and coffee. Set off for Noburu’s flat to mark the seventh anniversary of his wife’s, Aki’s sister’s, passing…a local tradition marks this milestone by inviting a monk into the home to conduct a service of remembrance before the family shrine…we arrived just in time.
Kath and I were given chairs to sit on, while the family, Nobby, Aki, her niece Erika, her nephew Naoya, his wife Rumika, and their children, Leia and Shunta, knelt before the mini shrine and listened to the monk chanting, and talking about grief and the ties that bind us. We repaired to a little restaurant around the corner afterward for a celebratory lunch. It was amazing…several courses, including sashimi, tempura prawns and vegetables, culminating in a fish and vegetable hotpot, rice, and a jelly dessert with coconut cream…it took almost two-and-a-half hours to get through it all…amazing!
We walked back to Nobby’s flat where we said our farewells, and made the journey back into Tokyo. Aki picked up our Bullet Train tickets in a very busy Tokyo central station…she had to seek help from a friendly station guardswoman. Made our way to Ebisu to pick up a pair of trousers Aki had had taken up at Uniqlo, then took a tube train back to the hotel, stopping for hot chocolate at Starbucks on the way. Collapsed on the bed and watched the BBC News channel before bath and bed…
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