Aunt Reiko

Two years ago my Uncle Trent moved to Yokohama, Japan to become the Principle at Saint Maur International High School.  Within the year, he had fallen in love with Japan and with a Japanese woman.  Not too long after, he had the good sense to make Reiko his wife and now my aunt.  And most recently, they had the good sense to have a baby! Reiko is about 13 weeks pregnant and a tiny baby bump is starting to peak through her tiny little frame. 

I first met Reiko two Christmases ago and immediately saw how blessed we were to have her in our family.  Shy, kind, generous, funny, hard working and incredibly intelligent, Reiko was my first glimpse into Japanese culture.    Hearing her and Uncle Trent talk about Japan, I knew I needed to see it for myself.  So what better way to start out my trip than a weekend with Reiko in Yokohama!

Ironically, Uncle Trent flew back to Seattle for a short summer vacation the same day I flew into Japan.  Most likely we crossed paths thousands of feet in the air somewhere over Alaska.  It would have been great to see Uncle Trent, but I didn’t mind having Reiko all to myself for a few days.  After a long few days of travel via planes, trains, and automobiles, I gratefully rang the doorbell at Trent and Reiko’s apartment.  After a smile and hug, Reiko took my bag while I took off my shoes and she welcomed me to their home.  I asked for a tour and she proudly showed me their apartment, most notably the wonderful balcony with a gorgeous view of Nagoya, my Uncle’s impressive baseball hat collection hung on their bedroom walls, her bookshelf full of Japanese novels and English children’s stories (through which she taught herself to read English), and the pictures hanging on the refrigerator of my baby cousin from her most recent ultrasound.

I spent the next two days exploring Yokohama with Reiko.  She and Uncle Trent had planned out two action packed days for me and Reiko went out of her way to make sure I saw the best of Yokohama.  We ate street food in Chinatown, cheered on the Yokohama Baystars in the gorgeous Yokohama stadium, meandered along the Yokohama Port, ate Ramen, and grocery shopped.  And that was all on Saturday!  By the end of the day I was happily exhausted while Reiko looked like she was just getting started.  Where she gets her energy I’ll never know.  We got back to the apartment and Reiko handed me a beer that Trent had bought for me before he left.  I took about four sips before I fell asleep on the couch. 

On Sunday Reiko cooked me a delicious “American” breakfast before we headed out to visit the beautiful town of Kamakura just outside of Yokohama.  Beautiful Buddhist temples and shrines surround Kamakura, which also happens to right on the beach.  We visited The Great Buddha and ate green tea ice cream next to the temple.  When I told her how much I love the beach, we walked down to the water so I could feel the sand between my toes. We walked through the famous Hydrangea Gardens, visited the Kamakura temple, and shopped for souvenirs. Before we headed back to Yokohama, we made a short detour to buy Taiyaki, a delicious custard filled doughnut type desserts in the shape of little fish.  They’re one of Trent’s favorites and Reiko wanted to make sure I tried them too.   In case the day wasn’t amazing enough we finished it off with Udon for dinner at Trent and Reiko’s favorite Udon restaurant, then went to the top of the Marine Tower.  Reiko told me she wanted me to see how beautiful Yokohama is at night and there’s no better spot in the city.  Undoubtedly, the view was simply breathtaking.  All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better  weekend or a better tour guide. 

Leaving Reiko and the comfort of her loving hospitality made Monday morning, well, a pretty miserable Monday morning.  But, by my request, she made me a “Japanese” breakfast, then walked me to the subway to help me buy my Shinkansen Bullet Train ticket to Nagoya, my final destination in Japan.  I’m not sure when I’ll see Reiko again, but when I do she’ll be a mother.  If the way she treated me this weekend is any indication as to her parenting skills, that little guy/gal is one lucky baby.