Japan

April 6-10, 2009 Japan

Konnichiwa!
A Japanese fireboat, spraying twin spurts of water, and a team of drummers welcomed us to Kobe port. After processing by the authorities, we enjoyed hot coffee in a can from a vending machine. There were three levels in the port terminal, so a worker there helped us page Isao’s daughter Kiriko to meet us. (Isao was having his dialysis treatment that day.) We had prearranged for Kiriko and her husband Peter to come on the ship for lunch and a tour. As you can see, they are a beautiful couple. They hope to find work in Peter’s home country of Taiwan and then have their formal family wedding. They were both a tremendous help to us on our visit. Peter drove us east northeast to Nagoya where Isao’s family lives. We stopped at Biwa Lake rest stop, and Kiriko had to show me how to flush the toilet, there were so many buttons to push for various functions! We passed Nanzan University where Isao attended when he was an exchange student at Alaska Methodist University in 1965 and we became friends. We were welcomed by Isao and settled into a Japanese style sleeping room. That night we met Isao’s wife Kyoko and daughter Akiko who came from work and joined us for a Chinese style dinner at a neighborhood restaurant.