May 6, 2009: Swine flu follow-up

We woke up well rested from our nights stay in the business hotel. I’m pretty sure Mom and Dad were happy to have a hot shower while they were there! We checked out and retrieved our car from the vending machine-like parking garage. Seriously; you pull your car into what appears to be a one-car garage at the bottom of a tall building adjoining the hotel. When you get out of the car and exit the garage, a parking attendant presses a button and some sort of robotic system takes your car and places it somewhere high in the building. You can retrieve it later by giving the parking attendant your ticket number so that he can punch in the appropriate code for your car. Then it is delivered to you just as a vending machine would give you a Coke. Only in Japan!

Our first destination for the day was Hiroshima Castle. It seemed obvious to me that Mom and Dad should visit a Japanese castle during their visit. Getting to the castle was surprisingly easily (we often fascinate ourselves at how we can actually find our way around in Japan!). Finding a place to park was another story. After circling the castle several times, I finally realized that we could park inside the castle walls on the grounds.

As we walked toward the actual castle within the fortress walls, I noticed someone was calling my cell-phone from a number that I didn’t recognize. I answered and was informed by the person on the other end of the line that she was a doctor with the Japanese Ministry of Health. It slowly dawned on me that Mom and Dad had listed my phone number as their method of contact while in Japan, when they had completed the customs forms upon arriving. The doctor thought that I was my dad, and I just let her think that for the rest of the conversation (for the sake of simplicity). She asked if I or my wife (meaning Mom) had any flu-like symptoms. She also asked if we were being sure to wear surgical masks at all times to prevent the possible spread of buta influenza (or swine flu) which was becoming an epidemic in America and Mexico. So far there had been no cases reported in Japan. I informed her that ‘we’ were feeling fine and that…ah hem…”We’re wearing our masks at all times.” (So I was a little dishonest…sue me!) After reassuring her that we would immediately call her at the first sign of succumbing to swine flu (which we Americans were likely to have brought with us from America) she said good bye. I told everyone what had happened and we all had a good laugh about it.

You can't tell in the picture, but Brandon kept bowing while he was on the phone (as if he was talking to the woman in-person). It was hilarious! (-Sarah)

We toured the castle and looked at all the various artifacts dating back thousands of years. At one point, I even tried the old method of carrying things around. There were samurai swords and armor, masks, scrolls, and various other historical items on display.

This hands-on exhibit is in the castle.

At the top, we had a nice view of the city below.

Afterward, we were all quite hungry. None of us had eaten thus far that day. Dad had checked out the traditional Japanese breakfast back at the hotel, but he decided to pass on it. We parked the car again and found a nice little Japanese/Italian restaurant. Lunch was pretty good, but I think Mom was having some trouble adjusting to the texture of the meat. It can sometimes seem kind of fatty or chewy. However, she said she liked most of it okay. The rest of us wolfed ours down in no time.

After lunch, Mom and Dad thought it would be nice to look for some Hiroshima souvenirs. We looked in some of the nearby shops, but we didn’t really see anything that fit what they were looking for. In most big cities such as New York, Sydney, etc, it is easy to find souvenirs specific to that city. In Japan, however, one doesn’t really see many souvenirs of this type. So we decided to go back to the train station where we had previously seen some souvenirs for the city baseball team, the Hiroshima Carp. Dad and Sarah went in and managed to find some keepsakes while Mom and I rested out in the car, so we wouldn’t have to pay to park somewhere!

Task complete, we figured it was probably about time to start making our way back home to Iizuka, where some friends were expecting to have dinner with us. On the way out of town, we stopped at the Harley Davidson store in an effort to procure some tee shirts for my Uncle Mike. Because it was a national holiday, however, they were closed. Sorry Mike!

This is proof that we really did pass the store!

The trip back to Iizuka went quickly and without a hitch. Dad and Sarah both napped most of the way. Mom stayed awake because she was a little nervous in the little car amongst the speeding traffic. We did make it home all in one piece.

Almost as soon as we arrived, we were on our way to dinner. We took my parents to our favorite local restaurant, Chikyuya. Our good friends Darryl, Ira, Caitlyn, Tim and Deji all accompanied us. I think Mom and Dad mostly enjoyed the food and they seemed to have a good time. After dinner, we went home and we all collapsed to sleep a short while later.

The restaurant's owner brought us one of their specialities, on the house!