Part 5 of my "Journey to fulfill a promise"

Poppies in Focus-2 by Cindy.  This was my gift to my aunt, Hitomi-san, painted by Cindy

Part 5 of Journey to Fulfill a Promise

What could top all that has gone on these past 2 weeks.  Flew into Kagoshima, with no plan, no clue or trace that any of my mom’s family members still survived, no contact information of anyone and can’t speak the language.  But here I was, 15 days into my journey, preparing to visit the entire family of my aunt who lives in Yoshino, Hitomi-san.  Hitomi-san’s husband, Nakae-san, came and picked me up, alone, at my hotel.  This day I was flying solo without the help of my translators but in the end, with family, the saying “love conquers all” truly applied.  Nakae-san and I drove 40 minutes to Yoshino communicating and laughing the whole way.  If I were to build an uncle I couldn’t build a more perfect one than Nakae-san and my uncle Kaji-san, husband of my aunt from Nagoya.  Nakae-san is kind, giving, attentive, funny and loves to laugh. 

Once I arrived at the home of Nakae-san and Hitomi-san it was like I was truly part of the family.  Hitomi-san was away conducting yoga classes, but my aunt, Tamami-san, was there with her husband, Kaji-san, Hitomi-san’s oldest son, Kouji, and youngest daughter, Sayaka, were present.  Also, two of Kouji’s three children were there too.  Kouji’s oldest son is Shunya and his middle daughter’s name is Fuuka.  Smart and very athletic kids.  Shunya is the table tennis champion, for his age group, for all Kagoshima.  That’s saying a lot since table tennis (ping pong) is a major sport in Japan.  For those of you that don’t know, table tennis is one of my favorite sports too and yes, I’m competitive, so playing Shunya was in my future during my visit.  Meeting all these cousins and family was so exciting because again, in the States, we have zero relatives….none!  Never grew up with a grandma, grandpa, uncles, aunts or cousins.  Some of you are saying, “Yeah, you also didn’t grow up with all the drama that follows having extended family.”  True, but on the other hand, I have friends, that to this day, love seeing their favorite aunts, uncles or cousins.  Truly exciting to hug a cousin, aunt and uncle.

Fuuka on my right and Shunya: the kids of my cousin, Kouji.  Shunya is the table tennis champion

Kouji and me:  Meeting my first "first" cousin….cool!!  Kouji is the son of Hitomi-san and Nakae-san.  He has a brother, Takaomi and one sister, Sayaka

Kouji’s sister and my cousin, Sayaka. 

Back to my aunt, Hitomi-san.  At 67 she is a yoga instructor.  This, in itself, is one of the reasons I feel so at home in Japan.  Fitness and sports are part of me and part of the culture in Japan; at all ages!!  Nakae-san, at 73, is an awesome golfer, playing bogey golf from my tees.  Unbeliveable, considering many of the folks I golf with, who are my age or less, couldn’t play bogey golf from the senior tees (ok, ok…too technical for non-golfers….sorry).  He also was tops in Karate, earning the highest belt and awards.  Kaji-san was tops in Judo and his eldest son was a top sumo-wrestler.  In my short visit to Kagoshima I have met a ping pong champion, the island of Kyushu bartender champion, a champion in karate and judo.  The Japanese strive to be the best in all they do and it shows in all aspects of their culture.  I will delve deeper into that when wrapping up my entire journey.  

Hitomi-san showing me some warm-up stretches. Incredible for a 67 year old

 

 

Still had some relatives to meet, but I only had this one day with everyone and they had my kind of agenda lined up.  First on the list was going to the golf range and banging some balls.  Then, we would play ping pong, me going against Shunya, the Champion in his age group for all Kagoshima.  Then, we would all end with a great dinner at a family style Japanese restaurant.  As for ping pong, I’m sure many folks who have played me over the years want to know whether I got my butt handed to me because when I play I show no mercy.  Let’s just say, that Shunya isn’t the champion for nothing.  We played 4 games and each took 2 games.  Our 60 minutes on the table ran out (whew) so it was a draw.  Give that kid a few more years and I’m sure I won’t get one point.  Awesome day spent with a new found family, playing sports and enjoying each other’s company, all possible because of love.  Sounds cheesy I know, but this day, love did conquer all.

Putting it right down the middle at the golf range

Fuuka is the next great golfer in the family…believe me!

Shunya trying to hit golf balls.  He needs to
stick with ping pong


Nakae-san showing his great form.  Great to have an uncle who loves golf as much as I do

Kaji-san came to provide support

Now on to ping pong.  We went to a beautiful family community center that was set on acres of beautiful forested land.  What a gorgeous setting!  We enjoyed the forested area then, we went into the community center, in time for our 60 minute reservation on a ping pong table.  Yes, to answer your question up front, Shunya was really good and showed the skills of a champion; and I don’t say that lightly. 

 

Renka, daughter of my cousin Kouji.  She came to the community center to meet me and play ping pong

Renka and Shunya enjoying the great park

Kaji-san just chilling.  This is one cool uncle

Shunya showing the form of a champion


Returning a ball from Shunya

Hugging Shunya after a great match

My cousin Kouji’s three children: from left to right-Fuuka, Shunya and Renka

After ping pong it was on to dinner with many of my relatives.  Great way to wrap up an awesome day with everyone.  Again, not speaking Japanese was simply overcome by love.  Here you go:

Fuuka finally warming up to the dark stranger

Kouji’s lovely wife, Kumiko, their daughter Fuuka and my uncle Nakae-san

Renka, daughter of my cousin, Kouji, and Asuka, wife of Takaomi

from left to right: Kouji, Takaomi, Sayaka, Renka, Asuka

Tamami-san and her husband, Kaji-san

Hitomi-san at dinner

My aunts, uncles and cousins after dinner taking a picture with me

 

 

What a wonderful day spent with family, my style.  Competition, sweating and delicious, healthy food.  My aunt Hitomi-san and my uncle Nakae-san, drove me back to my hotel, 40 minutes away.  As we drove, my aunt held my hand the entire way, talking to me in Japanese and funny enough, I understood much of it.  Yes, love conquers all barriers and this evening, with my new found family, was proof that there truly are no barriers to enjoying family and friends as long as there is an underlying basis of love....no problem!