We got up at a relatively early time (what's new for this trip) and traveled to Shinjuku station to wait for our cousin to guide us around. After meeting up with our cousin, we took the Kaiji train to head to Yamanashi station. After arriving at the station, we waited for a restaurant to open up for lunch. Our cousin recommended a noodle dish, that is a specialty of Yamanashi, and one that our grandma used to make for her when she was younger. It was quite delicious, though I can't recall the name of the dish... Houtou if I'm not mistaken? It was like a hot pot, in that there was thick noodles, meat and vegetables. The server instructed us on how to cook the noodles, by essentially telling us that it has to heat at a certain setting (high) for an amount of time before turning down the heat and letting it simmer for a while. While the hot pot was cooking, my brother and I shared our trip pictures with our cousin.
It was a hot day, and eating hot foods made me quite sweaty, but it was delicious nevertheless. I realized that I have a soft spot for thinly sliced beef. It kinda reminded me of the beef slices that I get at pho restaurants, yet slightly different with the fatty beef that this hot pot used.
After lunch, we took a bus to the graveyard to pay respect to our grandmother and other relatives that passed away. The walk from the bus station felt a lot shorter than before, but it's always a nostalgic walk. There seemed to always be no breeze, with a strong sun shining on our backs, but a wonderful scene at the graveyard always awaits for us.
After paying our respects, it was back to the train station to go to Enzan, so that we can visit our grandfather at the nursing home. We stopped at a sweet shop before hand so that my cousin could buy snacks for us to share at afterwards with or grandfather.
At arrival, he wasn't in his room, so we waited for him a few meters away. Very soon, we saw him making his way to his room. He didn't know we were coming, so I hope it was a pleasant surprise for him! We sat there while my cousin talked and interepreted for us. Our grandfather seemed to be in good spirits, though he seemed shakier than before and that he has troubles hearing. If I'm not mistaken, he's 92 years old.
After eating the snacks, our cousin suggested that we take him out on a quick walk. Our grandfather seemed to like the idea, and so we went to walk a block or so outside. It was hot, but a very peaceful walk. The sun was starting to set, making the scene reminiscent in nature.
Soon after we returned, we said our goodbyes and headed back to the station to make our way to our cousin’s house. After 2.5 hours, we made it with our aunt and uncle awaiting our arrival.
Food was waiting for us, and we had a scrumptious meal of sushi, yakitori, chicken kaarage, potato wedges, fresh peaches, melons, edamame, and various other foods. Like 3 years ago, we conversed, but we didn't have to use our translator app as much as before. I'm still far away from being conversational, but my Japanese is slowly improving!
After dinner and some TV, we headed off to sleep. It was another long, but productive and meaningful day.
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