Day 21 (Aug 19) - Enzan and Family

Woke up at around 6:30 so that I could get ready to catch a train to Enzan. We booked tickets a few days back in Okayama for the Kaiji Limited Express. The trip took about an hour twenty, in which I spent most of my time looking out the window. The sky was somewhat grey, but it wasn't terribly cloudy.

At Enzan station, we were greeted by our eldest aunt and uncle. They took us to visit our grandfather. Unlike two years ago, he lost a considerably amount of weight, similar to when we first saw him in 2014 when he had a stroke. After some time, we said our farewells and headed to a temple nearby. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe it's Erinji Temple, based on how my aunt mentioned it was dedicated to or that Takeda Shingen built. It was fairly pleasant and quiet at the temple.

We left for lunch at a family restaurant. Since I wasn't feeling too well, I got a simple udon and vegetable set. My aunt was worried that I was dieting, so she graciously offered a chicken kaarage from her meal. It was tasty and while we ate, we got the chance to show her some of our pictures that we took throughout the trip. It also seemed like my aunt picked up some English, for she was able to say a couple sentences. Unfortunately, my Japanese was pretty basic, so I could only answer some of her questions, while saying "wakanai" for the others (lit: I dunno).

After lunch, they brought us back to Enzan station. We said our farewells as we exchanged gifts. We had to book tickets back to Shinjuku, so we did so with the attendant by the gate. The ride back seemed quicker, for we were back in Shinjuku. After heading back to our hotel, we did some laundry (final one for the trip) before heading back out in the evening to meet up with another cousin. This cousin makes the effort each time we're in Japan to visit us, and I'm very grateful for that. She took us to a udon restaurant by the name of Tsurutontan. My initially impressions of the place was hipster/trendy, based on how it didn't look like any other udon restaurants (I admit I've been to very few) I've been to in Japan. Also, we had to order drinks, with the cheapest ones being 480 yen. When the udon bowl came to us, I was amazed by how big they were, but the portionn size within was equivalent ot a normal size.

I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty it was though, and it has ever so slightly lessened my bias towards these types of establishments. My cousin also ordered sushi, tempura and a crispy corn appetizer that were all really good as well.

During dinner, we conversed a bit while talking about our vacation. Once dinner was over, we headed back to Shinjuku station before parting ways.

We stocked up for breakfast and rested for the night. A fulfilling day visiting family; it is one of the reasons why I started to learn Japanese. I hope to one day be able to carry out a conversation!

Just three more full days left in Japan.