Mark to Japan

Mark came to Japan on Friday evening in order to attend the interment of Takashi's remains in the family grave. We had a few beers on Friday night to catch up and left the house on Saturday morning to travel to the nearby Kodaira City cemetery.

The actual Buddhist ceremony was very brief with only close family members in attendance. The urn was placed in a space under the large granite headstone with a surprising lack of ceremony and then after the priest had recited some sutras, we went off to a steak restaurant to have lunch. The mood was relatively light and Takashi was spoken about fondly by all. The day was more of a celebration of his life than an event to mourn his passing.

After a nice family dinner, Mark and I went out around Kumegawa for some beers and entertainment. We ended up playing darts until about 4am and then got up around midday on Sunday. Although Mark's flight was not until 7pm in the evening, he had to leave the house much earlier as Narita Airport is a fairly long journey from Tokyo. I suppose it was only a matter of time until an error of semi-biblical proportions decided to make things interesting. I did well to get Mark on the Narita Express, it just turned out it was the train from the airport and therefore going in the opposite direction. Mark ended up getting a taxi which cost him about GBP150.

Despite the last minute hiccup with Mark's train, his visit was a success and was certainly appreciated by Yuki's family. I will probably visit Hong Kong for a week or so later in the year as it has been some time since my last visit.

Now I have a 1 week holiday. I have lots of things to keep me busy (more on that in later posts) but I will also ensure that I find ample time for enjoyment. Bye for now.