今週は,まず何から探検するかという議論から始まります.配布されたチケットには指定された観光名所が含まれていますが,それらは第2週と第3週にもまたがるものであることが指摘されています.第1週と第4週は,何をどこで探検するかを自由に決めることができます.
Then again you could just ignore the set trips on weeks 2-3 but considering it shows off some of the best and more so expensive attraction I doubt it is a good idea to skip those.
Anyway, Sven arrives soon enough with his Mother and Father, more than that he seems happier than most of the times I've seen him while the mother has a small smile and the father while mostly expressionless is also quite happy based of how his eyes seem to twinkle.
The parents start discussing, Dudley seems to be looking around the area simply fascinated.
"Hey Chisa, Sven... Dudley, where do you want to explore first most?"
Dudley, caught of guard by his inclusion in the question seems to ponder for a little before answering "I heard father talking about some shrine or something... I don't really know myself"
The halfhearted but honest answer does allow for a fair bit of discussion.
Chisa then speaks up addressing Dudley "A shrine? which one?"
I then speak up with " A shrine then how about Yasukuni Shrine "
Yes the political and social landmine of a shrine but suggested by a child is completely innocent-
"No. A safer option would be the Meiji Shrine, it is surrounded by forest and has no problematic history" Chisa turns down my option then gives her own while also glaring at me.
I turn my head to the side whisteling innocently.
"Huh? problematic history? what do you mean Chisa?" Asks Sven utterly clueless.
Chisa gives me another sharp glance before sighing and mutter "わざと問題を起こそうとしてるの? (Are you trying to be a problem). Finally she takes her attention to Sven explaining "Yasukuni Shrine is indeed one of the most beautiful shrines but historically it has enshrined war criminals and is therefore a slightly off putting first choice" Chisa gives me one for hard stare.
Dudley and Sven then tilt their heads confused "War" "Criminals?"
I sigh "Bad people that hurt a lot of others" I simplify to the upmost.
"Enshrined?" continuous Sven
"Christianity's equivalent is Baptism" I comment
"equivalent... Baptism" asks Dudley unsure of terminology.
I face palm and just say defeatedly "Go ask Petunia... I am unsure of how to explain it."
[Week 1, Day One]
The parental discussion was soon interrupted by Dudley who had requested clarification on terminology, and after further questioning it became a interrogation targeted Chisa because how does a five year old know this.
I did catch a few stray question but they were minimal to say the least.
Chisa ended up glaring at me the entire damn day.
Well in anyway outside of that the day went extremly well, from going to Meiji Shrine, and exploring the historic site to then grabbing a bite at a streat side local restaurant.
Here came in a most useful skill of speaking fluent Japanese. Even Chisa struggled to keep with me though her parents, having grown up in Japan did outclass me, but oh well.
The Chef of the restaurant had been quite happy to see someone as young as 9 years old and so fluent at Japanese despite being foreign so he even discounted the food by 10%. Which considering our whole group had 10 people, 4 kids 6 adults. It was most certainly a far sum discounted.
Something that slightly surprised me was the lack of a tip until I remembered that even in the future "tipping" didn't exist in Japan
SK had also decided to enjoy the food though she unfortunately had to sit at another table for obvious reasons... as an apology I had promised to spend some time with her alone.
The day ended with a visit to the Tokyo Tower area and finally had us reaching our hotel/home by around 11pm.
[Week 1, Day Two]
Turns out the group vote on "where next" was less a vote and more Vernon grunting "the old temple place" and everyone just... going with it. Democracy in action.
Asakusa in the morning was a whole vibe — Sensō-ji's got that massive red lantern hanging over the gate that Dudley nearly walked face-first into while gawking, and the whole Nakamise shopping street leading up to it is just wall-to-wall little stalls selling snacks, trinkets, the works. Chisa, still not fully done glaring at me from yesterday, at least had the decency to redirect some of that energy into haggling.
"すみません,これ二つでいくらですか?" (Excuse me, how much for two of these?) she asked some poor stall owner, who looked delighted a kid was even trying.
"はい,二つで500円ですよ!可愛いね〜" (Sure, 500 yen for two! You're a cutie~) he said, and I watched Chisa's ears go faintly red at being called cute by a stranger. Filed that away for later. Purely for scientific purposes.
Sven, meanwhile, had found the one soft-serve green tea ice cream stand within a hundred meters and was already three bites deep before anyone noticed he'd wandered off.
Petunia actually asked — genuinely asked, no scowl attached — whether the temple was "the shrine thing from yesterday." Chisa, patient as a saint, explained the shrine/temple distinction again, this time slower. I did not help. Watching her explain Shinto vs. Buddhist practice to Vernon Dursley using a lot of hand gestures was worth the price of admission alone.
"You're being a menace." I comment
"I'm being educational. There's a difference." Chisa rebukes
"Barely."
We wrapped the temple grounds up by early afternoon, hit a soba shop for lunch where the owner, upon hearing me order without stumbling, gave me the same "are you actually five" look I'm getting used to by now, and spent the evening along the Sumida River as the sun went down. No flashy modern bridge lighting or anything like that — just old lanterns, a slow river, and a bunch of tired kids. Dudley fell asleep against Vernon's arm on the walk back to the car. Small mercies.
[Week 1, Day 3]
Ueno Park, and by extension, Ueno Zoo, in the same day. Ambitious. Possibly a mistake — I underestimated how much ground "biggest park in the city, also has a zoo" actually covers.
The cherry blossoms here put yesterday's stray temple trees to shame — full rows of them, packed with families having what I can only describe as full-blown picnics, blankets and all, right there under the branches. Chisa's mother explained it's called hanami — flower viewing, apparently a whole cultural institution, not just "look, pink tree." Our group ended up parked under one for a solid hour just eating rice balls someone's mom had packed, which, fair, when in Rome.
"桜,綺麗だね" (The cherry blossoms are pretty, huh) Chisa said, mostly to herself, looking distinctly less murder-y toward me than she had the previous two days. Progress.
"だね" (Yeah) I agreed, because sometimes the man's decades of vocabulary boil down to matching the vibe of a five-year-old.
The zoo itself was fine. Standard zoo. Dudley loved the pandas with the kind of unfiltered, undiluted joy only a kid who hasn't had his soul crushed by capitalism yet can manage, which, bittersweet, considering. Sven got mildly heckled by a particularly judgmental-looking owl and has sworn a quiet vendetta against it.
SK, predictably, spent most of the day as a very convincing hair accessory, occasionally offering commentary only I could hear.
We closed the day out at the National Museum mostly because Vernon wanted somewhere with air conditioning and chairs. I actually enjoyed it — old armor, scrolls, pottery going back centuries, the kind of stuff the man's old life never got much chance to appreciate firsthand. Chisa's dad, of all people, ended up giving an impromptu, surprisingly detailed lecture on Edo-period ceramics to a group of increasingly glazed-over Dursleys. Sven fell asleep standing up at one point. Honestly I don't blame him.
Home by ten and ya my feet hurt, but worth it.
[Week 1, Day 4]
Shinjuku Gyoen in the morning — quieter than Ueno, more manicured, the kind of place where you could hear someone's polite little "すみません,通ります" (excuse me, coming through) from thirty feet away since there was no reason to shout over anyone else. It is a nice place to actually talk instead of just herding four kids through crowds.
Chisa and I ended up walking a stretch of the garden path slightly ahead of the group - I think our minds kinda just wandered while looking through the gardens - we were past the Japanese landscape section with the ponds and the little arched bridges .
"あなたって本当に変わってるよね" (You're really strange, you know that?) she said out of nowhere, not looking at me, just watching the koi.
"褒め言葉として受け取っておくよ" (I'll take that as a compliment.)
A small smile appeared but she stayed silent.
"You're smiling."
"Shut up."
"Heh" I chuckle and leave it at that.
Rest of the group caught up before things got any more embarrassing, thankfully.
Afternoon and evening we spent around Shinjuku's west side — wide streets, department stores, absolutely none of the neon chaos the east side apparently has, which, good, because I already promised myself and several deities I wasn't explaining that particular district to Petunia. Dinner was at a family restaurant with an English menu that Vernon looked personally offended didn't need translating for once. We caught an observation deck view of the city lighting up at dusk — worth the elevator line, genuinely gorgeous, even Vernon went quiet for a solid thirty seconds, which for him is basically poetry.
[Week 1, Day 5]
Imperial Palace grounds, which, fun fact I did not know until Chisa's mother mentioned it: you can't actually go inside the palace, just the outer gardens. Something about it still being, y'know, occupied by the actual Emperor. Fair enough, really, can't imagine he wants tourists tramping through his living room.
The East Gardens were free, sprawling, and blissfully calm — old castle foundation stones, still-standing guard towers, more cherry blossoms doing their thing. Sven spent a suspicious amount of time near a groundskeeper asking increasingly specific questions about "how do you become one of the people who takes care of a literal Emperor's garden," which, sure, add that to the list of things Sven apparently wants to be when he grows up, right after stewardess-flight-buddy.
I mean honestly it might not be the fact he wants to specifically take care of specifically the emperor's garden it might just be he wants a similar garden. I mean he has the wealth for it.
Oh wait... what that? A hole, a hole in the wall just small enough for our frames....
Time for fun.