Is That a Mustache?! Japan

*Mustache not pictured here. At least, I don’t think it is.

At the end of January 2001, dad found Chuy and himself in Tokyo, Japan ahead of the crew to unload the containers they had shipped from Seattle. When they landed, none of the signs in the airport were in English (my worst nightmare) and as dad loosely put it, “This was before everyone had them fancy smartphones” so they weren’t aware how far out of town the airport was. After they finally made it to the main station, they had to figure out the subway system to find their hotel. The subway, however, did have English words for stops. When they arrived at the station closest to the embassy, they got out and it was snowing. Neither of them were prepared for that, but luckily my dad brought a coat because I highly doubt either of us could find anything that fits us in Japan. They eventually found the embassy and knew that the hotel was close by (a 3 min walk according to Google). After they checked in at the Ana Hotel, dad realized how expensive their rooms were.

As mentioned before, they had containers to unload and they were only given one spot to unload and had to stack all of them on top of each other. They also had to get briefed on everything that was going to go on for the next few months at the embassy. A local contractor was to provide the labor and equipment for the 7 to 8 story-tall building that the embassy took up so they needed large cranes. Dad mentioned that the local contractor gave him a business card and it is customary in Japan to inspect/read the business card before tucking it away like a lot of people do in the states. He then had to call the US and let them know how long it would take for them to get the containers unloaded so the crew arrived 2 to 3 weeks later.

As this was a pretty big job, they worked 5 10 hour days and every Friday, dad would take the crew to Tony Roma’s for a nice dinner. There were also beer vending machines that held them over as well. They found a laundromat across the highway and got settled in. Dad also said that since they were spending so much money on hotel rooms, he made a deal with the hotel so that they could get free breakfast every morning. For reference, they had 2 guys per room and 4 rooms in total and he had to pay the bill every Friday. Kay from back home had to pay his credit card bill right away so that they didn’t exceed the limit.

We all got to visit dad in March since we knew it would be a while before we would see him again. We had to go in March since Josh and Jacob were in school so this time lined up with their Spring Break. I was 4 when we went and this happened to be my first plane ride. They obviously wanted me to start with a banger because it was a straight 14 hour flight from Dallas. Mom still shudders when she thinks about it because this was also her first time taking three kids on a trip of this scale by herself. Thank goodness Josh was a teenager because I don’t think she would’ve made it. She thought the direct flight would be a good idea but looking back, she would’ve given anything to get out to stretch her legs (and probably scream). Dad had also given her false hope because his flight to Japan was pretty empty so he told her how much space we would have to move around and that we would most likely be able to lay down. Unfortunately for her, Spring Break is a popular time to go to Tokyo so it was a full flight. She said Josh went through all of the entertainment he brought and Jacob got through the flight by banging his head on the back of the seat. Mom said I was like a cat because I kept moving in my seat to find a comfortable position (now my thighs spill into the seat next to me. those were the days, am i right?). I also had a ton of Barbie coloring books to go through. Before we left the states, dad told mom that he might not be able to pick us up from the airport because work had ran late the past few days. She said something along the lines of “No. Not an option.” If you’ve gotten this far, you’ll remember that my dad had trouble navigating the airport/subway so I cannot imagine mom having to do that by herself with all of us. Nonetheless, he made it.

Dad met us at the airport and had something new on his face. As a 4 year old, change is not a concept you fully understand and when you see your dad for the first time in months, you tend not to like it. (at least I did not) Maybe I also didn’t like it because it was blonde and looked weird. (sorry dad.) I remember holding onto my mom’s arm and staring at him the entire subway ride not knowing what to think. He quickly won me over because the next day, they took us to Disneyworld. I don’t remember much from this trip, but I vividly remember two things. One was seeing my dad’s mustache for the first time, and the other is the toilets. I know, I know, stick with me. I walked into a stall and my mom stepped in behind me. I looked at the toilet which was located IN the ground and then looked back up at her with panic in my eyes. I was probably thinking “I’ve only confidently known how to use the toilet for two years now and then you throw me THIS curveball?” It was an interesting experience for the both of us.

We have a ton of pictures from Disneyworld and it still remains the only time I’ve ever been to one. During the parade, my dad had me on his shoulders and all of the princesses waved at me because my blond hair really stood out. I was also told that many people wanted to touch our hair as well. My parents got us all Disney hats and I think I still have mine to this day. One of Josh’s requests was to find Dr. Pepper. Again, with no smartphones, they had to search many vending machines, but finally found one 2 blocks from the hotel. This is very important business as I still get giddy when finding Dr. Pepper in other countries where I have said “I’ll take all that you have.” It was a very eventful week with a St. Patrick’s parade as well and during the week, my mom took a load of clothes down to the laundromat and Kiss’ roadies were in there since Kiss was in town. They all mentioned that they were very nice to work for and I’m sure mom had a good time talking to them. If you know her, she’s not really the shy type. We also visited the Tokyo Tower, went to the Royal Gardens, and also got see the beginning of the cherry blossoms. We also stopped by the “Pearl Center” to visit a jeweler so dad could get my mom a ring. The lady they talked to ended up being married to a retired professional baseball player named Sadaharu Oh (he holds the world lifetime homerun record) and gave Jacob one of his signed baseballs.

Ordering food was an adventure in itself. There was quite a bit of pointing to order. Dad took us to a supermarket and Josh tried all of the samples without knowing what he was trying. It’s also where he found out he was a big fan of Aloe Vera. Pork bao buns were a hit for the boys, but I was not a fan which is sad because I think they’re delicious now. Breakfast buffets had fish and salad which was odd to us, but it also had a ton of pastries that we were very much on board with. Dad also took us to an Italian restaurant ran by some locals that dad knew about because they served spaghetti. It was packed and Jacob actually fell asleep in his plate of spaghetti because we waited an hour for our food.

We eventually had to go back to reality and dad was set to remain in Tokyo for another month. During this time, one of the machines got grease on the flag that was flown at the embassy and they told dad it was his responsibility. He paid for it, brought it back to the states, and got the grease stain out of it and still has it to this day. Everything else went by pretty easily and dad had racked up quite a few hotel points by the end, so he took the guys up to the bar to use them all which I’m sure they thoroughly enjoyed. They finished up and dad came home in May. To my surprise, with no mustache.