On the evening of 1st October, United Flight 852 landed at Narita Airport in Tokyo. This is the fifth homecoming trip to Japan this year. It was drizzling when I walked outside the terminal building.
Oh, it's raining again.
Frankly, I was a bit sick of a rainy weather. Thailand is in the middle of the monsoon season, and we have a short but torrential storm nearly every day. However, Japan is also in another rainy season called "Shurin (秋霖)" or "a long spell of rain in autumn." This rainy season starts in late September and lasts for approximately two weeks... In this context, I may be facing a kind of Catch-22 situation. Escape is impossible.
I will stay at my parents' house until 4th October (only two nights!), and then go back to Bangkok again with my mother (she visits my house in Thailand almost every month).
Since I moved to Thailand in 2001, I come back home in Yokohama, Japan once every two or three months. Why so frequently? Although I am based in Bangkok, I must also do some bi-monthly/quarterly chores in Japan.
During this trip, for example, I must:
Purchase Japanese food for my restaurant in Bangkok
I must buy some miso (soy bean paste), and several other ingredients, processed food, and seasoning sauce, which are outrageously priced in Bangkok.
Help my mother to go to hospital, go shopping etc.
My mother, 76 years old, has a problem with her lumber and difficult to walk. She can drive, but for the safety reasons, she doesn't want to drive frequently.
See my friend, Shun, who is in hospital for acute myelocytic leukemia
Shun is a young up-and-coming photographer and had been working as a part-time cameraman at a Japanese magazine company until three days ago. But, unfortunately he was diagnosed with acute myelocytic leukemia recently.
Make some financial arrangements
I will visit several banks to make arrangements for fund transfer and payments.
Say hello to Mu-chan and Remi-chan
My mother has two feline companions. They are so cute!
Visit a grave of Kuropyon-chan
She was my beloved cat. She succumbed to visceral illness in May 2005 at the age of 11. Her grave is in the backyard of my house in Yokohama. I must clean her resting place.
Purchase audio switcher and usb splitter
Japan is the best place to buy this kind of electronic gadgets. Discount electronics stores are ubiquitous in the urban area. My favorite shop is Yodobashi Camera near Yokohama Station. I am going to post a new article about electronics buying guide in Japan.
Help my mother travel to Thailand
My mother may be confused with the new airport in Bangkok, which was opened just several days ago. So just in case, I decided to come back home and go to Thailand with her.
I may get busy during my stay in Yokohama...
