Fri 22 Oct Who needs a Neko (Cat) Cafe when you have a friend like Mari!

The kids were very excited today because they were going to get to baby sit Mako-chan for a couple of days. For Zoe it was like her Christmas’s had all come at once and so earlier that morning we went to Mari’s to pick up the playpen, boxes and of course most importantly, the kitten. Mari was off on an overngight trip with the family to her stepfather’s place of birth to place his ashes in the local cemetary. The Shrine in the lounge room where his ashes are placed, had a photo of him looking healthy and happy, and reminded me of what a wonderful person he was. I remember fondly the many times we spent together and especially his contagious laugh, which I can almost hear now while writing this. One of the last times we saw him, we spent the night at the Ricchoen, the Yakiniku restaurant and then singing Karoke at a local establishment. We were both devestated to hear from Mari earlier in the year that he had been diagnosed with advanced liver cancer, and then to hear that he had passed away under a month before we arrived in Japan.

The rest of the day was spent fawning over the kitten and then at 3pm, Zoe had her second Japanese lesson this time with Grant, again coming back all excited and full of beans. Then it was off to the station to meet Keiko, Nobuko and Tomoko (a lovely colleague of Spike’s from his time back at NTT). She had invited us all to her home once again, to enjoy a beautiful meal prepared by her Mum.

Our connection with Tomoko is again one of strange coincidences. Though we both first Tomoko when Spike started working at NTT, I had a connection with her family through her younger sister, Naoko. She had been one of the students at Seikei who had befriended me at the beginning of my year here. I had arrived near the end of the school year here, in February. School starts in April, so I spent about 2 months in year 11 and then when the new school year started, the year 11 kids moved on and I remained in year 11 making new friends, two of whom became very close friends.

Anyway, it turned out that Tomoko’s family lived close by to the Keiko’s family and they knew each other well, with Keiko going over for sleepovers in primary school, so the long thread that connects me with Keiko also wraps around Tomoko’s family. So Spike, Keiko and I, were devastated to learn earlier in the year, that Naoko had passed away. It was an emotional start to the night with us all being ushered into the room where her shrine was to, as her Mum put it, ‘say hello‘ to Naoko and pay our respects. I had brought along a small 4 cm high stuffed cat holding two small toothpick size drumsticks, (Naoko had played the drums in highschool) that Naoko had made for me and given to me all those twenty something years ago. I had kept it all these years, not quite being able to give it away or throw it out, and when I had heard of her passing, now knew why. I had planned on giving it to her Mum, as she had stitched her name on the back and mine, but her Mum though very touched, had asked me to hold on to it and keep it ‘safe’ for her.

The dinner was delicious and consisted of an amazing Japanese mushroom soup, which she apologised to the kids for, thinking they probably wouldn’t enjoy it. She said it was a seasonal dish and being Autumn mushrooms were the flavour of the month. We had all commented on how wonderful it was and after eating Grant’s as well, I said to Keiko how much I love mushrooms and how much I had enjoyed the soup. When Mrs Matsui had popped out of the room at one point, Keiko took the opportunity to whisper quietly to me that the mushrooms were Matsutake mushrooms. The look on my face on learning this at any other time would have been funny to see, but I could tell Keiko was a little disappointed that I hadn’t realised what they were.

I guess for most people on hearing that they were Matsutake would probably say, so what, but Matsutake are a delicacy here akin to Truffles, and later I saw a box of 3 Matsutake in Tokyu and although it’s very indelicate to say, I’ll let you know the box was about AU$400.


Again, the night passed with lots of reminiscing and talk of our last visit. We thanked Mrs Matsui for her hospitality and vowed to meet again real soon. Keiko and Nobuko walked the 20 mins or so through Inokashira Park back to our house and again left quite late, after enjoying a play with the very delightful and energetic, for the time of night, Mako-chan.