Shane’s Japan Trip Report Day 14

Day 14: Visiting Homestay Family in Kunitachi

Today will be another day spent visiting friends. This time, my homestay family in Kunitachi, a suburb of Tokyo. I first met this family when I was a college student at Ohio State, and they welcomed me into their home during my first visit to Japan. That was 15 years ago, and we’ve maintained a close relationship over this time. During the span, both daughters have grown and married, and the oldest daughter just gave birth to her own daughter, Tamaki-chan, who we will go meet for the first time.

As planned, we enjoyed a nice day in Kunitachi with my homestay family. Tama-chan was adorable. She kept staring at me, as it was clear that she noticed that I looked different from everyone else. The family was all well. Otoo-san retired from his salaryman life a few years ago, and now works part-time at the nearby elementary school as a security guard. Okaa-san has always been a sengyo-shufu, or full-time housewife. Onee-san, their oldest daughter and mother of Tama-chan, was also there. Actually she lives there as well, along with her husband, who works for Softbank.

In Japan, this living arrangement is not unusual. It is actually quite common for a young couple to live with one set of parents. In this case, it is not as bad as it may sound. The house that they live in is a nisetai-jutaku, or a “two generation home.” It is kind of like a duplex, with separate living quarters upstairs and downstairs, but with an adjoining staircase and hallway. Originally, Okaa-san’s parents, Obaa-san and Ojii-san, lived below while the family lived on the above floors. However, the grandparents passed away a few years ago, and now the pattern repeats with the parents living below and the daughter and family living above.

This family is actually pretty well-off by Japanese standards, and their home is unique in that they recently added a sunroom to the back of their house, which is pretty unusual to see in Japan. They also recently purchased a camping car, which is even more unusual. The retired couple has been taking road trips around Japan. There are few or no RV sites in Japan. Instead, they sleep at highway rest stops (much safer in Japan than in the U.S.) and bathe at nearby onsens.

They welcomed us with a nice spread of food: pizza with a crust made of rice flour, taki-komi gohan (rice cooked together with various veggies), a big salad, homemade tiramisu, and yuzu-flavored ice cream. We spent the rest of the afternoon chatting, and then headed home.