Happy Reiwa / Yokohama / Trip to Jamaica/ Father's Funeral
Happy May, and happy new Japanese era. The Emperor in Japan for the first time in over 200 years, abdicated his post and handed it over to his son. Usually the emperors serve until they die. This past one decided nope, I'm too tired for this and just gave it up.
Tradition dates the first Japanese emperor from 660 BC!!! and their descendants have been sitting on the throne ever since! When they die, that usually marks the end of an era.
Up until year 270, the emperors are said to be just legends and folktales. The emperors were (some people still think they are) thought to be gods or descended from the gods until after World War 2 when the then emperor had to tell the world that he is not a god.
Did 2 consecutive features on Jamaica. Gonna move over to Japan now. Today let's talk about Yokohama, where I have been living since April 2011.
Yokohama is technically the largest city in Japan since 1980 with over 3.7 million people. It's a technicality because many believe Tokyo to be the largest city but Tokyo is not a city. Another technicality is that Osaka's day-time population is more because people in the surrounding areas of Osaka, mostly go into to Osaka for work, while people in the day-time for Yokohama mostly go into Tokyo for work. But Yokohama's night time population gets more because they go back home from Tokyo.
Yokohama has a bigger population than my country Jamaica, but Jamaica is 25 times larger in size. Yokohama is a pretty nice city to live in with lots of places to visit, maybe that's why it has been becoming so populous.
Days 3937-3938 (Heading to Jamaica)
Tuesday, March 26-27, 2019
Left from Yokohama with Takako to go to the Haneda airport in Tokyo (45 mins) then took a 9 hours flight to LAX airport in California. We had about 6 hours to wait in California, so we wanted to head to Santa Monica. The problem is we didn't know the best way to get there and we also didn't want to miss our flight! We searched around for about 1 hour and heard that the best and most convenient way to get there was by UBER taxi. However, to get an UBER taxi you need to download an app and enter your phone number etc etc. I downloaded the app, but because my number is a Japanese number, it somehow wouldn't allow me to get done with the registration process which was quite frustrating. We walked around the airport, I even fanned down an UBER Taxi (Jamaican style) but I guess the Jamaican style thing doesn't work with Uber.
Anyway, we gave up and just went back into the airport and slept a bit.
We then took a 5 hour flight from LAX to Miami, we had Wendy's for breakfast there, then we took a 1 hour flight from Miami to Kingston.
While in the plane to Jamaica, I could see the traffic going to Kingston from my hometown of Portmore. It was unbelievable. We landed in Jamaica at about 7:30 am and my sister came to pick us up. We then went straight to KFC not far from my house.
Day 3939 (Devon House i-Scream 1)
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Met up with my good friend Richard who used to work at the Jamaican restaurant in Tokyo. He went back to Jamaica in July last year (2018). He is finding it a bit challenging to resettle after 7 years in Japan. This I think is quite natural for anyone. Japan spoils people with its convenience and way of doing things.We went to a world famous ice cream place called Devon house. I haven't been here in many years.
My friend's wife has a massage parlour in front of the Megamart on Waterloo road, you can check it out if you are in the area.
Day 3940 (Dad's Funeral)
Friday, March 29, 2019
So my second funeral in Jamaica, while living in Japan. The first was my cousin's back in March 2009. Here I am back for my father's funeral in March 2019, 10 years later. I was one of the pallbearers after the funeral, so I had the privilege of lifting my dad's casket out of the funeral. Did the same for my cousin 10 years ago. Sleep in Peace papa Collymore. He died at 89.
After the funeral, there was a reception thing up in the hills of Kingston so a couple of us went there to get some food. While heading back home to Portmore, we got literally stuck in traffic for about 2 hours.
Day 3941 (Meetup with friends from University )
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Met up with some of my very good friends from university days as well as my friend who was working at the Jamaican restaurant in Tokyo. We went to a new mall in Portmore name Sovereign and we had Chinese food as well as more ice cream. Saw a few other old friends there as well.
Days 3943-3944 (Off to Negril Beach-Negril Palms Hotel )
Mon-Tues, April 1-2, 2019
My cousin dropped us to Kingston to take the Knutsford Express bus to go to the other end of Jamaica, Negril. We got on the bus then first stop at Ocho Rios, where I met a girl who also has been living here in Japan for a while. I didn't recognize her initially then slowly it started coming back to me that we always see each other at the One Love Festival in Tokyo. Hope you feel better soon Latoya.
It took about 5-6 hours to get to Negril from Kingston and when we got there, we decided to walk to our hotel which took about 20 mins. We stayed at a hotel name Negril Palms for 2 nights. we had some pretty expensive food, but it was good.
It was quite relaxing and nice but surprisingly on the second day, somehow I started feeling bored. My mind is so accustomed to the running up and down.
Days 3945-3948 (Off to Montego Bay - Sea Garden Hotel )
Mon-Tues, April 3-6, 2019
Took the Knutsford Express bus from Negril to Montego Bay. Somehow in my mind, I thought this journey was supposed to be 30-45 mins. But it's actually about 1 hour 30 mins all together.
The food at the hotel was sooooooo good and we took an all inclusive package. So free breakfast, lunch and dinner. Plus there were a couple bars and restaurants around that we could just go to and get a drink or food pretty much at anytime during the day.
The food was sooo good here that I think I had a little too much and started having some serious acid reflux (GERD) going on when we left.
Day 3949 (Meetup with more friends at Devon House 2 )
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Went to Devon House again to have more ice cream and meet up with some more good Baptist friends.
Day 3954 (Cousin and Friends came to visit)
Friday, April 12, 2019
My cousin who I pretty much grew up with came to visit us before we left, then my other friends also cameby as well to get some information about Japan.
This final week of the trip we pretty much stayed home most of the days with my mom, sister and niece.
Days 3955-3957 (Back To Miami - California - Japan)
Saturday, April 13-15, 2019
My cousin's wife dropped us to the airport. I prayed with them before leaving. My wife started crying because she love my niece so much. They have a special connection.
We left Jamaica for Miami on a 1pm flight then headed back to California. We had to stay a night in California so I made sure to book a hotel that had a shuttle bus to take us to the hotel. I booked a hotel called Custom Hotel, that's like 7 mins by car from the airport.
I met up with my friend who lives in LA. He worked for my company for some years then decided to head back to California. He took us to a restaurant called "In-N-Out".
I must admit that a few times in LA we were a bit scared. I remember once a guy came up in a car to ask my friend some questions and all in my head (Takako's too) was, "what if this dude just suddenly pulls a gun" like what we see on TV lol. Also at the restaurant, some strange looking characters would step in. Even once a homeless guy came in with some policemen. And one police kept holding on to his gun. Oh boy lol, been in Japan too long bwoy. Anyway it was a great few hours there in LA and I was happy to see my friend Bill.
The hotel we stayed at looks really nice on the outside and in the lobby area. But the inside looked pretty old with a very old elevator that felt like it was going to stop working. The room though and especially the bed was very comfortable.
While in the airport in California, I saw another Jamaican friend, Paul who has been living in Japan for something like 15 years. He also went back to Jamaica for a bit.
We got back to Japan at about 2pm on April 15th. Takako started having nose bleeds because of the running around and hassle. Same thing happened at our wedding in Japan back in 2015.
Day 3962 (Captain Marvel)
Saturday, April 20, 2019
Well back to life in Japan. Went back to work 2 days after I got to Japan and it took me a while to get back into the rhythm of things. Not only because I was away for 3 weeks, but because they moved our company to another part of the floor we were on. Also new staff joined and some friends left. All in 3 weeks! Anyway, me and Takako went to see Captain Marvel so we could be fully up to speed with the Avengers - Endgame coming soon.
Day 3973 (Happy New Era [Reiwa]/Dinner with friends)
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Today as I mentioned wayyy above, was the first day of the new era in Japan. An era called REIWA. The last one was HEISEI. Not sure who select the names or how they go about selecting it.
This is how much respect the people have for the emperor, whoever he is......
Anyway, we had dinner with my friend Eric and wife today. We went to 3 restaurants lol. Haven't done anything like this in a while.
We also decided to do some shopping on the Friday at a nearby station name Kamiooka. Then we decided to have our beer from Jamaica that night.
Days 3977 (Avengers - Endgame)
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Was pretty busy at church today but it was really nice. Then afterwards had lunch with some friends from church then 15 of us went to watch Avengers - Endgame. I think it was pretty epic, even though some friends are saying it is over hyped. But maybe I give the previous Avengers - Infinity War a slight edge. Not sure. Both I give 10/10!
Tradition dates the first Japanese emperor from 660 BC!!! and their descendants have been sitting on the throne ever since! When they die, that usually marks the end of an era.
Up until year 270, the emperors are said to be just legends and folktales. The emperors were (some people still think they are) thought to be gods or descended from the gods until after World War 2 when the then emperor had to tell the world that he is not a god.
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Yokohama is technically the largest city in Japan since 1980 with over 3.7 million people. It's a technicality because many believe Tokyo to be the largest city but Tokyo is not a city. Another technicality is that Osaka's day-time population is more because people in the surrounding areas of Osaka, mostly go into to Osaka for work, while people in the day-time for Yokohama mostly go into Tokyo for work. But Yokohama's night time population gets more because they go back home from Tokyo.
Yokohama has a bigger population than my country Jamaica, but Jamaica is 25 times larger in size. Yokohama is a pretty nice city to live in with lots of places to visit, maybe that's why it has been becoming so populous.
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Days 3937-3938 (Heading to Jamaica)
Tuesday, March 26-27, 2019
Left from Yokohama with Takako to go to the Haneda airport in Tokyo (45 mins) then took a 9 hours flight to LAX airport in California. We had about 6 hours to wait in California, so we wanted to head to Santa Monica. The problem is we didn't know the best way to get there and we also didn't want to miss our flight! We searched around for about 1 hour and heard that the best and most convenient way to get there was by UBER taxi. However, to get an UBER taxi you need to download an app and enter your phone number etc etc. I downloaded the app, but because my number is a Japanese number, it somehow wouldn't allow me to get done with the registration process which was quite frustrating. We walked around the airport, I even fanned down an UBER Taxi (Jamaican style) but I guess the Jamaican style thing doesn't work with Uber.
Anyway, we gave up and just went back into the airport and slept a bit.
We then took a 5 hour flight from LAX to Miami, we had Wendy's for breakfast there, then we took a 1 hour flight from Miami to Kingston.
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| My life theme! |
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| Miami Intl. Airport |
While in the plane to Jamaica, I could see the traffic going to Kingston from my hometown of Portmore. It was unbelievable. We landed in Jamaica at about 7:30 am and my sister came to pick us up. We then went straight to KFC not far from my house.
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Day 3939 (Devon House i-Scream 1)
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Met up with my good friend Richard who used to work at the Jamaican restaurant in Tokyo. He went back to Jamaica in July last year (2018). He is finding it a bit challenging to resettle after 7 years in Japan. This I think is quite natural for anyone. Japan spoils people with its convenience and way of doing things.We went to a world famous ice cream place called Devon house. I haven't been here in many years.
Day 3940 (Dad's Funeral)
Friday, March 29, 2019
So my second funeral in Jamaica, while living in Japan. The first was my cousin's back in March 2009. Here I am back for my father's funeral in March 2019, 10 years later. I was one of the pallbearers after the funeral, so I had the privilege of lifting my dad's casket out of the funeral. Did the same for my cousin 10 years ago. Sleep in Peace papa Collymore. He died at 89.
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| Love you baby |
Day 3941 (Meetup with friends from University )
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Met up with some of my very good friends from university days as well as my friend who was working at the Jamaican restaurant in Tokyo. We went to a new mall in Portmore name Sovereign and we had Chinese food as well as more ice cream. Saw a few other old friends there as well.
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Days 3943-3944 (Off to Negril Beach-Negril Palms Hotel )
Mon-Tues, April 1-2, 2019
My cousin dropped us to Kingston to take the Knutsford Express bus to go to the other end of Jamaica, Negril. We got on the bus then first stop at Ocho Rios, where I met a girl who also has been living here in Japan for a while. I didn't recognize her initially then slowly it started coming back to me that we always see each other at the One Love Festival in Tokyo. Hope you feel better soon Latoya.
It took about 5-6 hours to get to Negril from Kingston and when we got there, we decided to walk to our hotel which took about 20 mins. We stayed at a hotel name Negril Palms for 2 nights. we had some pretty expensive food, but it was good.
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Days 3945-3948 (Off to Montego Bay - Sea Garden Hotel )
Mon-Tues, April 3-6, 2019
Took the Knutsford Express bus from Negril to Montego Bay. Somehow in my mind, I thought this journey was supposed to be 30-45 mins. But it's actually about 1 hour 30 mins all together.
The food at the hotel was sooooooo good and we took an all inclusive package. So free breakfast, lunch and dinner. Plus there were a couple bars and restaurants around that we could just go to and get a drink or food pretty much at anytime during the day.
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| Amazing food |
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| Jamaica is absolutely Beautiful people! |
The food was sooo good here that I think I had a little too much and started having some serious acid reflux (GERD) going on when we left.
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Day 3949 (Meetup with more friends at Devon House 2 )
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Went to Devon House again to have more ice cream and meet up with some more good Baptist friends.
Day 3954 (Cousin and Friends came to visit)
Friday, April 12, 2019
My cousin who I pretty much grew up with came to visit us before we left, then my other friends also cameby as well to get some information about Japan.
This final week of the trip we pretty much stayed home most of the days with my mom, sister and niece.
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Days 3955-3957 (Back To Miami - California - Japan)
Saturday, April 13-15, 2019
My cousin's wife dropped us to the airport. I prayed with them before leaving. My wife started crying because she love my niece so much. They have a special connection.
We left Jamaica for Miami on a 1pm flight then headed back to California. We had to stay a night in California so I made sure to book a hotel that had a shuttle bus to take us to the hotel. I booked a hotel called Custom Hotel, that's like 7 mins by car from the airport.
I met up with my friend who lives in LA. He worked for my company for some years then decided to head back to California. He took us to a restaurant called "In-N-Out".
I must admit that a few times in LA we were a bit scared. I remember once a guy came up in a car to ask my friend some questions and all in my head (Takako's too) was, "what if this dude just suddenly pulls a gun" like what we see on TV lol. Also at the restaurant, some strange looking characters would step in. Even once a homeless guy came in with some policemen. And one police kept holding on to his gun. Oh boy lol, been in Japan too long bwoy. Anyway it was a great few hours there in LA and I was happy to see my friend Bill.
The hotel we stayed at looks really nice on the outside and in the lobby area. But the inside looked pretty old with a very old elevator that felt like it was going to stop working. The room though and especially the bed was very comfortable.
While in the airport in California, I saw another Jamaican friend, Paul who has been living in Japan for something like 15 years. He also went back to Jamaica for a bit.
We got back to Japan at about 2pm on April 15th. Takako started having nose bleeds because of the running around and hassle. Same thing happened at our wedding in Japan back in 2015.
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Day 3962 (Captain Marvel)
Saturday, April 20, 2019
Well back to life in Japan. Went back to work 2 days after I got to Japan and it took me a while to get back into the rhythm of things. Not only because I was away for 3 weeks, but because they moved our company to another part of the floor we were on. Also new staff joined and some friends left. All in 3 weeks! Anyway, me and Takako went to see Captain Marvel so we could be fully up to speed with the Avengers - Endgame coming soon.
Day 3973 (Happy New Era [Reiwa]/Dinner with friends)
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Today as I mentioned wayyy above, was the first day of the new era in Japan. An era called REIWA. The last one was HEISEI. Not sure who select the names or how they go about selecting it.
This is how much respect the people have for the emperor, whoever he is......
Anyway, we had dinner with my friend Eric and wife today. We went to 3 restaurants lol. Haven't done anything like this in a while.
We also decided to do some shopping on the Friday at a nearby station name Kamiooka. Then we decided to have our beer from Jamaica that night.
Days 3977 (Avengers - Endgame)
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Was pretty busy at church today but it was really nice. Then afterwards had lunch with some friends from church then 15 of us went to watch Avengers - Endgame. I think it was pretty epic, even though some friends are saying it is over hyped. But maybe I give the previous Avengers - Infinity War a slight edge. Not sure. Both I give 10/10!
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