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I did something crazy. Actually, WE did something crazy. My little family trio took a trip back to Japan this past July. Everyone told us we were idiots crazy for vacationing anywhere in Asia during the summer months. The weather anywhere in Asia is both hotter than the 7th circle of hell, & more humid than a sweaty ass crack in a Scandinavian sauna. I’m not even exaggerating, not even a little bit.
We went on a summer holiday to Osaka. July was the only time available between our little bean finishing preschool and the start of kindergarten at her new elementary school. I tried to plan ahead & bought a portable clip-on fan for us to use on the days it was overbearing hot, but that fan didn’t quite cut it, especially for 3 people to take turns. Sure, it worked well, & as advertised, but to truly beat the heat (the humidity was tolerable), we needed a stronger & larger fan.
Towards the end of our 2 week trip, I caved & bought a bigger handheld electric fan, one that I saw every other woman using or buying. Why didn’t I buy this fan at the beginning of our trip you might be wondering. Well, first of all, I wanted to justify buying the little clip-on one & not have Jian complain that it was a wasted purchase.
Next, we weren’t outside very often. Our hotel was connected to the main subway station & all of the nearby shopping malls/department stores (of which there were many). So we very much utilized all of the underground passageways and tunnel connectors between all of the buildings, & when we weren’t riding the nicely air conditioned subway, we were taking taxis. We made sure to walk outside as little as possible to stay out of the heat.
Lastly, we were so lucky to be in Osaka, which is near the bay, so there was plenty of breeze/wind to circulate the air & made the overall weather more tolerable. (Sorry, Tokyo.) The only time we got pummeled by the heat was on the day we traveled to nearby Nara so our little bean could say her prayers to the extra large Buddha at Toda-ji temple & feed the deer. (FYI, we are a Buddhist family, but we don’t strictly adhere to all of the spiritual teachings.)
At the end of our trip, we used the fan a couple of times, & I felt foolish for buying it, thinking that once we got home I’d have no other use for it other than the 2-3 week Indian Summer we get in the Bay Area at the end of September. Boy, was I wrong. So very wrong. I have been using his handheld electric fan almost every day since I’ve gotten back home.
I mostly use this fan at night after showering (we are a nighttime shower family). Other times I will use it throughout the day. I don’t know if it’s because I am going through what I think it might be for a woman roughly my age (perimenopause), or if I am just hot from the shower or doing strenuous manual labor, but I feel like I am experiencing hot flashes & need to use the fan quite often. This fan has been an incredibly useful tool.
My little bean tends to get hot when she sleeps, so often times when she co-sleeps with me, I will set the fan on its stand on my nightstand & turn it on for a few minutes to circulate the air around the room, while cooling down my little bean so she can have a restful night’s sleep. I also use the fan to cool down hot food sometimes.
The handheld fan comes with a stand that can also connect to a USB-C charging cable, or it can be charged without the stand. I am so glad I bought this handheld fan, & I am even more happy that I have found multiple uses for it, so I consider this purchase a success. Here are a few photos of the fan, in the exact color that I purchased:
Until the next post, cheers!
Song of the day:
A Daruma doll (達磨) is a hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen tradition of Buddhism. These dolls, though typically red and depicting the Indian monk, Bodhidharma, vary greatly in color and design depending on region and artist. Though considered a toy by some, Daruma has a design that is rich in symbolism and is regarded more as a talisman of good luck to the Japanese. Daruma dolls are seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck, making them a popular gift of encouragement. The doll has also been commercialized by many Buddhist temples to use alongside the setting of goals. (Courtesy of Wikipedia)
I have always loved Daruma dolls & truly believe in their symbolism. The first time I had ever decided to use Daruma dolls to set a goal was when I planning my pregnancy. Jian & I had purchased 3 miniature Daruma dolls from our favorite Japanese clothing & lifestyle brand BEAMS, long before I had ever decided to try to get pregnant. We had originally planned to keep them as display collectibles. It wasn’t until I started my IVF journey, when I decided to use those Daruma dolls to set my pregnancy goals (& perhaps make a wish or two). For each of the dolls I had set very intentional goals. After those three goals had been met, I knew the Daruma dolls held a great significance and meaning within my personal journey.
Jian & I have taken our daughter on many short-term localized vacations, road trips, airplane trips, but we’ve never actually prepared ourselves to take her on an 11-hour plane ride across the Pacific ocean until last year. We had also not taken a long-form trip like this since before the COVID pandemic happened, & I wanted to take extra precautions to make sure good fortune & good planning were on our side. I know I am sounding very superstitious here, but I wanted to cover all my bases on the ‘luck’ front.
This is when I thought of my miniature Daruma dolls sitting on a display shelf in Jian’s home office. At first I thought of getting a Daruma doll just for the fun of it and not trying to take it too seriously. I wrote down a few wishes I had regarding our trip on a small piece of paper. I folded it up and placed it under the Daruma doll (after drawing the first eye, of course).
I wasn’t sure if this was just a silly little ritual that you do symbolically, or if it was the real deal. I had to wait until the end of our trip to determine its legitimacy. As you can see where I’m leading with this, it was a triumph! All of my wishes had been fulfilled. Just so you know, I didn’t write down any outrageous wishes or anything like that, only simple things like: a smooth flight, make lots of core memories, don’t get sick during the trip, etcetera.
This is the part where I tell you about the tradition that started forming in my head. I had decided from that trip on, that I would get a new Daruma doll for every major family trip. It was from that point on, I had become a true believer in the power of the Daruma doll.
This coming Spring, in a few weeks actually, we are taking our little bean to Japan again. This time we are tagging along with our best friends and their family (our friends, their 2 kids, 2 grandparents). Our friends haven’t been on a proper, long-form vacation in nearly a decade, & they felt that now was their time to go. They invited us to go with them, & we made the impulse decision to tag along.
We had originally planned to take only one overseas vacation this year, taking our little bean to China for the first time to meet her other relatives. However, with the current currency exchange rate being so favorable to us here in the U.S., & we are still riding the high of our last trip to Japan (even though that was 2 years ago), we leapt at the chance of going back there. Plus, Jian has always wanted to experience Japan in the Spring when the famous cherry blossoms are in bloom & seasonal allergies are running rampant.
I have continued my new found tradition & recently bought two new Daruma dolls: one black (to ward off bad luck), & one red (to promote good luck). Since we are traveling with a larger group this time around, I wanted to make sure I stacked the deck in the good luck department. I am hoping (& praying) this new tradition I’ve started is successful once again. I will try to report my results upon our return.
This all may sound like silly superstition & childish games, but it is fun to have something positive to look forward to & a solid goal to reach for. Besides, this is just for me & not for everyone. So that’s that. Until the next one, 乾杯。
Today’s song of the day:
What are your future travel plans?
Next week, Jian, his parents, our little bean & I are celebrating Jian’s birthday in Manhattan a.k.a. New York City. This was the place Jian & his parents first lived when they immigrated to the United States. So this city holds a special place in their hearts. Jian& his parents haven’t been back there for over 15 years. I haven’t been back there since 2009. I got violently sick on my last visit, so I never got to fully experience New York, but at least I fully utilized our hotel room. (Silver linings!)
Yes, the main reason we are all traveling to New York City is to celebrate Jian’s birthday. However, our second most important reason is to test our little bean on her first airplane ride. We as a trio are ultimately planning on going to Japan later this year, & we don’t want our little bean’s first plane ride to be a 12 hour flight across the International Date Line without any practice.
That brings me to our second major travel plans for the year. WE ARE GOING BACK TO JAPAN! WOO-HOO!! I don’t know if we will visit my family burial plot at the cemetery in Kamakura. It’s a tradition we do every time we go back to visit family, but according to our culture’s superstitions & beliefs, young children should not visit the dead. They are more susceptible to attracting spirits.
This upcoming trip to Japan is going to be a huge undertaking, one that Jian & I have never done before, even when we were childless. We are planning on city hopping this time on our 2 week vacation. We will first stay in Osaka, then migrate over to Tokyo for the second leg of our trip. Somewhere in between, we will have contact with my cousins who are based in Yokohama & Tokyo. We won’t be able to meet everyone, as my family is too big to see everybody, but we will at least get to introduce our little bean to a couple of close relatives.
I am really excited but also incredibly nervous to be traveling to such far away places with my little bean. Yes, these once-in-a-lifetime memories far outweigh the worries, but as a parent, I am a worrier by nature. I am praying like crazy that my kid will at least be moderately civilized on all her airplane rides. That is a ginormous hope, but I am crossing my fingers every time the thought crosses my mind.
I have been reading & seeing more news lately about more & more weather anomalies & extremely violent turbulence causing huge problems with airplanes & flights. As a professional overthinker, this terrifies me to no end. I know I cannot control any of these things, but still, these thoughts are sitting in the back of my mind. I can only hope for the best. That’s all I can do for now. At the very least, I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity & means to travel at all. For that, I shall focus all of my thoughts on gratitude & appreciation for my advantages. Until the next one, Bon Voyage & cheers!
Today’s song of the day:
Rabbits & Foxes 
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