The Most Embarrassing Thing That My Mother In-Law Did To Me

My first year of touring in Japan was also the first year I got to spend some time with my Japanese mother in-law, one on one. Are you feeling nervous for me?
We arranged to meet and have dinner when the group I was playing with was in Sendai, Nana's home town. I've been nervous for concerts and performing before, but this was nothing compared to the nerves I felt for having dinner with my mother in law for the first time.
My Japanese wasn't great, I later got better, but at the time, it was barely functional. Okaasan (mother in Japanese) also didn't have a lot of English skills at the time, she subsequently has gotten much better too, but we both had our dictionaries at the table, her's electronic, mine in paper form, and we struggled through our first face to face dining experience without Nana's help.
This is before google translate or even having smartphones at all times. Am I dating myself? The dinner was great though! We both ended up having a great time, so much so that we ended up going to a kaiten sushi place (conveyor belt sushi) and yakitori place that evening, in addition to the more formal restaurant we originally met at that evening.
The next morning, Okasan met me in front of the tour bus with an enormous bag of food and omiyage (souveniers)! Clementines, grapes, different kinds of smoked fish, and red bean baked goods. If you remember from previous emails, Japanese fruit is very expensive! She went all out, I was overwhelmed with her love, support and generosity.
Unfortunately, we were getting on a plane in a few hours and I couldn't really take much with me, so I shared most of the spoils on the bus with my colleagues. It was very sweet, I was the most popular orchestra member that day, but it also felt a little embarrassing, like when your mom writes hearts all over your lunch bag in school, and your friends tease you about it.
Considering how tense in-law relationships can notoriously be, I am very grateful for my relationship with my mother in law, even if I get teased by my friends and colleagues.

Speaking of gifts and family, with the holiday season approaching, have you thought about giving the gift of Tampopo Kitchen to your friends, family or neighbors? Send them a gift card today, you can come pick up a physical card in store, at Tampopo Kitchen or skip the plastic and get a digital one online. Here is a link to our gift card page.

We hope you enjoy your upcoming Thanksgiving break, and remember we are here for you when you get tired of mashed potatoes and stuffing, and can replace that with sushi rice, soy sauce and wasabi.

- Josh