By Delphine
Before COVID hit, my parents, sisters, Arabella, Alex and I used to go to Japan every year to see the cherry blossom, go to onsen and eat delicious food. It’s like the Yip family tradition, which has been disrupted for the past three years.
This year Elkie and Queenie organized a trip with my parents to Hokkaido in April, and they asked if we could join. My immediate reaction was ‘No way. It’s too far.’ Traveling in and out of French Polynesia is a big mission as it’s in the middle of nowhere and flights are limited. Also I felt I couldn’t leave the boat to Grant alone.
I kept thinking about the idea though. I know it would mean a ton to my parents if we join them. Azania has never been to Japan and Arabella and Alex love Japan. So I started looking at flights options. Wow… not easy at all. Many routes only fly once or twice a week. I needed to match the exact date of my family’s arrival. Even though Japan is west of French Polynesia, the best option was to fly 8 hours east to LA, and then west 12 hours to Tokyo. All in all, it would take over 30 hours of flights and layover to get from Raiatea to Tokyo.
Once I found the flights, I knew we must go. This would be the best present for my parents. My sisters and I decided not to tell my parents that we were coming. Keeping it secret from my parents wasn’t easy as Azania and Alex were so excited to go to Japan, and I had to remind them not to mention anything when we video call with Popo and gong gong.
While I dreaded the upcoming flights, the girls were thrilled to get on a plane again. It’s been a while since they’ve flown. Fortunately everything went smoothly. It was fun transiting at LA international airport. It was heaven being in an English bookstore and the girls bought all sort of American candies.
We finally arrived Tokyo in the evening. My parents and Queenie arrived even later in the night. We were staying in the same hotel, and we decided that we would surprise my parents the following morning.
The next morning, the girls and I knocked on my parents’ door. Few seconds later my mom opened the door. We said ‘Housekeeping!’ Her jaws fell on the ground and she started laughing and hugging the girls. It was such a beautiful scene. My parents had absolutely no idea that we were coming. They never expected it. The smiles on my parents’ faces were worth the 30 hours journey.
While in Hokkaido, we rented a van and did a road trip around the southern part of the island. Beautiful. Highlights of the trip were all the delicious food (sashimi, sushi, ramen, udon, unagi, teppanyaki, Hokkaido milk, milk pudding, yuzu honey, etc), onsen (hot spring), local markets, cherry blossom, helicopter ride over Lake Tosu, etc.
Time flew and the short trip was over. On our way back, we stayed in Tokyo for an extra night so we could meet up with Michiko san and her boys, and for the girls to go to Kidzania and TeamLab. Team Lab is an absolutely incredible experience for all ages (see Alex’s project). Staying in a hotel on the 33/F was quite a thrilling experience for the girls.
We were gone for 13 days total with 5 days of air travel and transiting. Even though it was hectic and exhausting, it was very special and memorable for us.
We were all happy to come home to our boat and daddy Grant who’s become quite a competent hard core kiter.