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Back to Japan!

We’re baaack. We went back to Japan for the first time in 4 years. And thus, we are now back to posting and updating our Axelrod Adventures blog. It’s hard to believe that it has been four years since we were last here. The kids were different people then. As Jem says, I have learned and forgotten Japanese in that time.

In 2023, Japan has still been in full pandemic control mode, circa 2021 in the US and Europe. Masks everywhere, chapped hands from hand sanitizer, and proof of vaccine or negative test required to enter the country. But so far, the trains are on time, everyone still nice and friendly (maybe a little wary of all the tourists), and the Family Mart still sells all our favorite convenience foods. And, of course, there is still nothing caffeine-free, diet to drink. The choice of drinks (besides water) is caffeine or sugar.

This trip we split up and three of us came with grandma early; the other one came with grandpa a couple of days later.

There is much to tell about our first few days in country. We went to the ocean near Kamakura and were dive bombed by killer hawks! Who then stole Sophie’s ice cream from her hands, literally. The bird swooped down grabbed the ice cream cone from her hands and flew off. They must have marked us as patsies because not 10 minutes later one swooped down and grabbed the last bite of Jem’s sandwich…from his hands. I screamed louder than I have in 20 years. This bird was huge.

On our first morning Sophie and I were up way too early but headed down for breakfast in our hotel. We knew it was a buffet, but did not realize it was only Japanese options, with no western choices. Sophie gamely ate her first Japanese breakfast.

We also traveled into Buddhist heights — climbing some tiny stairs into the inside of The Giant Buddha in Kamakura.

We had a lovely time in Japan, and the obligatory Tokyo DisneySea and Chandu fest because it would not be an Axelrod Del Campo trip without a disney stop. We successfully replaced our lost at sea Chandu’s (which will be the subject of a future post).

It was nice to be back on the road again! And we are now on the road for the next two years!

Representing BayMax (very popular in Japan) with a Baymax Head (left) and Sporting a New Monsters U Sweatshirt (right)
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Japan musings (beverages)

I don’t really drink caffeine. Unless I have a super early morning meeting, I don’t need it — and I spend a lot of my life making sure meetings start later than early morning. I am very sensitive to it and one serving of caffeine, even before noon, has the potential to keep me up all night. I love diet soda, so I drink a lot of “diet caffeine-free anything.” In the U.S. that is easy. In Japan, this is very, very hard. Besides plain water or alcohol, there are mostly two options for beverages — sugar or caffeine. They have lots of variations of sugar milk tea, sugar coffee milk, sugar soda, and an obligatory Coke Zero (which is “diet” but has caffeine). But not much in the sugar free, caffeine free group.

With one notable exception — Asahi Zero.

It is beer, without calories and without alcohol. It tastes just like beer. And fits into my “diet caffeine-free anything” category. It is also fairly ubiquitous. Every time I order it in Japan, someone always wants to make sure I know it has no alcohol. I tell them I do. They look at my oddly. Like why would anyone order this. They don’t realize I am desperate for bubbles that has no caffeine, no sugar and tastes like something besides water. But I wonder, given their reaction, who does order this in Japan? Me and Japanese recovering alcoholics?