CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE

L-M Sakamizumi Niwaya Ryokan & Onsen

Hakone, Kanagawa

Japan

December 16, 2006

When lunch was done, before everyone left the restaurant, the manager let the guests know of some activities that Dee and Ryo hoped everyone would join in. They were going to have dinner together that evening at 7 pm, followed by karaoke. The next morning, breakfast would be delivered to the rooms at 8 am. Lunch would be served at noon. Everyone was requested to meet at the Hakonemachi-ko dock at 2pm for a special party cruise around Lake Ashi until 4 pm. Dinner would be served in the restaurant at 6 pm. There would be karaoke afterward, but anyone who drove could leave any time after dinner. The buses leaving for Tokyo, Kamakura and Fujinomiya would be leaving at 8:30.

For that afternoon, all the guests could do what they wanted, whether it was enjoying the onsens, relaxing in their rooms, sitting in the gardens or walking around the town. There was a dog park, because besides Mochi and Hanabi, the relatives were told the ryokan was pet friendly and some brought the family pets. There was also a supervised children's area. Parents were welcome to enjoy the area with their children, or the children would be looked after, allowing the parents to do something on their own, or in a group. For anyone who wanted to go on the Hakone Ropeway, the hotel would provide transportation to and from the Ropeway, and the admission would be handled compliments of Daisuke, Ryo, and Bikky Fujioka.

Everyone left the restaurant, and started to go their ways, either in groups to settle somewhere on the grounds, or individually and going back to their rooms for a while. Dee gathered Hide, Ken and Yuki and brought them to his suite, where he made the phone call to Nobutera Maeda, confirming that the Daigaku Dudes would be honored to join them onstage that Tuesday night at Budokan. After a few minutes of talking, he put Hide on the phone, who gave Maeda Toshida's contact information, as he had agreed to be the Daigaku Dudes' producer for the event. Then Yuki and Ken got to speak to him, expressing their excitement at the opportunity. Dee spoke with Maeda a few more minutes, thanking him again and finally closed the call and they set off to mingle with the other guests.

Dee found his fathers talking with Ryo's uncles Kaito and Kei. Nobu and Takehide were also there, and talking about their childhood in San Diego. It was before Saburo's time in San Diego, and the men were comparing notes on San Diego during their time. Kei mentioned that he and Satomi were born in San Diego, but they were Japanese citizens.

"How did that work out?" Yoshio asked.

"My parents were in San Diego on a long-term work visa. Of course, we still had to go to Japan for vacations to keep the visa valid," Nobu explained. "The vacations after Kei and Satomi were born, my parents registered their births at the local ward office in Kamakura. My parents also still maintained their residency, and my mother's parents and most of her siblings also lived in the house."

"We did know Japan growing up," Kei said. "We just didn't live there until I was ten years old when my parents moved back to Kamakura. My oldest sister, Raina, Ryo's mother, didn't go back with us. She got into UCLA and planned to return to Japan after she graduated, but she met Frank, Ryo's father and after graduation, she moved to New York with him."

"She became an American citizen when she married Ryo's father," Takehide added. "And yes, she did give up her Japanese citizenship. Our family might have some status in Japan, but not that much for any of us to maintain dual citizenship."

"And yet after Ryo was born, she did live in Japan with Frankie and Ryo for most of Ryo's first 5 years," Kaito stated.

"They lived with us and my parents in Kamakura," Nobu said. "Raina and Frankie would leave Japan a lot, for travel to other areas of Asia to acquire art to sell in their galleries or go back to their gallery they still ran in New York. They would leave Ryo with us whenever they travelled Asia, but would take him to New York with them."

They looked up when they noticed Dee standing there.

"Did you make your call?" Saburo asked Dee.

Dee nodded. "I did and it is now confirmed. I will have to go to Budokan for a couple of hours on Monday so we can work out the songs, and figure out outfits. The band did figure we would want to wear our make-up, which is good. It will be provided so we don't have to buy it. The bad thing, I realized is, I can't go out to our seats in stage gear, and I told him that I really did want to sit with my family for the show."

"It's okay, Daisuke," Saburo assured him. "This is a very big thing, and I am going to enjoy watching you with your group perform with TUBE. It is not our last night together for a while, or even the next to last."

"I am also certain we will all be going to more TUBE concerts together in the future," Yoshio added with a smile.

"Maeda-san mentioned that he thought I would want to be with my family, so they are working out something. What, he doesn't know yet, but we'll know by showtime. Which I will have to leave early that day, because we need to do the soundcheck and get a little practice in."

"At least we have a large group to keep Saburo company while you are playing pop star," Nobu said. "And we'll all be the loudest in all of Budokan when Daigaku Dudes come onstage."

"Nobu is correct. It is not as if you are running off leaving me alone. And if you did, I do know my way around Tokyo. And remember that you are not the first of my children who is a pop star," Saburo assured Dee.

Everyone started to laugh. "Ayaka did make waves today," Kei stated. "That was very amusing. It was mean of you and Ryo to leave that part out to family who did not know, but it was fun."

"I noticed that Uncle Nobu or anyone else who knew did not say anything either," Dee remarked with a grin, turning his attention to Takehide and Nobu.

"Even Mama didn't mention it, and she also met Ayaka in Nagoya, and Ayaka was with us for Thanksgiving," Nobu said. "Yes, we all decided it was more fun for them to find out." Looking at Kei and Kaito. "That's what you get for not joining us when Mama said we were doing Thanksgiving this year."

"It was a normal business day in Japan," Kei said. "If it was in Kamakura in the evening, I would have been there. I'm not my own boss." He made a funny face at his two older brothers, making them laugh.

"What is it that you do?" Yoshio asked Kei.

"I am an English teacher at a middle school in Fujisawa," Kei replied.

"Very nice," Saburo stated. "You have the advantage because when you speak English it is without any Japanese accent. And teaching is very important."

"How is Risa doing?" Kaito asked Kei.

Kei laughed. "She's fine. Once the second shock of realizing she will be sharing a room with Ayaka, she's going to make the best of the time. I don't know if she'll be able to sleep tonight, but she's a very happy girl right now."

"I know how Ayaka and Carol get for sleepovers," Dee said. "And I've seen Ayaka and Tsukiko together. There's going to be an awful lot of giggling and girl talk going on tonight."

Yoshio nodded his head. "I was just thinking the same thing. I know Risa will realize she has a new friend, instead of hanging out with a favorite idol, because I know Ayaka. And Tsukiko."

"I know Ayaka managed to put Carol at ease pretty quickly after they first met. She has a talent for that," Dee said. "Risa is going to be just fine and will have new friends after this."

"As much as Ayaka loves being in NGY52, and plans to keep on singing after she graduates from the group, she also loves the times she can be just another young girl with her friends. They will have a great time this weekend," Saburo said.

Dee started laughing. "Aunt Satomi and Uncle Keizo has video of when Ayaka and Tsukiko met my college friends."

"I heard that was funny," Saburo said. "I spoke to Satomi and she is going to send me and Yoshio a copy later tonight."

"You're going to love it," Dee said. "I'm going to find my husband, kids and puppy," he said. "Because when I was in our room, none of them were to be found."

"I saw Bikky with the girls," Kaito said. "He was walking your dog, and Carol had hers. They should be over by the dog park."

"Ryo is somewhere with some of his cousins," Kei added. "Don't worry. This looks like a very large place, but you'll find them."

"Did Ryo have the twins?" Dee asked.

"For some of our family, this is their last time to see your twins for a few months, so I expect they are with someone in the family," Nobu said.

"You're probably right. Well, while I'm looking, I also want to check out the other rooms. Is everyone happy with their rooms?"

"Very much so," Kaito stated. "Satomi has been raving about this place, and that says something. Those extras are very nice."

"I love the washi paper bedding, slippers and yukatas," Yoshio said. "I didn't know they could do that."

"I didn't either," Saburo said. "Suzuki-san explained to me that washi paper and shoji screens aren't in as much demand as they were years ago, with all the modern buildings, so some craftspeople are finding new ways to keep the old cultures alive. This is one of the solutions for washi paper."

"What amazes me is the durability," Dee commented. "And I know I want to contact the shop who did the futons and buy several for the penthouse and our place in New York."

"I was telling Saburo that I wondered if we could contact them and buy some too," Yoshio said.

"You can. That is why the contact information is included on the information about them," Dee said. "Ryo said one of his suggestions to corporate is that something needs to be added to invite guests to contact the craftspeople for purchases. The inserts in our rooms were a limited run for this weekend only, so changing what's on the inserts is not a problem. So don't be afraid to also give suggestions on the printed material in the rooms. Giving the craftspeople business by ordering for the ryokans are not the only hope here. The idea was to direct business their way from guests."

"We are definitely going to be contacting at least the futon people," Saburo said.

"They are great. Is anyone going to the ropeway today?" Dee asked.

"I am hoping you, Ryo and Bikky were planning on going," Saburo said. "Because Yoshio and I would love to."

"Tomiji said that he's going with Koji shortly, and Tomoko and Kimi would like to go. I'm guessing everyone will go at some point today," Yoshio stated.

"I'm passing," Kaito said, "only because I have been many times before. I'll let those who haven't before have a chance to enjoy it. Meanwhile, I plan to relax here and jump in the onsen and socialize with whoever is here."

"That's what this weekend is about," Dee said with a grin. "We have our party times as a large group, and also time to do whatever anyone wants."

"When you're back, you or Ryo please text me. I did come here to spend some time with Ryo and you. I do have to apologize for not inviting you to my house, as had Ryo hoped, but for most of your time in Tokyo, I was staying with my daughter Chiyoko and her family in Fujinomiya. My granddaughter Otsune found out she is pregnant while I was staying with them."

"That's wonderful, Uncle Kaito," Dee exclaimed. "Ryo and I did notice you got off the bus from Fujinomiya."

"I did, but I will be taking the bus going back to Kamakura Sunday night. I have some things to consider. I went to Fujinomiya at Chiyoko's request. Last month was the first anniversary of her mother's, my ex-wife's, passing, and Chiyoko is still not handling my ex-wife's passing well. When Mi and I divorced, she moved to Fujinomiya with Chiyoko and my other daughter Kokoro. When Kokoro graduated high school, she moved back to Kamakura and stayed with me. She went to college in Yokohama." Kaito smiled at Dee.

Dee nodded. "I know. Kokoro went to Yokohama National University. We compared notes when she was in New York for our wedding."

"Chiyoko was always closer to Mi. Otsune has been keeping an eye on her mother, finding ways to make her happy," Kaito explained. "But Chiyoko seems to be getting worse. And that good for nothing ex-husband of hers can't be counted on. That is why I was in Fujinomiya. At least she reached out to me in her time of need. Now I find myself considering if I should move to Fujinomiya or somehow convince Chiyoko to move in with me in Kamakura. I am still working on convincing her to come here and be on the plane to New York. I am hoping a change of scenery would help her a little. If she decides not to come, then I will be going back to Fujinomiya for a couple of more weeks."

"I do hope you can convince her to come, but if not, I know you will do your best for her," Dee said. With a small smile, he added, "I know she will eventually be fine because she has you."

"Thank you, Dee," Kaito said, blushing slightly at the compliment. "I will do my best."

Keniichi joined the group. "The first trip to the ropeway is about to leave," he informed them. "They have a mini-bus, and plan to have the bus keep going back and forth. They will also make stops in other spots between here and the ropeway I am told."

"We're going to do our sightseeing around town tomorrow morning after breakfast," Dee stated. "But we're going to do the ropeway today."

"That sounds like a great idea, Daisuke," said Saburo. "I do want to do some sightseeing, but I am also looking forward to some time in the onsen that is part of our suite, and the shared ones."

"Me too," Nobu agreed, and the others nodded their heads, making sounds of agreement.

"There's Ryo with Jirou and Eri," Keniichi pointed out.

Dee looked and saw them walking along a path toward the reception building. Ryo's cousin Hitomi and her husband Masaki was with them, and they were carrying Darin and Ryoko. "I'm going to join that party for a while. Papa and Chichi, Ryo and I will text you when we're ready to leave for the ropeway. Ja mata!"

OoOoOoO

Dee, Ryo and Bikky went to the Hakone Ropeway with Tsubasa and Kumi, Saburo and Yoshio, Naoki and Shinkichi, Dafydd and Momo with their two boys, Keniichi with Toma, and Yuki and Jae-Hwa. At the summit, they saw Carol, Tsukiko, Ayaka, and Risa. They were with Satomi's daughter, Sayuri, who was 19. During their time on the summit, they saw many other of their guests. The next group to arrive had Tomiji and Koji, Tomoko and Kimi with Minori, Jirou and Eri with Kyoka, Aiko and her husband Yoritomo and Ken with Ayumi and their children.

Ryo and Dee noticed that some of Ryo's relatives still giggled nervously and blushed whenever they were around Ayaka. To counter that, Tsukiko, Ayaka, Naoki and his husband Shinkichi would do the same around Yuki and Ken. Much to their surprise, even Koji seemed a bit flustered around Dee's friends. Koji blamed Tomoko for his liking the Daigaku Dudes, and then added that someone should have mentioned that Dee was in the group the first time they met. It was only after that meeting that Koji found out that this strange new brother who was Dafydd's twin was in the Daigaku Dudes. It was an amusing conversation as they sat near the shrine on the summit of Mt. Komagatake, enjoying company along with the beautiful views. Ryo could tell Dee was happy Koji showed up, even if Dee didn't say anything yet. It also pleased Dee's fathers. Once again, they had all nine children with them for the weekend.

The group dared to take on the path to the Hakone Motomiya Shrine, which was more a series of steps than it was a path. Ryo wanted to see the smaller stone shrine just before the last steps up to the actual shrine. He felt it was a perfect place for family photos. Legend claimed that in 400 BC a god descended to earth on his white horse on the stones. The old stone guardian dogs before the small stone building made an interesting place for photos slightly different than the usual.

They did not stay on the summit long. It was cold up there and were glad the manager reminded them to dress warmer before leaving. On the ride back down, there was talk that they all earned time in the onsen after that, but everyone was glad they had gone.

When they got back, Dee and Ryo took time to stroll along the grounds with Mochi, stopping to talk to others they encountered. They went into a few of the other rooms when they saw someone going to their rooms, just to see the different types of rooms. It was a beautiful place with traditional style buildings and several beautiful gardens.

They ended up sitting on a bench at a picnic area with a view of Mt. Fuji, and playing with the newest member of their family for a while. Darin and Ryoko were last seen with Kei's son Shusuke and his wife Sophia. At least they were able to get their twins from Ryo's family long enough to take them up on the ropeway. Not only did they enjoy having all three of their children experiencing the outing, but to have all three in photos taken on the summit, especially by the stone shrine.

It was an enjoyable day, spent between quiet alone times in the gorgeous surroundings and with various members of their families and friends. Kaito joined them for some of the time. A half hour before dinner, they made their way toward the reception building where they found a gathering sitting at the outdoor tables of the restaurant having drinks. They decided to join the group until it was time to go in for dinner.

Dee's family got to see the Daigaku Dudes sing a few songs during karaoke after dinner, including "It's Gonna Be Me". Ryo's family got the thrill of either watching many of their own do songs with Ayaka, or just watch as Ayaka joined with their family members on different songs. Ayaka insisted on doing a song with the Daigaku Dudes, to everyone's enjoyment. Tsukiko also did a song with them, requesting they sing "Who Do You Think You Are", a hit by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods from the 70's. It was also one of the songs in English that the Daigaku Dudes were given the rights to sing during their performances, and was a favorite among their fans.

While sitting down and allowing someone from Ryo's family to sing with Ayaka, Tsukiko said to Dee, Ken, Yuki and Hide, "That's a great song. If you did a second single, it should have been on it."

The four friends laughed. "We enjoyed doing it," Ken said. "There was a debate on whether we should have converted that one to Japanese for the verses, but we decided to keep the original, since it did also chart in Japan during the 70's."

"Who knows," Yuki added. "If we did make a second single or album, we most likely would have recorded it."

"But then it would be a Japanese version," Dee said with a grin.

Hide nodded his head. "Oh yeah. If we had a chance to do a second single during our year of fame, it would have been on it, and at least some of it would have been in Japanese."

"Well, it's never too late, you know," Tsukiko said with a teasing grin.

Dee pulled his sister in for a hug before bopping her on the head. "We all have careers now," he reminded her. "Besides, Ojiisan would have a fit if I decided to record songs instead of doing my job in New York helping Carriers."

"That would be the best part," Tsukiko exclaimed and laughed, making Dee join her.

"I shouldn't be laughing, because that's not funny," Dee said. He looked at his friends. "New Year's Eve you'll understand because you'll be meeting my grandfather by then."

"We heard your stories," Hide said, "and if we can avoid it somehow, we will."

"We're going to try, at least," Yuki added.

"Chickens," Dee remarked, making Tsukiko laugh again.

Of course, since they had all nine Fujioka siblings there, and it was a party, the nine got together to sing a TUBE song, "Ano no natsu no shonen", for Saburo, and this time did a Kome Kome Club song, "Fujiyama Funk" for Yoshio. Ryo's family got a kick out of what was a tradition at Fujioka parties. And also tradition continued with Ryo's family for karaoke time. After dinner, several of Ryo's family went back to their rooms and got changed into flashier outfits to sing their songs, including groups doing dance routines as they sang. What made Dee and Ryo happy was that some of the groups who came up to do a song where not just Ryo's family or Dee's family, but they were mixed. Some of both families also got a thrill to do a number with one or more of the Daigaku Dudes.

The party ended around 11:30, but when Dee and Ryo got back to their suite, after Bikky went to his room, they went into the private open air onsen for a while, before going to their room for the night.

The next day, after having a delicious kaiseki breakfast, they checked in on Dee's sisters, Carol and Risa, so they could all go into the town. Dee sent his fathers and other siblings a text that they were going, and received replies that they would meet them during the morning, except for Dafydd and Momo.

Dee, Ryo, Bikky, Carol, Tsukiko, Ayaka, Risa, Dafydd and Momo with Tatsuya and Kiyoshi set out, with Darin and Ryoko in strollers for a walk around Hakone. A half hour later, they were joined by Jirou and Eri with Kyoka, then Naoki and Shinkichi with their twin babies in a double stroller. An hour later, Koji and Tomiji with Saburo and Yoshio found them, soon followed by Tomoko and Kimi with Minori. Tsubasa and Kumi with Kenta and Aya joined them not long after. By the time they started to make their way toward the dock, they also had Nobu and Hoshi, Kennichi with Toma, Aiko and her husband Yoritomo, and Kei's son Shusuke and his wife Sophia, who was American. She was in the US Navy, stationed at the Yokosuka Naval Base. They met shortly after she was stationed there, two years ago, and were married four months later. The group continued to walk around until it was time to go back to the ryokan for lunch. After lunch, everyone started to make their way to the dock for the cruise, which was time for another party.

OoOoOoO

After dinner, those who had drove to Hakone started to leave a half hour into karaoke, along with those in Dee's family who had to go back to Nagoya. Tomiji was one of those leaving, but instead of staying in Nagoya like he originally planned, he was going home to pack and then the next morning meet with Sakura and go with her to Tokyo. The reason Sakura really postponed the trip to Tokyo was that Koji had spoken to her on the phone before he got to Hakone. On Saturday, Koji admitted to Tomiji that he felt guilty because his twin was not going to New York because of him and insisted that he should go. Tomiji was uncertain if their grandfather would allow him to take the time off. Koji called Sakura and gave his phone to Tomiji. Sakura told him that she already worked it out with Ryoichi and Tomiji was free to go to New York if he wanted. What made Tomiji's mind, other than his twin's persistence, was Koji admitted that as much as it would be nice to spend more time with their oldest brother, he really had no desire to go to New York or anywhere in America yet. He added that he was aware that at some point, now that they knew Dee, he was going to end up going anyway. But for this trip, he was glad he was obligated to stay in Nagoya and help out at the shrine. Once Tomiji made up his mind, they went off to find Dee and check if there was room for Tomiji on the plane. If not, Koji said that Tomiji could most likely go on the plane with Hitoshi and his family. They found Ryo first, who assured Tomiji that he could join them.

So now, Tomiji was going back to Nagoya to get packed, get some sleep and then go to Tokyo with his grandmother.

OoOoOoO

Ryo and Dee thanked the manager and the staff for their gracious hospitality. As their guests were leaving, they dropped off comment cards with their keys. Ryo was pretty certain it was all good reviews. There were some minor things, but nothing that couldn't be worked out quickly. They told the manager that if she wanted to go for a soft opening in January, they would reach out to the corporate office to recommend the go.

They were the last ones on the bus to Tokyo. Despite the time and the type of day everyone had, the bus wasn't quiet. It was filled with chatter and laughter, and at one point, even singing, as the bus made its way to Tokyo.

OoOoOoO