Parting with Memories, Looking Forward to the Next Reunion

14 July, the night before we flew home from Sapporo the following morning, we had a simple but enjoyable dinner at a small ramen outlet called Ramen Tosaka (飛鶏魚). As someone familiar with Chinese, I found its unusual name, 飛鶏魚, particularly intriguing. The three kanji literally mean “flying chicken fish,” making the Chinese interpretation both amusing and puzzling.

The name, however, is a clever piece of Japanese wordplay. Tosaka normally refers to the comb or crest of a rooster, written as 鶏冠. The unusual choice of 飛鶏魚 therefore evokes the image of a chicken while incorporating the characters for both “chicken” and “fish.” More importantly, it reflects the restaurant’s culinary concept, which combines chicken-based broth with fish-based dashi, particularly dried sardines.

Having our last dinner in Japan at such a uniquely named ramen outlet, just hours before leaving Sapporo, gave our trip a delightful and unexpected final touch. “Flying Chicken Fish” may sound rather amusing in Chinese, but it certainly provided us with a wonderful and a memorable ending to our Japan journey.

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We left early the next morning, 15 July, for New Chitose Airport in Sapporo to catch our 11:40 a.m. flight home. Serene’s family, whose flight back to Western Australia was not until 4:00 p.m., kindly accompanied us to the airport in the rented van to see us off. After our departure, they still had a couple of hours to explore some nearby places before returning to the airport for their own flight.

At the airport, it was a bittersweet moment for the grandparents and grandchildren. We were happy and grateful to have shared such a wonderful family reunion - travelling together, exploring new places, and enjoying so many interesting and delicious foods along the way. These shared experiences had given us many precious memories that we would cherish for years to come.

Yet, beneath the happiness was a sense of sadness as we said our goodbyes. The time had passed far too quickly. As the years go by and age catches up with all of us, such family reunions become increasingly precious. We could only hope that this would not be our last journey together. Thankfully, we already have another planned family trip to Thailand to look forward to, giving us something wonderful to anticipate - a chance to meet again, create more happy memories, and once again enjoy each other’s company.