The harsh reality seemed to had really sunk in today. The Japanese I spent almost the last 2 years learning is not enough to help me get around Japan. Although, I will say that I’m faring better than I was 2 years ago.

Meanwhile, my mom has this FU attitude. She’s given up on learning Japanese over a year before and she seems to have this expectation that locals must understand her English. She doesn’t use Google translate to translate on the spot. When cashiers say “thank you,” in Japanese, she will say it in English.

Wasn’t she the one who always said, “immerse in local culture”? Why isn’t she immersing?

After spending the morning at Kumamoto Castle, which was a much different experience than when I visited Himeji Castle 2 years ago, we walked over to the bus terminal, which like just about everything in Japan, it has multiple purposes.

It’s also a mall.

In Kumamoto, Kumamon the bear is everywhere. He’s the mascot for the city and Saturday just do happened to be his 15th birthday. The event was almost unlike anything I’ve seen. There were food trucks, band, and dancing.

After a lot of wandering from floor to floor, we found the elevator that led us to the rooftop terrace. It was on the rooftop terrace where we found a garden.

Unfortunately, we were still a little too early for cherry (Sakura) blossom season, so a lot of the trees were still bare. I did, however, managed to get this.