Finding “Yoyu” [Excerpt 19]

What do you do when you suddenly have nothing to do?

When we first decided to bring Otosan to Tokyo, we hadn’t thought about what he would do every day. How would he spend his time?

Having him live with us made it easier to keep an eye on him. However, I worried about him getting bored. He was a grown man, and though it was not my job to provide things for him to do, I felt responsible.

In the first month, Otosan spent hours watching cable TV and taking naps. I know he enjoyed it. I don’t think he had ever had such an extended vacation. Being a farmer, Otosan always had something to do on the property. Now he had nothing to do.

Once Otosan figured out how to get in and out of our condominium, he ventured out on walks. First, it was only to the convenience store to buy a newspaper. Then, he started walking several blocks to the Asagawa River bridge to check on the fish. Sometimes he would walk the other direction to Fujimori Park.

I was impressed by how eager Otosan was to get out and exercise. Sometimes he would be out for several hours. Then, one day, I realized what he was really doing – playing Pachinko!

Listen to the latest excerpt above to find out how Otosan’s Pachinko binge started and ended.

If you missed any of the previous excerpts, you can find the playlist here.

About the book:

A few years ago, we moved my husband’s parents from a rural part of Japan to live with us in Tokyo in our tiny 800 square foot (73 square-meter) condo. My book, Finding “Yoyu,” is about what it took to decide to move them. It’s also about navigating the Japanese health care system and finding an appropriate nursing home for my mother-in-law while helping my father-in-law transition from a lifetime of farming to retirement in the big city. It’s about how we discovered he had Alzheimer’s and my husband had stage 3 colon cancer. It’s about how I managed to support these two men and keep (or find!) my yoyu all while going through a career change.