Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say, 1993.

A man describes how his grandfather traveled by ship from his home in Japan to the United States. The time period isn’t specified, but from the context of the story, the grandfather’s original journey would have taken place either at the end of the 19th century or at the beginning of the 20th century.

As a young man, the future grandfather travels all over the United States, seeing the sights and meeting all kinds of interesting people. It’s a bit of an adjustment for him, wearing Western style clothing and getting used to life in a new country, but he enjoys the adventure of it. He decides to settle in California, the part of the United States that he likes the best. He briefly returns to Japan to persuade his girlfriend to marry him and return to the United States with him.

The grandfather and his wife have a daughter in the United States, and they enjoy living there, but as the daughter grows older, the grandfather realizes that he misses Japan and wants to return home. He and his wife move back to Japan with their daughter.

The daughter has to learn to adjust to life in Japan after having lived all of her life so far in America. The family moves to the city because life there is more what their daughter was accustomed to than life in the countryside, where they were originally from.

Later, the daughter grows up, gets married, and has a son, who is the author of the book. The grandson describes being young during World War II and the devastation in Japan during the war. (This is part of what dates the earlier part of the story.)

Toward the end of his life, the grandfather finds himself growing nostalgic about his time as a young man in the United States and wishes that he could return to California one more time. Unfortunately, the grandfather dies before making the trip. Instead, his grandson goes to the United States to see the places that his grandfather told him about.

Like his grandfather, the grandson stays in the United States for a time and has a daughter of his own. He comes to understand how his grandfather felt, missing Japan when he is in the United States and missing the United States when he is in Japan. The world is vast and full of fascinating places to explore, but there is always something to miss and feel nostalgic about, no matter where you are. The grandson continues to travel back and forth between the United States and Japan, enjoying both of them.

The book is a Caldecott Medal winner. It is available to borrow for free online through Internet Archive.