Hello!! It’s been too long!
I’m going to jump straight into this out-of-the-blue post.
I went to Japan this summer! My first time, too!!
AAAaah! >~<
And after talking with my longtime blogger friend Crimson (A Nerdy Fujo Cries)–IN PERSON, WHILE IN JAPAN!–I’ve decided to make the leap back into blogging. There’s this thing called “BLAUGUST” (no, not BL August, although we could make that happen too…) which basically encourages writers to get on and blog for each day of August. It sounded like the perfect excuse to rave about my summer travels, and so here we are.
These will be short posts with minimal editing and fine-tuning on my part. My personal goal by participating in Blaugust is to ease back into regular writing after so many years while not overly critiquing myself and my writing. Blogging holds a freedom that allows us to detach from the conventional styles we’re used to and adopt whatever voice or tone we’d like. So, expect unpolished formatting, laissez-faire language, and many, many unfiltered photos!
How would you spend 20 summer days in Japan? Here’s a log of highlights from my latest trip, day by day. Follow along this Blaugust as I recount my adventurous July!
DAY ONE: Arrival at Haneda
For me, this trip involved a series of three flights totaling 24 hours of rotting anxiously in airports. I enjoy solo travel to an extent (as you will quickly find out), but airports are one of those places where I don’t like being alone. Needless to say, the journey to Japan could’ve gone smoother.
What DID help my anticipation grow was the service I received on the LA-Tokyo flight. Amazing staff. Plus, I got to watch Makoto Shinkai’s The Garden of Words as I munched on assorted vegetable dishes. I also checked out the “new” The Lord of the Rings anime film, The War of the Rohirrim, which was fine. I mainly felt compelled to see what Director Kenji Kamiyama was up to.
Annnnd that’s pretty much it, haha. Short blog for what was a long freakin’ day. I arrived in Haneda to midnight haze clinging to the windows of the monorail, so I only caught glimpses of neon lights as they blurred past us. It was at the airport where I met up with an old friend who would also serve as my temporary homestay and guide these next couple weeks. He lives in a quiet area of Ueno, so I also got to lug my suitcase through Ueno Station and Park, breaking the serene silence of the night with each footstep.
Weather in Tokyo was warm and very humid.
Much more excitement to come the in morning, but I was IN Japan! All my planning had paid off, and I had made it!
Three more packed weeks to go! Thanks for reading.
– Takuto
Takuto's Anime Cafe 
Long flights are HARD, I think anyone who likes them are built different 😂 also for some reason going to Japan is always an ok trip, but going back hurts me everywhere. I wonder what your experience was LOL idk if it’s the anticipation of visiting a new place or what
Omg I think all my flights to Japan have mostly led to me arriving at night and you’re just tired and jetlagged and tired of your luggage by then that it’s hard to really “enjoy” arriving xD but at least you got to see some free movies! I rarely take the time to do that so that’s also one of my long flight highlights
(I was going to say THREE flights?! But I think I had to take 3 also 😂)
Ahhhh, so excited to see the rest of the pictures, you also reminded me that I never posted the second half of my your name pilgrimage, I should do that this month
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I was just talking about jetlag and aches with a coworker who went to Korea. Same deal: the trip there is just fine; the return is miserable! I’m up at 3:30 AM every morning thinking, “Well, what now?”
I actually really enjoy a movie on a long flight! Like a good book, it helps me escape my worries into another life for a bit. Truly, I use them to cope with whatever must come next, be it the excitement of foreign travel or the inevitable return to normal life at home/work.
YES please post your photos! I wish I could’ve done more pilgrimaging myself. Guess that’s what a second trip is for! 😉
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i think it took me almost a month to start recovering from jetlag, i know you said you were going back to work soon, are you living off caffeine and will? xD it’ll at least help get you back on track faster
“well what now” now you have a constant montage of everything you experienced and wonder “WHY why cant it always be like that” rip. if i could just travel whenever i want to…i would be home less *words from a hermit* pfff
pilgrimages take up more time than i imagined so yes, second trip is def needed, hehe. tho from what you told me, you did so much, i’m impressed! is your fam like give us all the deets/show us pics! my fam wanted to see everything i hadn’t shared while on the trip (and reshare stuff i had shared)
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You can also do the daily writing prompts as well Takuto, pretty fun to do
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I think it’s awesome that you got to visit Japan! It’s been a pipe dream of mine, but it looks very overwhelming. I’m also spoiled by Disney being so nice that taking a vacation somewhere that has the same daily doldrums as where I live seems counterintuitive. I don’t know if I’ll get to reading all your Blaugust posts, but I truly hope you had a blast!
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