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Quick Trip

I took the day off to head to a friend's wedding in Osaka tomorrow.

As I was getting set to leave for the airport in the morning Eri was preparing gift bags of treats for the neighbor kids and especially the mom. I knew this would happen. There's a very strict and unwritten cultural contract. I watched her delicately make perfect bags with stickers and bows and commented, "It must be pretty hard to be Japanese."

She confirmed that it is, indeed, hard to be Japanese, and added that it must be nice to be a gaijin. To which I confirmed that, yes indeed, it is very good being a gaijin.

I had a great call with my sister while waiting for my plane at the airport and actually missed the boarding calls and nearly missed my flight. I was the last guy on. Not the first time, and surely not the last.

When I was reserving a hotel last month I kinda recall choosing something cheap and simple. I just needed a place to sleep and shave and get suited up. For sixty bucks I figured I was in for a super low-budget lodging experience, but the hotel was really nice. I even had a view of Kobe Chinatown right out my 12th floor window.


I was having a crazy anxiety episode all morning as I made my way to airport, so when I got there I took one of my pills and as I talked with my sister I could feel it take effect. On the plane I did some reading and stared out the window. The guy next to me was conked out and I was kinda jealous.

Kobe is a fantastic town. Walking from Sannomiya Station to my hotel in Motomachi I was reminded of that. The people watching is so good here. And there are so many good places to eat and drink.



This is a quick one-night trip. I high-tailed it to meet up with my friends, grabbed tacos, had some drinks, and when I arrived back at my hotel around 23:00 I checked my phone's pedometer and it said I'd clocked over 12 kilometers.

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