I’ve never been much of a destination guy. Much more of a enjoy the journey person. That’s why I love festivals of all sorts. Once you’ve made it to the festival, there is no destination. It’s all journey until the last goodbyes; hugs leaving the uber, or parting at the airport, or packing in the morning sun that reveals all the stains of last night and its pleasant rose blush.

[Or the next after party, you filthy degenerates]

But I respect that great journeys have great destinations.

Which is why when in a group I love someone else guiding the ship. So I can simply enjoy the ride for what it is.

I am currently on a great journey, hoping that I can find myself a destination.

So far my destinations haven’t worked. Or they have but I’ve never quite gotten exactly what I wanted. Ya know the humble things. Fame, Fortune, women, world dictatorship…

But I’m still striving. Maybe the extended time outside would help me distill what it is that’s important to me.

So far, adventure, food, writing. Meeting people, especially locals. Yoga, stretching, exercise. Family. Mountains. Oceans. Forests. Children. Prayer.

I’m getting to know me; an extended honeymoon with my own mindset. It’s weird because at times it’s still very uncomfortable. I don’t always love myself. Which means relationship spats. A very condensed version of Smegle’s debates, except my two sides are generally amicable, and if they are harsh, I can have a rebuke or two.

[Winston. You Baka-gaijin!/Hey now! Relax. You f’d up, but it’s fine what do we have to do now?/Be less of an idiot next time/Okay that’s for sure. What next?/I mean, do better. And stretch more. And write more./Fair enough.]

Which is a weird dichotomy when I’m enjoying the ride. I get in my own way a lot. And I definitely need to get out of my own way.

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I was talking to Piash, a recent grad who was graciously hosting me on his couch in Sendai. One reason he doesn’t drink much is he doesn’t like losing control. Not me. I wish I could turn my brain off sometimes. It’s just always analyzing, always planning, always looking for my next move. It’s exhausting, even as I dearly value my ability to make plans and achieve goals.

But while I’m abroad, I don’t quite have the goals I did before. It’s almost maddening. I can’t plan events, or coordinate my friends. I can’t sign up for races or always be networking. It’s changed the pace of the game as my primary action is to chill, breath, and enjoy the time and space that I have.

It’s a wonderful, terrifying freedom; made more intense by the horizon that promises no shifts in priorities. I am only switching scenery. Different cities, different countries, different street signs.

I do and don’t have goals here. See, I think very few of my goals involve the actual traveling. If I write and exercise every day, than I’m going to be doing amazing. This has so far devolved to writing every day and stretching. If I can’t find an exercise; the walking makes due.

[Current travels update. In Pai, Thailand. The locals call it a Pai-hole, and I definitely agree. Writing has been productive and good. Exercising, not so much.]

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What’s helpful is making friends that complement you. Early in the trip, a trio of Canadians arrive at the same hostel I’ve been staying at for the last few days in Sapporo. [Shout out Kiah, Kali, Maddog Mcgee for being great] While I’m just randomly biking around the city, they’ve meticulously planned months in advance. Streets, neighborhoods, meals, tours, sights and stops.

And by just following them around, I’m given all my freedoms and find all my destinations.

These destinations generally revolve around eating. Which is exactly the sort of destination I want.

Two of them are vegetarian; though fish is a vacation exception because you just can’t experience Japan without eating from the oceans. This is more than fine with me, as I seriously can’t eat enough fruits and veggies in Japan. The produce is delicious, but restaurants that serve large portions of veg are rare. And even from the grocery, prohibitively expensive. Most of my meals involve helpings of rice and fish and meat.

So it’s a welcome break for eggplant, asparagus, tomatoes, and tofu [and stingray!]

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Tokyo is a whirlwind in the best of cases, and I’m simultaneously overwhelmed by the foreignness and right back home. The train stations are similar to the Herald Square or Fulton Stop rush hour; except everything is impeccably clean. The crowds swarm in ways that mirror any metropolitan public transportation and the international presence is established enough to notice.

But the city is enormous and the culture is forefront, making it [like New York] hard to experience fully.

Thank goodness the Canadians are there to guide me. We make two excellent days of adventure; and I steal a few of their highlight recommendations for my own explorations.

But what’s really perfect is the harmony of destination and journey. We sit down to delicious meals of curry hot pot, many apps, and big Sapporo beers. It’s delicious and we only found the spot because we admired the painted mural walls outside.

The course of the day involved seeing swarms of jellyfish, crossing lots of beautiful bridges, exploring the Korojomo island district in Tokyo. We climb structures that clearly say no climbing but beg to be interacted with. We indulge in cheap sake and dope thrift finds.

We end with making our way to the rainbow bridge, far too late to actually take a crossing [it closes at 5.] But instead, armed with Family Mart drinks and Tetris gummies, and already being kicked out of the trucking port, hop a fence to the a viewing park. The bridge suddenly turns green, before going back to white [technically, according to my research, white light is actually all the colors, so it was the Rainbow bridge all along.] Getting back is another trek all together, but we make it.

See. I didn’t know shit about Tokyo. But Kiah is well armed with books and blogs. I’m not always sure what I bring to the table, but I did hold beers as they hopped the fence to my side.

As we actually fit the Tetris gummies into a block; I’m reminded that good friends make you better. As I am grateful to all of my support system, I’m grateful for good travel friends. They help make my journey better; and in the case of my Canucks, gave my destinations worth all the walking.

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Cheers friends. I hope the rest of the trip sees you save and happy. I’m grateful to you, and I promise an Open Mic: Vancouver featuring all of Kiah’s cousins.