This post was recovered from an old blog that I had while studying abroad in Japan. I’ve only updated misspellings or dead links, but left any cringe worthy things or immature thoughts. I’ve decided to leave them as a snapshot of who I was and to see how far I’ve come. Any photos have been freshly edited and so are not the same as what was originally posted. Over the years I had several blogs, most lost to time, and I wanted to recover some lost memories and reflect on my life.

en minutes before the alarm sounded I woke up, already excited for my trip to Kyoto. I had to finish some last minute packing, take a shower, and make it to Shinagawa station by 8:04am. I quickly got my stuff together; camera and a few lenses, tripod, a couple sets of clothes, laptop, and hiking boots. After taking a shower I was ready to head out the door of my friends place, I said goodbye to both him and his mom and turned to leave. My friend’s mom stopped me and handed me a bag, as she told me it was breakfast. She’s an awesome lady and has totally gone out of her way to help me while I’ve been staying with them for the last bit of time before I go home. I’ve got to remember to get her a nice present before going back.

With a heavy ass pack strapped on, bag and tripod in hand, and sunglasses on I set off into the rising sun. I hustled a little to get to Mejiro station as it’s a half hour train ride from Mejiro to Shinagawa and it’s always good to be early rather than late. I boarded the Yamanote Line with nothing but salary men around me on this fresh Friday morning. The freshness was something I hadn’t experienced in a while, by now all I knew was humidity and heat. Even going out at 9am it’s already hot, unlike the summer mornings back home, you have to wake up really early to get the fresh feeling.

After 25 minutes on the Yamanote I was at Shinagawa station. I got off and headed for the Shinkansen platform. I’d made good time and was about 30 minutes early. Once at the platform I took several photos of the Shinkansen trains as they came and went. The trains are so futuristic looking, but they also have a kind of organic look. They’re basically giant steel fiberglass eels/snakes winding their way across the mountains country. At last it was 8:04 and my train came. I hopped on to my car, found my seat, and went into relax mode. I had a four hour train ride to Kyoto, but was in no rush to do anything. I munched on the breakfast that had been prepared for me dreamt of what I would see on this impromptu journey.