I guess I'll write a blog post here on my phone. I'm at the Kansai Airport about to leave Osaka for Taipei. I'm sitting in a priority seat because all of the cafe tables were taken. Lots of Taiwanese people and I'm suddenly annoyed. They're all with their families. Units. I'm here by myself and can move fast. I shouldn't get impatient.
It's funny. I'm returning home but I'm still traveling. I'm still in Asia. I'm going from Japan to Taiwan. There's still lots of good food to be eaten, and beautiful girls to meet. I should treat my time in Taiwan as travel. *** said my living in Taiwan is still considered traveling, but for a long time it hasn't felt like that. I've been sucked in routine and work and just day to day life. I don't see the magic in going to the convenience store or walking through the neighborhoods anymore. What's the difference to what I've just been doing in Japan?
How do I get bored? What do I need to keep the feeling of travel in my life at my full-time work and residence? Walking seems to do wonders. So does going out and meeting people, other travelers. I think I just need to hit Taipei every weekend. Maybe I need to spend more money. Maybe I need to lighten up.
I'll figure it out. Finding some drums will be good. And going out to see more live music. I live in Hsinchu. What do I expect? Yeah, I think Taipei will help.
And looking at the price of things, living like I have in Japan I would be barely breaking even with my salary. I'll figure it out.
Anyway, Osaka. I have at least 30 minutes to spend the last of my cash. I wish they had a Lawsons in here. I want one last taste of that creme brulee ice cream to hold me off until I come back. I can be conservative and say I won't be back for another year.
What can I say about Osaka? I had way too much fun and way too little sleep. I'm exhausted, but glad I could squeeze as much as I could out of the time I had. Even my last day was filled with great activities. I said goodbye to *** and gave her her gift. I walked home and got *** his, and left him a nice note. After checking out I had coffee and put out a blog post, which was a big deal. Then I made my way back to Osaka. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the walk to the station in Kyoto. I'll be back.
In Osaka I walked around the neighborhood I found when I first got here. It looked and felt different. I was still blown away by the amount of people drinking so early in the day. I even stopped by the porno theatre but didn't find the girls too attractive. And I'm glad I kept walking because I didn't want to waste even an hour of the last that I had. There was not enough time in that town. I'm leaving having so much more to see. It's a good thing. Reasons to come back.
And as much as I experienced. I've checked so many boxes that I've created and added along the way. I should write about those DVD cafes and karaoke bars. And drum hunting. I'm so glad I stayed and persisted and played the drums. For almost 2 hours! I loved practicing the beats. A new game for me to get addicted to. I’m learning with my body. And it feels good and fun. Music has reentered my life. Thank you, god of music. Maybe there is something to polytheism.
Oh and walking around Tsutentaku I copped ***'s souvenir, which was another big one on my list. After wasting too much money on a simply milk coffee, I went back and napped in the pod. It was interesting flipping through the channels on the little TV. It was a good rest. I meditated and felt a lot better.
Then I really was craving a haircut and I'm glad I went. Yeah it was more expensive than Taiwan but it was a good experience and now I'm ready for the new semester. One less thing to think about. The girl was cute and we did the whole thing in Japanese. It was a milestone for my language ability when we had a full conversation back and forth, though broken at times, about food and drinks and travel in Osaka. It was a nice cap to my language journey this trip.
I had a last dose of takoyaki and just had to grab a 500 yen beer with it. Then I went for the drums. I debated going to the DVD cafe to watch porn again, but I'm glad I skipped and prioritized the drums. The train got me there quick. Once I got in I started talking to the guy as if I didn't belong there and I think I just made it worse. But I was able to wait outside and read for a bit. Good thing I waited. I was able to go in and play drums for 2 hours. It was sick! Thank you persistence. I really had to reason with myself and get over my fear of rejection/trouble. Good work.
Anyway. I was able to catch one of the last trains back to the hotel. If I had gone back to Dotonbori I would've gotten stuck. And though I wanted to reward myself with a drink and visit Hoghaus as a bookend to the trip, and relax and listen to hip hop over some black Sapporo, I knew I was tired and should quickly get some rest before leaving early the next day. It was already almost 12am. Plus that bar closed at 1am and was a 10 minute walk.
But I had to get one last dose of ramen. This was 750 yen and the broth was so salty and delicious. There was a bunch of Chinese guys coming in and the owner was from Henan. I told the lady her English was good in Japanese and she responded that my Japanese was good in Japanese.
I looked for a Lawsons to get that last dose of ice cream. But there was just a FamilyMart. They didn't have it. I walked around debating different pastries and desserts but left with nothing. I got a water from the hotel vending machine. Then I knew what I needed to do next.
The big public bath on the 10th floor was open. The sauna was off but the bath was hot. This was what I needed for my last hoorah in Osaka. I dipped into the water and it settled me down, helping me think and reflect at the end of this trip. If I had gone straight to bed I would've been up with my thoughts. This allowed me some perspective.
I thought about how I started at that public bath at Hotel Taiyo. Now I was here, my last hours or so, back in the hot water. It's as if Japan was represented for me by the hot public bath. I thought about how I came here, and learned a lot in my free explorations on my own. I learned a lot of Japanese, and met many amazing people, making some lifelong friends. I learned how to get back into music, which had taken years but suddenly had taken a week or so. I learned my next step, where I wanted to live next. That was big. A trip teaches you so much. I also learned a lot more confidence. I'm beginning to get the confidence to just talk to anyone, but particularly hot girls that I would neglect. I get to find out if they're nice, and most of the time they are. And there's connection.
And I met a girl. Someone so cool. Someone I was fascinated by and connected with. Another thing not expected, but vaguely wished for, and answered in circumstance.
So between Japanese and friends and the drums and the next residence and a new romantic connection, this trip had been uber productive. Not to mention the list of things I had done, right here:
Convenience store day ✅
Vending machine day
Sauna ✅
Aquarium ✅
Kyoto ✅
Nara ✅
Osaka drinking party ✅
Meet with ***'s friend ✅
Try natto
See snow
Take the bus ✅
Make a friend ✅
Meet a girl ✅
See live music ✅
Try all the food
Arcade ✅
See Mt Fuji
Manga kissa booth
Dance with girls ✅
Eye contact ✅
Talk to girls in Japanese ✅
Learn more Japanese ✅
Go for a bike ride ✅
Find a cool cafe ✅
Buy used dj deck
Love hotel ✅
Pure ✅
Gala ✅
All nighter ✅
Karaoke bar ✅
Another karaoke bar ✅
Osaka castle ✅
Take the real train ✅
Take the Shinkansen
Drink sake ✅
Ski? Hakuba
Big arcade ✅
Bike around ✅
Take the train ✅
Take the subway ✅
Learn to love seafood
Internet cafe ✅
DVD theatre ✅
Pokémon center ✅
Music jam ✅
Pokémon cafe
Prostitutes ✅
Umeda sky building
Bike around again ✅
Take a taxi ✅
Sento ✅
Forest
Matcha ✅
Play old Nintendo games ✅
Ferry to Kobe
Karaoke room ✅
Play drums ✅
***'s list
Conveyor sushi ✅
All you can drink ✅
Skiing?
Hiroshima?
If you've read this far, I cannot recommend enough, with my whole heart and soul, the extreme value of taking an extended trip by yourself. Going in blinder the better. What you can learn about your self and the world will not leave you the same, and could be the life changing experience that you've been waiting to receive. A catalyst. Something to make home a new catapult, pivot point, diving board. I'm going back, not a new person, but more me than I've ever been.
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Enjoy!