good bye huong
I woke up very early around 5AM to help Huong with her luggage. She was going to leave Japan for good today, it was a sad day though I was very sleepy.
We pushed the luggage towards Senkawa station in silence, the sun was barely rising and it was very chilly. Seems to be the last time we were going to walk this route together.
It’s been fun, most of the time we spent was in Tokyo but trips to Yokohama, Ashikaga, and Sayama were really fond memories.
I also had plans to go to Saku, Nagano for Golden Week that same morning to visit one of my only other friends in Japan at that time, Miki.
Huong and I got on the train to Ikebukuro and made a switch to Ueno. Things got a bit hectic as she couldn’t find her ticket even though she had bought it the day before.
We ended up doing a lot of backtracking and got lost a few times too, wasting a lot of precious time.
In a panic, she decided to just buy another ticket and got on her train. We said our goodbyes, and I went back to Ikebukuro, where my bus was going to be.
I had some ramen at Ichiran for breakfast while waiting for my bus.
sweet serendipity
The bus ride was very long and took so much time just because it was Golden Week and everyone was heading the same direction: outside Tokyo.
It took more than 3 hours just to get to Saku.
Miki picked me up and she took me to a place a bit outside the city, I think it was in a mountainous area. Here, we walked around the town’s shopping district and had some Indian food, Miki’s treat in exchange for the times I’ve treated her food in the Philippines.
We rode a bicycle around the forest paths, surrendering to the crazy uphills and enjoying the downward slopes. We headed back to Saku after returning the bike.
It was a crazy coincidence but the hotel I was staying was the same hotel where Miki’s mom worked.
It was her family’s restaurant, passed down from generation to generation.
I ordered ramen and ice cream and got both of them for free, thanks to Miki’s mom, Sumire. After eating, we spoke for a bit before I headed to the onsen.
Miki’s uncle, whom I had the chance to meet in the restaurant, was also here.
Later, Sumire drove us to a family restaurant where we were able to speak a lot more. She later dropped us back at the hotel where I retired for the day.
second day in saku
Miki and I grabbed some onigiri and went to a park to just chill out for a bit while waiting for her mom to pick us up.
Sumire arrived with her car along with Miki’s little brother. It was his first time meeting a foreigner, so he was quite excited.
We went to the farmer’s market where I was able to get a 1 on 1 with Sumire and just talk about life.
She took treated us to lunch and then brought us to a park with a spaceship. Mt. Inari Park Cosmo Tower.
You could climb to the top and get a nice aerial view and then you we slid down on these metal belts to get to the edge of the park, it was quite exhilarating.
We went to a temple next where Kimi no Na wa drew inspiration from and then to a lake.
Miki and I circled the lake, it started to snow around halfway.
Sumire dropped us off both near Aeon where we passed the rest of the day while I waited for my bus back to Tokyo.
