thmiyake

An unfamiliar sight! On my way to the Tokyo National Museum, I saw a crowd around Saigo Takamori's statue, and with Japanese drums set up, I thought maybe a festival was happening. When I took a peek, Saigo Takamori's bronze statue was in an outfit I'd never seen before – dressed in Montsuki Hakama!

Found ANGELINA in Shiodome! I was heading to Shiodome for work. On my way from Shimbashi Station, I spotted an ANGELINA sign and got curious. On my way back from work, I took a different route, but eventually joined the same path and passed by it again.

The unique spice aroma of sweets. My colleague from India came for a business trip, and it was a reunion after a long time. I'd been told many times to visit India, but I hadn't been able to for over half a year. We'd met online pretty regularly, but I realized again how important it is to talk face-to-face.

Mugwort was growing abundantly along the coastal road, and it suddenly reminded me of my grandma picking mugwort and making yomogi mochi for me. Feeling nostalgic, I picked some mugwort and a unique, refreshing scent filled the air. "Oh, this is nice," I thought, and decided to try making yomogi mochi for the first time in decades. So, I filled my plastic bag with tender-looking mugwort and took it home.

With Hamamatsu Festival coming up soon, I thought maybe they'd be practicing flying the giant kites, so today I headed to Nakatajima Sand Dunes first. My CROSSCORE RC, after repairs, was completely silent and super comfortable (which is how it should be, lol). Perhaps due to the strong winds, or maybe it just wasn't a practice day, but unfortunately, not a single giant kite was flying. There was a market in the park that caught my eye a bit, but for now, I headed to the dunes. The wind was really strong that day, blowing sand in my face and stinging, so I quickly retreated.

Circular Farms in the Desert: Flying from Houston, after a while we entered a desert region. There was absolutely no green, only strange, squeezed-out patterns seemingly created by wind and rain, and striking mountains with uneven, bumpy textures here and there.

A reward on the last day. With the expat who arranged this business trip, and feeling like we accomplished quite a bit, we went to a steakhouse. A sirloin steak, grilled medium-rare over charcoal. I had imagined something fattier.

The rooms were comfortable... This time, an expat secured a Hilton for me (I stayed at two locations, both Hiltons), and as you can see, the rooms were super clean. However, there were a few things that surprised me...

So, I was walking from the elevator hall to my room at the hotel, and I spotted a door labeled "Laundry." Curiosity got the best of me, so I popped in, and guess what I found? It's not a coin laundromat anymore—you pay by card! Seriously, that just makes so much sense, doesn't it? The last time I used a laundromat in Japan was at a hotel, and it was still "coins." But then again, hotel facilities are often a bit dated, so maybe card payments are already common in other places in Japan?

I actually got an upgrade! I wasn't really thinking about it until just before my business trip to the US, but while I was checking my flight on the ANA app, I realized there was a First Class seat available on the flight out...