Going Home

It’s time to go back. Back to a simpler place. The place is simpler — getting there isn’t, but once we land, everything sort of softens again.

We keep a tiny apartment in Ota-Ku that we use when we can. It’s nothing fancy. Just familiar. One of those places you slip into without thinking about it.

Our real home, though, is whatever road or room we end up in. A Holiday Inn in Arizona. A no-frills business hotel in Kawasaki with a view of the trains if we’re lucky. A 1950s motor court in Oklahoma when we’re not.

Strange combination, but it works for us.

Mary takes care of most of the travel decisions — how we get there, where we sleep, how we make it back again. We talk over the projects we want to dig into, and she figures out the rest. Plane, train, taxi, walking… she’ll map it. I don’t have the patience she does.

This trip is mostly a holiday visit with our kids. When things slow down, we’ll tinker with our little side projects — Mary with her manhole cover posts, me trying to finish an ebook on Doryō-dō near Hachiōji and a few notes on Tokugawa Ieyasu.

We’re flying out of Sacramento on Hawaiian Air. Five hours over open ocean, so I’m packing Dramamine. Not my favorite stretch, but the stop in Honolulu will break it up before the long run to Haneda. It’s a longer way around, but for someone who can’t sit still, the pause helps.

Haneda’s usually smooth enough, though honestly that’s because Mary keeps everything sorted. With the electronic customs form, it’s just a QR code and we’re through, picking up bags and figuring out what comes next.

Then the regular stuff: currency exchange, a SIM card for the phone, and a taxi into the city. Nothing glamorous — just the usual way of arriving.

Back in Japan again, walking with my best friend. Conquering our dragons and tilting at windmills. Now I just need to find a 7-11 and the hotel so I can hibernate for a bit.

Every time we make this trip, I’m reminded why we keep doing it — because these small routines, familiar and strange all at once, feel like home to us.

I’m grateful for today’s travels. Until next time. God bless.