Hi!!
I’m writing to you from a hotel bed in Tokyo right now. It’s 6pm and I just took a boiling hot shower after trekking around the city for 11 hours straight in orthopedic potato shoes and a pack mule crossbody tote. My partner is out on a nighttime photography blitz, and once he’s done we’re going to get burgers at one of those delightfully kitschy Americana-themed diners with pinup girl posters and Coca-Cola signs on the walls.
Anyways. It feels mind-blowingly euphoric to be horizontal in sweatpants (how I have missed these sedentary American pastimes). I also knew I would miss writing, so I brought my laptop even though there’s very little downtime for it.
More travel newsletters to come after I return, but I wanted to kick it off with my “flight log” from SFO to Narita airport because The Flight There totally sets the tone for a trip, doesn’t it??
Come fly across the Pacific Ocean with me.
7:30am
Taking BART to SFO during rush hour. The florescent lighting and pre-flight anxiety is making me nauseous. I feel a wave of intestinal discomfort, but if I lock in and clench my entire body the feeling passes for a few minutes. The train screeching is also making me feel evil.
I never wear baseball caps, but for some reason I was called to this green one from Freda Salvador I got in a gift bag thing last month. My bangs are itchy against my forehead so I kind of regret it.
The bowel emergency feeling subsides by the time we pass Glen Park. The sun comes out and I guess my circadian rhythms are like ohhhhh ok it’s safe to be awake now. My face skin feels dry and tight.
8:10am
For a major airport, SFO is actually super quiet. It’s sooooo nice. I get a brief surge of local pride. We pull up to the Japan Airlines counter and check in our luggage.
I whip out my passport in preparation for security. The photo is giving mega catfish vibes because I had such a distinct haircut back then. One time, a TSA agent told me with a completely serious tone that I looked like I was in the Matrix. I thought I was in trouble or something. He probably sensed my panic and said I’M JOKING and laughed, and then I fake laughed nervously.
8:25am
SFO having hot water dispensers (140 Farenheit) is soooo tea. We top off our Zojirushi thermos and find our gate to make sure it exists.
9:30am
I did something wasteful.