When we made our way to Tokyo, I explored all sorts of stores, from the Pokémon Center to JoJo World. Most importantly, however, was meeting one of my friends, Hiro. He was a Japanese teenager who lived in a nearby city and became our guide for the rest of the trip.
We went all over Tokyo with him, but my favorite part was a night when we found ourselves in a somewhat seedy area of the city. We needed to find somewhere to eat quickly, so we went into a small Korean barbecue restaurant on a side street after being beckoned inside.
We sat down, and an old Japanese man, the owner, came over and started speaking to us in English with a thick, endearing, but perfectly understandable accent. He began telling us what was best on the menu, so we ordered a little bit of everything: all sorts of beef and chicken, alligator, bear, and A5 wagyu. Everything was delicious, including the more exotic meats.
I didn't want to pay for the A5 wagyu, which was incredibly expensive in my opinion, but I did want to try it. One of my friends was willing to buy it, so he made a deal with me: if I ate all of our wasabi, which there was a ton of, I could have some of the wagyu.
I was hesitant, but I ate all of it. The pain was immense. As someone with a low spice tolerance, it was extremely difficult to endure. In the end, though, I got to enjoy the wagyu, and it was so buttery, umami-rich, and delicious: one of the best meats I have ever had in my life. It was definitely worth eating all of that wasabi.
We had a wild night out, exploring different stores until we eventually returned to the hotel to sleep before our final day in Japan. As I walked back from the train station with one of my friends, she broke into tears. She was sad that our trip was ending so soon and that we wouldn't see Hiro or all of these beautiful places again for years.
It was a bittersweet moment sitting with her on the sidewalk as she broke down. The air and light around the convenience stores felt divine. We had so many memories here now, but we would have to leave soon.
We met Hiro the next morning in a shopping mall on the other side of Tokyo from our hotel. We went to a tiny matcha café, where we bought all sorts of matcha. It was delicious, although perhaps a little too touristy for my tastes.
Our last moments with Hiro were sweet. We went to another café, where I got a masala chai and a waffle with ice cream as we talked about our trip and the future. We left for the airport soon afterward.
But what a trip it was.
I still remember it today, and so do all of my friends. One day, we will go back.
