My first trip to Japan was for five months during which time I lived in Osaka, took online classes, and studied Japanese. I lived far from the true urban centers but would frequently take both planned and spontaneous train journeys all over the city, as well as the neighboring cities of Kobe and Kyoto, where I would find myself at temples, in izakayas, train stations of all varieties, European pastiche villages (Kitano-cho), unexpected markets. Most recently, I revisited Tokyo, which is always and unendingly deserving of exploration. I stayed in a ryokan in Shimokitazawa, famous for its youth subcultures and thrift shopping. I went to live music venues late at night, tried various cafe cuisines, stopped by the Gotokuji Temple. I revisited Naka-Meguro, new spots in Daikanyama, grabbed food in Ebisu, had a traditional breakfast at Yakumo Saryo, Omakase for dinner, went to the Nezu museum, detoured to Kamakura for more temples.