Jet Lag (Patreon)

Vani and I have been in Japan for four days now and everything is going amazing. The first day was rough with jet lag and waiting to get into the hotel, but we took the flight we did for expenses sake and to stave off as much exhaustion as we could. We managed to check out two parks, a shrine, see a bunch of dogs, grab sandwiches at 7-11, and walk a bunch before checking in. The exercise since being here has been incredible. Yesterday and the day before we walked a total of 25 miles. The soreness actually feels kinda great! So far we’ve checked out Roppongi, Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Harajuku. I’ve picked up a new fountain pen and some records while Vani picked up a bunch of cute things at the Shibuya Pokemon Center.

We went to see a Dragon Gate wrestling show at Korakuen Hall and it was so much fun. For me that was a real bucket list item. There are bigger and better known promotions, but Toryumon (what became Dragon Gate) was my introduction to Japanese professional wrestling. Even cooler, my friend who introduced me to it via VHS tapes in Buffalo does the English color commentary. We couldn’t hear it of course, but it was still surreal to see him sitting at the table during the show. Vani, who likes wrestling and has been a fan off and on, had never been to a live show and had the time of her life. My friend helped us pick the tickets and the spots he very intently suggested ended up being as good as he said with a perfect view of the ring and a ton of action right in front of us as the main event spilled out of the ring and into the aisles. Overall just an incredible experience so far. I’ll check in next week!

-Ian