Chasing Memories

"I've tried silently wishing into the night sky..."

You may say I'm a dreamer,
But I'm not the only one.

My Great Adventure

I came home back to Japan, and ventured out to do things I've never done before--far, far away from San Jose. There, I saw...

...Kami-sama's amazing red gates,

Colorful flags as I sailed the blue seas,

Prancing puppies in the water,

The gang welcoming me,

My smooching newborn brother,

Natsuko fighting to soar the skies,

A great abundance of greenery,

And I definitely can't forget the blue,

The warm hearts of my family at my birthday,

The magnificent Shisa warding off spirits,

A bright light some distance away,

What I thought was heaven,

The beauty of clean water,

Schoolchildren excited for an English lesson,

Miyakojima just like how a bird would see it,

Grand temples,

With people hoping,

Myself immersed culturally,

The guy who took this picture,

Ropeways gliding down,

Wonders in the mist,

A connection between two hideouts (I'm kidding),

The flow of time---

STOP!

Let me take a deep breath. Gasp. Okay, let's continue--

For the first time a polite and caring sign worrying about my health (LOL),

Two peaceful lovers,

A duck...

...controlled by my family,

A girl quietly fishing,

An ancient temple from thousands of years ago in Nikko city,

Followed by modern high rises,

Hachiko (ハチ公), the dog who waited for her owner even after he passed away,

The Sea of People,

A wonderful singer,

One confused man and another cracking up at a busy station,

Wishes made from around the world,

More puppy love,

Naked trees,

Endless tunnels that last almost half an hour,

Cute morning notes left by my Hitomi...

...followed by my reply,

Crying bears on the dock with no place to live,

People turning their heads trying to read all the signs in a colorful shopping district,

The glistening reflection of the pier,

The Rainbow Bridge glowing in front of the city,

The Statue of Liberty,

Along with the prominent Tokyo Tower,


The sun going to bed,

And the city waking up

...all from a fancy room,

And when it was time to head back to San Francisco, I was handed a U.S. Customs Declaration form in Japanese.

I signed it, but decided that was too boring so I stamped it instead. The customs officer ended up thinking that I was illegally holding dual citizenship. I popped a smile.

I miraculously time traveled back 6 hours and went into San Francisco...

...just to see it shrink away in the distance. I'm beginning to miss home now.


The end. :)
Now it's down to Los Angeles.