I’m currently on an adventure around Nagoya, but I felt like I should share this part of the journey too.
Last time I left off, I was heading out of Kakegawa and making my way back to my starting point—Shizuoka City—for the sakura festival. And yes, I took the train… because it was literally along the same route I had just walked.
While riding, I had one of those “wait, what?” moments. The train took about an hour, but I’m pretty sure I spent 15–20 hours walking that same stretch. Maybe my route wasn’t the most efficient, but still… that’s a huge difference.
I also realized I have a weird habit on trains. I don’t like sitting down right away. I always think, “What if an older person gets on and there are no seats left? I’ll look like a rude gaijin(foreigner).” So I usually just stand. But after about 20 minutes, I spotted another foreigner with an empty seat next to him… and decided that was my moment.
I came back a day early because I wanted to attend a language exchange event that a guy I met at a café in Yaizu recommended to me. Funny how those little connections start to build.
After checking into my hotel and taking a shower, I headed over to the coffee shop where the event was being held. First thing I noticed? The same guy from the train—the one I sat next to—was there. Small world.
The event itself was great. I met a few people, but I spent most of my time talking with a really energetic guy and the guy from Yaizu. Just genuinely good people.
Afterward, a group of us went out for pita and then karaoke. And I have to say… the pita wrap I had was incredible. The meat, the flavor—everything about it was perfect.
Karaoke, though… not really my thing. I think it depends a lot on how comfortable you are with the people around you. Also, I’ve realized something: when I hear the original artist singing, I know all the lyrics. But when it’s just the instrumental? My mind goes completely blank.
After that, I headed back, called it a night, and got some sleep.
The first day of the festival wasn’t quite what I expected. It was mostly geared toward kids and families at the castle park. I walked around for a bit, took some photos, but honestly felt a little out of place—I mean it was mainly for kids.
I wish I had taken a proper side-by-side comparison of the same shot, but I completely forgot until now. Still, you can see the difference in the trees.
I want to be honest in this blog, so this feels like the right place to say it: the solo travel loneliness has started to hit me.
You might be thinking, “Didn’t you just go to a language exchange event? How could you be lonely?” And yeah—that’s fair. But after walking through the castle park and heading back to my hotel room, I just laid there on my phone, feeling pretty down for the rest of the day.
You might also wonder why I didn’t just go out and explore. The truth is, during the week I spent here “learning the ground,” I had already explored most of the area and did a lot of window shopping. I just didn’t have that usual drive to wander and discover. Instead, I went out for dinner, came back to my hotel, and called it a night.
The next day was, unfortunately, a wash—literally. It rained. I walked around the castle park again, but some of the vendors weren’t there, there weren’t many people, and the weather didn’t help. So… another day mostly spent in the hotel room.
Don’t worry though—we’re getting to the good part.
I woke up the following day knowing the rain had passed and all the events would be happening. Even better, I knew I wouldn’t be on my own. The same group that hosted the coffee exchange was doing a meet-and-greet at the park.
And it ended up being fantastic.
I met so many genuinely amazing people.
I even met a girl and asked if she wanted to grab food later—and she said yes!
One random thing I have to mention—there were a lot of chocolate banana stands. Like, an absurd amount. I’m not exaggerating when I say every 3–5 booths was another one.
After the meet-and-greet, I walked over to watch a drum performance, then checked out the parade. For me, it wasn’t anything super incredible. Instead of big floats, loud music, dancing, and cheering, it was more of a historical reenactment—people in costumes acting out scenes from the past (maybe even actual descendants?).
I spent some time walking through the streets, checking out the booths, and watching a few live music performances. If I’m being honest, though, I was mostly just stalling while I waited for the girl I asked to dinner to finish her hair appointment.
While I was hanging around, a Japanese couple came up and tried to talk with me. It was a bit rough at first, but we managed to communicate—no Google Translate, just patience and effort. Those kinds of interactions are honestly my favorite part of traveling. Japanese people don’t always initiate conversations, and since my Japanese isn’t great, I’m usually too shy to start one myself—so moments like that really stand out.
About 20 minutes later, a father and his kids sat next to me. This time, I decided to go for it and start the conversation. It actually went really well. I talked with the dad about my trip and chatted with the kids about their hobbies. It felt good to connect like that. +1 to my Japanese
Later, I went out to dinner with the girl—a Vietnamese girl who had been living in Japan for quite a while. She spoke both English and Japanese, which made things really easy and comfortable. I thought the dinner went great. Before we left, I asked if she’d want to meet again, and we planned to see each other the day before I started walking again.
All in all, it ended up being an amazing day—full of conversations, new people, and just really good energy.
After the festival wrapped up and I checked out of my hotel, I actually went back to stay at my friend’s mom’s house for a couple of days. I needed to do laundry, couldn’t find a cheap hotel, and didn’t really have a solid plan for the next leg of my walk. It worked out perfectly. I got everything done—laundry done, mail checked, route planned—and even went on a second date with the girl.
Enjoy this picture of a cartoon cheesecake we ordered at dinner!
There’s this idea in Japan that on the third date, you either confess your feelings and become a couple or go your separate ways. I don’t know if we were going to get to that point, though. I had to start walking again, and honestly, I think I liked her more than she liked me.
But still—it didn’t take away from the experience at all. I genuinely enjoyed the time we spent together, and it was worth every minute.
Sorry for the long gap between posts. The next one will be coming soon, and it’ll have a lot more walking and progress to share with you.
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