どんぐり

"Can you believe it?" Aaron said again. "We're in Japan."

"Aah. I know yeah. It feels like I was here yesterday." Travis chimed in.

I could see the excitement in their eyes as we got onto the limousine bus. "What time are they meeting us?" They both asked.

"I told them, hopefully, we're going to be at the hotel by 8pm." I replied.

As we left the man made island/airport/landfill we watched the city of Osaka fade into the sunset as darkness took over. It felt like a literal transition from reality to fantasy. I was now in a different place and time. Gone were the days of sitting in my office and drawing up plans for the next antenna tower. Now was the time to explore, get lost, and learn.

I watched the clock on the bus as it was nearing 8:00 pm. We were about 30 minutes from our destination and it was already 7:56. As as old local tradition, we were still on "Hawaiian time," and we were going to be late. My first realization that we were somewhere different was when the clock ticked to 8:00 pm. Less than three seconds later, my phone started to vibrate and ring.

"Whoa! Right on time, yeah?" Aaron said.

A smile gleamed from my face as I read Erica's name on the caller i.d. screen. I answered the phone and all I heard were giggles. Erica asked where we were and welcomed us to Japan. She passed the phone along to Miwa and she asked the same question. A feeling of excitement came over me as I talked to them. I remembered the days I spent with my friends when they were in Hawaii 4 months ago. I passed the phone along to Travis and Aaron and I watched them go through the same exact thing I went through just minutes earlier. We couldn't wait to get to the hotel.

As soon as we arrived at the hotel, we checked in to our rooms and called our friends. We arranged to meet them in the lobby. We were so excited to see them, we decided to walk out to the street instead. As we stood on the sidewalk wondering where they were, we were startled by the sudden screaming across the street. We turned to look at the commotion and found out it was our friends. They ran across the street and were very excited to see us. We were all very happy to see each other again. "What do you want to do?" asked Miwa

Travis, Aaron, and I replied in unison, "eat!"

We walked a few blocks and stopped at a restaurant called どんぐり (Donguri), literally: acorn. Why the restaurant was called that? I don't know. We talked and had our first taste of Kansai cuisine. This was our first night in Kyoto and it started off with okomiyaki and a reunion.

When we got back to the hotel, the three of us reflected on our night. "If our first night here is this much fun, I wonder what the next 7 days are going to be like?" commented Aaron.

As I drifted into sleep, I asked myself the same question.