Hello adventurer

When was the last time fear held you back from something you truly wanted? It’s so easy to let it win—to stick with the status quo, to stay comfortable. But on the other side of fear, there’s something unexpected: growth, connection, and experiences we never saw coming.

February 12th

After basically inviting myself to a stranger’s karaoke night, I went to bed excited for the party ahead. The next morning, I set off in search of a good grilled fish for lunch.

I walked into a restaurant, sat down at the counter, and immediately felt déjà vu. A quick glance at the menu confirmed it—I had unknowingly walked into another Hanamaru. I laughed to myself and figured I might as well roll with it. I asked the waiter for grilled mackerel, but unfortunately, they weren’t serving it that day. Instead, I ordered an assortment of sushi and left happy and full.

After lunch, I decided to find another onsen. I wanted something closer to the city so I could grab food and be ready for karaoke whenever the call came. Naebo Station Onsen was perfectly situated right off the station—cheap (only 500 yen!), with a variety of pools, plus the essentials: a sauna and a cold plunge. It was exactly what I needed.

Feeling refreshed, I made my way back toward the city center, situating myself near the karaoke spot while searching for food. That’s when Shoyo messaged me, saying he was struggling to fit karaoke into his schedule. I told him we could just grab dinner instead if that was easier. Later, I found out he had to work remotely from 12 AM – 6 AM, which complicated his plans and made squeezing in karaoke tricky.

They suggested eating soup curry—at the same place I had just eaten the other day. I thought it was funny that my day was unfolding almost exactly like before: same lunch, different onsen, same dinner. I didn’t mind, though. The food was good, and I was excited about the company.

I got to the restaurant first and put our group on the waitlist. They arrived five minutes later, but Shoyo felt bad about taking me to the same place again. So, we pivoted to his other favorite soup curry spot. We walked a few blocks, only to find out they were sold out. The next 2–3 places we tried were either closed for the day or sold out as well. In the end, we spent an hour wandering the city in search of dinner.

I didn’t mind. The company was great, and we chatted at every turn. Eventually, we gave up on soup curry and pivoted to an izakaya.

We talked about a lot of things, but anime became our strongest bond. Yousuke shared that he only watches anime for manga he can read in Japanese. His choices are still limited, since he’s working within a set of kanji he knows or ones that include furigana (small hiragana characters that help with kanji pronunciation).

That made me think of one of my all-time favorite manga: Yotsuba!

I used Yotsuba to help me learn Japanese, so I asked if Yousuke and Shoyo had read it. To my surprise, not only had they read it—Yotsuba was Yousuke’s all-time favorite manga. It’s also the reason he and Shoyo became friends in grade school.

We talked about how Yotsuba shaped us, and Yousuke mentioned that she’s one of the reasons he wants kids someday. I laughed because I’ve always felt the same way. Even though I don’t usually feel the pull toward having kids, Yotsuba is one of the few things that makes me want them.

He also mentioned that as he’s gotten older, he relates more to Yotsuba’s dad—hence his pseudonym. He sees things from the dad’s perspective now. I get that. I think we all do as we grow up.

After dinner, we took a selfie and said our goodbyes.

This night will go down as a core memory for me. I’ve never randomly met people in the wild who even know who Yotsuba is—let alone share the same love and deep connection to her.

It’s funny what brings people together. For us, it was a little girl with green hair and boundless energy.

Until next time, stay courageous, stay curious.