This Week:
- The final days exploring Tokyo, Japan.
- Flying back to the U.S. to visit family.
- My year in photos!
April 2024
| Su | M | T | W | Th | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 4/1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 5/1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Where In The World Was I?
Metrics From The Week
Business Progress Update
No updates since last week.
Final Days In Japan
I spent Sunday walking all over Tokyo writing last week’s blog post (The Week I Experienced Japan For The First Time April 21st, 2024) and finding lunch & dinner. Part of me felt some amount of disappointment that I didn’t “do” anything, but on the other hand, I did quite a lot of walking and exploring.
That chai latte from GOOD COFFEE FARMS Cafe & Bar was absolutely incredible.
Monday I took the metro closer to the downtown area for a coffee shop then spent the afternoon exploring.
The trains were so packed at 8:30am (rush hour) that I couldn’t fit on the first one that came, but they came every 2 minutes (2 minutes!!) so I squeezed myself onto the next one.
👆 THE emptiest 4 lane road I’ve ever seen in my whole life. It was like this every time I walked by here (on my way to the metro station), day and night.
I tried to walk through the The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, this massive park in the middle of the city, but the whole area was closed the day I went so I just walked around it.
I was a bit late to see the cherry blossoms, but there were a handful of trees that still had flowers on them.
Then I took the metro down to Roppongi Hills, this big upscale shopping mall/business park. I stumbled into this big saké tasting event with a DJ playing music and a ton of people out chatting, snacking, and drinking all types of saké.
Then got some ice cream on my way back.
👆 Something I noticed around Tokyo was that I didn’t see a whole lot of people smoking. It also seemed pretty strict in terms of where you were allowed to smoke – not on the sidewalks, not in front of buildings, etc. They had these little designated areas, usually with some kind of visual barrier… Quite interesting and different!
And I also noticed that the messages on screens/boards on trains and in stations seemed different. One observation was a more community-oriented messaging, things like “if you don’t feel well, contact staff” and “let’s not walk on the escalators.”
The other was the respect on public transit and specifically the avoidance of conflict. I saw a sign (not pictured) in one of my guest houses that noted if someone is being loud/disrespectful to notify the staff rather than confront them directly because it might “lead to conflict” (paraphrased).
Food From Japan
✈️ Back… Home?
The flight took just over 10 hours and it was actually more comfortable than I was expecting. They served SO many meals/drinks. It was something like: drinks, dinner, lights off, then more drinks, sandwiches, another break, then lights on, more drinks, and breakfast.
And I spent $44.70 in taxes/fees (+55,000 miles) versus $1861 for the same flight/seat… which still boggles my mind 🤯
So with the time zone difference, my April 23rd ended up being 38 hours long 😄 (10 hour flight plus 4 hour time zone reset on the same day).
275 days later, back in the U.S. with my 2 backpacks (right photo taken from The Week I Traded My Van For 2 Backpacks, July 23rd, 2023).
Back To The Kansas Farm
I met up with my parents and a family relative before heading down to Kansas for a little family reunion!
I was here last July! (A Wild Week On The Road: From South Dakota’s Hidden Gems To Life On A Kansas Farm, July 16, 2023)
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Then headed back to Denver for a little belated birthday dinner before heading our separate ways.
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I’m writing this post from Denver! I fly out this evening. Does it feel like home? Mmmm it feels more familiar than it does like home. But it is quite an interesting experience, I can’t quite put it into words yet.
Season 2 of DailyVs Completed
Just over 5 months of posting a video every single day…
I decided that going back to Kansas to be with family, I wanted to spend more time focused on being present with family than posting videos. And with this bit of a transition period, it just felt like a good break to take for now.
That said, like I noted in my last video Why I’m stopping my morning daily videos (for now), I don’t really see a reason macro-wise to stop. I really like the accountability I’ve gotten from documenting my thoughts/life as well as all the stories I’ve captured for my future self. I’ve also noticed an incredible amount of growth just in my openness to share, ability to speak my mind, and mindset. I love that I’ve captured that transition on video, which is the exact reason why I started these (The Week Of Sweaty Workouts, Deep Talks, And Morning Videos, November 19, 2023)
I also felt a little torn stopping because literally in just the past week some of my latest Japan videos got pushed heavily by the algorithm (with Nudity is more common in Japan than I would’ve expected getting up over 2,600 views). It’s been fun to connect with all the people that have been stopping by and leaving comments!
So for now, the question is “when” not “if” I start posting again, I just don’t have an exact time in mind for when I’ll start them back up.
Reflecting On A Year Around The Globe 🌎
I’ve started a little tradition of reflecting on the past year every time my birthday rolls around. I haven’t gotten a chance yet to sit down and fully reflect on the past year, but here are some of my quick highlights since April 2023:
- Sold the 4Runner and packed up all my stuff into the van and moved out of Colorado!
- So many coffee shop days, spring van life in Denver.
- First time in South Dakota!
- Saw my cousins in Kansas.
- Packed up my 2 backpacks and flew to Europe.
- 3 months in Europe. Sooo may memories.
- Trying, exploring, adventuring.
- Broke my toe in Austrian Alps.
- 6 months in SE Asia. My first time out in such a different culture!
- Built a real SaaS MVP!
- Finally found a sustainable life.
- 2 months in Bali, 2 months in Kuala Lumpur.
- Strip clubs in Phuket Thailand.
- 17 countries (18 with the U.S.) this past year!
- 10 in Europe: Spain, Portugal, France, Netherlands, Germany, Czechia, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco
- 7 in Asia: Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan
And like last year (Celebrating A Year Of Memories, April 30th, 2023), here’s my year in photos:
It’s been fun to come across past notes in my journal from before flying abroad.
This was from last April 2023:
I feel like I’ve gotten a good sense of what the U.S. is like to live in, despite there being loads of places I still want to visit. I think my mind is more focused on lifestyle and location. What place in the world do I want to live? I also just want to experience other places, other cultures, and get out of my comfort zone.
Do that essentially indefinitely if I like it enough. Maybe come back to the States and continue van life. But for now I’m envisioning being somewhere in southeast Asia for Christmas 2023 and probably somewhere, no idea, by my next birthday. My guess is just not in the U.S.
✅ I was in Bali, Indonesia for Christmas
✅-ish for the birthday. I was in Japan last week just before, which I definitely wouldn’t have guessed, but I did technically make it back to Denver for my birthday. Which, that now makes it 3 consecutive years of birthdays in Denver 😄 I have absolutely ZERO idea where I’ll be next April 😂
If you told me this was gonna be my map for 2023/2024 I wouldn’t have believe it.
It’s been quite a year and I’m incredibly grateful for all the experiences I got to have. I really do feel like my perspective and mindset has completely changed.
I wrote about my Why for traveling abroad under “🛫 Travel Planning” in The Week I Started Planning For Travel Abroad (May 21st, 2023).
- Curiosity ✅
- Personal growth ✅
- Timing ✅
- Experiences ✅
My “financial plane” has not been built yet, it’s still a hunk of metal falling at terminal velocity through the air. But, I would argue that I’m a whole lot directionally closer and financially closer than I was a year ago.
And as for “I have a feeling I’ll like it (or maybe a slower version of it)” – Yes.
The question becomes what’s next, for which I don’t have an answer yet…
What’s Next?
Headed east!