Konnichiwa Chronicles: The First Pass

Because my wanderlust has recently been on overdrive, it took only around a year and a half to get all the pages of my passport filled up. During my past 3 trips - Macau, Singapore and Manila - I had to contend with immigration officers asking me when I'll replace my passport and where they could put their chop in. My standard reply would be: "There's probably a small space somewhere in between pages 30 and 32.

So, my first agenda when I got back to Manila this June was to get a new passport. And thanks to Louis, the process was so much simpler and less taxing. And before the 2nd week of June, I got my new, maroon and machine readable passport.



Since I got my new passport, wanderlust soon kicked in again. And the country that had the honor of putting the first stamp on my new, maroon and machine readable passport was ---



Japan! (The blurry yellow thingie is their immigration stamp.) Yup, I'm in Japan for a couple of weeks to attend Mark's graduation, go to Tokyo Disney Sea, live the "Lost in Translation" life, and buy Wonka Chocolates. (Of course.) Right now, I'm in Mark's "IUJail cell" which has a 360 degree view of mountains and ricefields.



The past few days, we've been going to parties and barbecues, we've been busy in the kitchen and with karaoke, we've gone to Koide and Nagaoka, and we've tried playing mahjong with a deck of cards, and with the real thing. Despite the flurry of activities, the trip has so far been relaxed and laid back. Then again, this is Urasa. It's probably the relaxed and laid back capital of Japan.