November 2nd, 2025 - Japan Arc Day 9: Klarence Day!

It’s only 1145 but I feel like the day anew. After my nap it took me maybe 30 minutes to feel alive. As soon as my alarm went off at 1115 I was up, changed and out the door. I edited my JJK breakup vid, it’s not without its flaws though I think it adds charm. I was so enthralled with it in fact that I got on the wrong train. I am now further from Tokyo than when I started my voyage.

After a minor detour I made it to Tokyo Station. It’s good that I got off wrong, if I didn’t Klarence and I wouldn’t have had to the perfect rom com meet up. I was wandering around the station trying to find the meet up spot. I saw somewhere that looked like it could be it. As I approached, he rounded the corner. We had made it at the exact same time. Time slowed, the night brightened. We both stopped in our tracks just to stare at the disbelief. We ran into each others arms. It wasn’t the time for tears yet, it was all smiles.

We spent the first half an hour just walking around Tokyo Station taking pictures. After, we got down to our rough laid plans. We wanted to take a scooter to Shibuya so we might start our night. The rental app had Klarence’s phone going in circles, and without my phone number we had hit a brick wall. We opted for a bike rental instead though it came much to the same conclusions. Klarence continued to apologize profusely, I couldn’t tell him enough that it didn’t matter. Would the club have been fun? Sure, but any time with him was well spent.

He gave me the first of many gifts of the night. A Castela Cake! Something to share with my family. A Portuguese dish originally, this was Japans take on the desert.

We pondered a taxi but the idea fell into the void. We continued to wander around Tokyo Station, though now it was with purpose. We really had to pee, a common and reoccurring theme for the day. We swapped the plans around. In place of the club we would be starting with Karaoke, not ending with it. We made it into a big echo and Klarence was ready to give up when he saw the price. I couldn’t read it properly but if my assumptions were correct (they would be) then the place was half the cost of what we paid for in Canada.

And oh my god, it was thrice the size of the Toronto room too. We had a gargantuan room just to ourselves. Klarence had gotten us a lemon highball each. I had never had, I don’t often opt for sour drinks but it was delicious.

I sang my usual favourites, though without any childish. Klarence sang a number of Japanese songs throughout the night, all of which blew me away. I tried to sing some city pop but we both failed both knowing the words. We found a lot of common ground in MyChem, and older rock songs. Frank Sinatras “My Way” and Queens “Don’t stop me now.” We tried some Filipino songs, though we didn’t know each others songs. I tried “raining in Manila”, he tried “Kamusta Ka”. He ended with a song I didn’t recognize but easily picked up. We finished the song together. I’ll have to trade music with him. One of the songs I tried to play was “Tommy Gun” by Royal Republic; that was one of the first musical recommendations he had given me some 8 years ago. I figured the nostalgia, the fact that I remembered it would light up his night. They didn’t have it, and I didn’t tell him I looked for it.

When we left Big Echo it was still dark out, rats ran around the darkest corners. We passed a Family Mart that had a JJK gacha pon system. I just wanted to buy a poster not win the lottery, I didn’t buy it. Klarence had less than a day to teach me all of his Japan knowledge. We went to a Sukiya, something I had missed out on in the past 10 days. I had a rice bowl with beef and grilled eel, UGH! Eel here is so delicious and so cheap! We talked but I can’t remember the conversation. He did give me the second gift of the night, thought this wasn’t for me. A letter to his mom, it would be her birthday this week and Canada Post is half the courier I am.

// Written Nov 6th, 2025 //

When we left Sukiya the sun had woken up, we spent the next hour chasing it. Our Tokyo tour continues as Klarence tried to get me to see everything Japan had to offer in such a short ammount of time. Neither of us had slept, we were drained of energy and once again we needed to pee. The obious solution was to make our way into a manga cafe where we could rest for an hour or two while still getting something unique to the area. When we got there however, it was packed. WoYoung women were glued to their phones and mirrors early in the morning putting on their faces for the day to come. One of the recepttionists had my complexion, Klarence and I both assumed she'd have the abilioty to speak English, she didnt. Which was funny just because it really put off Klarence, I think he was excited not to have to speak Japanese. He had told me earlier in the morning how little he gets to be this version of himself. He even goes by Luke in Japan, there isnt a shred of his old life here. He completely reinvented. I tried to say I understood it a little, I tried to reinvent myself so many times after Dennis but in the end I just picked up my broken pieces and rebuilt my life as best I could. It wasnt the same. He was someone entirely new in an enviornment that didnt allow him to be his old self. I became someone else because If I didnt Id die, with that said I still resemble myself; my old life is still attached to the new me.

Ahem- where were we... We made it to the Imperial Palace! Did we go in? No! Were we planning to and we forgot? Yea! It wasnt open when we arrived but we could see a behemoth cresting other buildings, looming at us from afar. We traveled beneath the city to get to Tokyo Tower. I don't think it was the prettiest thing Tokyo had to offer but it was certainly a marvel to behold. The jopurney especially was enjoyable. Watching it get ever larger with each step, having it dissapear behind trees and buildings only for it to reappear substantially larger than before. It's fun how much it looks like a reskinned Eiffel Tower.

We took our pictures then headed back to the station, this time we were heading for Asakusa. You'll have to forgive me, I cannot for the life of me recall what was so special about Asakusa. Senso-Ji however was phenomanal! Klarence had me buy a melonpan from a convienence store, we stopped and I was able to enjoy the delicous bread treat before we went to the temple. It was so cool! I really liked the area, I got to visit the same place Nene did when she was here. I found that fascinating, it was like I was following in her footsteps. I could almost see her silhoutte moving like a shadow, providing me with the exact steps to take. Even so far from her she's still guiding me. The market jsut before the temple was really cool too! I picked up a lil bath bomb that came with a handkerchief. Back to Senso-Ji, I recieved a blessing from the temple and I got the best luck. It was fun, if you got bad luck you could tie it to the temple and it's supposed to leave the bad luck there so you dont take it with you. I, however did not need to worry about that. We went into the temple, it was entirely similar to the buddhist temple I had ventured in, in Kyoto. The difference being that this place was packed. Despite the signs asking for no photography, everyone was taking pictures and videos. They had turned something so spiritual into something so touristy, it felt disrespectful. We left.

You'll never believe it, we had to pee again. Looking for somewhere to go we found a small trading card shop, we browsed but I didnt see anything that appealed to Drez or Dave. In less than 48 hours I would be in my own country again, I have not yet eaten my fill of Takoyaki. I had Klarence fix that for me. We spent the better part of an hour trying to find this Takoyaki place. Earlier in the day we had spoken about his touring methods. How if he were to take someone from a different place to Fukuoka he wouldnt show them the tourist traps outright, he would show them- The conversation sprung from Dennis. How he would be upset if he traveled to Japan and Klarence showed him his favourite rock, or a small waterfall in place of Fukuoka Tower. I didnt understand the argument. Maybe if I was to pay for the guide, but this was my friend; I'd look at all the rocks in the world if it made him happ. This was my partial mentality today too, Klarence was hitting all the tourist stops, at the same time we were making mistakes and getting lost. He apologized, entirely uneccasarry, I would look at all the rocks in the world if it made him happy. I also agreed with the philosophy. If I were taking someone on a tour of Toronto / Missisauga, Yea I'd hit the main spots but its my tour. I will also show you the things I've discovered, the places I fell in love with or plain out fell in love.

We found the takoyaki.... It was not the best I've ever had, but I was happy to just eat shitty takoyaki and talk with Klarence underneath a bridge in a different country in a city neither of us knew. We had to pee again. There was a station nearby where we were able to use the latrine and then immedialty jump on a train to get to Skytree. The Jays had led a good game all day, at this point they were tied. If the Lakers did anything positive, they'd win. We got to Sky tree and really just dawdled. I liked all the shops in the mall but we really wanted to go into the tower. The Jays lost, my family had put Klarence and I's plan on hold for more than two hours just for them to lose. While my mom dragged my siblings through a city she didn't know, Klarence and I tried to get me new glasses from jins. I found the most beautiful pair. I was ready to spend as much as it'd take to get my hands on it. I was so close, but my astigmatism in my left eye meant they didnt have my perscription in stock. The thirty minute replacement would now take a week. I left in less than 36 hours. We left dejected, Klarence apologized for a problem entirely not his fault.

Finally my family met up with us, Klarence was able to give his third gift. Candy he brought with him from Korea, my siblings delighted in it, my sister especially loved it. We ate inside Skytree while we waited for our timeslot to go up. You'll never guess what I had. Takoyaki! This one was so much better. I watched the chefs prepare it while in line. Ho-ly shit. What a skill to have, what a sight to see. We made it to Skytree, to the top I mean. It was gorgeous. We must've spent 3/4 hours up there it was so pretty. We made it to the highest point you could reach in Skytree, 451 metres above the city. It span out so far you couldn't see where it ended, just an endless stream of lights. A trillion lives reduced to the size of ants. I think we spent an hour leaving Skytree, the line wasn't a line so much as a conglomeration of tourists being herded towards the exit.

We made it to the subway, the kids and my mom took the first train with us, we said goodbye as they got off. Their part in our night had come to a close, ours still went on. We were back where it started. Tokyo Station. Klarence really wanted to take me to a classic Japanese eatery where you sit on the floor, none of the places we saw were floor seating. The other issue was that they were all closing. We spent too much time at Skytree, we spent too much time waiting for the Jays to lose. I blame them for how little I got to see how Klarence was doing, how he was really doing.

We found a nice little spot that was willing to take us in for last call, the conversation started soft. 30 minutes later we were bawling our eyes out to each other. I wish I was here, I wish someone was here, someone from his old life, a friend. Klarence deserved someone to talk to, to tell him what he needs to here. I'm happy he could confide in me what he said. I hope to talk with him again soon.

We left the restaurant and roamed the streets of Tokyo a little more. We somehow found our way to the very same street we had started our venture, where the Big Echo was. I found my Tokyo hat I wanted at a Lawsons. It was time to say goodbye, Klarence's last train out was coming. He gave me my fourth and final gift. The tie he had been wearing all day was cute, this pink lil number with some bears and patterns on it. He told me how the bear was a mascot for Kumamoto, his name was Kumamon. He was an adorable lil guy that found his way into my hands as Klarence gifted him to me. It was time to say goodbye. We hugged, we cried, we took our pictures. He walked away past his gate, he looked back once. I never stopped looking until he was completely gone.

I wish my goodbyes were more grandiose, I wish they were more cinematic. I wish the time I spent with people I love was more meaningful. Klarence and I squished, squeezed and squirmed as many things as we could in the 22 hours we had with each other. Did we spend at least a third of the time back tracking to previous locations, or getting lost, or hitting a brick wall? Yes absolutely, that’s a part of the journey I think. Klarence apologized at every wrong turn like he built the city himself, like he was the sole reason we were lost. I didn’t exactly carry my weight, I just followed him around like an NPC. His second shadow.

I love Klarence so much, he is someone so close to me. Someone I wish everyday was closer. To be able to confide in him is a blessing, to be in the same time zone as him has been a blessing. I’m so going to miss it. To having easy access to a friend. Not having to worry about Canada Post’s strikes, not having to wait the 2 weeks it takes to send my thoughts and feelings to him.

—-

Missed shuttle bus by 30 seconds, I could've taken the Sheraton bus and walked the 5 minutes to my hotel. I didn't, I was dead tired, my feet hurt. I waited in the cold for the 20 minutes it took the new bus to come. Sleep had never come so easily.

// Addendum //

I cannot recall when, but Klarence had brought me to a small temple very early in the day where I was able to make a donation and recieve in turn, a blessing. I prayed for what I always do; Power, Peace, Purpose and Love.