We are back officially in Japan, and this video is basically my first proper solo trip—3 days using Okayama as a base, then branching out to Naoshima Island and Kurashiki. Day one is a short one (I landed in Osaka around 1pm and didn’t get to the hotel until like 5), so it’s mostly food and recovery because I knew the next day was going to be huge. Naoshima ended up being one of those days where everything is a little chaotic (train + ferry timing didn’t line up, I had to wait 40 minutes, and I honestly had no clue what I was doing at first). But it turned into such a wholesome, authentic experience—this local grandpa randomly started chatting to me, and we ended up sharing life stories in broken Japanese/English while walking to the museums. I also got humbled because Chichu Art Museum was sold out, but even just seeing the Ando architecture from the outside made me a huge fan. Add 30,000 steps, a chicken karaage teishoku, an iced oat latte, and you’ve got a pretty perfect day. By the end, I’m in Okayama doing Korakuen Garden and the castle, and the real takeaway hits: solo travel is daunting at first, but I loved having the freedom to move at my own pace. It gave me a lot of alone time to reflect, journal, and appreciate the small moments—like, that’s kind of the whole reason I document my life in the first place.