Grad Trip with The Boys

“Itadakimasu~!” “Itadakimasu!” “Ita... daki...masu...”

I understand that this was a custom in Japan, but it felt embarrassing to enact out loud.

Dim orange lighting spilled over sleek wooden countertops, while hidden speakers played a subtle piano score in the background. Scented candles and freshly cooked rice complimented the otherwise hearty smell of raw fish. The four of us sat nervously at the front bar.

There were less than ten guests in the cozy little establishment, which was apparently enough business for the evening. Since Coco wouldn’t tell us the prices, I assumed that it was an exorbitant amount, probably akin to at least five times the price of our home city’s local bars.

According to the restaurant’s dress code, we the boys donned slick black suits, while Coco wore a plain knee-length black dress. Since we were in the dress up mood, Coco’s wish to test eye-makeup on us was granted—Ravi’s lashes were more prominent than usual, my face looked a little chiseled, and Prius’s eyebrows actually existed. Just for today, we appeared to be more than a group of shabby city boys from the west.

Of course, that’s what we were at heart.

With Coco’s level twenty-four Dualingo skills and the chef’s quaint English vocabulary, we were able to understand quite a bit of our course.

Known as “omakase”, we were experiencing a fresh, full course meal handpicked for us by a professional sushi chef.

“This first one is medium-fatty tuna,” Coco translated for us.

The chef stuck thin slices of beautifully marbled, deep magenta tuna onto small wads of rice, using dots of wasabi as the adhesive. Our nigiris were then brushed with a thin layer of soy sauce, before being placed on our plates.

Its fat melted in my mouth, flawlessly blending with the flowery taste of warm rice. Faint heat from the wasabi just barely kicked in, flourishing the flavours on my palate.

“This is the first time I’ve ever had fish that was as juicy as a steak,” Prius commented.

“Mm... sugoi!” Coco exclaimed.

I think that meant “wow” in Japanese. I couldn’t comprehend the rest of what she said to the chef.

“Dude... this is nothing compared to the restaurants in our city,” Ravi said.

Inarticulate with astonishment, I nodded.

Next up was sea bream. We noticed that the chef would lightly tap the fish with his knife prior to forming the nigiri. Coco said it was to make the raw ingredients easier to bite through.

Then turbot, sandwiching fresh scallions and wasabi between itself and the rice.

Then live shrimp—freshly killed, topped with a drop of lime, and placed onto warm rice.

Then sea urchin, placed upon rice and wrapped in crispy, crinkly seaweed.

Crunch.

Seafood, then rice. Then seafood, then rice. Such a simple combination that one would almost expect it to taste bland, yet its natural flavours were enhanced by its very simplicity. I was used to eating from chefs who were skilled at masking the fishy taste of seafoods, but today I learned that the best chefs are the ones who manage to make “fishy” taste good.

Everything about the experience was surreal; the seaweed’s crunchiness, the wasabi’s burn. It was better than every other incidence we’ve eaten out. This was something I’d definitely come back for again—at least, that’s what I thought until I remembered the price.

While the food alone was quite expensive, I guess a large part of what we paid for was the cozy atmosphere, intimate service, and shared memories.

“Man, Prius. You’re missing out,” Ravi said. “The ones that had sesame oil and seeds sprinkled over were some of the best. It really added to the flavour.”

“I’ve never really tasted what sesame’s like, so I wouldn’t know,” Prius replied.

“Well it’s great that you’re being more careful now.”

“I was always careful!”

“...Uh huh.”

“No, really. I just got excited seeing such a cute girl offer me chocolates.”

“Oh, speaking of chocolates. How did it go with Lily? Did you get her number?” I asked.

“Ah...” Prius started. “I connected with her on social media, but...”

“But what?”

“She’s not into guys.”

“...Oh.”

We ate the rest of our meal in appreciative silence.

o

At the end of dinner, we had thanked the chef and made our way out into the bustling . The muggy streets felt crowded and sweaty—never have I felt so hot and sticky in such a clean place. Despite it being eleven in the evening, it was such a lively and social world.

“Is this what a city with a nightlife is like?” I pondered aloud.

“Yeah... there’s never anything to do in our own city,” Coco said.

“...”

Ravi and Prius stared at us.

“What?” Coco asked.

“Do you guys even have friends to go out at night with?” Prius questioned.

“...Yes.”

“Like, other than us?”

“...”

Ravi laughed.

“Our city has a bit of a nightlife if you know where to go. It’s not as flashy as this, though.”

He was right.

Glowing blues were mixed in with neon shades of flame over the numerous signs and billboards. Some of the words were in English, most of them were not—it was evidently a city native to its people, but foreign to us. Maybe that’s where the sense of novelty came from.

“Where were we going again?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Coco said. “Where are you going Prius? The hotel’s this way.”

“Convenience store,” Prius replied. “I’m still hungry bro. Usually I get to eat some of yours and Via’s, but we couldn’t do that today.”

“You might’ve died from your allergies anyways.”

“Maybe. Hey Coco, how much did that cost?”

“Uhhhh...” she winced. “Well, don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah,” I piped up. “It’s more about the taste and the experience. I definitely had a lot of fun.”

“It’s crazy how we’re going to convenience stores for meals here,” Ravi commented. “You can get hot water there and everything. Even some of the vending machines have hot soups.”

“Yeah! It’s like convenience stores are actually convenient here,” Prius said. “The only things I buy from convenience stores at home are slushies and bus tickets.”

“That’s because the food we have is all overpriced, and you could get the same thing at the grocery store for cheaper.”

“There’s seats, Wi-Fi, and hot food. It’s pretty much a restaurant!”

“Oh look, we’re here.”

Ravi had pointed out the convenience store not by recognizing the words on its sign, but by identifying the abundance of products through its window walls.

Walking in, we were greeted with refreshing air conditioning and the nostalgic smell of the snack aisle in Asian supermarkets.

“What should we get?” I asked.

“My team has the tradition of eating late night instant noodles on trips,” Prius told us. “Coco, what does this one say?”

“I think... that’s curry flavour.”

“Ooh, I’ve never had that before.”

“Wait, really?!” I asked. “I wanna try that one too.”

“I’ll let you try some,” Prius said. “We should get different flavours and share.”

“Wait... these are...” Coco murmured. She was gazing at a row of cup ramen.

“What?”

“There’s hot dog flavour, cheeseburger flavour... and there’s a tomato yogurt flavour too.”

“What?!” I blurted.

I was ecstatic. The novelty of weird flavours fascinated me. It was as if I had regressed to the childlike desire to putting everything in my mouth. Holding a cup in each hand, I was practically drooling.

The three of them looked at me strangely.

“Dude... those sound weird,” Prius said.

“It does look interesting,” Coco admitted, “But I didn’t think you’d be this excited.”

“Really? Yogurt sounds kind of gross.”

“But you wanna try a little, don’t you? Here, pass back the curry flavour. We can compromise. They have a curry yogurt flavour too.”

“Buy them all! You have money.”

“...”

We bought them all.

o

Our hotel room was a rather standard room with two queen-sized beds on the twelfth floor—at least three times higher than any hotel I’ve been to before. The lack of any novel technologies in the building surprised me, seeing how advanced the city seemed. Realistically, we received all we could ask for from a four-star lodging. Coco had a separate room to sleep in but hung out with us until bedtime—provided we didn’t pass out in the middle of the night playing cards.

Click.

“Kettle’s ready,” Coco called. “There’s enough for two cups.”

“Curry.” “Hot dog!”

“Got it.”

As she poured the hot water for our cup ramen, the rest of us lounged on our beds and fiddled on our phones.

“Man, this trip’s been really chill compared to our usual ones,” Prius sighed.

“Well, we couldn’t plan much since it was such a last minute trip,” I said. “There aren’t many nearby festivals, and on top of that, we had to let you rest after getting discharged. We didn’t have much time to explore.”

“Sorry for eating Lily’s chocolate...”

“No, no! It’s okay. I’m just saying we never planned for much anyways.”

“Mmm, the curry flavour’s really good!” Coco said.

“Hey!” Prius called out. “That’s mine!”

“Sharing is caring.”

“My turn~” I said.

Stealing her chopsticks, I tasted some of the cup noodles. It was better than I expected—the mild heat and flavourful spices warmed up my mouth. I could only imagine how it must feel to eat these under the night sky... or maybe even in front of Mount Fuji. We should go camping with these.

“How’s the hot dog flavour?” I asked. Ravi was already nose deep into the cup.

“I actually like it—the flavour’s more delicious than I expected. It’s kind of like... eating noodles with spam, but better.”

“Instant noodles are the best nighttime snack,” Prius said. “It’s warm, tasty, inexpensive, and it’s not as heavy as greasy fast foods. The only real downside is that it makes you super thirsty afterwards.”

Pop.

We turned to look out the window.

“...”

“Hey Via?” Ravi asked. “Are you sure there weren’t any festivals happening?”

“I... don’t know Japanese,” I admitted. “And the automatic translations were very awkward to read.”

“Ah.”

Fsheew. Pop! Fsheew. Pop!

Luminous trails bloomed in the distant night sky, in place of stars that were driven out by the city’s light pollution. Flowering and fading, the fireworks pulsated above the bright and beautiful city skyline.

“Ravi! Turn the lights off.”

Now who were these young adults, watching fireworks in a foreign land, mesmerized by watching lights from a blackened room while their instant noodles grow soggy?

You already know—it was me and the boys.

o

Cicadas sang to the irregular rhythm of an occasional gong, as white rays peered through a perforated canopy. The wooden torii gate flaunted its evanescent red, as we began our trek down the mountain. We’d just finished visiting a local shrine outside of the city and were making our way to the hotel.

Bamboo thickets walled off either side of our stone staired path, yet I didn’t feel caged in. Perhaps the staggered growth and varied colours of each lush pillar provided depth in the scenery.

Multiple beads of sweat formed on my forehead, shaking and dripping with each downwards step on the stairs. Our trip was nearing its end and we would be heading back the next day—might as well get some exercise before another lengthy plane ride.

Gasping for air, I finally caught up to the rest of the group.

“You really need to start working out,” Prius said. “Wanna go to the gym sometime? Or we could go running with Coco.”

“Prius... you’re so competitive,” Coco remarked.
“Yeah...” I panted. “That’d be great. Can we take a break? I’m pooped.”

“Fine by me,” Ravi said. “Hey, what omamori did you guys buy?”

“Omamori?”

“The little charm things.”

Ravi held up a small purple amulet with golden characters imprinted on the front. It was adorned with a petite string knot at the top, attached to the loop dangling from his index finger.

“I got a safe travels charm... I think. What did you guys buy?”

“Mine’s for academics,” Coco said. She held up a similar amulet, albeit red. “Try and keep it between us, but... I’m interested in med school.”

“Is it because of Doctor Michael on the airplane?” Ravi questioned.

“Yeah. He suggested other healthcare professions as well so I’ll look into that too.”

“I think you’re suited for it,” Prius said.

“Thanks.” Coco gripped the charm in her hand. “I’ll go into sciences this year and look at my options, so I hope school goes well and I can find out which career I really want. What about you, Prius?”

“Aha...” Prius smiled sheepishly. “I got one for good health. The incident on the plane had me scared for my life.”

“If you do that, I’ll be out of a job as a doctor,” Coco complained. She reached out her hand menacingly.

“Hand it over, punk.”

“Get away from me!”

Ravi turned to me. “What did you buy, Via?”

“I got a safe travels charm like you.”

“I guess we’re thinking the same thing,” Ravi chuckled.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you want to keep travelling? It’s so peaceful out here.”

“Stop it, Coco!”

“Give it up, Prius!”

We turned to see the pair still messing around.

“Well, I guess you could say I wanted to maintain the status quo,” I said to Ravi. “I’d really like for us to continue these trips.”

“I can see what you mean.”

“Yeah...”

“Well, I’ll be at a party next Saturday, so we won’t be able to do the usual thing. You interested in a solo trip, though? Prius said you might be doing one.”

I scrunched my eyebrows.

“That was his suggestion. I’m not particularly interested in one...”

“Why not? You’ve gotten a lot of practice booking and road racing. I can lend you some of my gear.”

“What does road racing have to do with a solo trip? And it’s okay, I said I’m not in-”

“You shouldn’t become too dependent on travelling with others,” Ravi said. “Besides, it’s enjoyable! You should at least try it once. The things you eat and the sights you see are completely different when you’re alone.”

Maybe he was right. I’d spent the past few months completely dependent on these guys to have fun. My enjoyment in these trips were mainly because I had people to share these experiences with. I haven’t learned to fully appreciate anything on my own just yet.

“...I’ll think about it.”

“Come over on Thursday. I’ll show you how the gear works.”

“...Okay.”

“Are we ready to head back yet?” Coco asked impatiently. They had finished pushing each other around over Prius’s charm.

“Yeah, let’s go.”