One of the oft-overlooked highlights of travel is in fact, waiting. Either at the airport terminal, the bus stop, or in my case, I’m at Kyoto station waiting to catch the next bullet train to Okayama, where I will then hop onto another train, bus, and ferry to get to Naoshima Island. This doesn’t sound like fun, but I’ve come to appreciate the downtime during the transitional phases of travel. It’s a weird in-between where you’re neither here nor there, yet, feel oddly at home. This slight limbo period helps facilitate my thinking in such a way where the subtle buzz of the trains whizzing by and dings of the PA system can bring calm and also stir up ways of thought that I otherwise wouldn’t notice had I just went straight from A to B. Granted, travel in Japan is ten times better than most places. The trains are always on time, and there are millions of convenient stores ready to supply you with the most delicious road provisions. If I remember correctly, I’m eating a katsu curry sandwich (I got two of them, one to eat later). Soon, I will board a train with assigned seating so I don’t have to scramble and I’ll be able to enjoy the scenery as I glide seamlessly across the mountains of Japan. So yeah, perhaps I’m a little spoiled here, but I also noticed I get the same feeling whether I’m on the plane or on a road trip down Highway 1. I love the destinations but I’ve also learned to savor all the moments in between.

by Jason Lam