074
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7–KARAOKE BAR, HAMAMATSU
There’s no better way to end a great trip with great people than
having a traditional Japanese meal, complete with endless
sake, amazing food, and plenty of laughs. From the freshest
sashimi to most random foods I’ve ever eaten, including chick-
en hearts and raw squid, everybody was reeling from the past
few days of fun. During the entire trip there had been talk of
karaoke, and after dinner wrapped up, our wishes were granted
as we approached our venue. It turned out to be one big room
we rented to our group, and that was probably for the better, as
the beer was flowing and the skill level of the participants was
less than professional. I have two takeaways from this couple-
hour session of shenanigans, the first being Japanese people
take karaoke very seriously and are actually damn good at it.
The second being everyone on this trip was down to give it a
shot without any worry about how bad we sucked, and when
Jason Thomas and a few others sang “My Hero” to RC, that was
the icing on the cake. The headache the next day was tempo-
rary, but the memories remain! Kampai!THURSDAY, JUNE 8 –TOKYO TO LA
Like all good things, this weeklong journey in Japan had un-
fortunately come to an end. We took one last ride on the bullet
train with a first-class upgrade via Suzuki, followed by a quick
trip through the Tokyo NRT’s Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge,
which offered a fully automated beer dispenser—what?! Just
like that, we were heading home. To realize what had just trans-
pired the past week, somehow walk out of there without any
injuries to myself or the group, and have the chance to share
my journey within the pages of this magazine are all things I will
cherish. A huge thank you is in order to the great folks at Suzuki
along with everyone involved every step of the way. If you ever
get the chance to visit Japan, take it from me: Go!