I embarked on a solo travel to Japan earlier this year. I choose Tohoku region, where Sendai was my base city and visited Morioka, Kakunodate and Hiraizumi. Before I flew back home, I stayed in Narita city for two night and successfully explored the necessary area walking.

The Drama.

Photo by Ervan M Wirawan on Unsplash

The drama started at the beginning of the journey when I arrived in Tōkyō Station. I didn’t learn thoroughly of how to book the reserved seat on the train using my JR Pass ticket. Therefore, being very frustrated on missing the train, I boarded myself on a non-reserved train to Sendai. It took an hour more than it should be.

Arriving in Sendai Station around 13:00, I quickly looked around the station to take a quick lunch. Alas! All the restaurant was jam packed of people having lunch and a long tail of people queueing welcome my sight. ‘Maybe it’s time for me to find the hotel first and waiting for check in.’

Around 10:00ish I arrived in the store and it turned out to be the BEST turned event that ever happened in my life!!

I always have wanted Timberland yellow boots. But I can’t justify the price tag. And that’s why I can’t see myself invested in those.

In the top of the rack, I saw it! Fila made a yellow winter boots with a super reasonable price tag. Not to mention the Tax Free policy. I left the store with boots on and a box that’s filled with my old shoes. I was grinning widely the whole time.

After putting on the boots, I enjoyed the sound of snow being crushed beneath my shoes, walking around very confident and explored the city with immense joy. This is the moment that I still remember vividly, just like it was yesterday.

I visited many shops and brought お土産 (omiyage—souvenirs) for my family back home. Every time I visited the store, I didn’t feel any urge to buy anything at all. I felt enough. This (all the things that I have at that time with me) is enough.

“Standing in the inner side of the station looking outwards, I was dumbfounded. I lost my signal, although I have checked that it was there a moment ago and my phone battery suddenly drained because of the cold weather. What should be a very exciting weather which is snow falling right before my eyes, suddenly turned into a nightmare.”

I check the surrounding building around the station and I saw Loft. I decided to go and do a little bit of shopping. Such a wrong move.

The moment I stepped outside of the station, the snow pilled up around 3 cm and being stepped, melted and freeze again it created such an excellent recipe for slippery and a sudden ice skating. I lived my whole life in a tropical country and even though I always make time to travel during winter months, it seemed my calculation of the weather forecast was off. Including my footwear. Snow invaded my inner shoes very quickly after a short time of walk.

Now, visiting stationery store while visiting Japan is like a must-go for me. I discover that write things down help me remember and understand better. Especially with language learning. Since then, affordable notebooks with decent paper and fountain pen inks has always been on my radar whenever I visited Japan. SO, Loft should be exciting for me. But turned out, it did not. I really just want to find the hotel (which is actually very close to the station), check in and just rest for the day.

A deep fear and stress of losing the signal on my phone clouded my judgement. I came back to the main station building and reset my phone and trying again. The Maps didn’t load fully but it could pin point the hotel. Before loosing the signal all over again, I quickly screenshot the direction and start to walk. I opened my umbrella (Thank God) and carry the luggage with me.

The Maps showed me the back entrance and I have to walked another block just to find the main entrance. It was 14:30 by the time I reached the reception desk and proceed with the check in. While waiting for my time to enter my room (15:00), the lady kindly escorted me to a waiting room where I can rest a bit and drink some ice water.

That evening, I talked with my sisters about I felt drained and didn’t have energy to do any shopping. I didn’t feel like shopping at all. I apologize to them beforehand for this extreme change of mood.

Then, my eldest sister suggested me to buy a pair of winter boots. Something that could protect my feet during this journey. She pointed me to one of the ABC Mart store near Sendai Station. I promised her, that first thing next morning, I will purchase the shoes first before start exploring the city.

The Tipping Point.

I feel very satisfied and fulfilled. More importantly, I started to see myself differently. I have realized and accepted that simply by truly having that one thing you have always want in your life could transform your perspective about life in an instant. 

The point is not about The Shoes. It is about having the exact thing that we need in order for us to weather storms in any situations. It could be a different thing to you, but the essence is the same.

Other than the boots, I place my Platinum Century 3775 — Laurel Green, in Extra Fine pen in high regard. This is the pen that I use every single day, either for writing memos or to-do list. It is not a special for special occasions only. I decided that I want to live every single day surrounded by these meaningful things and ‘aged’ with them.

And… that’s how I embrace myself as an Essentialist. I live day in, day out, together with things that I found essential in my life.

Coming back home after the journey,

Authentic Fulfillment from Sendai, Japan. 29 July 2025.

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