In hindsight, walking eleven miles the day before a nine-day race across Japan may not have been our smartest decision.

But that's tomorrow's problem.

The day began with one of the best hotel breakfasts I've ever had. As international guests, the buffet was included, and we took full advantage of it. Fueled by good food and excitement, Ali and I decided to explore the neighborhood around our hotel before the day's real adventures began.

That's when we stumbled upon Nogi Shrine. Tucked away from the noise of the city, it felt like we'd discovered a hidden pocket of peace. The grounds were beautiful, with blooming hydrangeas lining the paths and a quietness that seemed impossible in a city as busy as Tokyo. We wandered slowly, taking it all in. Before the crowds, before the shopping bags, before the race that would begin the next morning, there was this unexpected moment of stillness.

And I didn't realize how much I needed it.

I was also carrying another kind of excitement that day.

I was going to see my lifelong friend, Rou.

Rou had been an exchange student when I was a freshman in high school, and we've remained friends ever since. I had traveled to Japan to visit her back in 1989, and although we'd stayed in touch through all the years and all the changes life brings, we hadn't actually seen each other face-to-face since then.

Thirty-seven years.

She met us in the hotel lobby, and somehow, despite the decades that had passed, it felt easy. Familiar. Like no time had passed at all.

Together, we visited Meiji Jingu Shrine, wandered through shops, and did what any reasonable people preparing for an endurance race would do:

We went to K-pop stores and bookstores.

Honestly... what were we thinking?

We shopped, browsed, laughed, and caught up on nearly four decades of life in between purchases of books and fandom treasures. For lunch, we stopped for gyoza before it was time to say goodbye.

As Rou headed home, Ali and I made our way to Ginza for even more shopping.

By the end of the day, we'd walked eleven miles.

Eleven.

Miles.

And somewhere between collapsing into our tiny hotel room and looking at the itinerary for the next morning, reality finally hit us.

The Shinkansen Scramble started tomorrow.

Instead of resting and conserving our energy, we'd spent the entire day exploring Tokyo, reuniting with old friends, buying books we definitely didn't need to carry around Japan, and somehow exhausting ourselves before the race had even begun.

Would this come back to haunt us?

Absolutely.

Would I trade that day for anything?

Not a chance.