A Day Layered with "Since We're Here" Moments

-Starting with Happy Donuts-


Yesterday's drive 🚗 was a trip with two former colleagues from the special nursing home where I worked two years ago.
One was a woman slightly younger than me, around the same age.

The other was a guy in his 30s, about the age of my own children.
This was the first time I had met him since I left that job.
There was only one goal.
To go buy "Happy Donuts" in Mobara 🍩

In the car,
we talked about the old days at the nursing home,

and what each of us is doing now.
We arrived in no time.
Happy Donuts is quite a popular shop,

and there was a line of about 10 people.


I bought 6, but
she bought 30 for her family of five,

and he bought 20 because his niece was coming over 🤭
Holding boxes filled with a mountain of donuts,
we all laughed together.

Both of them realized they had bought so many, but
it wasn't really for themselves,

but because the faces of their families at home had come to mind.
Seeing that,
I thought to myself,


maybe they were named "Happy" because they make people smile the moment they take a bite?

That alone would have been enough, but
thinking "since we're here," we extended our trip to Kujukuri
and had a seafood set meal at "Banya" near Katakai Beach.
Even though it was a weekday, the parking lot was almost full,
and there were several groups waiting to eat.

Fish eaten near the ocean really is the freshest 😋

After the meal, we went to the beach.
Nothing special, just time spent gazing at the sea.

The Kujukuri coast has nothing to obstruct the view,
and the horizon stretches out endlessly.
While watching the surfers scattered about,
I quietly listened to the sound of the waves.


And then, just going with the flow,
we said, "Should we go to Katori Jingu?"
"Then maybe we should stop by Sawara too."
And our plans naturally expanded.
There was no sense of rushing,
and it was nice to just go with the flow and see where the day took us.


Katori Jingu is known as a power spot, and sure enough,
from the moment we passed through the torii gate,
the air felt different than before.

The great trees stretching straight up
quietly emphasized the sanctity of Katori Jingu.

After putting our hands together at the main shrine,
we took a walk around the grounds.

After that,
we took a break in the little Edo town of Sawara.
We sat down, saying, "I want some coffee."

Today's drive was
nostalgic, but not looking backward.
It had been a while, but there was no need to be formal.

To sum up this kind of time
as just "fun"
felt a little bit wrong.

We didn't accomplish anything special.
Even so, I felt at peace.

It was a day where I felt grateful
that my connections with people are still going strong.