50th Birthday Milestone | ③ 4-Day, 2-Night Blitz Trip to NY with My 20-Year-Old Son

The third installment of my 5-part series on reaching the 50-year milestone. Please take a look at the others if you'd like.

①A "New Form of Family" That Began with His Son
②My 50th Birthday Solo Wedding: A Celebration for Myself

Unlike me, who loves traveling abroad, my son says, "I have no interest in overseas travel." When I asked him, "Could you accompany me to NY, where my best friend's family lives?" he hesitated a bit, but then laughed and agreed, saying, "I guess this is my last act of filial piety."

Admittedly, it's understandable that people might think, "Is he a mama's boy?" for a college junior to travel abroad with his mother. This 4-day, 2-night blitz trip was surely his way of being considerate of my feelings as his mother. This happened when my son was a junior in college and I was 50.

■ The Choice of a 4-Day, 2-Night Trip

In 2023, I was working as a temp at a call center for a foreign medical device manufacturer, and the situation was that "two days was the limit for consecutive time off." To the outside world, this 4-day, 2-night NY blitz plan might seem reckless (in February 2023, with the dollar at about 140 yen: 220,000 yen per person for flights and lodging via HIS).
Day 1 (Thu): Afternoon flight from Haneda (International Date Line), arrive in NY in the afternoon, half-day sightseeing.
Day 2 (Fri): NY Stock Exchange to half-day sightseeing.
Day 3 (Sat): Afternoon flight from NY.
Day 4 (Sun): Arrive at Haneda in the afternoon.

■ Baptism at JFK Airport

I had decided to let my son lead the way on this NY trip, but when we arrived at the airport, the monorail was under construction. I couldn't find the shuttle bus... and we ended up getting into a car with someone who called out, "I'll take you there!"... and we were ripped off for $200 each ($400 for the two of us) 😭

This was my third time in NY, but I was surprised by how much worse the public safety was than I imagined. I witnessed fare evasion on the subway and shoplifting by the homeless. Son, consider this a life lesson too.

■ A Whirlwind Tour of Sightseeing Spots

A "trip to hit all the famous spots" in one day.

■ A Question at the NY Stock Exchange

■ Words from a Billionaire

We went for Italian food with my best friend’s family living in NY. Her husband, who had become a billionaire after taking his company public, said this to my son:

“Your mother is crazy to come to NY for just two nights and four days. But she still wanted to show you NY. You will understand the meaning of that someday. And the day will come when this experience will be useful for your job hunting.”

Exactly that!!! Those are the words I wanted to convey...

■ Results of the Trip — A Living Episode for Job Hunting —

In fact, he applied to infrastructure companies (electricity, gas, air conditioning) for job hunting and was rejected by all of them. In the end, he chose a bank.

Yes, he decided to enter the same financial industry as me. And apparently, he even talked about the “NY Stock Exchange episode” during his interviews. (Grin)

■ A Book That Broadened My Son’s Values

When my son was graduating from university, he was reading a book by travel YouTuber Bapper Shota. “Travel is not something special. It is something to be enjoyed more casually and freely.” I was incredibly happy to see him holding this book.

■ And Now, Into the Working World

In 2025, my son became a working adult. He says he’s studying more than ever before. It’s like he’s attending a finance school. That’s good, that’s good lol.

What travel gives you... there is no single answer. It’s everyone’s own interpretation. I thought to myself, I’m going to keep traveling too!

*The title photo is of NY Grand Central Station.

Thank you for reading until the end!

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