Japanese Food Bites: Indulging in the Taste of Summer

Alas, came the day where it was time to depart from my dream trip of Japan 2026. I had an interesting start of the day, waking up at 8am from a sleepover I had with my friends Jessica and Huong. We all woke up extremely exhausted, since we didn’t sleep until 4:30am. We rushed down to the hotel breakfast so we could eat with some of our peers for the last time.

After eating breakfast, I rushed back to my room to get ready and finalize packing up my luggage. We all hung out in the hotel lobby for a bit just talking, having final conversations and sweet goodbyes.

The hotel breakfast wasn’t that fulfilling so Maddie, Calvin, Niki, Annika, Amelia, Faith, and I all went on a 10 min walk in Ikebukuro to go eat some fluffy pancakes at Original Pancake House located at the 8th floor in Lumine. I sat at a table with Maddie and Calvin, and the rest sat at a table right next to us. At my table, we all ordered the same food—Fuwafuwa pancakes with berries. I got an iced latte as well.

The wait was a bit long for my food, which was a bit worrying because I had a bus to catch at 1:15pm. Eventually, Maddie and I got our food but poor Calvin never got his. Calvin described that he was very frustrated because he had already waited 30 mins for his food and was told he had to wait 15 more mins, which we didn’t have the time for. He ended up canceling his order, and as compensation, all of the drinks that we ordered were free. We didn’t want him to leave without eating anything so we all shared our food with him.

To continue my busy day, Maddie and I booked the same limousine bus together for 1:15pm, and by the time we left Pancake house, we were on a tight time crunch. We knew we had to run. It was a little difficult with heavy luggage but we made it with 3 minutes to spare. I immediately fell asleep for the entire hour bus ride.

We finally arrived at Haneda airport at exactly 2:15pm. One of our friends, Johan, was also at the airport, so after checking in, we met with him and went through the whole security process together.

Maddie, Johan, and I were at the same terminal because of international flights. We walked around looking at some shops when we eventually decided to get some pizza as our final meal in Japan.
We all decided to order Margarita Pizza, when all of sudden our lovely Professor Ito came up to us. Her boarding time was in 10 minutes, so our goodbyes were short and sweet. The moment we got our pizza, the three of us sat down, ate, and reflected upon the trip. Once boarding time came, we had one last hug and said our goodbyes at the gate. It was such a bittersweet moment, and I was so grateful to spend these last moments of the trip with them. But, I know I will see them again in Boston in September.

I finally boarded my flight, and as I walked through the gate, I mentally prepared myself for a long 14 hour flight. We were supposed to depart at 6:05pm, but unfortunately there was delay so we couldn’t depart until an hour later.

At last, after a very dreadful and uncomfortable flight, I made it back to Boston at 12:00am and treated myself to Taco Bell which I missed very dearly.

This entire dialogue was truly one of, if not, the best experience I’ve ever had. I am extremely grateful for being able to spend it with such an amazing group of people and with the best professors (including Sora), which couldn’t have been done without CIEE. I’ve truly made some memories that are unforgettable.

And just like that, Japan slipped through my fingers.