Behind The Sunglasses

Behind the Sunglasses — The Japan Diaries

There are holidays you plan carefully, and then there are holidays where the universe takes one look at your itinerary and says, “Oh sweetheart, that’s cute!”

Japan was definitely the second kind.

After the year I’d had, I wasn’t looking for anything spectacular. I wanted beautiful places, a little peace, plenty of laughter, and the freedom to wake up every morning and decide what the hell I felt like doing.

No schedules. No pressure. No bloody obligations.

Just me, my best friend Lekha, and Japan.

Two stubborn women, questionable navigation skills, and absolutely no intention of behaving our age.

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, grab a coffee. This might take a while! 😂

Before Japan, there was Bangkok with my daughter, Thais.

Massages, head spas, manicures, pedicures, shopping, food, laughter, and those precious moments that you never realise are quite so precious until you’re living them.

Somewhere between all the pampering, I found myself looking at my daughter and realising how beautifully life had turned the tables.

The little girl I once held by the hand had become the woman quietly looking after me.

Bangkok — A Little Time With My Girl ❤️

Before Japan, there was Bangkok with my daughter, Thais.

Massages, head spas, manicures, pedicures, shopping, food, laughter, and those precious moments that you never realise are quite so precious until you’re living them.

Somewhere between all the pampering, I found myself looking at my daughter and realising how beautifully life had turned the tables.

The little girl I once held by the hand had become the woman quietly looking after me.

Calm, thoughtful, intelligent, and so beautifully kind.

And there was her mother. Still stubborn as hell, still convinced she knows everything, and still blessed with a mouth that occasionally operates without consulting her brain!

Some things never change.

Those days with my girl were special. Not because of where we were, but because of who I was with.

Then it was time for Japan.

And the madness began.

Japan — Welcome! Eventually!

Our arrival was anything but glamorous.

A flight delayed by almost 24 hours, followed by a roughly 100-kilometre drive from Osaka to Kyoto, meant arriving at our accommodation around 3 in the bloody morning.

So much for the graceful Japanese arrival I’d imagined.

We were exhausted, confused about what day it was, and probably looked like two women who had been dragged backwards through an airport.

But we had made it.

And after everything life had thrown at me that year, I was determined to enjoy every minute.

Even if Japan was already testing my patience!

Kyoto — Where Even My Mouth Went Quiet

Kyoto was everything I’d hoped for.

Beautiful temples, peaceful gardens, narrow streets, old wooden buildings, and a certain calmness that is difficult to explain.

Fushimi Inari with its endless red gates, the beautiful surroundings of Arashiyama, and those moments when you just sit somewhere and watch the world go by.

For someone like me, whose brain rarely switches off and whose mouth is usually not far behind, that sort of peace is rather extraordinary.

There were moments when I didn’t need to say anything.

I just wanted to be there.

To breathe.

To look around.

To appreciate the fact that I was actually there.

And then, of course, one of us would say something ridiculous and ruin the serenity!

That’s friendship for you.

Nara — The Deer Have Absolutely No Respect for Personal Space!

Then came Nara.

Beautiful temples, lovely scenery, and deer wandering around as though they owned the entire bloody city.

And honestly? They probably do!

You travel all the way to Japan to admire centuries of history, architecture and culture, only to find yourself completely entertained by animals demanding biscuits.

We laughed, wandered, admired, and made memories.

Sometimes the simplest moments turn out to be the ones you remember most.

Japanese Train Stations — WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL? 😂

Now, let’s discuss Japanese trains.

Japan has one of the most sophisticated transport systems in the world.

Efficient. Punctual. Spotlessly clean. Perfectly organised.

Apparently.

Because nobody told us that you might need a university degree in navigation just to find the bloody exit!

Wrong train? Tick.

Wrong platform? Tick.

Wrong direction? Naturally.

And then there was Shinjuku Station.

FORTY-FIVE MINUTES.

Forty-five bloody minutes trying to get OUT of a train station!

Not trying to catch a train.

Not trying to find a restaurant.

JUST TRYING TO GET OUT!

At one point, I genuinely wondered whether we should apply for permanent residency.

I mean, surely after forty-five minutes you qualify as a local?

Eventually, we emerged into daylight like two survivors of some underground expedition.

Exhausted, slightly disorientated, but laughing.

And that, my friends, is how two intelligent, reasonably capable grown women were defeated by a railway station.

Shibuya — 5,000 People, One Lost Wallet and a Little Miracle ❤️

Now this story deserves its own chapter.

Shibuya Crossing.

One of the busiest pedestrian crossings in the world, where thousands of people can cross at once — sometimes reportedly up to 5,000 at peak times.

Imagine that.

A sea of people moving in every direction.

And somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, Lekha lost her wallet.

Yes. HER WALLET.

And this wasn’t just any wallet.

Inside were our little souvenir coins, personalised with:

Lekha & Jo 2026 ❤️

We’d had one made each.

Something small and silly perhaps, but meaningful. A little keepsake of our adventure together.

And now hers was somewhere in Shibuya.

Among thousands of people.

Seriously, what were the chances?

But somehow, against all odds, Lekha found her wallet again!

And the coins were still there.

I cannot tell you how much that moment stayed with me.

Because this is one of the reasons I love Japan so much.

The honesty.

The respect.

The consideration for others.

In a world where people sometimes seem to have forgotten the meaning of those things, Japan reminded me that they still exist.

There is something deeply reassuring about being in a country where respect isn’t just something people talk about.

It’s something you feel.

And that little wallet, with our precious souvenir coins inside, became one of my favourite memories of the entire trip.

Not because we lost it.

But because we found it.

Sometimes the smallest things remind you of the biggest values.

Godzilla, Ridiculous Anime and Six-Hour Indian Movies!

Now, somewhere between the temples, the trains and the wallet drama, we apparently forgot we were supposed to be mature women.

We stayed at the Godzilla Hotel.

Because why stay somewhere ordinary when you can stay somewhere with a giant monster?

And then there was the entertainment.

We watched the most ridiculous Japanese anime.

The sort of thing where you find yourself wondering what on earth you’re watching, but somehow you keep watching anyway!

And Indian movies.

Not little two-hour films.

Oh no.

SIX BLOODY HOURS!

Six hours of drama, emotion, action, music, betrayal, revenge, and probably enough family complications to keep a psychologist employed for the next decade.

And there we were, completely invested.

Who needs sleep when you’ve got six hours of Bollywood drama?

We laughed, commented, argued about what was happening on screen, and thoroughly enjoyed being absolutely useless.

No work calls.

No responsibilities.

No need to be anywhere.

Just two women enjoying the luxury of doing whatever the hell they pleased.

And I loved every minute.

Osaka — No Vegetarian Food? Well, Goodbye Then! 😂

Now, let’s talk about Osaka.

Japan is famous for its food.

Unfortunately, Japan hadn’t quite prepared itself for Lekha and me.

Lekha is vegan, and after my treatment, even the thought of eating meat had become difficult for me.

So there we were, two hungry women surrounded by thousands of restaurants, trying to find something we could actually eat.

And then came the signs.

“NO VEGETARIAN FOOD.”

Not one of those polite little signs suggesting limited options.

No.

Just NO VEGETARIAN FOOD.

Well, alright then!

We got the message!

Honestly, we weren’t asking for a five-course Michelin-starred vegetarian extravaganza.

A bit of bread? Some vegetables? Anything that hadn’t once walked, swum or flown?

Apparently, that was asking too much!

And so, after our Osaka food adventures, we did what any two stubborn women would do.

We left a day earlier than planned!

Yes, we actually cut Osaka short.

Not because we didn’t like the city.

Not because there was nothing to see.

But because we were bloody hungry!

I mean, there’s only so much sightseeing a woman can do when she’s dreaming about a baguette and butter.

And to think some people travel to Japan specifically for the food!

We travelled there and nearly starved. 😂

Mount Fuji — A Moment Worth Remembering

Then there was Mount Fuji.

The beautiful scenery, the cable car, Lake Ashi, the mountains, the water, and that wonderful feeling of being somewhere completely different from home.

Some places don’t need much explaining.

You simply look around and feel grateful.

There were moments when the world seemed to slow down.

And for a little while, so did I.

I wasn’t thinking about work.

I wasn’t thinking about what needed to be done next.

I wasn’t thinking about hospitals, appointments, or everything that had happened over the past year.

I was just Jo.

Standing somewhere beautiful.

Alive.

And very, very grateful.

Two Grown Women and a Collection of Stuffed Toys!

And then there were the arcade machines.

You know those machines filled with plush toys that you’re supposed to win?

Well, apparently, we decided we were professional toy hunters.

There we were, two grown women, ridiculously excited about winning stuffed animals.

And yes, we won some!

The satisfaction!

The celebrations!

You would have thought we’d won the lottery.

But that’s the beauty of growing older.

You eventually realise that you don’t have to act your age.

You can be silly.

You can laugh at absolutely nothing.

You can get excited over a stuffed toy.

And you can enjoy yourself without giving a damn what anyone thinks.

Life is serious enough without making every moment serious too.

What Japan Really Meant to Me ❤️

Now, beneath all the laughter, the wrong trains, the missing wallet, the ridiculous movies, and our desperate search for vegetarian food, there was something else.

Something much more personal.

This trip wasn’t just a holiday.

This year had tested me in ways I never imagined.

There were moments when I was frightened.

Moments when I was exhausted.

Moments when my body reminded me that, despite my rather impressive stubbornness, I wasn’t invincible.

And that was a difficult lesson for someone like me.

I’ve spent most of my life being the strong one.

The woman who gets things done.

The one who makes decisions, solves problems, looks after everyone, and somehow finds a way through whatever life throws at her.

But sometimes, even the strongest people need to stop.

Not surrender.

Just stop.

Japan gave me that.

It gave me the freedom to wake up without an agenda.

To change my mind.

To get lost.

To laugh at myself.

To sit quietly in a temple.

To watch stupid anime and ridiculously long Indian movies.

To be hungry, annoyed, amused, grateful, and completely ridiculous, sometimes all in the same afternoon.

And to share those moments with my best friend, who has seen me at my strongest and at my most vulnerable.

There is something incredibly special about a friendship where you don’t have to explain yourself.

Where silence is comfortable.

Where laughter comes easily.

Where you can be completely yourself.

No performance.

No expectations.

Just friendship.

And somewhere along the way, between Kyoto’s temples and Shinjuku’s bloody exits, I found a little more of myself again.

Not the businesswoman.

Not the fighter.

Not the woman everyone expects to have all the answers.

Just Jo.

The small woman with the big personality, the stubborn streak, and a mouth that still gets her into trouble.

And I rather like her.

One Last Thought From Behind the Sunglasses 😎❤️

I’ve learned something over the years.

Life doesn’t wait for you to be ready.

It doesn’t ask whether you’ve finished your work, paid your bills, sorted your problems, or made peace with everything.

It just keeps moving.

And no amount of money in the world can buy you another yesterday.

So while I can, I intend to live.

To travel.

To laugh.

To love fiercely.

To make memories with the people who matter.

To occasionally take the wrong train.

And, apparently, to leave an entire city because I can’t find a bloody vegetarian meal!

I didn’t come home from Japan with some profound spiritual awakening.

I came home with wonderful memories, a few ridiculous stories, some stuffed toys, a very special souvenir coin, and a heart that felt a little lighter.

And that is more than enough for me.

Because in the end, life isn’t about having the perfect journey.

It’s about having stories worth telling.

And trust me, I’ve got plenty more.

No filters. No perfect life. Just Jo.

And Lekha, next time, I’m carrying the bloody wallet! 😂❤️

— Jo 😎💕